Marine Corps COOL Snapshot - Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)

Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)

Renewal Period: 3 years

The Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI), Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification is designed for big-picture thinkers responsible for planning rather than implementing HR policy. SPHR candidates possess mastery of the strategic and policy-making aspects of HR management as practiced in the U.S., such as accountability for HR department goals, breadth and depth of knowledge in all HR disciplines, and understanding business issues beyond the HR function. Candidates must meet a combination of experience and education requirements and pass a written exam.

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

Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)

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	Other
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
Human Resources Managers	Management	Bright Outlook		find local salary
Human Resources Specialists	Business and Financial Operations	Bright Outlook	Apprenticeship	find local salary
Training and Development Managers	Management	Bright Outlook		find local salary

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Attainability:

Eligibility Requirements (View Details)

Credential Prerequisite
Experience: 7 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 four years of experience in a professional-level HR position and a master’s degree or higher

Option 2:

Candidate must have a minimum of five years of experience in a professional-level HR position and a bachelor's degree.

Option 3:

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

Written Exam

Leadership and Strategy (40%)
- Vision, mission, and values of an organization and applicable legal and regulatory requirements
- Strategic planning process
- Management functions, including planning, organizing, directing, and controlling
- Corporate governance procedures and compliance
- Business elements of an organization (for example: products, competition, customers, technology, demographics, culture, processes, safety and security)
- Third-party or vendor selection, contract negotiation, and management, including development of requests for proposals (RFPs)
- Project management (for example: goals, timetables, deliverables, and procedures)
- Technology to support HR activities
- Budgeting, accounting, and financial concepts (for example: evaluating financial statements, budgets, accounting terms, and cost management)
- Techniques and methods for organizational design (for example: outsourcing, shared services, organizational structures)
- Methods of gathering data for strategic planning purposes (for example: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats [SWOT], and Political, Economic, Social, and Technological [PEST])
- Qualitative and quantitative methods and tools used for analysis, interpretation, and decision making purposes
- Change management processes and techniques
- Techniques for forecasting, planning, and predicting the impact of HR activities and programs across functional areas
- Risk management
- How to deal with situations that are uncertain, unclear, or chaotic
Talent Planning and Acquisition (16%)
- Planning techniques (for example: succession planning, forecasting)
- Talent management practices and techniques (for example: selecting and assessing employees)
- Recruitment sources and strategies
- Staffing alternatives (for example: outsourcing, temporary employment)
- Interviewing and selection techniques and strategies
- Impact of total rewards on recruitment and retention
- Termination approaches and strategies
- Employee engagement strategies
- Employer marketing and branding techniques
- Negotiation skills and techniques
- Due diligence processes (for example: mergers and acquisitions, divestitures)
- Transition techniques for corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, offshoring, and divestitures
- Methods to assess past and future staffing effectiveness (for example: cost per hire, selection ratios, adverse impact)
Learning and Development (12%)
- Training program design and development
- Adult learning processes
- Training and facilitation techniques
- Instructional design principles and processes (for example: needs analysis, content chunking, process flow mapping)
- Techniques to assess training program effectiveness, including use of applicable metrics
- Career and leadership development theories and applications
- Organizational development (OD) methods, motivation methods, and problem-solving techniques
- Coaching and mentoring techniques
- Effective communication skills and strategies (for example: presentation, collaboration, sensitivity)
- Employee retention strategies
- Techniques to encourage creativity and innovation
Total Rewards (12%)
- Compensation strategies and philosophy
- Job analysis and evaluation methods
- Job pricing and pay structures
- External labor markets and economic factors
- Executive compensation methods
- Non-cash compensation methods
- Benefits program strategies
- Fiduciary responsibilities
- Motivation concepts and applications
- Benchmarking techniques
Employee Relations and Engagement (20%)
- Strategies to facilitate positive employee relations
- Methods for assessing employee attitudes, opinions, and satisfaction
- Performance management strategies
- Human relations concepts and applications
- Ethical and professional standards
- Diversity and inclusion concepts and applications
- Occupational injury and illness prevention techniques
- Workplace safety and security risks, and strategies
- Emergency response, business continuity and disaster recovery strategies
- Internal investigation, monitoring, and surveillance techniques
- Data security and privacy
- The collective bargaining process, strategies, and concepts (for example: contract negotiation, costing, administration)

Exam Preparation Resources

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

Best Sources
- HRCI Exam Preparation Resources
- SPHR Exam Content Outline

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 Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) 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

Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)

Renewal Period: 3 years

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

The SPHR certification is renewed every three years by paying a recertification fee and either earning 60 recertification credits or retaking the certification exam. Fifteen of the 60 recertification credits must be business management and strategy credits.

Additional information can be found on the HRCI website.

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).