Fourteen years ago, I transitioned from my military career into my second career as Human Resource Professional. Yes, there were directly transferable experiences and I had a fresh college degree from Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama — Bachelor of Science-Management of Human Resources. Education & experience can only transfer & translate so far. To develop competent confidence, I self-studied & passed the Professional in Human Resources certification.
I recertified twice. In 2008, I upgraded to the Senior Professional in Human Resources. Now, five years later, I’m wondering what might be next.
Fast Forward to the Present:
It’s good to be home again. Thursday afternoon, April 25, 2013 I left work by mid afternoon to drive to the Sheraton Hotel at the Bradley Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The purpose of this trip was to attend an ADP (payroll service provider User Group). The theme of this meeting was Health Care Reform (HCR). The intent was to present the payroll perspective and showcase available process tools for efficient implementation.
The workshops lasted all day. Each one was spot on.
While there, I had another Do or Be revelation. I am HR, I do payroll. That pesky difference of depth between doing v being. This was reinforced by the acknowledged presence of a American Payroll Association leadership. Not unlike the acknowledgement of SHRM Leadership at HR centric events.
There was also the encouragement of seeking payroll certification. Event literature promised valuable Recertification Credit Hours (RCH) for both payroll and HR. There was approval for payroll RCH, but no companion Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) Seal of Approval or event ID. Again, this was a payroll centric event.
The RCHs were approved for American Payroll Association (APA) Certified Payroll Profession (CPP) & the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) Certified Public Account.
I submitted five hours the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) for general recertification credits. This all got me thinking.
There could and should be affiliate complimentary partnerships established between HRCI, APA, & NASBA. This would be where certification hours are transferable. Perhaps this partnership already exists and isn’t as well known as it could be.
There are definite process partnerships between the HR disciplines of benefits, compliance & underlying compliance concerns and professional payroll competencies. In fact, I intend to research the requirements for the Certified Payroll Professional and strongly considering adding that certification to my professional qualifications.
My next professional growth goal may be to add BEing Payroll to BEing HR.
Another good conversation on the benefits of certification is on Sharlyn Lauby’s HR Bartender blog.
Using Certification to Advance Your Career.
Sharlyn says;
I know certification can do good things for your professional career. I don’t want to imply it won’t but I still believe that the reason a person should get certified and stay certified is because they want to. The letters after your name will always mean more to you than they do to anyone else.
As always, Stay Tuned.
Posted in HR, Maine
Tags: ADP, APA, Certification, CPA, CPP, HCR, Health Care Reform, HRCI, human resources, Maine, MEHRC13, NASBA, Payroll, PHR, SDP, SHRM, SPHR
