This past June the HR Certification Institute (HRCI) celebrated its 40th anniversary. More than 500,000 HR professionals have earned certifications from HRCI, including certification holders in more than 100 countries. Over the past several months, HRCI has announced a number of new enhancements for HR professionals that are considering certification. These new changes along with your ASE member benefits, provide great certification and continuing education opportunities with HRCI. Make sure you are aware of these membership benefits and HRCI changes.
In February of this year, HRCI introduced a new credential aimed at recent college graduates new to the HR profession or those individuals transitioning into HR from another field. Up until this point, the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) was the initial credential that HR professionals could consider taking. The challenge is that the eligibility requirements to sit for this exam require the individual to hold an exempt level position ranging anywhere from one to four years. The requirement to hold an exempt level position can be reduced if the individual holds a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Click here to see eligibility requirements for the different HRCI certifications.
For individuals new to HR or those in non-exempt positions wanting to earn certification, the PHR exam prerequisites and the inability to test could be a disappointment and frustration. This is why they created the aPHR certification. The creation of this exam was the result of interest and demand by individuals wanting to demonstrate that they have attained a foundation of HR knowledge. The biggest benefit of the new aPHR is that it only requires a high school diploma or global equivalent. The aPHR exam focuses on the fundamentals of HR principles and practices including recruitment, development and retention, compensation and benefits, employee relations, health, safety, and security. The PHR certification will now become the next step up from the aPHR certification. For further information regarding the aPHR click here.
In addition to the new aPHR, HRCI has also recently announced that it will be eliminating testing windows and launching the ability for individuals to test for HRCI certifications year round. Beginning November 1, 2016, exams for each of the HRCI’s seven certifications will be available on any day of the year. As with most professional certifications, prior to now, testing was only available during specific windows of time during the year. Also, by early 2017, all of HRCI’s exams will be available at all approved testing centers worldwide. This added flexibility will make it easier to become certified.
HRCI Chief Marketing Officer Kerry Morgan recently stated, “HRCI is throwing testing windows out the window.” HRCI will not only be the only dedicated HR certification organization offering practitioners year-round testing, HRCI will also be putting HR on the short list of professions that make certification exams available to their practitioners whenever they are ready and wherever it’s most convenient. We live in an on-demand culture and this is what today’s busy HR professionals expect. HRCI will join a very short list of certification bodies that offer year-round testing at available test centers.
With their 40th anniversary celebration, HRCI also announced that it will be offering a special reduced exam application fee of $40 for anyone who applies to take any HRCI exam before the end of the year (regularly $75). To learn more about year-round testing or apply to take an HRCI exam using the promo code HRCI40, visit hrci.org/hrci40. This is a great savings!
For HR professionals on the fence about certification, joint research conducted this year by HRCI and the Top Employers Institute links employment of HRCI-certified professionals with better business performance. According to this study, individuals with HRCI certification demonstrate not only mastery of the competencies tied to best practices, but also the sound judgment and strategic mindset required to adapt best practices to their unique organizational challenges.
ASE recognizes the value of these certifications. Since the fall of 2015, ASE has had an alliance with the HR Certification Institute (HRCI). As part of that alliance, ASE members receive the following benefits simply by virtue of their employment in an ASE member company:
• $50 discount off the PHR, SPHR or GPHR exam fee (this is separate from the application fee)
• Earn up to twelve (12) Recertification Credits per renewal cycle
o Three credits per full year of association membership (to a maximum of nine (9) credit hours under the membership category
o An additional three (3) Business credits (one (1) per year for SPHR) under the continuing education category
o If your HRCI credential does not require Business credit (PHR, GPHR or CA), it defaults to HR General credit.
• An HRCI Recertification Concierge to quickly resolve questions and issues
The HRCI enhancements announced this year provide some additional reasons why this might be a good time to consider certification. If you have any questions regarding the ASE HRCI benefits, please email Kris Cifolelli at [email protected].
Source: HRCI