Although there are a number of designations HR professionals can have, the CHRP (Canadian human resource professional) is the most widely identified with the profession. But is it really worth having? Will a CHRP help you get a job or a raise — or is it more of a nice-to-have with little practical value?
Those questions were put to HR practitioners across the country, as well as recruiters, academics and executives who hire HR practitioners. What they had to say may surprise you.
When you’re looking for a job, whether or not a CHRP is an asset depends largely on who you are and where you are in your career — and the country.
Recruiters say that if you’re a senior HR exec, with good references and broad experience, the CHRP designation probably won’t even come up. Having one will be all but irrelevant; most likely the company trying to fill the spot will not even make it a requirement.
When provincial associations introduced professional accreditation (in most provinces less than five years ago) senior HR practitioners were allowed to gain accreditation under a “grandparent” clause that exempted them from having to take the exams. Some HR practitioners view a “grandparented” CHRP as different — and less — than one that is achieved through the normal channels, a combination of education and experience.
In any case, they say, it’s work history and expertise that count at the more senior levels, more than a professional designation.
“My experience has been that for a senior HR person the designation doesn’t make a difference,” says P. J. Fennell, managing director of Korn/Ferry International, an executive recruitment firm.
But it’s a whole different ballgame when you get below the $100,000-salary level. For candidates who are earlier in their careers, a CHRP could make a significant difference.
“It got me an interview (with my current employer),” says Patti Salvalaggio, the HR manager for Dominion Construction in Vancouver. She got her CHRP in 1995, and since then it has been opening doors for her. “It’s a recognition that you’ve achieved a certain level. If you can get your CHRP then you’ve achieved something.”
For younger HR practitioners, having the designation “takes some of the mystery out of the person’s qualifications,” says Fennell. “It permits an employer to feel comfortable that the person understands the basics of the HR function. In smaller, less sophisticated organizations it helps them know the person has some discipline and rigour and knowledge about what HR really is.”
More than that, the CHRP program itself is seen by the HR community as worthwhile education for younger HR professionals.
“If you’re committed to an HR career, why wouldn’t you take it?” asks Fennell. “There is an awful lot to be gained (by taking the program) — greater knowledge, greater comfort with the profession, exposure to a variety of different circumstances that they wouldn’t be exposed to necessarily in their own role… and international perspectives.” Recruiters and executives see CHRP as a sign that a young HR professional is committed to the profession.
That may be the case in Vancouver and Toronto, but as soon as you head east, the CHRP seems to lose some of its value. One HR vice-president in New Brunswick had never even heard of the designation.
Another HR executive, Bud Harbidge, says the CHRP is not available on Cape Breton, and is not generally well recognized in the Atlantic provinces.
“If you’re in a little community, where I am, it’s not a term (people are) familiar with,” says Harbidge, the vice-president of operations and human resources for Marine Atlantic Inc. “Ontario seems to be where the designation is most requested.”
The Canadian Council of Human Resource Associations (CCHRA) is the body that governs the CHRP. They’re well aware of the provincial discrepancies and for more than three years they’ve been working towards a national designation.
“What people have said they want, is something that says ‘this person can do what they say they can do,’” says George Raine, past president of the CCHRA. “The CHRP as it exists has come up short of that.”
In 1995, armed with money including a $400,000 grant from Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), the CCHRA formed the National Capabilities Committee (NCC). Members of the committee, including Raine, spent three years interviewing executives, HR professionals, recruiters and academics about what they’re looking for in a designation.
They determined that Canada’s HR community wants a national designation that identifies the holder as having the HR competencies — not just the education — required to do the job properly.
Although the committee’s five-year mandate has been completed, there is still no national HR designation in place. But at least everyone seems to be in agreement about what the designation should stand for, and that it should represent a combination of education and experience.
