Summary
The CIPD HR Professional Map aims to cover theoretical knowledge, practical activities, and behaviors that, according to CIPD, are necessary for HR to be able to maintain the value of the organization. It is a pivotal model for HR professionals and allows them to obtain the required knowledge and skills in order to deliver quality service across every aspect of their profession (Rees & French 2013).
The Map identifies 10 professional areas in Human Resources. Each of them is further subdivided into four bands and eight desired patterns of behavior. The two core areas of the map are applicable to all professionals (Martin 2008):
- Insights, strategy, and solutions – These ensure understanding of the organization and its environment and apply the insights to develop strategies and solutions that would allow for meeting organizational needs at present and in the future;
- Leading HR – This performs the role of a model leader in order to increase the contribution that HR professionals make on their own or with other members’ support.
The non-core professional areas are organization design, organization development, resourcing and talent planning, learning and talent development, performance and reward, employee engagement, employee relations, and service delivery and information.
CIPD research has proven that success in HR depends on competence in the core of the MAP. The 10 areas describe the scope of activities that must be performed and the information one must possess at the four bands of professional competence. Another component of the professional map is the list of the eight behaviors that professionals need to adopt in order to perform their duties and responsibilities properly. These behavioral patterns are about being a role model, curious, a decisive thinker, a skilled influencer, personally credible, driven to deliver, and courageous to challenge (Martin 2008). The four bands of competence represent levels of professional development and define the contribution of professionals in the following areas (Lester 2014):
- connections with clients (support, leader, consultants, etc.);
- activities performed by professionals (leading, counseling, etc.);
- the way professionals spend time (providing information, clarifying it, dealing with organizational problems, etc.);
- services provided to clients (solutions, data, etc.);
- ways to measure success and contribution.
For each of these criteria, serious improvements are required from a professional to go to the next level of competence. Particularly, the relative skill balance ratio of behaviors to technical are expected to be 30:70 for Band 1, 50:50 for Band 2, 60:40 for Band 3, and 80:20 for Band 4.
The Map also describes the way you need to modify your activity in order to move from one band to another (Lester 2014).
Continuing Professional Development
Continuing professional development (CPD) is a combination of various models, techniques, and methods that can assist specialists in improving their knowledge and skills. It has the following principles (Pilbeam & Corbridge 2010):
- CPD is continuous;
- performance members show interest in both internal and external environments;
- they strive to develop their performance both at the individual and organizational levels;
- development is fully managed by each individual;
- knowledge is obtained from all the experiences; and
- reflection is a major activity.
Reference List
Leopold, J & Harris, L 2009, The strategic managing of human resources, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River.
Lester, S 2014, ‘Professional versus occupational models of work competence’, Research in Post-Compulsory Education, vol.19, no. 3, pp. 276-286.
Martin, G 2008, Technology, outsourcing & transforming HR, Routledge, London.
Pilbeam, S & Corbridge, M 2010, People resourcing and talent planning: HRM in practice, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River.
Rees, G & French, R 2013, Leading, managing and developing people, CIPD Publications, London.
Scullion, H & Collings, D 2011, Global talent management, Routledge, London.