Testimonial Comments

Nigel Teal, SHRINZ (L &D), Small Business Advisor, Department of Labour.

The world of work has changed.

Although being a general member of the institute has significant merits with access to diverse resources and up-to-date information, professional accreditation is more personal.

For me personal and professional credibility are essential to individual branding made tangible by having had my experiences and skill levels assessed by peers in my chosen profession. I have a strong commitment to continuing professional development and reflective practice, and see accreditation as formal recognition which I liken to the difference between a general builder and that of a registered master builder.

Being awarded my specialist membership status by the nationally recognised official body of Human Resources in New Zealand has given me a sense of professional identity in all my business engagements at all levels. During the last three years I have sensed a subtle acknowledgement and respect surface towards me from local and national HR fraternity. Consequently I have become more pro-active in my support and contribution to local events and general networking. Oh, not to forget that being a professional accredited member is the same fee as general membership! Embrace the change.

Rowan Tonkin, FHRINZ, General Manager Human Resources, Gen-i / Telecom.

I am proud to be a Professional Member, it is recognised as a validation of my capability, experience and professional ethics.

Many of my colleagues belong to other professional associations and my professional membership of HRINZ is seen as a comparable benchmark for my industry.

Gary Little, MHRINZ, HRIS Manager, Massey University.

Originally, I viewed professional recognition as a challenge (to see if I could “make the grade”) and an opportunity to add more skills to my kit bag. I noted three areas of potential development: personal (or self), technical upskilling and the recognition from the business.

All of these skills have been enhanced however, with the benefit of hindsight it isn’t the challenge that really engaged me – but rather, the opportunities offered as part of a national organisation.

Much of my growth and technical development has been through others: like some really awesome mentoree’s, other senior practitioners and national committees. I feel as if I have contributed, in a small way, to the work of my professional body and indirectly this has assisted me and my workplace.

Debbie Dawson, MHRINZ, Consultant, Dawson McKenzie Consulting.

I applied for professional accreditation at a time when the local branch was offering workshops on the subject and was encouraged to go along by an older more experienced HR colleague in another organisation. This personal approach was very affirming and gave me the confidence to put in my application.

In NZ many of us work in organisations where there are only a few HR people or maybe we are the only HR person, so it can be difficult to assess how competent we really are, and this is where the professional accreditation process can be very helpful. I also think that the grading process used by HRINZ is good because if applications are turned down the applicants will be given specific feedback and encouraged to reapply at a later date or in another category.

Nick Ang, MHRINZ, Teaching Fellow, New Zealand Defence Force

In the employment competitive market for senior HR professionals and HR Managers MHRINZ sets me apart from other HR professionals in that the hiring manager/employer can look:

at my work/management and leadership experiences as listed in the CV
my academic qualifications and ability to think at the higher level
my fit for the vacant job – gut feeling
my fit for the job via psychometric testing/in basket exercises

What the prospective employer does not need to check up (in any great depth) is my HR professional knowledge.

My CV is written around our competencies and the MHRINZ lets the hiring manager/or recruitment company rep know that our professional body has deemed my skills/knowledge/attitudes as competent to be a HR Manager in the New Zealand work framework (and its legal framework).One would think (and hope) that the prospective employer would visit the HRINZ website and spend 10 minutes finding out about professional accreditation!

I believe that if the candidate has MHRINZ then that would indicate to the hiring manager that the applicant has been exposed to all the competencies and functions that is required from a HR professional in New Zealand and really the only decision to be made is: will this person fit the HR team and the company culture.

If you would like to chat to me more about my views on professional development, please don’t hesitate to contact me via HRINZ.

Major Jim Pope, FHRINZ, Deputy Director of Director of Military Personnel Policy, NZ Defence Force and HRINZ Grading Panel Convenor

I was accredited way back in 2000, so have been an accredited member for over 10 years. I applied thinking what have I got to loose, it will give me a good steer of where I stand! To me being accredited was a test. Did I have the knowledge and skills needed and was I at the standard expected? So I was very pleasantly surprised when I was accepted for accreditation – or professional membership as it was back then.

Since being accredited I have found that I have confidence in my ability, my knowledge and my skills. I passed my ‘test’ and know that I am as good as every other accredited member. It has enabled greater learning for me in other areas too, as I was accredited I was able to stand for election to the Institute’s Board, which I did and I was elected. So how is this learning?

Well, I have been exposed to governance, higher level strategic planning and have been given the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities that have enabled me to grow, all opportunities in HR that were not available to me elsewhere. In turn, I have been exposed in more depth to other HR fields that has improved my level of understanding and ability to apply HR at a more strategic level. The exposure to governance has also increased my strategic thinking – all because as an accredited member I was able to take advantage of an opportunity that only accreditation provided.

So what about my work place? Being accredited has given me the confidence to apply for and consider roles I would not have considered previously. In my current role (I am responsible for a project building a new HR Manual, merging of different policies and implementation of a new policy development framework in an organisation of 13,000 people) my accreditation was one of the major reasons why I was asked to take the role on.

Since taking up the role, I have been asked to assist with the development of an HR Officer Career stream within the organisation. My employer has recognised the value to them of my being accredited and I am now involved in other areas that I would not have had exposure to had I not been accredited. It has also made my job easier because HR people and others in the organisation know I am accredited and I am not having to re-establish credibility, my accreditation has done this for me.

You ask: isn’t this a reflection of competent work? And you would be right – the point is that being accredited is a mark, or standard of professional competence. So what? How does being accredited really help?

Simple really – If you pass your degree, you get to letters after your name, e.g. a lawyer uses LLB. MHRINZ or SHRINZ is the same - it is the symbol of your professional competence.

Accountants can work with books of account without chartered accountant status, but they could not progress to being a CFO without obtaining chartered status.

What this means is that professional accreditation will enhance your career prospects because it is a clear and simple indicator to your employer or future employer of your professional ability.

Professional Membership has given me confidence in my ability. It has given me opportunities that would not otherwise have been available to me, it has helped me to get into roles that have allowed me to grow and develop, and it has enabled me to more quickly establish credibility. Yes I could have done all of this without accreditation, but accreditation has made it so much easier!!

So consider this, if you could make it easier to achieve your career goals as an HR professional, then won’t accreditation have a significant part to play in helping you to do this.

If you wish to share your Professional Membership story, please email hrinz@hrinz.org.nz stating what professional accreditation means to you and why you applied. Please provide any benefits or impacts you have experienced since achieving professional membership status.