Marine Corps COOL Snapshot - Professional in Human Resources (PHR)

Professional in Human Resources (PHR)

Renewal Period: 3 years

The Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI), Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification is designed for the HR professional who focuses on program implementation, has a tactical/logistical orientation, is accountable to another HR professional within the organization and has responsibilities that focus on the HR department rather than the whole organization. PHRs demonstrate knowledge in Business Management, Talent Planning and Acquisition, Total Rewards, Employee and Labor Relations, and Learning and Development. Candidates must meet experience and/or education requirements and pass a written examination.

More information can be found on the certifying agency's website.

Professional in Human Resources (PHR)

The following Marine Corps Enlisted MOSs provide training and/or experience that contributes to attaining this credential:

Enlisted Occupation	Occupation Type	Related As	COOL$
0111 Administrative Specialist	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
4821 Career Planner	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks
55XX Musician	MOS	Other
8412 Career Recruiter	MOS	Most	COOL Bucks
8422 Career Prior Service Recruiter	MOS	Most	COOL Bucks
8999 Sergeant Major-First Sergeant	MOS	Most	COOL Bucks

The following civilian occupations are related to this credential:

Civilian Job	Job Family	Bright Outlook	Registered Apprenticeship	Local Salary Info
Compensation and Benefits Managers	Management			find local salary
Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists	Business and Financial Operations	Bright Outlook		find local salary
Equal Opportunity Representatives and Officers	Business and Financial Operations	Bright Outlook	Apprenticeship	find local salary
Human Resources Managers	Management	Bright Outlook		find local salary
Human Resources Specialists	Business and Financial Operations	Bright Outlook	Apprenticeship	find local salary
Labor Relations Specialists	Business and Financial Operations			find local salary
Training and Development Managers	Management	Bright Outlook		find local salary
Training and Development Specialists	Business and Financial Operations	Bright Outlook	Apprenticeship	find local salary

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Attainability:

Eligibility Requirements (View Details)

Credential Prerequisite
Experience: 4 years
Education: High School Diploma/GED
Training
Membership
Other
Fee

Note: This credential may have multiple options for a Service member to meet eligibility requirements. Requirements listed here are based on the minimum degree required. To view other options, see the Eligibility tab.

Exam Requirements (View Details)

Exam
Written Exam
Oral Exam
Practical Exam
Performance Assessment

Exam Administration (View Details)

In-person exam
Remote proctored on-line exam
Third-party test vendor

RECERTIFICATION SUMMARY

Renewal Period: 3 years

Continuing Education
Exam
Continuing Education OR Exam
Fee
Other

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI)

1725 Duke Street
Suite 700
Alexandria, VA 22314

Phone: (866) 898-4724

Contact Page

Education and/or Experience REQUIREMENTS

Option 1:

Candidate must have a minimum of one year of experience in a professional-level HR position with a Master's degree or higher.

Option 2:

Candidate must have a minimum of two years of experience in a professional-level HR position with a Bachelor's degree.

Option 3:

Candidate must have a minimum of four years of experience in a professional-level HR position with a high school diploma.

Written Exam

Business Management (20%)
- Vision, mission, values, and structure of the organization
- Legislative and regulatory knowledge and procedures
- Corporate governance procedures and compliance
- Employee communications
- Ethical and professional standards
- Business elements of an organization (for example: other functions and departments, products, competition, customers, technology, demographics, culture, processes, safety and security)
- Existing HRIS, reporting tools, and other systems for effective data reporting and analysis
- Change management theory, methods, and application
- Risk management
- Qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for analytics
- Dealing with situations that are uncertain, unclear, or chaotic
Talent Planning and Acquisition (16%)
- Applicable federal laws and regulations related to talent planning and acquisition activities
- Planning concepts and terms (for example: succession planning, forecasting)
- Current market situation and talent pool availability
- Staffing alternatives (for example: outsourcing, temporary employment)
- Interviewing and selection techniques, concepts, and terms
- Applicant tracking systems and/or methods
- Impact of total rewards on recruitment and retention
- Candidate/employee testing processes and procedures
- Verbal and written offers/contract techniques
- New hire employee orientation processes and procedures
- Internal workforce assessments (for example: skills testing, workforce demographics, analysis)
- Transition techniques for corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence process, offshoring, and divestitures
- Metrics to assess past and future staffing effectiveness (for example: cost per hire, selection ratios, adverse impact)
Learning and Development (10%)
- Applicable federal laws and regulations related to learning and development activities
- Learning and development theories and applications
- Training program facilitation, techniques, and delivery
- Adult learning processes
- Instructional design principles and processes (for example: needs analysis, process flow mapping)
- Techniques to assess training program effectiveness, including use of applicable metrics
- Organizational development (OD) methods, motivation methods, and problem-solving techniques
- Task/process analysis
- Coaching and mentoring techniques
- Employee retention concepts and applications
- Techniques to encourage creativity and innovation
Total Rewards (15%)
- Applicable federal laws and regulations related to total rewards
- Compensation policies, processes, and analysis
- Budgeting, payroll, and accounting practices related to compensation and benefits
- Job analysis and evaluation concepts and methods
- Job pricing and pay structures
- Non-cash compensation
- Methods to align and benchmark compensation and benefits
- Benefits programs policies, processes, and analysis
Employee and Labor Relations (39%)
- General employee relations activities and analysis (for example, conducting investigations, researching grievances, working conditions, reports, etc.)
- Applicable federal laws and procedures affecting employment, labor relations, safety, and security
- Human relations, culture and values concepts, and applications to employees and organizations
- Review and analysis process for assessing employee attitudes, opinions, and satisfaction
- Diversity and inclusion
- Recordkeeping requirements
- Occupational injury and illness prevention techniques
- Workplace safety and security risks
- Emergency response, business continuity, and disaster recovery process
- Internal investigation, monitoring, and surveillance techniques
- Data security and privacy
- The collective bargaining process, terms, and concepts (for example: contract negotiation, costing, administration)
- Performance management process, procedures, and analysis
- Termination approaches, concepts, and terms

Exam Preparation Resources

There are a number of resources available to help you prepare for the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) examination:

Best Sources
- HRCI Exam Preparation Resources

General References

An additional resource is O'Reilly Learning Safari Books Online, a searchable digital library that provides online access to thousands of books, training videos and conference sessions. See the Educational Resources section on the Related Sites page here on COOL to learn how to get free access.

Testing Information

Exam Administration
Credential exams may be administered in-person at a testing site, proctored on-line remotely, or have options for both. If an exam is administered through a test vendor, the third-party test vendor box will be checked. The following test administration options apply to the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) credential where checked:
- In-person exam
- Remote proctored on-line exam
- Third-party test vendor

For more information on the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) testing process, visit the agency website.

Third-Party Test Vendor Information
Testing for this credential is handled by the following vendor:

Pearson VUE

The test centers are located in the U.S. They also have some test centers on military bases.

To find out more, use the following links on the Pearson VUE website:

RECERTIFICATION

Professional in Human Resources (PHR)

Renewal Period: 3 years

The Professional in Human Resources (PHR) credential has the following recertification information:

The PHR certification renewal is every three years. Certification holders may recertify by earning 60 hours of HR-related recertification credit hours or retaking the exam. A recertification application must also be submitted. Individuals who earned the PHR may consider more advanced levels of HRCI certification instead of renewal.

Note: Marine Corps COOL will only pay recertification fees for the current year, no arrears will be paid. Voucher requests for recertification fees must be submitted with proof of the current status of the certification (for example, a screen shot of your credentialing agency dashboard or a copy of a current fee receipt).