Demystifying professsional accreditation: Chartered Member Accreditation

In the second of our Demystifying Professional Accreditation series, we’ll focus on the Chartered Member accreditation, the next step in your career journey if you want to demonstrate your high level of professional HR capability.

HRNZ’s Chartered Member accreditation is the accreditation for experienced HR professionals.

Nick McKissack, HRNZ’s CEO and one of the assessors of our Chartered Membership applications, shares some tips and tricks for applicants, what the accreditation has helped do for experienced professionals, how the process has changed following the implementation of The Path, and what Chartered Membership represents for the future of HR.

WHO IS THIS ACCREDITATION FOR?

Accreditation is for everyone who is serious about pursuing HR as a career. The three main ideas behind accreditation are that professionals should follow an independent code of practice, meet a specified level of capability and undertake ongoing development to maintain that capability. We want every member of the HR community to embrace accreditation, starting at an emerging level and moving up to becoming chartered with experience.

Chartered Membership is aimed at experienced HR professionals who are committed to, and leading in, the profession. This accreditation is for senior professionals operating at a Leads level in alignment with The Path, the HRNZ capability framework that maps the different stages of an HR professional’s career. This can be as a generalist or someone in a specialist role. To be eligible for Chartered Membership, you also need to be a current member of HRNZ and be up to date with your continued professional development.

WHAT DO I NEED TO HAVE DONE IN MY CAREER SO FAR TO BE SUCCESSFUL IF I DO APPLY FOR EMERGING PROFESSIONAL ACCREDITATION?

We assess against specific criteria, which include being able to demonstrate all core capabilities of The Path at a ‘Leads’ level minimum. You also need to have experience working in at least three Domains of Knowledge, one of which must be in:

• Diversity, Inclusion and Equity

• Employment Relations

• Change Management

• Health, Safety and Wellbeing

• Attraction, Recruitment and Selection

• Remuneration and Rewards

• Learning and Development

• Employee Engagement and Experience.

Our Chartered Member Guide has more information on the application process and criteria.

WHERE HAVE THESE CRITERIA COME FROM?

Similar to the Emerging Professional criteria, The Path has been a massive undertaking over the past two years. It has involved hundreds of HR professionals, CEOs, board directors and a range of other experienced professionals who have helped us identify what great HR practice looks like, and the skills needed for tomorrow’s HR leaders. We took great care to map the criteria we used for the previous Chartered Membership accreditation to the new criteria, to ensure we had a consistent but updated approach, and could maintain the rigour and validity that HR professionals have come to expect from Chartered Members.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR WHEN ASSESSING AN APPLICATION FOR CHARTERED MEMBERSHIP?

We are looking for someone who is passionate about leading the way in HR, who holds themselves to high standards, who has a proven track record as a leader and influencer, and who understands the importance of bringing the rest of the profession along on the journey of bicultural HR practice. We want to see that blend of technical excellence, and someone who genuinely cares about bettering outcomes for people and the profession of HR.

WHAT IF I’M UNSURE ABOUT THE CRITERIA NEEDED FOR CHARTERED MEMBERSHIP? MY EXPERIENCE MIGHT NOT QUITE HIT THE MARK IN ONE OR TWO OF THE CORE CAPABILITIES?

We’d really encourage you to think about preparing your application, which can help highlight those development areas. Our professional development courses and other offerings are all there to help you as you move along the path to Chartered Membership.

IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT ARE COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE CHARTERED MEMBERSHIP?

The most common things we hear from members on the other side of Chartered Membership assessment are that they wish they’d applied long before now. We have a wealth of senior professionals in our community who would be an asset to our Chartered cohort, but who perhaps aren’t sure of the time or commitment required to apply for Chartered Member accreditation. By having the experience and expertise, you’re already three-quarters of the way there.

In the past, our accreditation process has really only been set up to recognise generalists, which has meant that senior specialist professionals have missed out on being recognised. The Path has changed this for us, and we can now give these experts the opportunity to validate their skills and expertise with Chartered Membership, too.

WHAT DOES CHARTERED MEMBERSHIP GIVE YOU AND WHY SHOULD I APPLY?

Becoming a Chartered Member validates your professional capability as an HR practitioner, while demonstrating a commitment to continuing professional development and leadership across our HR community in Aotearoa New Zealand. It’s a recognition of the skills, effort and expertise you have shared with others as you’ve developed as a leader within your field.