a u d i oc r a s hc o u r s e tm
F o l l o wA l o n gM a n u a l
SHRM CP Exam
TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Introduction .......................................................................... 1 Course Conventions and Content .................................................................................... 3 Chapter Two: The SHRM-CP Exam.............................................................. 8 The Beginning of a Great Career ..................................................................................... 8 The SHRM-CP Exam ...................................................................................................... 11 Eligibility, Registration, and Scheduling ....................................................................... 13 Exam Preparation .......................................................................................................... 19 Test Center Regulations ................................................................................................. 21 Examination Results and Retake Policies ..................................................................... 23 Quiz ................................................................................................................................ 27 Key Takeaways ............................................................................................................... 28 Chapter Three: Behavioral Competency Clusters ...................................... 30 The Leadership Cluster .................................................................................................. 31 The Interpersonal Cluster .............................................................................................. 32 The Business Cluster ...................................................................................................... 34 Quiz ................................................................................................................................ 36 Key Takeaways ............................................................................................................... 37 Chapter Four: Behavioral Competency Cluster One - Leadership .............. 39 Leadership and Navigation ............................................................................................ 40 Navigating the Organization ...................................................................................... 41 Vision .......................................................................................................................... 42 Managing HR Initiatives ............................................................................................ 43 Influence ..................................................................................................................... 44 Ethical Practice .............................................................................................................. 45
Personal Integrity ....................................................................................................... 47 Professional Integrity ................................................................................................. 47 Ethical Agent .............................................................................................................. 48 Quiz ................................................................................................................................ 51 Key Takeaways ............................................................................................................... 52 Chapter Five: Behavioral Competency Cluster Two, The Interpersonal Cluster ...................................................................................................... 54 Relationship Management ............................................................................................. 55 Communication.............................................................................................................. 60 Global and Cultural Effectiveness ................................................................................. 64 Quiz ................................................................................................................................ 69 Key Takeaways ............................................................................................................... 70 Chapter Six: Behavioral Competency Cluster Three - The Business Cluster72 Business Acumen ........................................................................................................... 73 Consultation ................................................................................................................... 77 Critical Evaluation ......................................................................................................... 82 Quiz ................................................................................................................................ 87 Key Takeaways ...............................................................................................................88 Chapter Seven: Technical Competency HR Expertise ................................ 90 Computer Literacy ......................................................................................................... 91 Typing and Data Entry ............................................................................................... 92 Operating System Basics ............................................................................................ 92 Computer Communications ....................................................................................... 92 Creative Thinking ........................................................................................................... 93 Data Management .......................................................................................................... 93 Policies and Planning ..................................................................................................... 94 Equipment and Program Knowledge ............................................................................ 95
Technical Capabilities .................................................................................................... 96 Quiz ................................................................................................................................ 97 Key Takeaways ............................................................................................................... 98 Chapter Eight: Technical Competency HR Expertise One ........................ 100 HR Strategic Planning..................................................................................................... 100 Quiz ............................................................................................................................... 113 Key Takeaways .............................................................................................................. 114 Chapter Nine: Technical Competency HR Expertise Two - Organization... 115 Quiz .............................................................................................................................. 128 Key Takeaways ............................................................................................................. 129 Chapter Ten: Technical Competency HR Expertise Three - Workplace ..... 131 The global context of HR .............................................................................................. 131 Diversity and Inclusion ................................................................................................ 136 Risk Management .........................................................................................................137 Corporate Social Responsibility................................................................................... 139 US Employment Law and Regulations ........................................................................ 140 Quiz .............................................................................................................................. 144 Key Takeaways ............................................................................................................. 145 You Passed, What’s Next? ....................................................................... 146 Final Exam .............................................................................................. 150 Conclusion: Thank You! ...........................................................................152 Follow Along Manual .............................................................................. 159
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Welcome to this audio course on preparing to become a certified human-resources professional! I will guide you through the course material. You’re probably listening to this course for any one of a number of reasons: You may have made the decision to become certified as a human-resources professional and are likely preparing for the written exam. In addition to the exam, you may simply want to know about all other hiring requirements as you enter the HR field. Maybe you are just contemplating becoming a human-resources professional and want to discover potential career options. It could also be that you want some specifics about what a job in HR entails. Whatever the case may be, I want to congratulate you on choosing such a potentially rewarding career path. After listening to this course, you will be prepared for the written Human-resources Professional certification exam. Additionally, you will have a solid understanding of the steps you need to take as you search for and secure a position in the human-resources field. In any competitive business environment, companies or institutions must hire the right people; effective hiring practices lead to a productive workforce vital to the organization's success in meeting its goals. This is where Human-resources, or HR professionals, are required, if not essential. HR professionals guide companies through a variety of tasks. Such tasks include effectively hiring and training employees, promoting a positive work environment, and motivating employees with benefits packages and other incentives. HR professionals in an organization have special areas of expertise. These include compensation and benefits, analyzing job roles, and conducting workforce training and development. The most important role is, of course, recruiting and placing employees. As in every field, the need for expertise or special competencies to perform important duties is vital to a company's success. This, regardless of the size of the company, or the opportunities that exist within it.
