Now that you're SHRM-certified, sustain your credential through recertification. Attain, then maintain. Move your mindset toward lifelong learning. Acquire the attitude of forever going forward. By advancing your education, your organization and your profession, you'll also advance your career, your confidence and your opportunities.
It is just as important to plan your recertification journey as it was to plan your certification journey. You'll find all the details of how to go about it in the SHRM Recertification Handbook.
SHRM recertification requires credential-holders to earn 60 professional development credits (PDCs) within three years. Each three-year recertification cycle begins on the day you earn your credential and ends three years later on the last day of the month in which you were born. (Example: You become certified on June 1, 2024; your birthday is Dec. 24; your initial three-year recertification cycle ends on Dec. 31, 2027.) You'll enter the PDCs that you earn in your SHRM Certification Portal.
Recertification is easy to achieve because there are many options available for earning credits. Qualifying activities for which PDCs are awarded fall into three categories: Advance Your Education, Advance Your Organization and Advance Your Profession.
- Advance Your Education. You can earn all 60 of your required PDCs per three-year recertification cycle through continuing education—instructor-led or self-directed, experienced in person or online. In addition to the numerous SHRM educational programs (seminars, webcasts, e-learning, etc.), conferences, specialty credentials and SHRM Foundation certificates that award PDCs, there are thousands of professional development programs available from SHRM-preferred recertification providers who are pre-approved to offer PDCs as well. There's even a list of books you can read and report on to qualify for credits!
- Advance Your Organization. You can earn up to 30 PDCs per three-year recertification cycle by completing work projects at your organization (involving 40-plus, 80-plus or 120-plus hours of work) that align with one of the nine behavioral competencies or 14 HR functional areas described in the SHRM BASK. Think synergistically: Participate in a SHRM educational program (and earn PDCs), then apply what you learn to complete a project at your workplace (and earn more PDCs).
- Advance Your Profession. You can also earn up to 30 PDCs per three-year recertification cycle for various activities that contribute to the continued development of the HR profession, including creating and delivering presentations; research, writing and publishing; doing volunteer work on HR-related initiatives for nonprofits; joining HR-related membership organizations; and more. Eligible activities are listed in a drop-down menu in your portal account.
Additional Features of the Recertification Program
Some qualifying recertification activities may be free of charge, but most require fees. This is another reason to develop a plan for maintaining your hard-earned SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP credential.
Fee-based activities usually charge lower rates for SHRM members than for nonmembers. In addition to such discounts, when you have a national SHRM membership and use the same single-sign-on e-mail address for qualifying SHRM activities, SHRM will automatically record those PDCs in your portal account for you—one less thing to think about.
You must complete your requirement of earning 60 PDCs before your three-year recertification cycle ends on the last day of your birth month. But if life gets in the way, it's possible to renew within a short grace period and pay a late fee.
You also have the option to recertify early, as soon as a year after the beginning of your three-year recertification cycle. Many SHRM-certified professionals who are very active recertify early, with the added benefit of extending their next cycle.
You can also carry over up to 20 PDCs into your next three-year recertification cycle.
Check out all the nuts and bolts of these features in the Recertification Handbook.
SHRM looks forward to supporting your professional development as your career partner for many years. For questions and information, e-mail shrmcertification@shrm.org or call 1-800-283-7476 Option 3 (or 1-703-548-3440 Option 3).
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