The NCC will reconvene this year with a new mandate and, they hope, more money from HRDC. The goal will be to create a Web-based virtual assessment centre where a CHRP-seeker could register, pay the fees and take the exams. They piloted the program last year in Nova Scotia, and, convinced the idea can work, will begin working this year with HR associations across the country to roll out the program.
Like CHRP, more specific HR designations such as the PPAC (pension plan administration certificate) and CEB (certificate of proficiency in employee benefits) for pension and benefits specialists, signify a career commitment. And because of the education required to obtain accreditation, holders may feel more confident in their jobs after receiving them, which may result in increased productivity, and ultimately a raise or a promotion.
“(The PPAC) is a very intense program but they come out of it with a very good background in pensions,” says Ted Patterson, director of the centre for employee benefits at Humber College in Toronto, which offers the CEB and PPAC programs.
“It is now becoming a condition of employment for many of the major pension funds,” he says. The 30-year-old program is delivered in four provinces, often on the employer’s premises. The programs, delivered as seminars over the course of three weeks, are taught by actuaries and pension lawyers.
Until now, however, no universities have offered a degree in HR. That will change next year, when York University launches its bachelor’s program in HR. In 2001 students can sign up to take the four-year program to get their B.HRM — Bachelor in Human Resources Management.
The course will begin with typical liberal arts courses in the first year such as psychology and sociology, covering more specific HR-related topics such as compensation, occupational health and safety and strategic HR in the following years.
The university cannot grant a CHRP designation (because of its experiential requirements), but students can apply credits from their courses towards the educational component.
“To have an entire degree devoted to HR says we’ve arrived,” says Monica Belcourt, an associate professor in human resources management at York. “It’s huge — it’s so exciting. Can you imagine?”
She supports the CHRP designation wholeheartedly, and says that in the near future it may be a required designation for all HR practitioners.
HR practitioners comment on the CHRP
Instruction better in Toronto. I’ve got one course left to go to get my CHRP. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. Because I’ve had such a varied career with so much experience and exposure to HR, I feel I’m bringing a lot to the table but I’m not ready to take a challenge exam. When I started the course, I didn’t feel comfortable that I had enough formal education. I wasn’t willing, especially on the accounting end, to walk into an unknown and I’m glad now I didn’t.
It’s a good refresher for me but I’m not learning anything new, that’s for sure. I find that being an HR manager of a very large company like this, it’s almost a little embarrassing for me to be there.
Can you think of an example? I just finished taking (the) health and safety (part of the program). Well, I run the health and safety program for 36 locations here. It’s a little frustrating for me.
The younger people I go to school with, I think it’s a wonderful designation for them, I really do. I think the level of instruction is excellent.
It is a good thing, but at the same time, for someone like me who is working full time in a fairly high level of HR, it’s hard to find the time (to take the courses).
When I first got into it I thought the designation would mean something at the back of my name. The original thought of this being a must-have — I’m not sure I feel that way any more. I don’t think someone would not be considered for a position anymore because they didn’t have a CHRP.
Because of my age, because I’m in my second career and have had so much opportunity in my career, I have gotten my experience hands-on and don’t necessarily need to go to school. I’m getting something out of it, but I would prefer to just write a challenge exam.
What is your background? I relocated to Toronto two years ago; I came from Essex County (in south-western Ontario). There is a significant difference in the level of instruction between Toronto and Essex County.
For instance, the second course I took, HR management (in Essex County), nothing against the instructor, but she was not the person who should have been teaching the course. I could almost have done a better job teaching that course.
The level of instruction in Toronto is far superior. The instructors here can talk to us about the exams and what’s important, what to concentrate on — whereas in the Essex County area I didn’t find they had that good solid knowledge of what’s going on.
Increasingly required
I think it’s useful and worthwhile. What is it does is standardize some of the requirements for an HR practitioner across the country and that’s a good thing.
I just got it a couple of months ago. It’s something that is increasingly asked for across the country, particularly in Ontario. It seems like every HR job that comes up requires it. I thought it was something that someone in my position should have.
