BENEFITS AND COSTS OF CERTIFICATION
Q: What are the Benefits of Professional Certification?
A: Professional certification offers individuals a wide range of important benefits. The certification designation demonstrates to current and potential employers that the employee possesses a solid foundation of experience and education in a field of endeavor that can have a positive impact on bottom-line results. Certification symbolizes knowledge and accomplishment and is highly regarded by colleagues and employers. As a certified professional, the employee can proudly join a successful group of professionals who are enriching and advancing their careers and their chosen professions. Specific benefits include the following:
Professionalism -- Certification indicates a high level of professionalism to both coworkers and customers, increasing one's value in the market place.
Leadership -- Certification signifies an employee as dedicated to continuous improvement of himself/herself.
Recognition -- Only a small fraction of professionals ever achieve certification, indicating that they are a leading professional in their fields.
Knowledge -- Certification will improve one's understanding of the most current processes and trends in one's profession.
Ethical Behavior¡ªIndividuals who become certified must subscribe to a rigorous code of ethics appropriate to the specific profession.
Q: Do Managers Support Professional Certification Programs:
A: Interviews with American managers from a wide variety of organizations suggest the following:
- Certification helps professionals improve their job skills.
- Certification can provide the basis for a continuing program of professional development.
- Certification can contribute to increased departmental performance.
- Certification can increase the credibility of the department.
- The time, money, and effort spent on a program of professional certification is a good use of the organization's resources.
- A certification program can be developed in an organization that has limited resources.
Q: Does Certification Impact Salary Levels?
A: Certified professionals earn from 3 to 8 percent more per year than non-certified professionals, according to The Institute of Supply Management 2016 Salary Survey.
Q: Does Certification help a professional/manager get hired and/or promoted?
A: This is a perennial question, and one which can be answered only in an immediate, organizational context. Most managers (but not all) support professional certification and prefer to hire and promote those who are certified. If the manager is him/herself certified, the odds are that he/she will favor those who are similarly certified. Promotions of course depend on your performance after you get hired. Excellent performance coupled with professional certification provides an unbeatable combination and a sure-fire route to promotion! Certification is the ¡°Housekeeping Seal of Approval¡±. It provides ¡°the racer¡¯s edge¡± when everything else (education, background, experience, etc.) is equal!
