HR Profession Defined

What Defines a Profession?

Webster's dictionary defines a profession as "a calling, vocation or employment requiring specialized knowledge and often intensive academic preparation." To qualify as a profession, at least six characteristics must be present:

  • A common body of knowledge
  • Benchmarked performance standards
  • A representative professional organization
  • An external perception as a profession
  • A code of ethics
  • Required training credentials for entry and career mobility

According to a Canadian HR Reporter article written in April 2006 by Monica Belcourt, director of the graduate program in human resources management at York University and Victor Catano, chair of the CCHRA’s Independent Board of Examiners (IBE), there are other core criteria that can be added to those above and which distinguish professions from other occupations. They include:

  • An ongoing need for skill development
  • A need to ensure professional competence is maintained and put to socially responsible uses.

The HR Profession in Canada – Strong and Growing

HR’s Common Body of Knowledge and Benchmarked Performance Standards

In Canada, HR’s common body of knowledge has been well established and is kept current through the CCHRA and its member associations. The information is categorised into seven various HR-related areas, or functional dimensions, called the Required Professional Capabilities (RPCs®).

The seven dimensions, which make up the RPCs® are:

  • Professional practice in human resources
  • Organizational effectiveness
  • Staffing
  • Employee and labour relations
  • Total compensation
  • Organizational learning, development and training
  • Workplace health and safety

The RPCs® are based on the core capabilities of the HR profession and HR policies and practices used in Canada. They are the foundation for the profession’s National Standards of Assessment – the National Knowledge Exam® (NKE) and the National Professional Practice Assessment® (NPPA). These exams test HR professionals’ academic and experiential knowledge of the RPCs® respectively – and lead to the national Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation.

As Belcourt and Catano discuss in their article, “vibrant professions do not hold on to the former way of doing things but continually update their knowledge and skill base.” The CCHRA’s Professional Standards Committee (PSC) and IBE routinely review the RPCs® for currency and to ensure they remain relevant to changing Canadian legislation, workplaces and business needs.


Ongoing Need for Skill Development

The CCHRA and its member associations promote the ongoing need for skill development within the profession through a mandatory recertification program, which is based on the RPCs. All CHRP designation holders are required to recertify every three years in order to keep their skills current and stay abreast of the changes to HR’s body of knowledge. Maintaining your designation – keeping up with changing trends in the profession – increases opportunities for career mobility.


Representative Professional Organizations

In Canada, the HR profession has two main levels of representation. Provincial CHRP designation granting HR associations represent their members to provincial governments and organizations. They also service their members with professional development, information and membership programs. The CCHRA then represents Canadian HR professionals on a national level – to the Canadian federal government and abroad. The CCHRA has membership in and represents Canadian HR professionals to the North American Human Resources Management Association (NAHRMA) and the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations (WFPMA).


National Code of Ethics

The CCHRA and its member associations have created a National Code of Ethics for the profession, which CHRP recipients sign upon receiving their designation. The code ensures professional competence is maintained and that HR professionals act ethically and responsibly within their workplaces.


External Perception as a Profession

In the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) study, The Maturing Profession of Human Resources Worldwide, 673 HR professionals from across Canada were surveyed on the perception of HR as a profession in Canada. According to the study, about half (49.5%) of the respondents agreed HR’s body of knowledge and skills is recognized as a profession by society in general. Further to this, the study indicated:

  • Almost half (49.9%) of the respondents agreed that employees recognize that HR practitioners have specific knowledge and skills that add to the value of the organization
  • More than half (55.5%) of the respondents agreed that line managers recognized that HR practitioners have specific knowledge and skills that add to the value of the organization
  • Close to half (45.7%) of the respondents agreed that non-HR business executives recognized HR practitioners have specific knowledge and skills that add value to the organization
  • Close to half (41.3%) of the respondents agreed that, overall, HR professionals are held in high esteem in organizations today.

How the CCHRA Contributes to the Growth of the HR Profession in Canada

As a national voice for HR in Canada, the CCHRA ensures the profession will continue to advance and contribute to Canadian workplaces and business by:

  • Maintaining the RPCs® – our common body of knowledge – and keeping them current
  • Maintaining the exams leading to the CHRP – our benchmark for performance standards
  • Working with member associations on CHRP Recertification – encouraging ongoing skill development
  • Working with member associations to enforce the profession’s National Code of Ethics
  • Representing HR professionals from across Canada to the federal government and the world


 

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