Certification the result of more than 3 years of work, consultations with 30,000 human resources professionals
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has announced the names for its new HR certification.
The new competency-based certification will be called SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).
The association announced in May that its board of directors approved a plan to create competency-based certification for HR professionals.
“SHRM has always focused on making sure HR practitioners are seeking and attaining certification,” said president and CEO Hank Jackson. “We are committed to ensuring that the certification our members achieve is recognized as best-in-class and distinguishes them in the marketplace.”
Governance body
The association is also establishing the SHRM Certification Commission as a governance body. It will be composed of certified HR professionals, certification experts, academics specializing in HR and other members from the business community. It will serve as an independent technical advisory committee and have delegated authority from the SHRM board of directors.
It will manage the certification program, including the development of the exams, eligibility criteria and recertification requirements.
“We are designing this certification program to meet the highest standards of the industry and are following best practice based on the International Standards Organization for certifying bodies,” said Jackson.
3 years of research
SHRM said the new certification is the culmination of more than three years of research and is based on the SHRM HR Competency Model, which it says was validated by more than 30,000 HR professionals around the world.
“These HR professionals identified the skills needed to grow and succeed in HR careers,” said SHRM in a press release. “Those skills fall under eight behaviour competencies and one technical, or functional, competency — which is HR expertise.”
SHRM plans to offer the first exam for the new competency-based certification in mid-2015.
The association — based in Alexandria, Va. — has more than 275,000 members in 160 countries.
