Respect for Letters
Many professions use credentialing as a way to denote mastery of a level of knowledge in their field. And human resources is no different: there’s the PHR from the HR Certification Institute, CCP from WorldatWork, and the CEBS designation from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (just to name a few).
Personally, I hold three credentials. The SPHR from the HR Certification Institute, the CPLP from the American Society for Training and Development, and the CHRE from the American Hotel and Lodging Association. I am very proud of my credentials. They represent a commitment to my profession and a level of accomplishment in my field. They also represent an investment of time and money in obtaining and maintaining a high level of knowledge.
Therefore, let me admit that it upsets me a tad when people forget my credentials.
Now, I can’t get too upset with people outside of my profession who don’t include my SPHR (or one of my other credentials) on something. The letters probably don’t mean squat to them. They don’t know what I went through to get those letters after my name.
And while I don’t completely understand why they do it … I don’t really get upset when an organization doesn’t acknowledge a competing credential. Okay, so ASTD won’t say I’m an SPHR nor will SHRM say that I’m a CPLP. I guess they’ve got to tow the line and promote their own programs.
But what I don’t understand is when an organization doesn’t recognize their own credential with their own members. Case in point, I was recently named to a professional committee of an organization for which I hold one of their credentials. They sent out a very nice note to the membership announcing the new appointees. No credentials anywhere (except for the head honcho who signed the email). Huh?
Regardless of our individual opinions about those letters, it’s important to understand how the holder of the credential feels about them and act appropriately. IMHO, the way you handle credentials is a sign of respect.
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