The new Senior Human Resources Professional designation celebrates high-impact leadership in Canada. Announced in June of this year, the SHRP designation is reserved for senior HR executives that have made significant impact on their respective organizations and the profession. Proven senior HR leaders who are respected as trusted advisors based on their breadth of knowledge, strategic orientation, ability to build business-aligned HR strategy, and the significant impact and influence they exercise across organizations can now earn this rare professional distinction.
A Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA) inter-provincial taskforce developed the criteria by which aspiring SHRP candidates will be evaluated. Ontario became the first provincial association to make the designation fully available to its members after recently piloting procedures for submission and evaluation of SHRP applications. HR associations in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island plan to follow Ontario's introductory lead in the upcoming months.
"While we developed the SHRP criteria as a group, it will be up to each provincial HR association to decide whether or not to make the designation available to its membership," announced Bill Greenhalgh, CEO of Human Resources Professionals Association who Chaired the taskforce.
HRPA Chair, Antoinette Blunt, said the SHRP arrival in Ontario is greatly welcomed. "in Ontario we have long recognized the need for a senior designation and our members have told us so in surveys and forums. This designation will be valued by recipients as well as organizations and CEOs searching for the most experienced and capable people to lead them through these challenging times," she confidently states.
The SHRP recognition must be earned and carries certain leadership responsibilities. SHRPs are active ambassadors of their provincial HR association and encourage association membership for themselves and others. As leaders, they welcome the opportunity to mentor up-and-coming, high-impact managers and are encouraged to participate in SHRP application review panels.
There are two phases in the SHRP application process in Ontario that determine a candidate's eligibility. The initial phase of the process is a simple self-assessment using an online survey tool that asks potential applicants about their HR function including experience, job scope, size and complexity of organization, education and other relevant factors (it is available at: http://www.shrpdesignation.ca/assessment).
Individuals who pass the self-assessment are then invited to apply for the SHRP and are sent a detailed questionnaire that subsequently is evaluated by a specially trained assessment committee. The committee considers six dimensions in the assessment process: Trusted Advisor, Leadership, Strategic Orientation, Breadth of Knowledge, Ability to build HR strategy that aligns to business, and Impact and influence.
Individuals interested in pursuing the new SHRP designation should consider the fact that all second phase applications received prior to midnight on September 30th, 2009 will have an applicable SHRP designation fee of only $250. Afterwards, the associated fee will increase to $350 to cover administrative costs.
For additional information, please contact:
Chris Larsen, Director Marketing and Membership
Human Resources Professionals Association
416-923-2324 x 335 ; Clarsen@hrpa.ca