Don’t let that commitment fade. Recertification demonstrates your continued dedication to stay up to date with the rapidly changing HR profession. To retain certification, you need to recertify every three years either by retesting or by accumulating 60 recertification hours.

Recertification means continuing professional development and education—but it’s not all about taking courses and seminars. Don’t forget that you can earn recertification credit through activities that involve—

• continuing education,
• instruction,
• on-the-job experience,
• research and publishing,
• leadership or professional membership.

Continuing education activities include not only classroom- or conference room-based events, but pre-approved SHRM chapter programs, topic-specific conference sessions, online courses, webcasts and podcasts.

Instruction credit is available the first time you present an HR-related topic, such as instructing an HR course, presenting at a conference session or making an in-house HR presentation.

On the Job credit is awarded for a first-time work experience that adds to your HR knowledge. You’ll need to document start and end dates and your responsibilities.

Research/Publishing activities must be conducted outside the workplace and are available when you conduct primary research on an HR-related topic or write and publish in a scholarly journal.

Leadership credit recognizes giving back to the profession and/or using your HR expertise to further a volunteer organization’s mission. To earn credit, each leadership role must be external to the workplace and have application to the HR body of knowledge.

Professional Membership credit hours are available for membership in national or international HR-related professional associations.

Find Out More!
HRCI offers a wealth of information with details and examples of each type of credit-earning activity. Explore these resources to identify your “everyday” professional activities that could lead to recertification credits.

• “Road to Recertification” online presentation
• “Recertification” section of HRCI.org
• “Virtual Recertification Tour”
• “Recertification Webcast”
• “Virtual Recertification Counselor” archives & future sessions
• “Virtual Strategic Management Counselor” archives & future sessions
• Printed “Recertification Handbook”
• Recertification counseling in the HRCI Hideaway at the SHRM Annual Conference, June 22-25 in Chicago

More Articles from this Issue of Certified Mail