Do you require new-hires to have a CHRP? It hasn’t been a requirement. Our last new-hire had one, and it made a difference. It demonstrated that the individual was keen on HR work and had the requirements necessary to get the designation.
Designation demonstrates knowledge
I think designations provide employers with some degree of comfort or knowledge that the people they’re hiring have achieved a certain level of knowledge about the field, so in that respect they do serve a purpose.
HR hasn’t gone as far as some other professions in terms of getting them incorporated into legislation.
I got my CHRP four years ago even though I’ve been in the field a long time — 26 years.
Do you require it of new-hires? I don’t require (new HR) people to have it but I certainly encourage people who are working for me who don’t have it, if they qualify for it, to consider applying for it. I think it’s a good designation to have.
CHRP needs national scope
I think there needs to be some standardization across the country. Anyone can call themselves an HR professional. If you’re in a province outside of Ontario, it can be very difficult.
I have been in the business for 25 years, at a VP level, negotiating collective agreements — but I don’t have the designation.
If you read the ads, they’re looking for a CHRP designation. If you’re a little community where I am, it’s not a term they’re familiar with.
I would like to see a Canadian designation that’s more national in scope, rather than having it mostly in central Canada.
In a small community like Cape Breton there isn’t a place you can go to get a designation.
Ontario seems to be where the designation is most requested. But if you go to jobs in Vancouver or here, they don’t require it as much.
A competitive edge
Certainly when we’re looking at entry-level people, it helps differentiate people who don’t have a lot of experience.
For people who are moving into specialist positions I see it as very important. A compensation person or someone involved with employee relations or staff development — anyone rising through and getting to the point where their colleagues look to them for advice. It’s a very good tool to help you progress.
It is the mark of someone who has dedicated themselves to the area of HR; a sign that you can expect at least a minimum of understanding so you’re not starting totally from square one.
Do you have a CHRP? Yes. I was grandparented. It’s a competitive edge in many ways.
Just attained CHRP
I just graduated (attaining my CHRP). I had the work experience, but not the formal education.
I know a lot of HR colleagues who don’t have the formal designation.
Gets you in the door
Having a CHRP has definitely opened bigger and better doors for me. It got me an interview (here at my current job). It gets you in the door for a lot more jobs. A lot of the ads are asking for it now — either a degree or a CHRP. It’s a recognition that you’ve achieved a certain level. If you can get your CHRP then you’ve achieved something.
It's a nice-to-have
Being here at this company for 14 years and not having that designation myself… for me it would be a matter of applying for it and getting that designation based on my experience. Do I want to go through all those hoops? I’m not sure it’s worth it, I’m not going to get anything more for it.
In looking at the career section of the papers, any type of HR position generally requires a degree and sometimes they do mention this designation but how much it’s worth in terms of getting the job I don’t know.
I think it’s a nice-to-have and gives you some recognition that you are in that professional role, but I don’t know if it gets you that role.
Do you require it of new-hires? I have a lady who reports to me who is going through the CEBS at this point. In terms of promotion and her growth I felt it was important for her to get it, to get her to the next level. The CEBS program involves a lot of theory, a lot of memory of things she’ll never use again. So she’s now going through the University of Calgary to take a more broad diploma/certificate program, but it’s an HR certificate.
More value for new HR specialists
I have my CHRP. I do see in certain ads that come out in the Winnipeg Free Press where they’ll seek that designation.
I see it as having more value for someone in the earlier part of their career development. I’ve been in the business a fair number of years so I’m at the end of my career development; for me it has limited value but for someone in the earlier stages of their career it would have more value.
Why did you get it? I was one of the first ones to get the CHRP in Manitoba — about six years ago. It was something no one had; I did it for no other reason than that it was available.
