PHR and SPHR Exam Content Outline

Use the following summary of the PHR® and SPHR® Exam Content Outlines to find where each functional area and each specific topic is covered so you can focus on the areas you most need to review.
 

PHR® Exam Content Outline

The PHR® exam is created using the PHR® Exam Content Outline. Created by HR subject-matter experts in the field, it is a comprehensive outline of responsibilities of and knowledge needed by today’s HR professional. The outline is grouped into five functional areas. The following are the official PHR® exam objectives, as specified by HRCI®.

Business Management

The following responsibilities and knowledge make up the Business Management functional area:
Responsibilities:
- Interpret and apply information related to general business environment and industry best practices.
- Reinforce the organization’s core values, ethical and behavioral expectations through modeling, communication, and coaching.
- Understand the role of cross-functional stakeholders in the organization and establish relationships to influence decision making.
- Recommend and implement best practices to mitigate risk (for example: lawsuits, internal/external threats).
- Determine the significance of data for recommending organizational strategies (for example: attrition rates, diversity in hiring, time to hire, time to fill, ROI, success of training).
Knowledge of:
- Vision, mission, values, and structure of the organization
- Legislative and regulatory knowledge and procedures
- Corporate governance procedures and compliance
- Employee communications
- Ethical and professional standards
- Business elements of an organization (for example: other functions and departments, products, competition, customers, technology, demographics, culture, processes, safety and security)
- Existing HRIS, reporting tools, and other systems for effective data reporting and analysis
- Change management theory, methods, and application
- Risk management
- Qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for analytics
- Dealing with situations that are uncertain, unclear, or chaotic

Talent Planning and Acquisition

The following responsibilities and knowledge make up the Talent Planning and Acquisition functional area:
Responsibilities:
- Understand federal laws and organizational policies to adhere to legal and ethical requirements in hiring (for example: Title VII, nepotism, disparate impact, FLSA, independent contractors).
- Develop and implement sourcing methods and techniques (for example: employee referrals, diversity groups, social media).
- Execute the talent acquisition life cycle (for example: interviews, extending offers, background checks, negotiation).
Knowledge of:
- Applicable federal laws and regulations related to talent planning and acquisition activities
- Planning concepts and terms (for example: succession planning, forecasting)
- Current market situation and talent pool availability
- Staffing alternatives (for example: outsourcing, temporary employment)
- Interviewing and selection techniques, concepts, and terms
- Applicant tracking systems and/or methods
- Impact of total rewards on recruitment and retention
- Candidate/employee testing processes and procedures
- Verbal and written offers/contract techniques
- New hire employee orientation processes and procedures
- Internal workforce assessments (for example: skills testing, workforce demographics, analysis)
- Transition techniques for corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence processes, offshoring, and divestitures
- Metrics to assess past and future staffing effectiveness (for example: cost per hire, selection ratios, adverse impact)

Learning and Development

The following responsibilities and knowledge make up the Learning and Development functional area:
- Provide consultation to managers and employees on professional growth and development opportunities.
- Implement and evaluate career development and training programs (for example: career pathing, management training, mentorship).
- Contribute to succession planning discussions with management by providing relevant data.
Knowledge of:
- Applicable federal laws and regulations related to learning and development activities
- Learning and development theories and applications
- Training program facilitation, techniques, and delivery
- Adult learning processes
- Instructional design principles and processes (for example: needs analysis, process flow mapping)
- Techniques to assess training program effectiveness, including use of applicable metrics
- Organizational development (OD) methods, motivation methods, and problem-solving techniques
- Task/process analysis
- Coaching and mentoring techniques
- Employee retention concepts and applications
- Techniques to encourage creativity and innovation

Total Rewards

The following responsibilities and knowledge make up the Total Rewards functional area:
Responsibilities:
- Manage compensation-related information and support payroll issue resolution.
- Implement and promote awareness of noncash rewards (for example: paid volunteer time, tuition assistance, workplace amenities, and employee recognition programs).
- Implement benefit programs (for example: health plan, retirement plan, employee assistance plan, other insurance).
- Administer federally compliant compensation and benefit programs.
Knowledge of:
- Applicable federal laws and regulations related to total rewards
- Compensation policies, processes, and analysis
- Budgeting, payroll, and accounting practices related to compensation and benefits
- Job analysis and evaluation concepts and methods
- Job pricing and pay structures
- Noncash compensation
- Methods to align and benchmark compensation and benefits
- Benefits programs policies, processes, and analysis

