By Nona Chigewe
In this era of tight budgets, it can be tough to get employers to pay for enough activities to build 60 hours or recert credits. Fortunately, there are a number of free activities that you can use to build credits.
Get Credits While You Work
Let’s begin with your current job—you can earn up to 20 hours of recertification credit when you tackle a job for the first time. For example:
- Research and design a benefits plan
- Research, design, and implement a diversity program
- Research, design, and implement a performance-management system
- Research and implement an HR Information System (HRIS) system
- Participate in labor negotiations
- Develop an employee handbook
You get credit hour-for-hour up to the maximum 20 hours.
Forty more credits to go …
Blogging for Credits
How about blogging for credit? Write and publish a fact-based post of 700 words or more based on one of the HR bodies of knowledge and you’ll lock in .5 credit hours per post. You can earn up to two credit hours per year, leading to six credit hours per recertification cycle.
Blogging falls under the “Leadership” category of your recertification application. You can earn a maximum of 10 credit hours per recertification cycle in this category. This means there are still four more Leadership credits to be earned. Some Leadership activities you may want to consider are:
- Mentoring (five credit hours per year)
- Holding an officer position on a board (five credit hours per year)
- Volunteering with the Institute (up to 10 credit hours per recertification cycle)
- Serving on a peer review board for a national HR-related magazine or publication (three credit hours per year)
Now you have only 30 credits to earn …
Watch a Webcast
You can earn up to 20 credit hours per recertification cycle for attending relevant HR-related webcasts.
That leaves you with 10 more credit hours to complete your recertification …
More Credit-Building Options
Where else can you earn credit hours? Have you had to attend any in-house training that was related to HR? There is no max on the number of credits hours you can earn for attending formal on-the-job training. Just be sure that training is HR-related, that it has set learning objectives, the instructor has expertise on the topic presented and it is the first time you have attended.
If you are the actual instructor of this in-house training or any other HR-related course, you can earn up to 20 credit hours for teaching HR subject matter for the first time. Credit hours are awarded on an hour-per-hour basis. Preparation of the course material is even taken into consideration. For every hour of the course, you earn 1.5 credit hours for preparation.
If you happen to already be taking a college course that is HR related, or your company is paying for you to attend seminars or workshops as a part of your professional development, there is no max on the number of credit hours that can be earned here. Be sure to use it towards your recertification.
Recertification accomplished
Well, you’re done! By engaging in activities such as those described, you will have earned your required 60 hours without spending a dime!
For more on earning recertification credit hours see www.hrci.org/recertify.