"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” – Mark Twain
Contrary to the rumor mill that’s been swirling around the Las Vegas Convention Center all week, HR Certification Institute (HRCI) is not only alive but thriving. We are an inclusive and welcoming community that offers best in class products to HR professionals at every stage in their career. In short, we are helping people rise – at every stage in their career – and that helps organizations shine.
#WheresHRCI
If you’re one of the reported 20,000 folks hanging around Las Vegas this week, you might be wondering where the HRCI booth is. HRCI actually submitted our application to exhibit as we have in previous years and were informed that we had been “respectfully declined.” Can you believe that? That decision was unfortunate and perhaps a bit petulant. But as HRCI - the largest provider of HR certifications certifying more than 500K people around the globe – this didn’t stop us. We collaborated with some of our partners like HRCP, Distinctive HR and HR.com who were delighted to have our collateral, ribbons and fun giveaways (who doesn’t love an HRCI nail file??) at their booths. We also threw a party. A really big party. And nearly 1200 wonderful HR professionals signed up to celebrate HRCI’s success and growth.
#HRCIProud
HRCI has been around for more than 44 years. That history proves we know what we’re doing when it comes to certification, and our newfound independence has unleashed the ability and agility to do so bigger and better things. We’ve strengthened partnerships with global HR associations who share our commitment to elevating HR around the world as well as the US Military – particularly the Army – and are building relationships in the veteran and military spouse communities.
Perhaps most importantly, we uniquely offer certifications for the complete HR professional life cycle. Our 2 newest certifications – the aPHR and aPHRi - are both foundational and knowledge-based and a great fit for young professionals looking to pivot into HR or anyone who is looking to accelerate their growth into a leadership role in their organization. In the era of #Metoo, we believe it’s crucial for all employees to recognize and foster great culture. These newest certifications are a springboard into HR and embody what HR is all about.
We also offer products that deliver bite-sized and portable learning on topics that are top-of-mind and relevant. upSkill covers topics like workforce analytics, risk management and information security and privacy and allows individuals to learn whenever and wherever it’s convenient for them. We are excited to launch additional topics later this year.
#HRCIFound: What can you do?
Follow us on social media. If you have an HRCI certification, be proud! You’ve earned it, and no one can take that away. Earn recertification credits at work and at events, sign up for one of our thought provoking webinars or download the latest episode of Inevitable: The Future of Work podcast. Earning those credits can feel arduous, but when you meet someone who shares those letters after your name, you can be confident that they put in just as much hard work as you did to maintain their credentials. HRCI doesn’t hand out certifications or recertification. You’ve gotta earn it.
Oh and start spreading the good, and real, news. We’re not dead. Quite the contrary, we have transformed our business. We are the HR certification organization with a purpose. We are wholly focused on you and the workforce of tomorrow to help people develop and realize their aspirations thereby making organizations and communities better, one certification, one micro-credential, one handshake and one human at a time.
P.S. In case you’re wondering about recert credits, SHRM did NOT submit this year’s conference for HRCI pre-approved credit. Not to fear, the entire conference can be self-reported and will be granted 16 General HR Credits (aPHR, aPHRi, PHR, PHRi). If you are looking for “specialized credits” you can’t double dip, but you can self-report the following:
Also, we invite you to join HRCI on June 27th from 3 – 4 pm ET as we answer all your questions on recertification with a focus on how to self report their conference credits. Register by visiting https://www.hrci.org/community/events