HR professionals now can earn recertification credit for creating blog posts covering HR-related subjects, the HR Certification Institute has announced.
The credit applies to video blogs and text blogs, and it meets the Institute’s requirements in the Research and Publishing recertification category for the following:
- Professional in Human Resources (PHR).
- Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).
- Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR).
- California Certification (PHR-CA and SPHR-CA).
Each blog post will be worth 0.5 recertification credit. A certified HR professional can receive a maximum of two credits per year and six credits total during a three-year recertification period.
Receiving recertification credit for writing HR-related blogs “is a reflection of the changing nature in which HR professionals share their professional knowledge with others,” the Institute notes on its blog site.
“Like many social media tools that are being adopted by the HR profession, the writing of educational blogs by HR professionals is a trend that is likely to grow. The HR Certification Institute wanted to get in front of this trend and be prepared for it,” the Institute said on its blog.
The policy was announced at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Leadership Conference in November 2010.
HR Certification Institute recertification supervisor Stephanie Runyan hopes that the new policy will spark HR professionals to “explore different avenues” toward earning certification and recertification credit.
“We’re excited to have more of a cutting-edge approach to certification and recertification in general,” Runyan said. “We’re hoping our members who are certified are going to catch on to this and see how great it can be.”
SHRM member Sharlyn Lauby, SPHR, who is a member of SHRM’s Membership Advisory Council, participated in an HR Certification Institute-led task force that provided insight for creating the new policy.
Lauby, president of HR consulting group ITM Group Inc., based in south Florida, has been writing her HR Bartender blog since 2008. She applauded the Institute for taking what she called a “bold step.”
“I believe the HR Certification Institute realizes good human resources content has value. Whether it’s published in print or online is immaterial,” she said in a news release.
“Let’s face it—sometimes ‘human resources’ and ‘early adopters’ are not in the same sentence together,” Lauby said. “The Institute recognizes that, in order to be successful in human resources, you have to be strategic about the future and take proactive steps to make that strategy a reality.”
Criteria
Criteria for receiving recertification credit for HR blogging:
- Blog posts must be 700 or more words on a subject related to the HR knowledge base for which the recertification category applies.
- Blog posts must contain facts and data. Blogs written in 2010 may be submitted for consideration.
- Blog posts must be posted on a site open to the public, whether it is the writer’s blog or is a guest blog post for another site, such as SHRM Connect.
- Links must be provided to posts in the submission for recertification.
The HR Certification Institute is a SHRM partner. There are more than 108,000 HR Certification Institute-certified HR professionals in 70 countries.
Eligibility requirements for certification became more stringent in 2011, requiring additional years of professional experience to qualify at each level.