The Value of Certification

Certification in a specialized area such as total rewards can signal to others that you have demonstrated competence in that area. While it is not a guarantee of expertise in all related topics, it is a strong indication of your knowledge, skill and attitudes, as attested by an authority or reputable body.

Competence comprises all three: without knowledge, skill and attitude are applied incorrectly; without skill, knowledge and attitude are just talk; without attitude, knowledge and skill are used at the wrong time and missing when needed.

Competence and Confidence

Certification indicates a person possesses competence in an area. They are therefore entitled to have confidence to approach problems and to join efforts to build better things. Competence without confidence is wasted. Confidence without competence is dangerous. But competence with confidence together will get you in the room, get you at the table and get problems solved well, and it will be win-win for everyone involved.

My own certifications have boosted my own confidence for many years.

I received my own certification from American Compensation Association (renamed WorldatWork) in 1990. I took the exams at my own cost over a period of weeks. Until today, I am very proud to be a WorldatWork Certified Compensation Professional (CCP).

I received HRCIs PHR and SPHR in the 1990s, back in the U.S. These have been a source of confidence and the underlying concepts of the HR profession are more hard-wired in my brain as a result that certification experience.

Singapore’s ACTA certification (Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment) from the Institute for Adult Learning equipped me and boosted my confidence to embark on creation of many courses, such as Comp 101 (knowledge), Comp 102 (hands-on skills), 201 (Manage the Annual Salary Review), 202 (Design Effective Incentives), Talent Crossing Borders and many others. Gagne’s 9 learning events, divergent/convergent learners and many other models and skills attained from the ACTA course benefit me to this day. I have received a 100-fold return on that investment.

ATRI Certification

I decided in 2014 to develop a new certification in total rewards, for Asia, with 100% original material. For example, I teach that the five main categories of total rewards align with Maslow’s five levels of needs. This is original as far as I know. I teach Herzberg’s two factor theory and compare/contrast it with Maslow, and invite learners to share their thoughts. I’ve not received this or seen it anywhere else. I’ve defined and diagrammed self-insurance. This is original, as far as I know. I run a structured discussion and debrief on “what attracts, what retains” and I’ve never seen it done anywhere else. This is original, as far as I know.

I am happy to share that as of today, 820 certifications have been conferred on HR and rewards leaders from 30 countries. We are certifying over 100 people per year (for 7 years consecutively) and there are no signs of slowing down.

Certification should not be for regional leaders with big budgets only. It should be available to the early career C&B specialist in southeast Asia who cannot afford more than 2 or 3 weeks’ salary for a certification.

I also believe people are best served with a progressive certification. ATRI offers Specialist (CTRS) certification for those with 1 year of experience, Professional (CTRP) certification for those with 4 years, and Fellow (CTRF) certification for those with 8 years and are in a top HR or rewards leadership role. People can select the certification that is right for them. Some start with CTRS, then do CTRP a few years later. Some do CTRP and then CTRF. It’s flexible.

ATRI material is curated through participant feedback and updated each year to include new topics such as job architecture and alternatives to traditional pay for performance. We are agile and free to update material on the fly.

Join us. We all work hard to achieve our dreams. A small part of that is being awesome in the practice of total rewards. Let’s be awesome together.

Tom