Well, it’s done.  The 2010 HRPA annual conference & tradeshow. This is my fist full conference attendance in probably 8 years, and while I dropped in and out past years, I cannot say as any of the quality of sessions I saw in those years could cumulatively top what I saw this year.

First and foremost, Doug Keeley of Mark of a Leader, as the MC, did an awesome job being the glue for the event. Not only did he MC, but he brought interesting stories, motivated everyone, and got a few laughs along the way too. Doug is a very talented guy. Other keynotes included Jeff Tobe, Ali Velshi, Nick Bontis and a few others – all were very impressive.

From a session standpoint, I found myself mostly in compensation and legal sessions – the practical side of me took over. And, while I heard great things about other session on perfecting your powerpoint, or being creative, or understanding generation Y – I was not disappointed with any of the session presenters.

Finally, the trade show floor – while I was not in search of many services at this point this year – was very inclusive and brough some quality services to the show. The sponsors did a great job in presenting the keynotes and providing access to them for autographs or follow up after their presentations.

All in all a great show, and I hope the HRPA can keep it up for 2011 now that they have set the bar!

Session notes are online on the HRPA conference site until middle of February, so if you have not got yours yet, make sure you do.

So, I happened on over the the HRPA site today to get my exam results. (Yay… I passed the NPPA and have my CHRP designation now) And, what did I see splashed right at the top of the main page?

“HRPA is pleased to announce the Senior Human Resources Professional (SHRP) designation–a new HR designation reserved for senior HR executives that have made significant impact on their organizations and the profession.”

Well, if you recall back in June, I had an entry about the recent changes to the CHRP designation process and some comments that followed. In one of my comment responses I spoke about the following:

“If you recall back in the day, I believe that the HRPAO officially used the CHRM and the CHRP to signify varying stages of completion on the certification process. Perhaps the solution would be to have more than one recognized level of certification where the CHRP is the top tier indicating proficiencies in knowledge AND experience, while there is one or two levels below (perhaps a CHRM) that might indicate technical competence, but without the experiential component.”

What a great idea. While I was a little off in the titling of each of the levels, the basic concpt is there. This, however, does not change the fact that the CHRP is going back to experiential and now there is the new gold seal approved SHRP for well season and experience true HR leaders.

Guess that begs the question then… Should there be 3 levels? CHRM for theoretical knowledge (test based and maybe without the BA requirement), CHRP for experienced mid-level HR practitioners (perhaps having the CHRM plus the re-introduced experiential process) and the SHRP for the well-respected elite of HR (which, I do think is a great way to recognize, reward and respect those who have worked hard to further themselves, their companies and the profession).

While represented by different granting bodies, I have mentioned before that the financial profession has CGA, CMA and CAs. (pretty much in that ranking from lowest to highest) Why not us?

Guess I’ll dust off that crystal ball again and see what the future holds? Or, maybe I should go out now into the world with my fancy new CHRP designation and become involved with the people who make the decisions. Do I get re-cert points for doing that?

Back again… However, it is interesting that I have probably had more people start to follow my blog in my absence that I think I had sign up while I was actively posting. Or, maybe I’ve just been watching it more. In any case, now that I have started at my new company and am “back in the game” again, I am hoping to get back on top of current issues and keep the posts coming.

Top of mind for me right now is the flip flop that that HRPA is doing regarding practical qualifications for the CHRP designation. It is top of mind for me because I just wrote the May 2009 NPPA then read shortly after that the HRPA, after two more NPPA sittings, will be reverting back to the experience related practical requirement. While I understand that as a provincial professional body the HRPA went to the NPPA for national standardization, I would assume over the short time that the examination was in place, that a lot of controversy was raised regarding the validity of the designation based entirely on written examinations.

While in theory, the NPPA exam is based on practical experience, it is possible to write and pass that component having only studied and never held a position in a human resources function. So, let the debate begin… I’ve been in some recent forums dedicating bandwidth to both sides of this topic and there are two leading conversations happening – first, the experienced professionals agreeing with the move back to a practical assessment of professional experience; and, second, generally more junior individuals now clamouring to write one of the next two NPPA sittings to get the certification before an experiential requirement comes back into effect.

From a designation perspective, and providing a professional standard that employers and non-HR professionals can have confidence in, I think I lean more towards an assessed experiential requirement versus the written NPPA exam. While I understand the desire for individuals entering the HR professional to get a designation behind his/her name, I don’t think that in the long run the profession is gaining any ground by so easily granting designations without experience. Would you want a surgeon that has only studied textbooks and has not done internships and residencies? Would you want an engineer to design our skyscrapers when he/she does not have practical experience? What about chartered accountants having experience, your real estate lawyer having written prior contracts or the person who wired your house having gone through an apprenticeship program? I believe that the reputation of certified HR professionals have a standard to live up to and an obligation to employers to have a certain experience base that comes along with the designation. That is not to say that HR professionals without a designation are not valuable, but rather that a minimum of required professional experience be shown to ensure certified professionals bring the level of confidence that one would have of a doctor, a CA or a lawyer.

So… As the HRPA reintroduces the practical requirement to the CHRP, and I spew my comments and opinions above, let’s start the discussion on practical versus written.