Employee and Labor Relations

The following responsibilities and knowledge make up the Employee and Labor Relations functional area:
Responsibilities:
- Analyze functional effectiveness at each stage of the employee life cycle (for example: hiring, onboarding, development, retention, exit process, alumni program) and identify alternate approaches as needed.
- Collect, analyze, summarize, and communicate employee engagement data.
- Understand organizational culture, theories, and practices; identify opportunities and make recommendations.
- Understand and apply knowledge of programs, federal laws, and regulations to promote outreach, diversity, and inclusion (for example: affirmative action, employee resource groups, community outreach, corporate responsibility).
- Implement and support workplace programs relative to health, safety, security, and privacy following federal laws and regulations (for example: OSHA, workers’ compensation, emergency response, workplace violence, substance abuse, legal postings).
- Promote organizational policies and procedures (for example: employee handbook, SOPs, time and attendance, expenses).
- Manage complaints or concerns involving employment practices, behavior, or working conditions, and escalate by providing information to appropriate stakeholders.
- Promote techniques and tools for facilitating positive employee and labor relations with knowledge of applicable federal laws affecting union and nonunion workplaces (for example: dispute/conflict resolution, anti-discrimination policies, sexual harassment).
- Support and consult with management in performance management process (for example: employee reviews, promotions, recognition programs).
- Support performance activities (for example: coaching, performance improvement plans, involuntary separations) and employment activities (for example: job eliminations, reductions in force) by managing corresponding legal risks.
Knowledge of:
- General employee relations activities and analysis (for example, conducting investigations, researching grievances, working conditions, reports, etc.)
- Applicable federal laws and procedures affecting employment, labor relations, safety, and security
- Human relations, culture and values concepts, and applications to employees and organizations
- Review and analysis process for assessing employee attitudes, opinions, and satisfaction
- Diversity and inclusion
- Recordkeeping requirements
- Occupational injury and illness prevention techniques
- Workplace safety and security risks
- Emergency response, business continuity, and disaster recovery process
- Internal investigation, monitoring, and surveillance techniques
- Data security and privacy
- The collective bargaining process, terms, and concepts (for example: contract negotiation, costing, administration)
- Performance management process, procedures, and analysis
- Termination approaches, concepts, and terms

SPHR® Exam Content Outline

The SPHR® exam is created using the SPHR® Exam Content Outline. Created by HR subject-matter experts in the field, it is a comprehensive outline of responsibilities of and knowledge needed by today’s Senior HR professional. Like the PHR®, the SPHR® outline is grouped into five functional areas. Three of the functional areas have the same heading but slightly different focus on the exam content outline. The following are the official SPHR® exam objectives, as specified by HRCI®.

Leadership and Strategy

The following responsibilities and knowledge make up the Leadership and Strategy functional area:
Responsibilities:
- Develop and execute HR plans that are aligned to the organization’s strategic plan (for example: HR strategic plans, budgets, business plans, service delivery plans, HRIS, technology).
- Evaluate the applicability of federal laws and regulations to organizational strategy (for example: policies, programs, practices, business expansion/reduction).
- Analyze and assess organizational practices that impact operations and people management to decide on the best available risk management strategy (for example: avoidance, mitigation, acceptance).
- Interpret and use business metrics to assess and drive achievement of strategic goals and objectives (for example: key performance indicators, financial statements, budgets).
- Design and evaluate HR data indicators to inform strategic actions within the organization (for example: turnover rates, cost per hire, retention rates).
- Evaluate credibility and relevance of external information to make decisions and recommendations (for example: salary data, management trends, published surveys and studies, legal/regulatory analysis).
- Contribute to the development of the organizational strategy and planning (for example: vision, mission, values, ethical conduct).
- Develop and manage workplace practices that are aligned with the organization’s statements of vision, values, and ethics to shape and reinforce organizational culture.
- Design and manage effective change strategies to align organizational performance with the organization’s strategic goals.
- Establish and manage effective relationships with key stakeholders to influence organizational behavior and outcomes.
Knowledge of:
- 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

The following responsibilities and knowledge make up the Talent Planning and Acquisition functional area:
Responsibilities:
- Evaluate and forecast organizational needs throughout the business cycle to create or develop workforce plans (for example: corporate restructuring, workforce expansion, or reduction).
- Develop, monitor, and assess recruitment strategies to attract desired talent (for example: labor market analysis, compensation strategies, selection process, onboarding, sourcing and branding strategy).
- Develop and evaluate strategies for engaging new employees and managing cultural integrations (for example: new employee acculturation, downsizing, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, global expansion).
Knowledge of:
- 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

The following responsibilities and knowledge make up the Learning and Development functional area:
Responsibilities:
- Develop and evaluate training strategies (for example: modes of delivery, timing, content) to increase individual and organizational effectiveness.
- Analyze business needs to develop a succession plan for key roles (for example: identify talent, outline career progression, coaching and development) to promote business continuity.
- Develop and evaluate employee retention strategies and practices (for example: assessing talent, developing career paths, managing job movement within the organization).
Knowledge of:
- 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

The following responsibilities and knowledge make up the Total Rewards functional area:
Responsibilities:
- Analyze and evaluate compensation strategies (for example: philosophy, classification, direct, indirect, incentives, bonuses, equity, executive compensation) that attract, reward, and retain talent.
- Analyze and evaluate benefit strategies (for example: health, welfare, retirement, recognition programs, work-life balance, wellness) that attract, reward, and retain talent.
Knowledge of:
- Compensation strategies and philosophy
- Job analysis and evaluation methods
- Job pricing and pay structures
- External labor markets and economic factors
- Executive compensation methods
- Noncash compensation methods
- Benefits program strategies
- Fiduciary responsibilities
- Motivation concepts and applications
- Benchmarking techniques

Employee Relations and Engagement

The following responsibilities and knowledge make up the Employee Relations and Engagement functional area:
Responsibilities:
- Design and evaluate strategies for employee satisfaction (for example: recognition, career path) and performance management (for example: performance evaluation, corrective action, coaching).
- Analyze and evaluate strategies to promote diversity and inclusion.
- Evaluate employee safety and security strategies (for example: emergency response plan, building access, data security/privacy).
- Develop and evaluate labor strategies (for example: collective bargaining, grievance program, concerted activity, staying union free, strategically aligning with labor).
Knowledge of:
- 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