Showing posts with label certification. Show all posts
What Should Be Discussed Instead of Certification at #SHRM14
by Matthew Stollak on Tuesday, June 17, 2014
The SHRM Big Show begins in less than a week as 15,000+ HR professionals descend on Orlando to hear about the latest in human resource management. Unless you are a HR professional living under a rock, the topic du jour(s) will be the new SHRM certification being introduced....you won't be able to escape it. SHRM will have 3 straight days of sessions dedicated to the topic. HRCI, while banished from the conference, will be holding a Monday night event at EPCOT to share there insights. Vegas has put better odds of snow occurring during the four days in Orlando than Hank Jackson NOT discussing certification during the opening session. I fully expect that SHRM will hand out an HR action figure called "Certy" to attendees at their booth in the exhibit hall.
Never has so much attention been paid to an issue that has so little impact on the day-to-day functioning of HR.
I wish a modicum of attention was paid to these issues instead:
1. Sleep
Did you hear about the accident that nearly killed TV star Tracy Morgan? It was the result of a Walmart truck driver who had gone more than 24 hours without sleeping. According to Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, "drivers feel pressure from their employers to drive more than 60-70 hours a week with insufficient rest." Further, Congress is attempting to make regulation of truck driver rest even more lax:
Days before Morgan's accident thrust trucking safety into the news, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation that would undo rules that only went into effect last year that mandated certain rest periods for truck drivers. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) added an amendment to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill that would suspend a regulation that truck drivers rest for 34 consecutive hours, including two nights from 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM, before driving again.
Issues involving sleep are not limited to the trucking industry. As a parent of 15-month old twins, getting 6+ hours of uninterrupted sleep is a luxury. The impact of less sleep is huge:
Instead of certification, we should be discussing how the profession can assist employees in ensuring they are properly rested so they may perform at a more productive level.
2. Wage Theft
According to the New York Times,
When wage theft against low-wage workers is combined with that against highly paid workers, a bad problem becomes much worse. Data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute show that in 2012, the Department of Labor helped 308,000 workers recover $280 million in back pay for wage-theft violations — nearly double the amount stolen that year in robberies on the street, at banks, gas stations and convenience stores.
Moreover, the recovered wages are surely only a fraction of the wage theft nationwide because the Labor Department has only about 1,100 wage-and-hour investigators to monitor seven million employers and several states have ended or curtailed wage enforcement efforts.
This is a huge black eye for the profession, and we should be discussing how to minimize this occurrence.
3. A Living Wage
My wonderful blogging colleagues at SHRM14 are putting together a little charity event on Sunday night to raise money for No Kid Hungry. It truly is a worthy endeavor.
At the same time, how much discussion is going into their Congressional representatives cutting funding for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families? Or, eliminating unemployment benefits after a certain period of time, even when unemployment remains high. Each contribute significantly to childhood hunger.
Recently, Seattle passed a minimum wage increase of $15 an hour. Given HR's role in setting compensation, what influence, if any, should they have to address the impact of wage stagnation?
- 3 comments • Category: #HRCI, #shrm14, certification, living wage, Orlando, sleep, wage theft
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In the wake of the HuffPost Top 100 Most Social HR Experts list, and the significant number on the list who do not have HR certification, was a comment made by one of those top 100 members:
As a recruiting practitioner I really see no value personally or professionally in being a SHRM member or gaining a certificate. Unless someone could give me a really good reason to the contrary.
Certainly, if one goes to the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) website, the benefits are laid out:
- show you know the most current principles and core practices of HR management
- become more marketable when you compete for top HR positions
- raise your professional confidence among your staff and your peers
- certified HR professionals earn 13.2% higher salary than their non-certified peers
- organizations with certified HR professionals have 12.2% greater retention of high performing employees
- organizations with certified HR professionals have 14.6% less EEOC complaints than organizations led by non-certified HR leaders
With the increasing popularity of the SHRM certification program as well as the proliferation of other similar certifications, it is time to determine (1) what certification measures and how well it does it; and (2) what difference having certification makes to individuals, to organizations, and to the HR profession.