No need at upper levels
My son’s going into university to study HR so we just had this debate at home. If I was coming at it from an entry standpoint and the person I was going to hire had an ordinary undergraduate degree then I would insist on the CHRP. If I got somebody who had been studying HR in university and had HR courses under their belt, I would be less insistent on a designation. It would be more of a like-to-have than a must-have.
As distinct from when I entered the profession 25 years ago, we all came out of undergrad school with very little applicable training to HR. You had to learn everything from the ground up. Things have changed now. If you want practical HR training you can get it from HRPAO or some of the universities. If I have a straight undergrad degree without any HR then I’d look for some pragmatic training through the CHRP. If the person had university training, and hopefully courses certified by HRPAO, I wouldn’t necessarily require the CHRP.
Do you have CHRP? I went to do it twice, under the grandfather clause; both times I had to cancel out. The first time I was just too busy at work, too many things going on; the second time I was lead to believe it would be a straight interview (about my career) but the person I talked to made me believe it was more than that — more than an hour-or-two kind of conversation.
On that basis, when you get to this level you don’t need it. The headhunters, when they recruit you — anything above $150,000 — they’re looking for experience in a certain industry, they’re not looking for a degree.
Would I have liked to have had it, under the grandfather clause, like a few of my colleagues did? Certainly.
Real-life experience more important
I don’t have a whole lot of knowledge about the CHRP. I think it’s helpful if (HR candidates) have a designation but the primary driver is their experience.
In HR there’s a big difference between having a designation and making it work in real life with real people sitting across the table from you, and real issues to deal with. Track record in those areas is very important.
Designation doesn't mean competence
No, (a designation is not a necessity). My observation of the development of the thing — it is simply grandfathered for people who have been in the field a number of years. (For them) it doesn’t deal with competence at all, it deals with experience. With newer people it relates to the kind of developmental activities they’ve been involved in. It has no bearing on competence in the key skills — leadership skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills — some of the things we think are truly important for people in HR to possess.
I haven’t done a great deal of study on it, but these designations are given to people based on how many years they’ve been in the field or what training and development activities they have.
We don’t ask for it (from new-hires) at all. But if people have it, that’s fine.
Easier to recruit HR people
I think that it clearly sets the parameters around what knowledge someone has — they have this established knowledge. It makes it easier to recruit HR people, I think. Personally, I don’t have it. I’m working towards it; I’m a third of the way educationally (but have enough experience).
I’ve been in HR about 15 years. I didn’t get around to taking advantage of the grandparenting clause.
Not as popular in Quebec
No, I haven’t got my CHRP. Why? That’s a good question. I’ve never had time to think about it. I don’t feel a need to have it.
Do you require new-hires to have accreditation? No, we basically look at their education, past experience — we’re not really looking for the professional certification. That kind of certification is more important in the States from what I hear. Here in Quebec it’s not that popular. Not many people put any emphasis on it.
What do you look for in new-hires for your HR department? A bachelor’s degree and a certain minimum number of years of experience in a specific area —labour relations, for instance. If we’re looking at a generalist, autonomy — the ability to work on their own. That would come from their education and past experience. Whether they can rely on their own abilities and take projects from A to Z.
It's raising the standards of HR
I think it is necessary. It’s raising the standards of the HR profession. For me, if I were to hire an HR manager, I would like them to have a designation… I would have assurance that I just didn’t get someone off the street who says they know HR but really doesn’t.
Do you have a designation? I have my CHRP and my CPP, the public designation, Canadian personnel professional. The reason I decided to get a designation is to be able to have credibility. I came from the States and I know the U.S. environment but in order for me to have credibility and be accepted in the Canadian environment, I (needed to get my CHRP).
CMA important in payroll
In payroll we’ve got the Canadian Payroll Association and there are courses and designations you can take with them. It’s a value to have a designation.
Do you have a designation? I’m a CMA. Being a CMA definitely helps in the payroll field. By having more of an accounting background, I’m better able to deal with the issues that come up. There are often accounting or budgeting implications (to our work in payroll). If I didn’t have that type of educational background I think I’d be at a disadvantage when I’m trying to do my job.
