HRCP Blog

I spent a good part of the day yesterday reading and writing about employment branding. Here’s a bit of what I added to Unit 2: Workforce Planning and Employment of the HRCP Program:

As the labor market becomes increasingly competitive, employers apply strategies from marketing to help them compete for job applicants. Just as companies develop a recognizable brand to help position their products or services in the market, they attempt to “brand” themselves as an outstanding employer. Employment branding consists of projecting an image that makes people want to work for the company. This image is created through the company’s employment value proposition, another concept borrowed from marketing, which describes what the company has to offer its employees relative to the rewards offered by other places of employment.

When you think about it, getting your PHR or SPHR is a good step toward branding yourself as and outstanding employee. Being a certified human resource professional can strengthen your employee value proposition (yeah, I just made that up). It sets you apart as an individual with sufficient experience and knowledge to pass a comprehensive certification exam based on the vast body of knowledge that comprises the human resource field. So, if there is such a thing as employee branding, you’re on the right track.

This week I’ve been updating Unit 3 of the HRCP Program, which covers human resource development. I added a section about reporting training’s return on investment. It reads, in part:

Business managers expect to know the return they are getting for their investments. This is true of expenditures in training, just as is it for money invested in new equipment or technology. One of the ways human resource professionals can demonstrate the impact of training on the goals and objectives of an organization is by conducting return on investment (ROI) analysis and annually reporting the results to management, just as other business units report on their capital investments.

Such an annual report on training serves two important purposes. First, it justifies the training function by showing the value of training to the bottom line. Second, it helps the training department assess itself internally and make adjustments.

Training can be expensive, as those preparing for the PHR and SPHR exams can attest. If you combine the costs of study materials, review courses, and practice exams, and add the value of the study time invested, many HR certification exam candidates are spending several thousand dollars to get ready to take the exam. And that doesn’t include the fee for taking exam itself.

So, how can you get the best return on your PHR or SPHR preparation investment? Treat yourself like a business unit. Have specific study goals. Make reports to yourself on your progress. Squeeze every dollar’s worth out of your investment. Make sure you know what you need to know, then learn everything you can about it. Push yourself. Test yourself.

Oh, and pass. Most especially, pass the exam.

The chill in the air tells me that another year has hurtled past. Yes, the season is upon us. The season for giving. The season for renewal. The season for updating the Human Resource Certification Preparation Program.

We update our PHR and SPHR study materials every year. We collect information throughout the year on emerging human resource practices, on changes in employment laws and regulation, and on studies and statistics that are relevant to the field of human resource management. Now is the time to revise the text of the HRCP Program and incorporate the collected information into the 2008 edition, which is set to be printed, bound, and ready to ship by New Year’s Day. Over the next several weeks, I’ll be sharing some tidbits of information from our 2008 revisions.

Our birthday discount was such a hit, we’re going to extend it another week in celebration of Terri’s birthday. So, $50 off if you use BIRTHDAY as the discount code and order by November 10th.

Click here to order now.

Happy Birthday Terri!