To answer the above, and as the title of their article suggests, Lengnick-Hall and Aguinis create a multi-level framework for research shown in the figure below:
The figure depicts three important elements: (a) time, (b) macro-level effects, and (c) micro-level effects. First, the starting time begins with the implementation of the organizational staffing practice of using HR certification as a selection tool. This staffing practice represents a contextual (top-down) effect on the organization's individual KSAOs because all potential HR professional employees will be recruited using the HR certification predictor. HR certification is used as a selection tool because it measures human resource management knowledge
Accompanying the figure are 14 testable propositions, including:
- Proposition 2: Individuals with undergraduate or master's degrees in human resource management or related disciplines will not benefit as much (increased hiring probability, higher salaries, and faster promotion rates) from an HR certification compared to individuals without such degrees
- Proposition 3: As assessed by longitudinal research, we predict that individuals with undergraduate or master's degrees in human resource management or master's degrees in business administration will obtain more C-suite positions and perform more effectively in these roles compared to individuals who have certifications such as SHRM's PHR or SPHR
- Proposition 4: Using HR certification as a selection tool will be positively associated to individuals' HR management knowledge
- Proposition 5: Certified HR professionals will perform better (i.e. effectively diagnose and resolve HR problems, design and implement HR programs aligned with organizational objectives, etc.) on the job than do non-certified HR professionals
- Proposition 6: A greater proportion of certified HR professionals who have shared HR knowledge in an HR department will lead to higher unit-level performance
- Proposition 11: A greater proportion of certified HR professionals in the HR function will lead to more favorable perceptions by multiple constituents regarding the value-added contribution of the HR function in the organization and thereby enhance HR department reputation
- Proposition 13: A greater proportion of certified HR professionals in an HR department will lead to higher HR department effectiveness
Certainly, answering the propositions listed will be a difficult process, and perhaps this is why such research is lacking. As Cohen (2012) notes in the same issue:
In order to test Proposition 2, data would need to be collected from a single huge organization with a large enough population of HR professionals who are covered by the same compensation plan to test the proposition. You would need archival data of salary trends, certification status, educational achievements, promotions, performance data, and so forth to comparatively test for the differences in salary and advancement. A study of just HR professionals, outside of the archival factors mentioned many not provide accurate or generalizable information. Titles may or may not be comparable across organizations so unless the data comes from a single organization where title, responsibility and other variables can be controlled, the results may not reveal anything meaningful.
Nonetheless, these questions are of critical importance to the profession, and I echo Aguinis and Lengnick-Hall's (2012) challenge to the SHRM Foundation: Issue a call for proposals for empirical research on the value of HR certification.
Why the @huffpostbiz Top 100 Social #HR Experts on Twitter Should Be a Wake-Up Call to #SHRM
by Matthew Stollak on Wednesday, July 3, 2013
However, if I am the Society for Human Resource Management, I'd be very worried about this list.
Why?
I went through the LinkedIn profiles of all 100 individuals and found:
- Only 21 individuals had listed they had earned PHR or SPHR certification (none listed GPHR). This number could be higher, but some either chose not to list it, or they may have let certification lapse.
- Less than 60 had a formal business education (i.e., a BBA or post-graduate degree in a business-related field). Some only listed their college, but did not list their educational background. Others did not have education as part of their LinkedIn profile.
- Of that 60 or so, less than 25 concentrated in human resources as part of their undergraduate or graduate education.
- Is pursuit of certification perceived as valuable? If a significant portion of those who are perceived as being knowledgeable on the field of HR (or at least a major subset of the field) do not possess certification from SHRM, will some choose not to pursue it as well, as they do not see it as necessary to succeed in the industry?
- Barriers to entry in the field of HR continue to be low. Again, many of the individuals on this list have demonstrated through on-the-job experience and success that they deserve to be lauded. But, it should concern SHRM that many apparently do not need a HR education to be successful in HR.
- The need to embrace social and its impact on membership. SHRM has done a wonderful job over the past couple of years of working with many on this list. Over 50 on the list served on the social media team at the 2013 SHRM Annual Conference in Chicago. However, with many on the list having little to no affiliation with SHRM, will some HR professionals wonder why they should join SHRM when others are possibly providing valuable information for free?
- 7 comments • Category: certification, HR Education, HRCI, Huff Post, SHRM
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THE ISSUE
Finding quality speakers to present relevant, up-to-date information to a HR audience
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
One of the leading drivers for individuals to attend their local SHRM chapter meeting or conference is the quality of the speaker(s) and his/his/their topic. In particular, individuals not only want to gain their PHR/SPHR/GPHR certification credits, they want to learn, be entertained, and feel that the dollars and time they invested are worthwhile.
Unfortunately, finding speakers, let alone quality ones, is difficult. As I noted in this space nearly three years ago, volunteers have to go out and find willing speakers (often at no cost) to provide a compelling hour or more of information to attendees. Further, volunteers have to go through a somewhat onerous process to get a program approved by HRCI at least 4 weeks in advance to ensure that it meets the requirements to provide recertification credits.
