So if you pay any attention to what goes on out here in HR
cyberspace, you could not have missed that SHRM
is changing its certification system – and to be correct perhaps I should
say “transitioning” rather than changing.
At this point much, has been said and written. Just in case you have been under a rock or in a different universe, here are a few examples.
Not unlike Ben Eubanks, I have done some of my own research
to try to understand what is happening.
Some comments that I have heard from fellow SHRMies is that this is a
money grab by SHRM, or that it is a family feud (minus Richard Dawson) between HRCI and SHRM. At this point I do not know how we arrived at
this juncture but we are here. Most of
us who hold these certifications value them. We feel it demonstrates to the
world our competency.
Now to go and change it, almost out of the blue seems ludicrous.
I am reminded of time when my oldest son was attending what is now Missouri
S & T. When he enrolled, they had a huge public relations campaign to grow
the university with the tag line “The Name, The Degree, The Difference.” Then, almost without any notice or fanfare, they
went and changed the name of the university to Missouri University of Science
and Technology a.k.a MS&T. Thus it would appear that the previous ad campaign was wrong,
and the tag line was just a marketing ploy.
My point is this, SHRM is cutting to the credibility of the
certification if they arbitrarily stop doing one thing and start doing
another. So all that stuff we said in
the past was wrong? I know that on-going
change is necessary but in this instance it would seem change should be more
evolutionary than revolutionary.
Another other thing that is unclear to me is this. As I understand it, HRCI exists to administer
the HR Certifications, that’s it. If
SHRM is no longer going to use them what becomes of them. I would liken this as a business with one
customer, and that business decides they are no longer going to do business
with their one customer – what now?
I am not naive enough to not understand there is a whole
bunch more to this story, and probably a lot of it makes good sense. The problem is this. That
story has not been communicated. The story has been communicated
poorly, or it has not been communicated at all. Then BAM! We are changing all of this, PHR, SPHR, GPHR
–HRCI. This is disconcerting to SHRM
members who proudly hold these certifications.
I know this will all get squared away, and explained to the
masses and it will all be fine. However, for now I say SHRM shame on you – you botched this one!
- Dave Ryan Co-Legislative Director for Illinois SHRM