It seems that being an HR professional these days is being more than just a “people person”. If you don’t believe so, refer back to such comments as seen in the Fast Company “Why We Hate HR” article. Do a search in my blog to find a post and copy of the article if you have not read either. In the article, there is a quote indicating that (let me paraphrase) if you want to help people, then get a job in the social services field. While HR deals with people, it is very much a function of business.

While I have taken the above entirely out of context, and it could be argued as true or too harsh on many different levels – let’s leave it at that for now. Point is, if you got into HR to simply help people, then you may find yourself in the wrong profession. Yes, part of the job can be that of counsellor or mentor, but these days, many HR people find themselves being a strategist, accountant (budgets), legal expert, negotiator, mediator, office manager, clerk and sometimes a programmer or IT expert. Specifically, I would like to focus this post on the amount of law that seems to continue to creep into the HR profession.

Why do I bring this up? The new #1search string landing traffic in my blog is for Bill 139, the 2008 (proposed) amendment to the Employment Standards Act. While I have already written about the amendment only a fwe short posts ago, I would like to focus a few brief words on effective ways for keeping yourself up to date on pertinent legislation. Essentially, to have a lot of this information come to you, so that you don’t need to go searching for it once it becomes a priority item for you… because you heard it on the news or because an employee brought it to your attention – or in a worst case scenario, because a government official comes knocking on your door with a compliance order.

First and foremost, there are industry publications which may be relied upon. For members of the HRPA in Canada, you have access to the regular delivery of a magazine covering all the hot issues of the day. Not fast enough? Then you can always subscribe to online feeds or attend chapter events. Aside from the professional associations, check with your external legal conusel – odds are that they publish a FREE e-mail newsletter for their clients and they would be happy to put you on the mailing list. If not, you can do a search to find firms that will put you on their list, even if you are not a client. I subscribe to a couple just to make sure I am covered. One, for example, is provided by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Finally, you can take advantage of all technology has to offer. Find blogs that are specific to employment law and subscribe to their RSS feeds.

The benefits of doing the above are not only to stay current on legislative changes, but also on case law. All of the law firm newsletters I mentioned will also send out updates on major case law decisions that may not change statutes, but may have findings or decisions which could set new precedent for future decision in the application of employment law – decisions which could impact proceeding you or your company have presently within the court system or may in the future.

Point is, be informed. HR is not what it used to be, and it requires more “maintenance” on personal and professional development that it ever has. Imagine if your doctor, accountant or personal lawyer did not keep current by reviewing each of their respective industry journals and publications? Please keep reading my blog for revelant information, and I am happy to keep bringing you interesting articles and information. But, I hope I have also provided you with some additional ideas and resources to help get information to you in a faster, more detailed and more reliable manner.

Last week I attended the annual (or, I think maybe even semi-annual) HRPAH and Sheridan College (or is it now Sheridan Institute of Advanced Learning and Technology?) joint networking event. Basically, an informal evening event that takes place over wine, cheese and crackers to allow local Halton chapter members to network with each other and with students. It’s hosted at Sheridan and sponsored mainly by the Halton HRPA chapter. As always, IMHO, this event was a huge success.

Personally, I caught up with some old acquaintances, connected with some new peers, and shared experiences with a large number of students in their second or final year. Additionally, although I am not hiring at my present company, it is a great opportunity for me to start connecting with up and coming HR talent for future entry level positions – especially those now in their second year!

And, I must say, that this years “crop” of students is very well spoken, well education, well dressed and genuinely interested in the HR profession. Almost every single student I spoke with was eager to hear about “real life” experiences and was seeking advice about how to best approach that first job, where to specialize or what skills they will really use in the workplace – or as I think I read it… “which classes do I really need to pay attention in, and which ones can I coast through”. But, I may have misinterpreted that notion. Either way, I told them to avoid John Hardisty like the plague! (Just kidding John – I told them they probably wouldn’t make it out alive if they didn’t keep up in your classes)

So, a couple of observations. My first is a bit of a pet peeve as it relates to modern networking events and a complete lack of effort – not just this one, but other recent events as well. Although I believe many of the students at this particular event are intelligent and appeared enthusiastic, they seemed to fall short when the rubber hit the road. To any student I spoke with, I left business cards and an open invite to connect and offered to be an ear or a resource even for classroom assignments and projects. I stressed the importance of building relationships NOW and fostering them for the future – not just pulling that business card out of a dark drawer in two years and making contact to only ask for a job. So, why a peeve? Well… how many e-mails or LinkedIn and Facebook invites do you think I got the next day, or even in the past couple days now that it has been almost a week?

Two!

Yes, that’s right. Two. Now, it could be me. I may have offended them, or left a bad impression. Honestly, maybe I did completely alienate on one or two of the very impressionable young students. But for the others, I’m not sure what’s up. Whether it’s apathy, laziness, busy-ness or something else going on in their lives. My advice for any up and coming HR professionals out there looking to connect and network - my door is always open and there’s always a coffee shop on the corner (at least in Southern Ontario anyways – I can see 3 from my office window right now). Take the opportunity to connect early and continue sharing knowledge and experiences.

And, until the next event – don’t disappoint. Maximize your effectiveness and build valuable relationships. Oh, and I will give honourable mention to John Freeman of Sheridan. Not only did he impress me with his honestly, intelligence, eagerness and a clear grasp on his goals in life – but he is also one of the few who took the time to connect with me last week! It was also great hearing from John about current course content and how cirriculum has changed since I took the program.