Introduction

Congratulations on taking the first step toward achieving your Professional in Human Resources (PHR), Professional in Human Resources International (PHRi), or Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) or Senior Professional in Human Resources International (SPHRi) certification! The process you’re embarking on is rewarding and challenging, and as more than 500,000 of your fellow human resource colleagues in more than 100 countries have already discovered, it’s an excellent opportunity to explore areas of HR management with which you may not work every day. In the next few pages, you’ll find some general information about HR certification, some suggestions for using this book, information about what to expect in the following chapters, and a discussion of the organizations involved in certification.

Before we begin, a word about what you should already know. This study guide was designed to serve as a refresher for experienced professionals who have practiced for several years or who have been educated in human resources. We assume that those who are pursuing certification have the basic HR knowledge that comes not only from education in human resources but also, more importantly, from professional-level experience. If your daily work is truly generalist in nature, you likely have touched on many of the topics I cover, but you may not have in-depth knowledge in all of them. Conversely, if you specialize in one or two areas of HR, you probably have extensive experience in those areas but may need to refresh your knowledge in other areas.

In 2024, the Human Resource Certification Institute combined the exam content outlines for the PHR and PHR, international exams, and the SPHR, SPHR international exams. This book references them as follows:

• PHR and PHRi: PHR/i
• SPHR and SPHRi: SPHR/i

Any differences between the U.S. and international exams are called out in each chapter.

Additionally, for SPHR and SPHRi candidates, there is an assumption that you have the benchmark knowledge that PHR and PHRi candidates are learning. This means that there is likely opportunity within the PHR/i chapters for SPHR/i candidates to refresh their knowledge.

The goal of this study guide is to provide enough information about each of the functional areas of HR management to enable candidates in either situation to find what they need to prepare themselves for successfully completing the exam. More than 50,000 books related to human resources are listed on Amazon.com alone, and there is obviously no way we can cover all the aspects of HR in a single book. So, we’ve organized the information around the exam content outline (ECO) established by the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI®), the certifying body for our profession. We’ll talk more about the content outline in Chapter 1, “Certifying Human Resource Professionals,” but for now, suffice it to say that the key to success on the exam is a thorough understanding of and ability to apply the test specs when answering questions on the exams.

About Human Resource Certification

What exactly is human resource certification? Briefly, certification is a way of acknowledging individuals who have met the standard of competency established by HR practitioners as that which is necessary to be considered a fully competent HR professional. To understand whether this book is for you, you’ll want to know why you should become certified and how the certification process works.

Who Certifies HR Professionals?

Two organizations are involved in the certification of HR professionals: the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) and Pearson VUE.

The Human Resource Certification Institute

HRCI is the certifying body for the HR profession. It was formed by the American Society for Personnel Administration (ASPA) in 1972, when it was known as the ASPA Accreditation Institute (AAI). In its early stages, HRCI was financially dependent on the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), but it’s now financially independent. Both HRCI and SHRM have individual boards of directors that govern their operations. Although HRCI and SHRM have a long history of affiliation and mutual support, the certification process is a separate and distinct function of HRCI.

You can find HRCI’s organizational mission statement at www-dev.hrci.org/about-hrci/who-we-are.

Pearson VUE

Pearson VUE is a computer-based testing administrator headquartered in the United States with locations in 180 countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, India, Dubai, and China. More than 400 credential owners use their services to administer exams, including HRCI. https://home.pearsonvue.com is where certification seekers will register for their exam date and location.

We’ll refer to these organizations frequently in Chapter 1 as we discuss the body of knowledge and the certification process.

Why Become Certified?

Over time, the certification offered by HRCI has become the industry standard for determining competence in the field of human resources. There are many reasons that individuals may decide to seek professional certification. Let’s talk about just a few of them.

First, certification is an acknowledgment that you have met the standards of excellence determined by other HR professionals to be those that are necessary to be fully competent in the field. Because the standards are developed by working professionals, not just by those who teach and consult in the field, this credential demonstrates that you’re a fully competent HR practitioner based on a standard set by your peers.

Second, certification is a way to increase your marketability. In difficult economic times, when there is tough competition for jobs, certification provides an edge that can be advantageous in your job search. With an abundance of job seekers for a limited number of jobs, whatever you can do to set yourself apart from the crowd can give you the edge when potential employers are making the final hiring decision. Additionally, a 2018 Payscale survey found that certified HR professionals rank the HRCI exams as #1 of all professional exams and that they are the most valuable. The survey also noted that “We found that for the most part, having an HR certification is beneficial from a pay perspective and a career advancement perspective.” See the full survey results at www.payscale.com/data/hr-certifications-pay.

Third, those who spend the time to advance their own knowledge and achieve certification have demonstrated their ability to continue learning and growing as times and business needs change. A person who is willing and able to set a significant goal and do what is necessary to achieve it demonstrates characteristics that are in great demand in business today: results orientation, technical competence, commitment, and excellence.

Finally, certification enhances your credibility with coworkers and customers by demonstrating to the people you encounter during your workday that you have proven competence in the field.

Whether your reason for seeking certification falls into one of these categories or you’re motivated to do so for some other reason, it can be a great opportunity to validate how much you already know about the practice of human resources as a profession.

How to Become Certified

To become a certified HR professional, you must pass either the PHR/i or the SPHR/i exam, both of which have been developed by HRCI in a comprehensive process described in Chapter 1.

Each exam has a different number of scored exam items and passing thresholds. You can find a detailed discussion of how the questions are developed and scored in the HR Certification Institute’s Certification Policies and Procedures Handbook, which can be viewed and/or downloaded at the HRCI website (www.hrci.org). The handbook is an essential guide to all aspects of the exams and includes test dates, application deadlines, fee information, and answers to frequently asked questions about the certification process, as well as the full list of test specifications.

Chapter 1 explains in greater detail how much and what kinds of experience are required for each exam level and how the questions differ on each level.

How This Book Is Organized

We’ve talked a little about Chapter 1, which provides information about requirements for certification and the testing process. Chapter 1 also provides some suggestions on the best ways to study for the exam.

There are also several areas of foundational knowledge that HR professionals should understand at any stage of their career. These topics are covered in Chapter 2, “Shared Competencies.” This chapter is a must-read, regardless of which exam you choose to sit for.

Chapters 3 through 9 get down to the specifics of each functional area of the PHR/i exams. Chapters 10 through 14 dive into SPHR/i exam content. Each of these chapters consists of a list of responsibilities (exam objectives) for each functional area. We have also provided appendices to facilitate your study.

Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions,” provides all of the answers to the questions at the end of every...