Let's revisit the math: With 575+ chapters offering 8-9 programs a year, along with a significant number of state and national HR conferences, there are at least 5000 sessions a year being offered. Even with some likely repeat speakers, there is a huge demand that needs to be met, and places a huge burden on the HRCI to approve a significant number of programs
There has got to be a better way.
WHAT'S AVAILABLE FROM SHRM?
To be fair, it must be noted that SHRM does provide a number of resources to assist chapters in finding speakers.
- In their volunteer leader resource center, chapters can contact the SHRM Speakers Bureau to find a member of the SHRM organization to speak on a whole host of topics.
- There is a short non-SHRM staff directory of speakers who have scored 3.8 out of 5 at one of the SHRM major conferences in the last four years
- A SHRM speaker program that contains just under 130 speakers
WHAT ELSE IS AVAILABLE?
- In 2010, the SHRM Chapter and State Council Leadership LinkedIn Group tried to create a list of top 10 speakers from their state conference. Everyone who commented thought it was a good idea, but it withered on the vine.
- Late last year, the St. Norbert Collge student SHRM chapter tried to crowdsource a list.ly list of good SHRM speakers (you can see it posted on the right), but it hasn't quite taken off.
1. Expand the SHRM Speaker Program. This list is a great start, but it is too small to meet the demand.
2. Have HRCI publish yearly a list of ALL programs approved the previous year. Ideally, it would be searchable by listing sessions by state, topic, speaker, credit amount (i.e., 1.25 hours), and certification level (PHR, SPHR, GPHR, etc.). Yet, even providing a link online to a pdf would be a good start.
RESOLVED: The HRCI Certification process for chapters is broken.
Prologue
The primary reasons HR professionals attend chapter meetings are networking and earning recertification credits toward their PHR or SPHR. People do enjoy talking with another and seeing what is going on in the HR world in their little neck of the woods. Yet, it is the quality of the session/topic being offered that is the primary driver of attendance. If the topic is poor or the speaker is of low quality, the networking is simply not strong enough to devote 2.5 hours of one's time to a SHRM chapter meeting.
The Problem
Finding quality speakers is a difficult process. Chapter volunteers have to go out and find willing speakers (at no or reasonable cost) to provide a compelling hour or more of information to attendees. As anyone who as attended several meetings, the quality of the speaker can be hit-or-miss. Complicating matters is getting a chapter program to be certified by HRCI.
Having been involved with chapter boards and state councils for a number of years, working to get a meeting or conference is a constant challenge. Chapters have to submit a program a minimum 4 weeks to get approval for credit. Even then, it is a battle back-and-forth to finally get the needed approval. Anecdotally, I have heard of several instances where chapters have taken programs and/or speakers that have previously been successfully approved (when offered by another chapter), only to be turned down when submitted for a second time. HRCI even notes that a program should be "re-submitted every calendar year, even if the activity does not change from year to year." Simply, it is a lot of jumping through hoops.
The Solution
1. HRCI should create a national database of pre-approved programs
*There are more then 575 chapters, a significant number of state conferences, and the national conference
*Most chapters have 9 monthly meetings a year (as most take off summer months), with most of these meetings offering certification credit
Doing the simple math (575*9) tells me that is a total of 5,175 sessions approved per year. If we go 3 years back, that is a total of 15,525 different sessions. Let's say that 25% of those are repeats from another chapter or conference,and we add in all the state and national conference speakers, and we are talking over 11,500 sessions that HRCI has approved.
STOP THE MADNESS! Create a database listing all of these sessions by state, topic, speaker, credit amount (i.e., 1.25 hours), and certification level (PHR, SPHR, GPHR, etc.). Make it easier for the chapter volunteer to find the topic and speaker of choice.
2. Shift the burden for becoming a certified program from the chapter to the speaker; expand the Approved Provider program
If #1 above is accomplished, there might be concern that topics might become stale or out-of-date, and the 11,500+ programs would quickly decrease. Surfing the HRCI website, I discovered that HRCI offers an Approved Provider program:
The Approved Provider Program is for organizations that offer multiple HR-related continuing education activities per year. Approved Providers are awarded a three-year contract in which all your qualified HR activities that you submit to us are pre-approved for recertification credit. After three years, you can continue your Approved Provider status when you renew your contract.Let's expand this program. Any speaker who wishes to speak to a SHRM chapter should have to get approved by HRCI. As speakers get recognized, their topics would be added to the database.
