For everyone's benefit, I am copying the full text of the article which appeared in the TOI, Ascent of Feb 21, 2007.
The article follows............
Certifiably Credible...
Accreditation of HR professionals looks set to become a reality at last. The National Human Resource Development network (NHRD) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) and XLRI, Jamshedpur to accredit Human Resource professionals in the country. This is with a view of increasing the quality of HR practices in India, reveals Prof. R K Premarajan, Professor (OB & HR) & Chairperson (PMIR Area), XLRI in a chat with Nikhil Menon...
What are some of the salient features of the MoU that has been signed between NHRD, CII and XLRI? That is, how exactly are you planning to accredit HR professionals and design and develop essential competencies for professionals? Kindly elaborate.
XLRI will provide the 'technical expertise' to the CII-NHRD initiative for HR Competency Mapping as part of the Accreditation Process.
We have jointly finalized the HR Competency Model which consists of about 18 competencies categorized as Technical Functional, Technical Behavioral, Generic Functional, and Generic Behavioral Competencies. The Technical Functional Competencies, for instance, would consist of the basic and advanced knowledge areas of HR including Talent Management, Performance Management, Organizational Structure, Employee and Industrial relations, HR Strategy, International HRM, etc., The Generic Behavioral competencies would include Execution Excellence, Diversity Management, Service Orientation, etc.,
We are thinking of a two-stage assessment process. The first phase would consist of the assessment of technical competencies through an achievement test, which may be done online. The second phase would consist of simulation-based assessment that would involve trained assessors.
We propose to create a pool of assessors who will be certified based on a training cum-certification program, in the four regions of the country. XLRI will develop necessary tools and processes for the assessment. The certified assessors will conduct the mapping of competencies of the HR professionals under the guidance of XLRI. In the first year, we propose to develop about 50 assessors who would cover about 250 professionals as part of the accreditation process.
Is this something that should have been done a long time ago and in your opinion, will this step really work for the industry? How are you trying to ensure that this initiative will be accepted across the industry and by the government and not become another management 'fad'?
One would think we should have focused on it earlier. However, considering that the role of HR as a business partner is taking deeper roots, I would think that it is an opportune time for the three leading bodies to have come together to make this a reality. There is a lot of synergy that would be achieved because of the coming together of these three institutions. With the involvement of CII and its reach, the support of the industry would be that much easier. The strong professional network that NHRD brings to this endeavor would act as a binding force among the professionals. With its reputation as the undisputed leader of HR education in Asia, and its vast alumni network both in HR and other areas of management, XLRI's presence would further consolidate the momentum.
There are several HRD courses being offered at different levels, at institutions across the country. At the academia level, how effective and relevant are these programs and what impact will accreditation have on the quality of HRD academia in India?
Other than the top-tier B Schools, we may not find much uniformity and/or rigor in the curriculum for HR specialization. Therefore, one of the ideas behind this process is also to align the curriculum of the large number of B Schools with the HR Competency Model. We propose to create better awareness in these B Schools in terms of the competency model and also to build the necessary focus in the curriculum. Besides, an 'academic kit' would be made available to these institutes.
Will accreditation lead to top-ranked HR professionals hopping between jobs?
The focus of this exercise is to enhance the overall quality of the HR profession in the country. We are aiming to raise the standard of HR professionals in the long run. Considering such an objective, job hopping should not be an issue that we should be unduly worried about. In any case, this issue is not something that is plaguing the HR profession alone. We do hope that better mechanisms evolve to address this issue across professions.
Do you think accreditation should extend to the management and the recruitment consultancy industry as well?
To an extent, this would be a cascading process. If the process religiously adheres to the rigors that are imperative to the success of such interventions, then it is a matter of time that this becomes a benchmark and all forms of industry are covered.
