Specialty Credential Assessments: Innovating and Modernizing

​SHRM continuously looks for ways to keep up with the ever-evolving HR profession to ensure HR professionals have the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in their roles and to contribute to the success of their organizations.

Over the last year, SHRM's Education Team, in conjunction with guidance from SHRM's Certification Team, innovated and modernized SHRM's specialty credential assessments.

Specialty Credential Background

SHRM currently offers eight specialty credentials (SHRM California Law HR, SHRM HR Department of One, SHRM Inclusive Workplace Culture, SHRM People Analytics, SHRM Talent Acquisition, SHRM Total Rewards, SHRM U.S. Employment Immigration and SHRM Workplace Investigations) and we are in the analysis phase to develop a ninth one—SHRM Talent Development.

A key design factor for developing these specialty credentials is to determine the HR professional's technical knowledge and behavioral competencies (via the SHRM BASK) needed to perform the role successfully. For example, the SHRM Total Rewards Specialty Credential aligns with four behavioral HR competencies—business acumen, analytical aptitude, relationship management and consultation—and the HR Technical Expertise competency that covers the knowledge related to total rewards.

Credential Assessment Innovations

Recent specialty credential assessment changes revolve around three innovations—adaptive learning, accessibility and a capstone project for the SHRM Talent Development Specialty Credential.

Adaptive learning is a custom learning experience that addresses the unique needs of each person via real-time or just-in-time feedback, resources and varied content. Adaptive learning helps nurture the unique needs of individuals and engages them with the content and their role within their organization.  

SHRM's Education Team partnered with Amplifire, an e-learning platform that eliminates critical knowledge problems so people can perform their jobs with proficiency and thrive in their organizations. The concept implements an adaptive algorithm in the content to interactively observe each person's knowledge levels and adjusts the areas needing additional focus throughout the learning experience. This adaptive learning better prepares each person to be more successful when completing the assessment to achieve a positive result. The assessment offers a set of questions developed using the Amplifire platform.

Accessibility innovation is critical for specialty credential assessments. Online content and assessments can be difficult for those with certain disabilities to access. To combat these challenges, SHRM's Education Team implemented a set of accessibility standards for learning content and related assessments, not only for specialty credentials but for all their educational offerings. The accessibility standards include eliminating time limits to complete assessments, ensuring screen reader compatibility, providing three opportunities to pass the assessment and meeting color contrast ratio standards.

In addition, SHRM's Education Team is considering a final capstone activity in place of the standard question-based assessment for the future SHRM Talent Development Specialty Credential. Capstone activities encourage adult learners to think critically and to solve challenging problems. The capstone is a summative activity, offered at the end of a learning opportunity, and is presented by the adult student with debriefing, feedback and coaching provided in real time—all things that are reflective of processes HR professionals encounter in the workplace when solving problems.

Our goal is continued innovation and modernization of the specialty credential assessments, as we follow the trends of the HR profession and the socioeconomic shifts in our workplaces, the nation and across the globe.

Ann Godmere is SHRM's senior instructional designer.