Those questions were put to HR practitioners across the country, as well as recruiters, academics and executives who hire HR practitioners. What they had to say may surprise you.
When you’re looking for a job, whether or not a CHRP is an asset depends largely on who you are and where you are in your career — and the country.
Recruiters say that if you’re a senior HR exec, with good references and broad experience, the CHRP designation probably won’t even come up. Having one will be all but irrelevant; most likely the company trying to fill the spot will not even make it a requirement.
When provincial associations introduced professional accreditation (in most provinces less than five years ago) senior HR practitioners were allowed to gain accreditation under a “grandparent” clause that exempted them from having to take the exams. Some HR practitioners view a “grandparented” CHRP as different — and less — than one that is achieved through the normal channels, a combination of education and experience.
In any case, they say, it’s work history and expertise that count at the more senior levels, more than a professional designation.
“My experience has been that for a senior HR person the designation doesn’t make a difference,” says P. J. Fennell, managing director of Korn/Ferry International, an executive recruitment firm.
But it’s a whole different ballgame when you get below the $100,000-salary level. For candidates who are earlier in their careers, a CHRP could make a significant difference.
“It got me an interview (with my current employer),” says Patti Salvalaggio, the HR manager for Dominion Construction in Vancouver. She got her CHRP in 1995, and since then it has been opening doors for her. “It’s a recognition that you’ve achieved a certain level. If you can get your CHRP then you’ve achieved something.”
For younger HR practitioners, having the designation “takes some of the mystery out of the person’s qualifications,” says Fennell. “It permits an employer to feel comfortable that the person understands the basics of the HR function. In smaller, less sophisticated organizations it helps them know the person has some discipline and rigour and knowledge about what HR really is.”
More than that, the CHRP program itself is seen by the HR community as worthwhile education for younger HR professionals.
“If you’re committed to an HR career, why wouldn’t you take it?” asks Fennell. “There is an awful lot to be gained (by taking the program) — greater knowledge, greater comfort with the profession, exposure to a variety of different circumstances that they wouldn’t be exposed to necessarily in their own role… and international perspectives.” Recruiters and executives see CHRP as a sign that a young HR professional is committed to the profession.
That may be the case in Vancouver and Toronto, but as soon as you head east, the CHRP seems to lose some of its value. One HR vice-president in New Brunswick had never even heard of the designation.
Another HR executive, Bud Harbidge, says the CHRP is not available on Cape Breton, and is not generally well recognized in the Atlantic provinces.
“If you’re in a little community, where I am, it’s not a term (people are) familiar with,” says Harbidge, the vice-president of operations and human resources for Marine Atlantic Inc. “Ontario seems to be where the designation is most requested.”
The Canadian Council of Human Resource Associations (CCHRA) is the body that governs the CHRP. They’re well aware of the provincial discrepancies and for more than three years they’ve been working towards a national designation.
“What people have said they want, is something that says ‘this person can do what they say they can do,’” says George Raine, past president of the CCHRA. “The CHRP as it exists has come up short of that.”
In 1995, armed with money including a $400,000 grant from Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), the CCHRA formed the National Capabilities Committee (NCC). Members of the committee, including Raine, spent three years interviewing executives, HR professionals, recruiters and academics about what they’re looking for in a designation.
They determined that Canada’s HR community wants a national designation that identifies the holder as having the HR competencies — not just the education — required to do the job properly.
Although the committee’s five-year mandate has been completed, there is still no national HR designation in place. But at least everyone seems to be in agreement about what the designation should stand for, and that it should represent a combination of education and experience.
The NCC will reconvene this year with a new mandate and, they hope, more money from HRDC. The goal will be to create a Web-based virtual assessment centre where a CHRP-seeker could register, pay the fees and take the exams. They piloted the program last year in Nova Scotia, and, convinced the idea can work, will begin working this year with HR associations across the country to roll out the program.