1
The roles of the HR professional may vary a bit from one organization to another. Overall though, these are the individuals who help an organization meet its intended goals through the acquisition and management of a sound workforce. As an HR professional, you will discover that no two days are the same. Thanks to the ever changing conditions in the global market, new, sometimes unfamiliar tasks must be completed as quickly as possible. Those working in HR need special technical competencies that may help them along in their careers. An HR technical competency is defined as a combination of observable and measurable knowledge. This includes abilities, personal attributes, and skills which are used to enhance employee performance and, ultimately, the success of an organization. In this audio course, I will help you to develop a clear understanding of what HR technical competencies are; throughout the course, I will define the various aspects within the human-resources field that the term, ‘technical competencies’ covers. An individual must be knowledgeable about various aspects of HR to pass the SHRM-CP certification examination. By the way, the long version of that is the Society of Humanresources Management Certified Professional exam. Either way, it's a mouthful! The SHRM-CP certification exam is a computer based test composed of an intense four hour session. The test consists of one hundred and sixty multiple choice questions, including both stand alone and scenario based questions. The test will help confirm that you have the skill set required to become a certified HR professional. The SHRM-CP exam assesses your problem solving abilities and measures your competency in applying HR knowledge to real life situations. You must meet some eligibility requirements before you can even take the exam. If you meet these requirements and pass the written exam, you are now a certified SHRM professional. I’ll go into more detail about eligibility in chapter two. But let me give you just a brief summary now. First off, you need some work experience in HR. The amount of experience depends on your level of education. If you have less than a bachelor’s degree, you need three to four years’ direct HR experience. Less than a bachelor's degree means an associate degree or
2
a certificate. If your degree relates to HR, you need three years’ HR experience. If it does not relate to HR, you need four years’ HR work experience. If you have a bachelor’s degree related to HR, you need one year of work experience. If your degree is not related to HR, you need two years’ experience. Finally, if you have a graduate degree related to HR, you need no prior work experience to become certified. If you have a graduate degree that’s not related to HR, you need only one year's experience in an HR role. There are other eligibility criteria, and I’ll explain them in the next chapter. SHRM certification lasts for three years. You must recertify before the end of your certification cycle. To recertify, you have two options. You can complete sixty professional development credits within the three year period. Alternatively, you can retake the test within the final year of this period. In a little bit, I will give you a brief overview of this course. Before I do, I want to tell you about what you can expect as we go through the material together. Thank you, again, for your interest in this course and for your desire to help people meet their work and career goals. If you are ready, let’s begin.
COURSE CONVENTIONS AND CONTENT Welcome to the section on the course conventions and content! When I say course conventions, I mean concepts and methods I will use to present material to you. The course is divided up into several chapters. Many of those chapters are split up into smaller sections. Each time I start a new section or chapter, I will give you its name. During the course, I will present small quizzes to you. You will find the quiz material in the Follow-along PDF Manual. I will discuss that a bit later. Take the quiz and consult the answer key to see how well you are retaining the course material. Alternatively, I will discuss the correct answers in the lectures. You can then pause the audio, take the quiz, and listen for the correct answers after resuming the audio. Quizzes are typically found near the end of a chapter and consist of ten questions.