3. Create a public feedback mechanism for speakers and programs.
Before going out and buying a product, I like to read Consumer Reports. If I am traveling, I like to check out TripAdvisor.com to check the quality of hotels before making my reservation. If I am going out to eat, I might check out Yelp or Urbanspoon, before trying out a new restaurant. A similar offering should be available to chapters looking for speakers. Most information sharing about speakers is word-of-mouth. Let's increase the amount of data available.
ADVANTAGES
1. It eases the burden on chapters
As SHRM is fond of reminding us, they are a volunteer driven organization. Yet, more and more volunteers are feeling pressed for time, and chapters are finding it more difficult to find those willing to serve. This would be one way to ease their burden.
2. It makes for more timely presentations
Some chapters have their programs laid out a year in advance, in part, to ease the process of getting programs certified. Yet, what might have seemed fresh a year ago may quickly be out-of-date. With the menu of pre-approved programs, it shortens the time between selection and presentation.
3. It improves the SHRM brand
Let's face it, why would SHRM want a potential customer to attend a program at a local chapter meeting and come away unimpressed with the product? Over the past 10 years, the gap between at-large membership and chapter membership continues to widen. What was once a 60-40 split of at-large/chapter members has grown to 66/34. What better way to get people to join local chapters if they knew that each session that was delivered was recognized as a quality topic worthy of their time.
4. Speakers get the HRCI seal of approval
Getting identified and recognized as a HRCI-approved speaker may increase the number of sessions the speaker might be offered.
So, let's get to it HRCI. Make the change!
NOTE: I recognize the hard work that HRCI does each day. Trying to certified 575 sessions a month, along with state and national conference sessions, is an arduous undertaking.
- 5 comments • Category: certification, HRCI, SHRM
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The 2010 SHRM Northeast Regional Student Conference will take place at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania on March 5 and 6, 2010.
The calendar has turned to March, which means, as a SHRM student chapter advisor, it is time for the HRGames. Tonight, for example, 20 teams from around the state of Wisconsin descend onto Oshkosh to test their knowledge of human resources.
What are the HRGames? The HRGames consist of a one- or two-day series of Jeopardy-style matches, between teams of up to three undergraduate students from various colleges and universities. The questions for the matches are divided into categories similar to those used in the PHR certification exam (i.e., Management Practices; Selection & Recruitment). In each round, students select points and a category of questions. The question is read twice and the teams have 15 seconds to supply the correct answer. After a series of initial matches, teams with the best records participate in the championship rounds for first and second place. The hope is that students who prepare for the HRGames will, in turn, be successful when taking the PHR Certification
A sample question might be:
Q: This is the pay rate that is below the minimum of the pay range
A: What is a green circle rate
The top four teams in Wisconsin, for example, will receive travel money from the WI SHRM State Countil to attend the North Central Region Student Conference and HRGames at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN on April 23-24. The significance of winning the regional competition is even higher. The winning team of undergraduates not only gets the pride of winning the competition, but SHRM will provide each team member with a $1,000 scholarship, as well as free conference registration, hotel, airfare, and food budget, to attend the SHRM Annual Conference in San Diego.
As noted, the 2010 SHRM North Central Regional Student Conference will take place at Purdue University in Indiana on April 23 and 24, 2010.
The 2010 SHRM Southeast Regional Student Conference will take place at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on April 9 and 10, 2010.
The 2010 SHRM Southwest Central Regional Student Conference will take place at the University of New Mexico on March 26 and 27, 2010.
If you haven't had the opportunity to see it in person, it is well worth checking out to see the HR leaders of tomorrow. Each conference is always looking for volunteers. If interested, please contact Maureen Flaherty at Maureen.Flaherty@shrm.org
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Tomorrow I head to Washington D.C. to participate in the SHRM Leadership Conference. One of the topics at the forefront of my mind will be the subject of student certification.
Last year, SHRM and HRCI decided to change the eligibility requirements for the PHR exam for graduating students. Currently, any student can take the PHR exam, and, if they pass, they must complete 2 years of exempt level HR experience over the next 5 years to be able to use the PHR designation. In 2011, students will no longer be eligible to take the PHR exam. They must first earn the two years of exempt HR experience.
With that said, SHRM is currently exploring alternative solutions to the PHR exam.
What should this solution look like? What would/should the alternative exam cover? As a recruiter looking at a recent graduate, what skills, competencies, or certification would give that student "legitimacy" that passing the PHR exam might currently convey?
- 2 comments • Category: certification, HRCI, PHR, SHRM
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