Like CHRP, more specific HR designations such as the PPAC (pension plan administration certificate) and CEB (certificate of proficiency in employee benefits) for pension and benefits specialists, signify a career commitment. And because of the education required to obtain accreditation, holders may feel more confident in their jobs after receiving them, which may result in increased productivity, and ultimately a raise or a promotion.
“(The PPAC) is a very intense program but they come out of it with a very good background in pensions,” says Ted Patterson, director of the centre for employee benefits at Humber College in Toronto, which offers the CEB and PPAC programs.
“It is now becoming a condition of employment for many of the major pension funds,” he says. The 30-year-old program is delivered in four provinces, often on the employer’s premises. The programs, delivered as seminars over the course of three weeks, are taught by actuaries and pension lawyers.
Until now, however, no universities have offered a degree in HR. That will change next year, when York University launches its bachelor’s program in HR. In 2001 students can sign up to take the four-year program to get their B.HRM — Bachelor in Human Resources Management.
The course will begin with typical liberal arts courses in the first year such as psychology and sociology, covering more specific HR-related topics such as compensation, occupational health and safety and strategic HR in the following years.
The university cannot grant a CHRP designation (because of its experiential requirements), but students can apply credits from their courses towards the educational component.
“To have an entire degree devoted to HR says we’ve arrived,” says Monica Belcourt, an associate professor in human resources management at York. “It’s huge — it’s so exciting. Can you imagine?”
She supports the CHRP designation wholeheartedly, and says that in the near future it may be a required designation for all HR practitioners.
HR practitioners comment on the CHRP
Instruction better in Toronto. I’ve got one course left to go to get my CHRP. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. Because I’ve had such a varied career with so much experience and exposure to HR, I feel I’m bringing a lot to the table but I’m not ready to take a challenge exam. When I started the course, I didn’t feel comfortable that I had enough formal education. I wasn’t willing, especially on the accounting end, to walk into an unknown and I’m glad now I didn’t.
It’s a good refresher for me but I’m not learning anything new, that’s for sure. I find that being an HR manager of a very large company like this, it’s almost a little embarrassing for me to be there.
Can you think of an example? I just finished taking (the) health and safety (part of the program). Well, I run the health and safety program for 36 locations here. It’s a little frustrating for me.
The younger people I go to school with, I think it’s a wonderful designation for them, I really do. I think the level of instruction is excellent.
It is a good thing, but at the same time, for someone like me who is working full time in a fairly high level of HR, it’s hard to find the time (to take the courses).
When I first got into it I thought the designation would mean something at the back of my name. The original thought of this being a must-have — I’m not sure I feel that way any more. I don’t think someone would not be considered for a position anymore because they didn’t have a CHRP.
Because of my age, because I’m in my second career and have had so much opportunity in my career, I have gotten my experience hands-on and don’t necessarily need to go to school. I’m getting something out of it, but I would prefer to just write a challenge exam.
What is your background? I relocated to Toronto two years ago; I came from Essex County (in south-western Ontario). There is a significant difference in the level of instruction between Toronto and Essex County.
For instance, the second course I took, HR management (in Essex County), nothing against the instructor, but she was not the person who should have been teaching the course. I could almost have done a better job teaching that course.
The level of instruction in Toronto is far superior. The instructors here can talk to us about the exams and what’s important, what to concentrate on — whereas in the Essex County area I didn’t find they had that good solid knowledge of what’s going on.
Increasingly required
I think it’s useful and worthwhile. What is it does is standardize some of the requirements for an HR practitioner across the country and that’s a good thing.
I just got it a couple of months ago. It’s something that is increasingly asked for across the country, particularly in Ontario. It seems like every HR job that comes up requires it. I thought it was something that someone in my position should have.
