HRCP Blog

I recently received an invitation from HRCI to provide feedback on their proposed changes for PHR and SPHR certification.

The proposed new eligibility requirements for the PHR examination are:

• 4 years demonstrated exempt-level HR experience with less than a Bachelor’s degree
• 2 years demonstrated exempt-level HR experience with a Bachelor’s degree
• 1 year demonstrated exempt-level HR experience with a Master’s degree

The proposed new eligibility requirements for the SPHR credential are:

• 7 years demonstrated exempt-level HR experience without a Bachelor’s degree
• 5 years demonstrated exempt-level HR experience with a Bachelor’s degree
• 4 years demonstrated exempt-level HR experience with Master’s degree

My feedback to them was a resounding “YES!” I strongly favor these proposed changes. They address several issues I have had with the current eligibility requirements since they changed them some years ago. The two designations should not have the same eligibility requirements. That has never made any sense. I like that they value education, something the current requirements ignore. I believe that if these changes are implemented, it will strongly enhance the value of human resource certification, and I support the proposed changes, even though they could negatively impact my business, at least in the short run.

I have commented many times on the importance of practice in your PHR and SPHR exam preparation. (See, for example, “Does practice make perfect?”) The more practice questions you can review, the better. And the closer you can approximate the human resource certification exam environment, the more prepared you’ll be.

I should include a caveat, however: Most practice questions are written as a review for a particular set of study materials. Scoring well on such a practice test is good, and it shows that you know the study material, but it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll do well on the HR certification exam. In order for your knowledge of the subject matter to translate into success on the PHR and SPHR exams, you need to be able to effectively apply that knowledge to question that are written by different authors, with a different writing style, and sometimes using different terminology. The best way to accomplish this is to expose yourself to many different practice tests. Don’t limit yourself to those associated with your study materials.

There are many practice tests available, both free and for a fee. You should be able to find many resources with a web search. Here are some guidelines for selecting practice tests:

1. Choose tests from legitimate sources. By legitimate I mean legal (as in they don’t infringe someone’s copyright) and reliable (the source is reputable, a known HR expert).
2. Look for tests that provide feedback. An overall score is not very helpful in your study process. Practice tests that allow you to review, show which questions you missed, and provide explanations (such as our online practice test) are most useful.
3. Diversify. Choose a number of different sources. The actual HR certification exam questions are written by many, many different people. It’s a good idea to experience questions written by numerous authors.

This week’s question of the week on the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) website examines the significance of the “PHR Only” and “SPHR Only” designations in the HRCI body of knowledge. The information is worth repeating here:

Q. I am preparing to take the PHR exam in May, and I noticed that some areas covered in the HRCI body of knowledge are marked either “PHR Only” or “SPHR Only.” Why is this, and does it mean that I don’t need to know anything about the items marked “SPHR Only?”

A. When HRCI conducted its most recent practice analysis in 2005, the HR professionals who responded to our survey indicated that a few responsibility areas were performed chiefly by those at the PHR level and some others chiefly by those at the SPHR level. Therefore, exam questions that relate specifically to those job responsibilities were moved to the appropriate level exam.

This does not mean, however, that you may not need to know something about the related knowledge level or underlying concept. For example, in the Employee and Labor Relations functional area, responsibility #11 “Participate in collective bargaining activities, including contract negotiation and administration” is now marked SPHR ONLY. Therefore a question dealing with specific contract negotiation strategies or activities would appear on the SPHR exam. However, in the US, the National Labor Relations Act covers most collective bargaining agreements in the private sector. Therefore, the PHR exam might appropriately ask a question about the NLRA and its impact on the collective bargaining process, since it appears in Knowledge Area #48 of the body of knowledge.