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December 2007 Newsletter

Required Professional Competencies – Raising the Bar in Human Resources
James Pasternak

When Barbara Bowes was trying to build a national consensus in the 1990s, the process was frustrating, arduous and lengthy. But Ms. Bowes was not working on a constitutional issue, a transportation plan or voter mobilization. She was part of an initiative to create a national human resources designation and accreditation strategy.

“To be very frank some of the meetings were extremely contentious. I really now understand what the provincial ministers went through with the Meech Lake [Accord]. That’s how contentious it was,” said Ms. Bowes, president of Winnipeg, MB-based Bowes HR and former president of the Human Resources Management Association of Manitoba.

Although it was talked about for many years, the process to create a national human resources accreditation strategy began in earnest around 1994. The process continues. Over the past couple of years, human resources professionals across Canada have been surveyed in order to ensure the profession stays current and relevant.

Changes in the economy and society continue to drive reform. At the onset, the federal government of the day wanted to remove some of the inter-provincial and territorial barriers that slowed the movement of goods and personnel.

“Human Resources Development Canada was interested in removing barriers to inter-provincial mobility for professionals and trades. So they saw the need for national [human resources practitioner] standards…,” says Vic Catano, Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department at Saint Mary's University in Halifax. Mr. Catano also sits as Chair of the Independent Board of Examiners of the Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA), which sets criteria for the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) accreditation.

There were also continental economic structural changes. With the North American Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect in January, 1994, corporations were centralizing and harmonizing their human resources best practices and recruitment strategies.

At the same time, many provincial human resources representative organizations felt they had to combine resources and policies in order to obtain the legislative tools to regulate and discipline human resources professionals sought national voice.

“Many of the provinces did not have legislation for the HR professional designation. The difference between a profession that is legislated and one that is not is that we cannot discipline any of our members,” says Barbara Bowes.

Also, designation was so diverse on a provincial, territorial and regional level, the profession was hardly recognizable to colleagues across provincial borders.
“If the professional wanted to grow and develop there had to be some common denominator – when you said you are a CHRP, people would know what that stood for,” says Vic Catano.

In 1994, the CCHRA was founded. The CCHRA would be the governing organization for a national human resources practitioner accreditation which was officially called CHRP.

A Professional Standards Committee, comprised of leading academics in HR across Canada, was formed and extensive research was done through focus groups – beginning with interviews and group meetings of top professionals in the field to see what they dealt with and at what level.

Research found that there were 203 Required Professional Capabilities, which would later form the basis for the National Knowledge Exam and the National Professional Practice Assessment, key elements of the CHRP accreditation implemented by an Independent Board of Examiners (IBE).

One of the most contentious issues was whether CHRP candidates should be required to obtain a university degree. As early national CHRP test results showed that the most successful candidates had degrees, the degree requirement, which starts in 2011 - was formalized.

The profession has blossomed. Today the Ottawa-based CCHRA represents more than 17,000 professionals with the CHRP designation and 33,000 professionals collectively.

And in the past couple of years the Independent Board of Examiners has been taking a second look at the RPCs to ensure they are updated and relevant to today’s HR practitioner.

There is ongoing pressure on the industry in general and human resources to stay current.

“Through national recertification processes, we can ensure as that HR practitioners remain current in their chosen profession… [Moreover] the HR profession gains credibility through a solid national designation strategy, one that will help elevate the profession in the eyes of the general public and business,” says Diane Wiesenthal, president of the Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations.

The IBE asked each provincial human resources association to create at least one focus group that would review different sections of the RPCs with all the RPCs reviewed by at least two other focus groups. The groups were asked to determine if the existing RPCs were to be retained, deleted or modified.

Over 2,200 CHRPs across Canada were asked through a survey to review the final set of 187 RPCs. This will go to the CCHRA board for approval and be used in the development of future examinations. According to Vic Catano, it is anticipated that the May, 2008 exams will include the new RPCs.

“Our intent is to keep the exams fresh and relevant to the HR profession and that means there will be ongoing reviews of the RPCs,” says Mr. Catano.

Barbara Bowes sat out this most recent review but it doesn’t diminish her enthusiasm for constantly refreshing the human resources function.

“In order to continue providing value at the corporate table, it's critical the HR profession not just stay current, but rather, stay ahead of the game. This means being able to reach out and apply leading edge human resource strategies to help move our companies forward. In order to do this, our profession must continually evaluate and update our RPC's and adjust our professional credentials to meet the new needs,” says Ms. Bowes.