HRCP Blog

We had a great time in Chicago! Despite the fact that our exhibit display never arrived, we had constant traffic at our booth, and we met dozens of people who are preparing for the HR certification exams. Each year, we find it necessary to clear up some pervasive misconceptions about HR certification. Many people are confused about the relationship between the HR Certification Institute (they’ll be known as HRCI no more, they said in Chicago) and the SHRM Learning System. We explain that while both organizations fall under the general SHRM umbrella, the SHRM Learning System is not produced by the HR Certification Institute. In fact, the SHRM Learning System is produced by Holmes Corporation, an outside, private company.

In Chicago, we got the inevitable question: Is the HRCP Program endorsed by the HR Certification Institute? We gladly tell people that no, it’s not. The HR Certification Institute does not endorse any product. No, not even the SHRM Learning System. I’ve quoted the HR Certification Institute website before, and I think it’s worth doing again:

What is the best approach to prepare for the exam? The certification exam is based on work experience. . . . We do not endorse any products nor maintain information on them.

Is it true that HRCI does not endorse the SHRM learning system? HRCI does not endorse any specific preparation method.

Why is the language so drastically different on the test than the learning material? There is no material that “teaches to the exam”. The two are developed indpendently. HRCI has nothing to do with the development of the Learning System. The exam questions come from HR professionals working in the field.

We had several people stop by our booth to thank us; they had passed their PHR or SPHR exam after using the HRCP Program to prepare. Congratulations to those who have passed, and good luck to those who’ll be taking the exam in the next few days.

We arrived safely in Chicago. Unfortunately, the display for our booth did not. We had shipped it ahead to the convention center, but it was delayed because of the flooding in the Midwest. Fortunately, we knew ahead that our exhibit wouldn’t be here, so we quickly created a poster and had it printed and mounted at Kinko’s. Our materials for distribution didn’t arrive either, so we had some half-sheet flyers printed as well. We were afraid that without our fancy-schmancy pop-up exhibit, we’d have trouble attracting people to our booth. That has not proven to be the case; we’ve a constant flow of visitors. If you’re here in Chicago, we’d love to see you, too. Come by booth 3841 at the SHRM Expo.

We’ll have a booth at SHRM’s annual conference and exposition later this month. The event will be held in Chicago this year, June 22-24. If you will be there too, come see us! We’ll be in booth number 3841 at the expo and hope that many of you will stop by to visit. If you’ll be in the Chicago area but aren’t registered for the SHRM conference, we can still get you in to the exposition. We have free expo-only passes available for the asking. Give us a call or send an email, and we’ll get you set up. Click here to contact us.

Hope to see you there!