As almost everyone else in the HR world has decided to do, I am going to weigh in on the HRCI vs. SHRM certification controversy. These are all my personal opinions and do not represent the opinions of any other person or any organization.
General thoughts: First of all, I'd like to discuss HR Certification in general, and what I think it means. I do not believe that a PHR, SPHR, GPHR, etc. means that you are an effective HR professional. It also does not mean that you are NOT an effective HR professional. What it does mean is that you worked and studied very hard to pass a comprehensive examination of Human Resources knowledge, which is a significant accomplishment.
When I first learned of the HRCI certifications, I was truly excited. I purchased several versions of study materials over the years because I wanted to be the best HR Professional I could be. I even taught several HRCI exam prep courses. Every year, as I made decisions about how to pursue my own professional development, I chose other avenues of development and learning.
I didn't get my SPHR until the summer of 2013, passing the exam on my first attempt. I was very proud of this achievement, which required many hours of study and preparation. I finally got around to earning this certification for two reasons: a promise that I made to a senior leader, and because I believed that I needed the certification to be more marketable.
Finally, I DO appreciate that there seems to be a relatively painless way for me to acquire the new SHRM certification. This was a shrewd move on SHRM's part and greatly reduces contentiousness between current holders of HRCI certifications and SHRM.
My observations on the history of HRCI Certification: My observation and belief is that SHRM and HRCI have touted the HRCI certifications as desirable when hiring a Human Resources professional. Over the years, executive non-HR hiring managers came to believe that hiring a certified HR professional was less of a risk than hiring a non-certified HR professional. HR professionals who worked hard to earn certification also touted the certification.
In other words, the premier HR Organization (SHRM), the premier certifying body for HR (HRCI), and the profession itself have marketed the desirability of a certification, to the extent that HRCI certifications are almost always considered and discussed whenever HR professionals are hired.
In the past, if you did not have an HRCI certification, you often were at a disadvantage when competing for a professional HR position.
My Opinions of the SHRM Competency Based Certification: Since none of us have experienced the process of being certified by SHRM (SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP) it would be unfair to praise or to criticize the new assessments, and to comment on their ability to indicate the effectiveness of an HR Professional. Who knows, it may be everything that has been suggested. Time will tell. I do believe that assessing competencies and the use of behavioral assessments are extremely effective.
I am, however, somewhat skeptical that the new assessment will be as effective as marketed, because I was one of the HR professionals who participated in the initial survey to identify the competencies. I felt that the survey did not delve deeply enough into critical specific competencies . I was also disappointed in the results that were shared with the participants. Again, I felt that the quality/depth of the work was lacking.
It was NOT made clear to me when I was participating that the results would be used by SHRM to create a behavioral assessment to measure competencies of HR Professionals. Had it been, I would have escalated my concerns up through the SHRM chain of command with my colleagues who served as volunteer leaders. I truly thought this was "just another survey" that SHRM facilitated to assist with academic learning.Oh well.
SHRM's Handling of the Launch of Their Certifications: I have been a member of ASPA/SHRM since 1983. That's over 30 years, and thousands of dollars in membership fees. I have attended meetings, made presentations, worked on committees and served in leadership roles, including being a Charter Member of the Southwest Virginia Chapter #430. (http://swva.shrm.org/ ) and being an active member of the Northeast Tennessee Chapter (http://netshrm.shrm.org/) for over 20 years.
I think that the fellowship and networking I experienced in these two chapters, and the online and periodical information that SHRM provided have helped make me a much more effective HR Professional. Because of my affiliation with SHRM I was more knowledgeable, better skilled, and always knew a subject matter expert to consult on any HR issue. SHRM at the local level and SHRM resources have been a true blessing in my career.
In my few attempts to engage our national Board of Directors in conversations/dialogue about a grass roots perspective on how the organization is managed, I have been completely ignored, except for some very condescending correspondence when I submitted an article a few years ago.I am not a fan of the national leadership of our organization.
My short assessment of SHRM's handling of this whole process, from design to launch, is that our leaders decided they knew what was best for us (the grass roots professionals,) but didn't engage us in dialogue about how to get to a better certification process. This is insulting to all HR Professionals, but sadly does not surprise me.
When former SHRM CEO Sue Meisinger (http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story.jhtml?id=534357181) blogged her opinion of SHRM's mishandling of this launch and had criticism for the organization she led for so long, I think we have to consider her thoughts.
The Worst Part: Our profession will always be engaged in a continuous struggle to effectively influence the businesses we support. In order to have (and I hate this phrase because it so overused and makes us sound like whiners) "a seat at the table" our profession must have credibility and we must also have individual credibility within our organizations.
This mishandled launch of a new certification, the split of the long standing SHRM and HRCI relationship, and the resulting future confusion for hiring managers on the meaning of two major certification hurts our profession. Think about that for a minute: the organization supposedly dedicated to "Supporting the Professional and Advancing the Profession" did neither this time. At least not in the short run.
Let's not let our profession's infighting damage our ability to do good work.
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