PHR Human Resources Certification Exams


By Jacquelyn Donner

The Human Resource Certification Institute offers candidates the opportunity to take the PHR and SPHR exam to gain certification to increase their competitiveness in the workplace. The PHR and SPHR exams are not easy and you should not go into the exam unprepared. There are dozens of laws, regulations, employee plans, compensation methods, employee relations history, safety plans, motivation, leadership and everything covering employee relations. As a professional in Human Resources you must obtain re certification every 3 years because of constantly changing employee laws and rules. You must also earn a minimum of 60 continuing education hours to be verified by the institute.

Since business is about money, a companys ability to operate efficiently and control its costs is obviously important. But do not mistake low cost for impact. The question should be how efficiently the company is spending money while still meeting its strategic objectives. The problem is that many efficiency metrics are based on accounting systems that measure only the costs of HR practices. These metrics do not capture the costs of opportunity and talent value that are lost when useful HR programs are cut just to save money. A firm can compete better if its leaders truly understand its strategic objectives and pivot points, and make decisions that support them.

The complaint that HR is soft because companies cant measure its strategic impact is simply untrue. The opposite is more likely: A quick Web search on HR measurement will return tens of thousands of results. The problem is that these measures are not connected to and do not drive strategic decisions.

Few accounting measures focus on telling decision makers how well the accounting department is running its processes and services, yet most HR measures focus only on HR activities, not outcomes. To supplement the usual accounting measures, use a talent measurement system that enhances your strategic decisions. The four part LAMP (logic, analytics, measures, process) framework can help HR extend toward becoming a decision science that provides hard information about talent, data that firms can use to support key decisions.

Using this evaluation, particularly in the context of aligning pivot points, the human resources department can provide key decision-making data. Choose the assessments that matter to your company. If employee turnover is important, calculate and report it in a way that provides relevant information. Losing a few employees in a nonstrategic area or having poor performers leave is far less serious than the departure of critical engineers or top salespeople. Apply analytics to derive results that matter to the success of your business.

Making perfect decisions is not the goal of these tools any more than marketing, finance or accounting tools lead to perfect decisions. The goal is to improve strategic decision making and be able to make crucial decisions faster than the competition. Talent can be an agent of sustainable change. It doesnt have to wait for new strategies to emerge. Companies can use it now to improve existing strategies. Be bold, step forward and stay with it.



 
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phr certification offer to help you pass the PHR and SPHR exam on your first try. http://www.phrsphrtraining.com




Jacquelyn Donner, SPHR from http://www.ContentHere.com


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