Do you require new-hires to have a CHRP? It hasn’t been a requirement. Our last new-hire had one, and it made a difference. It demonstrated that the individual was keen on HR work and had the requirements necessary to get the designation.
Designation demonstrates knowledge
I think designations provide employers with some degree of comfort or knowledge that the people they’re hiring have achieved a certain level of knowledge about the field, so in that respect they do serve a purpose.
HR hasn’t gone as far as some other professions in terms of getting them incorporated into legislation.
I got my CHRP four years ago even though I’ve been in the field a long time — 26 years.
Do you require it of new-hires? I don’t require (new HR) people to have it but I certainly encourage people who are working for me who don’t have it, if they qualify for it, to consider applying for it. I think it’s a good designation to have.
CHRP needs national scope
I think there needs to be some standardization across the country. Anyone can call themselves an HR professional. If you’re in a province outside of Ontario, it can be very difficult.
I have been in the business for 25 years, at a VP level, negotiating collective agreements — but I don’t have the designation.
If you read the ads, they’re looking for a CHRP designation. If you’re a little community where I am, it’s not a term they’re familiar with.
I would like to see a Canadian designation that’s more national in scope, rather than having it mostly in central Canada.
In a small community like Cape Breton there isn’t a place you can go to get a designation.
Ontario seems to be where the designation is most requested. But if you go to jobs in Vancouver or here, they don’t require it as much.
A competitive edge
Certainly when we’re looking at entry-level people, it helps differentiate people who don’t have a lot of experience.
For people who are moving into specialist positions I see it as very important. A compensation person or someone involved with employee relations or staff development — anyone rising through and getting to the point where their colleagues look to them for advice. It’s a very good tool to help you progress.
It is the mark of someone who has dedicated themselves to the area of HR; a sign that you can expect at least a minimum of understanding so you’re not starting totally from square one.
Do you have a CHRP? Yes. I was grandparented. It’s a competitive edge in many ways.
Just attained CHRP
I just graduated (attaining my CHRP). I had the work experience, but not the formal education.
I know a lot of HR colleagues who don’t have the formal designation.
Gets you in the door
Having a CHRP has definitely opened bigger and better doors for me. It got me an interview (here at my current job). It gets you in the door for a lot more jobs. A lot of the ads are asking for it now — either a degree or a CHRP. It’s a recognition that you’ve achieved a certain level. If you can get your CHRP then you’ve achieved something.
It's a nice-to-have
Being here at this company for 14 years and not having that designation myself… for me it would be a matter of applying for it and getting that designation based on my experience. Do I want to go through all those hoops? I’m not sure it’s worth it, I’m not going to get anything more for it.
In looking at the career section of the papers, any type of HR position generally requires a degree and sometimes they do mention this designation but how much it’s worth in terms of getting the job I don’t know.
I think it’s a nice-to-have and gives you some recognition that you are in that professional role, but I don’t know if it gets you that role.
Do you require it of new-hires? I have a lady who reports to me who is going through the CEBS at this point. In terms of promotion and her growth I felt it was important for her to get it, to get her to the next level. The CEBS program involves a lot of theory, a lot of memory of things she’ll never use again. So she’s now going through the University of Calgary to take a more broad diploma/certificate program, but it’s an HR certificate.
More value for new HR specialists
I have my CHRP. I do see in certain ads that come out in the Winnipeg Free Press where they’ll seek that designation.
I see it as having more value for someone in the earlier part of their career development. I’ve been in the business a fair number of years so I’m at the end of my career development; for me it has limited value but for someone in the earlier stages of their career it would have more value.
Why did you get it? I was one of the first ones to get the CHRP in Manitoba — about six years ago. It was something no one had; I did it for no other reason than that it was available.
No need at upper levels
My son’s going into university to study HR so we just had this debate at home. If I was coming at it from an entry standpoint and the person I was going to hire had an ordinary undergraduate degree then I would insist on the CHRP. If I got somebody who had been studying HR in university and had HR courses under their belt, I would be less insistent on a designation. It would be more of a like-to-have than a must-have.