3
To help you summarize and retain as much information as possible, I will finish every chapter with a list of takeaways the most important points to remember from the chapter. There will typically be ten of these important points. At the end of short chapters, though, I may limit it to five or any number between one and ten. I mentioned a Follow-along PDF Manual a bit earlier. Each AudioLearn course comes with a companion study guide, a Follow-along PDF Manual. You can print out the material or read it in digital format. The choice is yours. These manuals contain summaries of important material as well as links to supplemental information. They contain quizzes as well as your final exam. Should you decide to print out the manual, you can also use it to write additional comments and notes as you see fit. During the course of my lectures, I will probably use the expression ‘he or she’ or ‘him or her.’ While it is a bit more awkward to speak in those terms, it is important for me to acknowledge the fact that most HR professionals are female. Statistics show that regarding HR managers, seventy percent of them are women between the ages of twenty five and fifty. However, males also work in the HR field, so I may refer to both he and she at various times. For many learners, repetition is invaluable for effective learning. Soon you will discover that I will repeat many terms and concepts. This is not because I am running out of things to say. When you hear ideas that have been repeated, even multiple times, take note of them. We consider them to be very important concepts. Speaking of repetition, I whole heartedly recommend your listening to every lecture in this course at least twice, or even more. You are about to be given a great deal of information: you'll hear facts, terminology, techniques, and suggestions for supplemental study. It will be extremely difficult for you to fully grasp everything in just one listen. Depending on where you are listening, you can take notes as well. Many chapters are best absorbed if you can sit and follow along in the PDF manual as I present the material. If, however, you are only able to listen while commuting to work, forget the manual for now. Consult it when the time is more appropriate. You can still get valuable information just by hearing what I have to say.
4
Now, I want to give you an outline of the material I will present to you. This is just an overview so you know what to expect. I hope that much of what you hear about this outline motivates you to want to listen, and excites you about the prospect of becoming a certified HR professional. My lectures will begin as I give you the basic profile of a certified HR professional and a definition of the basic HR technical competencies. They include not only the competencies you need for the exam, but also the main duties and responsibilities you can expect upon being hired. From there, I will take you step by step through the technical competencies required of any HR professional. First, I will discuss competencies like HR Strategic Planning, Talent Acquisition, Employee Engagement and Retention, Learning and Development, and Total Rewards. Next you will hear about complimentary HR technical competencies. I will discuss concepts related to the structure of the HR function, workforce management, employee and labor relations, and technology management. I will also discuss promoting organizational effectiveness and development as a critical role played by HR professionals. Then, I will get into the nitty gritty of the global context of HR technical competencies. In this section, my focus will be on the major issues to consider when an HR professional performs in a global market. This includes diversity and inclusion of HR, risk management, and corporate social responsibility. As a specific example, I will discuss the employment laws of the US. I will highlight how HR technical competencies must be applied in compliance with those laws. As the course begins to wind down, you will hear about how these HR technical competencies shape your career as an HR professional. The knowledge you acquire from these competencies will be linked to ways where you can benefit from this course, as you prepare for the SHRM-CP. The course will close out with a summary of the steps you must follow over and above listening to the lectures. These steps will also help with your preparation for the SHRMCP Certification Exams. Additionally, I will give a summary wrap up on how each of the 5
technicalities I mentioned interrelate. This enables you to produce a cohesive set of observable skills and experience you will need as a certified HR professional. You can see that we have quite a bit to cover. Work at a pace that is comfortable for you and your set objectives. Listen as often as you can. Retake written portions of the test questions I present, especially if you get any wrong. Remember, the whole purpose of taking this course is to put yourself in the best position to successfully sit for the SHRMCP exam. Or, simply ensuring that you have advanced your knowledge in the field of HR management. The better you know the material, the more prepared you will be. In addition, the more you know about the other necessary requirements, the more prepared and confident you will be in executing your roles as a certified HR professional. I know what I have just discussed has been introductory. That does not mean there are no takeaways you can derive from the introduction. For this brief chapter, there are eight of them, and here they are: One: A certified HR professional must have a sound understanding of various aspects of the required HR competencies. Two: It is undeniable that more females currently work as HR managers, and employers still want more females in the field. Three: To become a certified HR Professional, expect a comprehensive set of exams and ensure you clearly understand each concept highlighted in the chapters to follow. Four: Expect quizzes near the end of each chapter. Five: Make use of the Follow-along PDF Manual. Six: Items repeated during the lectures are important. Remember them. Seven: Plan to listen to the course at least a couple of times. Eight: Listen to the course at your own pace and set your objectives. Remember the purpose of this course is to ensure you understand the concepts outlined.
6
To download the audio version of this course, please visit our website www.AudioLearn.com
1