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    Senior Professional in Human Resources® (SPHR®) Exam Prep

    A 135-hour, self-paced curriculum that prepares senior HR leaders for the HRCI SPHR® certification exam and executive-level HR roles.

    135 Hours
    Total training
    12 Months
    Platform access
    Online, Self-Paced
    Delivery format

    Course Overview

    Reach the pinnacle of HR certification with this comprehensive online course built for experienced HR leaders preparing for the SPHR® exam. The program weaves together strategic HR principles, timely research, and enterprise case studies that shape today's workforce at the policy-making level.

    The SPHR® validates your mastery of the strategic and policy-making aspects of HR management. The course explores real-world case studies from leading companies and examines today's most effective approaches to enterprise HR challenges — from organizational design to executive compensation and complex labor relations.

    Upon completion, you'll have the strategic HR leadership capabilities to serve at the VP, CHRO, or senior director level — and the preparation needed to sit for the HRCI® SPHR® certification exam.

    Course Outline

    Six comprehensive lessons aligned to the HRCI SPHR® body of knowledge, plus the SPHR® Exam Study Guide.

    1

    Lesson 1: Strategic HR Management and Organizational Leadership

    Learn strategic HR management at the enterprise level — establishing HR policies, procedures, and budgets, understanding HR roles and competencies, and aligning HR to the organization's mission and business plan. Explore why structure, systems, culture, and processes must support strategy, and evaluate the stages of global HR management and its effect on technology, metrics, and audits.

    Key Topics

    • Enterprise HR policies, procedures, and budgets
    • HR roles, competencies, and strategic alignment
    • Mission, business plan, structure, and culture fit
    • Global HR management, metrics, and audits
    2

    Lesson 2: HR Planning, Recruitment, and Selection

    Cover all aspects of employment discrimination at scale — civil rights, EEO, affirmative action, ADA, and hiring non-citizens. Learn a strategic planning model, the alignment between business and HR planning, and how to forecast workforce needs. Build expertise in job analysis, competency modeling, and effective job descriptions, then master executive-level interviewing, offer negotiation, and employee agreements.

    Key Topics

    • Civil rights, EEO, affirmative action, ADA at scale
    • Strategic planning models and forecasting
    • Job analysis, competency modeling, and job design
    • Executive interviewing, offers, and agreements
    3

    Lesson 3: Employee Development and Performance Management

    Master advanced training delivery and effectiveness, talent management, performance management, and change management. Study the ADDIE model, the principles of andragogy, and the five building blocks for a learning organization. Explain organizational interventions and how training functions interact with other HR functions across the enterprise.

    Key Topics

    • Advanced training delivery and effectiveness
    • ADDIE model and principles of andragogy
    • Building a learning organization
    • Talent, performance, and change management
    4

    Lesson 4: Compensation and Benefits

    Explore strategic compensation design and the relationship between compensation and other HR functions — staffing, performance, training, and employee relations. Establish pay grades, design incentive systems including executive incentives, profit sharing, gainsharing, and ESOPs, and analyze the economic factors affecting compensation — inflation, demographics, and pay competition.

    Key Topics

    • Pay grades and strategic compensation design
    • Executive incentives, profit sharing, gainsharing, ESOPs
    • Compensation across HR functions
    • Inflation, demographics, and pay competition
    5

    Lesson 5: Employee and Labor Relations

    Lead employee relations, engagement, and involvement strategies at the enterprise level. Describe the employee life cycle, measure satisfaction, and execute enterprise diversity and inclusion initiatives. Discuss labor relations and management acts, union representation, unfair labor practices, and negotiation and collective bargaining strategies.

    Key Topics

    • Engagement, involvement, and the employee life cycle
    • Measuring satisfaction and enterprise DEI initiatives
    • Labor relations and management acts
    • Union representation, unfair labor practices, bargaining
    6

    Lesson 6: Risk Management — Safety, Health, and Security

    Cover enterprise workplace safety, health, and security — from OSHA compliance and risk management to wellness, stress management, and chemical dependency programs. Address crisis planning, security protocols, data protection, and emergency preparedness to ensure a secure workplace across complex organizations.

    Key Topics

    • Enterprise OSHA compliance and risk management
    • Wellness, stress, and chemical dependency programs
    • Crisis planning and emergency preparedness
    • Security protocols and data protection

    SPHR® Exam Study Guide, HR Management textbook, and all course materials are included.

    Certification

    This course prepares a student to take the HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®) SPHR® certification exam — the highest-level credential in the HRCI pathway.

    Exam Eligibility

    To sit for the SPHR®, you must meet one of the following:

    • 4+ years of professional-level HR experience + Master's degree or higher
    • 5+ years of professional-level HR experience + Bachelor's degree
    • 7+ years of professional-level HR experience + high school diploma

    The HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®) does not endorse any particular preparation program or offering. Purchasing a certification product is NOT required and HRCI does not guarantee that an individual will pass based on the purchase of a certification preparation product.

    aPHR™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ are all registered trademarks of HR Certification Institute.

    Course outlines are subject to change at any time without prior notice.

    Ready to Earn Your SPHR®?

    Reserve your seat in the next SPHR® Exam Prep cohort and get the structure, coaching, and credential you need to lead at the executive level.

    Reserve Your SpotBack to Program Details