As distinct from when I entered the profession 25 years ago, we all came out of undergrad school with very little applicable training to HR. You had to learn everything from the ground up. Things have changed now. If you want practical HR training you can get it from HRPAO or some of the universities. If I have a straight undergrad degree without any HR then I’d look for some pragmatic training through the CHRP. If the person had university training, and hopefully courses certified by HRPAO, I wouldn’t necessarily require the CHRP.
Do you have CHRP? I went to do it twice, under the grandfather clause; both times I had to cancel out. The first time I was just too busy at work, too many things going on; the second time I was lead to believe it would be a straight interview (about my career) but the person I talked to made me believe it was more than that — more than an hour-or-two kind of conversation.
On that basis, when you get to this level you don’t need it. The headhunters, when they recruit you — anything above $150,000 — they’re looking for experience in a certain industry, they’re not looking for a degree.
Would I have liked to have had it, under the grandfather clause, like a few of my colleagues did? Certainly.
Real-life experience more important
I don’t have a whole lot of knowledge about the CHRP. I think it’s helpful if (HR candidates) have a designation but the primary driver is their experience.
In HR there’s a big difference between having a designation and making it work in real life with real people sitting across the table from you, and real issues to deal with. Track record in those areas is very important.
Designation doesn't mean competence
No, (a designation is not a necessity). My observation of the development of the thing — it is simply grandfathered for people who have been in the field a number of years. (For them) it doesn’t deal with competence at all, it deals with experience. With newer people it relates to the kind of developmental activities they’ve been involved in. It has no bearing on competence in the key skills — leadership skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills — some of the things we think are truly important for people in HR to possess.
I haven’t done a great deal of study on it, but these designations are given to people based on how many years they’ve been in the field or what training and development activities they have.
We don’t ask for it (from new-hires) at all. But if people have it, that’s fine.
Easier to recruit HR people
I think that it clearly sets the parameters around what knowledge someone has — they have this established knowledge. It makes it easier to recruit HR people, I think. Personally, I don’t have it. I’m working towards it; I’m a third of the way educationally (but have enough experience).
I’ve been in HR about 15 years. I didn’t get around to taking advantage of the grandparenting clause.
Not as popular in Quebec
No, I haven’t got my CHRP. Why? That’s a good question. I’ve never had time to think about it. I don’t feel a need to have it.
Do you require new-hires to have accreditation? No, we basically look at their education, past experience — we’re not really looking for the professional certification. That kind of certification is more important in the States from what I hear. Here in Quebec it’s not that popular. Not many people put any emphasis on it.
What do you look for in new-hires for your HR department? A bachelor’s degree and a certain minimum number of years of experience in a specific area —labour relations, for instance. If we’re looking at a generalist, autonomy — the ability to work on their own. That would come from their education and past experience. Whether they can rely on their own abilities and take projects from A to Z.
It's raising the standards of HR
I think it is necessary. It’s raising the standards of the HR profession. For me, if I were to hire an HR manager, I would like them to have a designation… I would have assurance that I just didn’t get someone off the street who says they know HR but really doesn’t.
Do you have a designation? I have my CHRP and my CPP, the public designation, Canadian personnel professional. The reason I decided to get a designation is to be able to have credibility. I came from the States and I know the U.S. environment but in order for me to have credibility and be accepted in the Canadian environment, I (needed to get my CHRP).
CMA important in payroll
In payroll we’ve got the Canadian Payroll Association and there are courses and designations you can take with them. It’s a value to have a designation.
Do you have a designation? I’m a CMA. Being a CMA definitely helps in the payroll field. By having more of an accounting background, I’m better able to deal with the issues that come up. There are often accounting or budgeting implications (to our work in payroll). If I didn’t have that type of educational background I think I’d be at a disadvantage when I’m trying to do my job.
