Thank you for your interest in HR Certified!

Many great things have happened for us since incorporating them in December 2018, and I am excited to share them with you! The most significant change is an update to our Vision Statement as a company.

As you can see, I am not your typical HR person. I am a Black male, born and raised on the South Side of Chicago and armed with only an Associates Degree in HR. When I decided to redeploy myself from benefits administration to HR Generalist work, earning HR Certification was instrumental in that career move. Upgrading to the senior level designations allowed me to eventually get promoted to my dream job – to become a strategic HRBP. This was not an opportunity handed to me. I proved my added value from what I learned from the certification process and presented a business case to upgrade my role to the function I was performing, and I succeeded.

And somehow, still without a degree and now locked and loaded with senior-level certifications, I successfully navigated a fulfilling HR career in which I have partnered with business executives across high-tech industries, including biotech, bio-pharm, and medical devices. And just a few weeks ago, I was honored to be a member of the Forbes Coaches Council for my work in Human Resources.

This is why I am proud to say that HR Certified, LLC is different because its Founder is different. This is not a hobby. It is a dedication to values embedded by my late grandmother to BE BETTER so you can DO BETTER.

I posted on LinkedIn a realization that I never spoke out loud my entire career – HR has a diversity problem. I know this to be true because of my “lived-in” experience.

Most of us can acknowledge this by attending an HR conference or polling our HR team. When I participated in these same conferences and saw someone I identified as Black, we didn’t speak but silently acknowledged that “Oh, I’m not the only one here.” So as a represented party that is underrepresented in this passionate career I have chosen, it is time to change this narrative and address this opportunity head-on.

With that, we introduce our new Vision Statement:

To increase diversity within

Corporate HR Departments nationwide

through attraction and upskilling efforts.

We believe that a more diverse human resources team

will create even better workplaces for ALL, which in turn

will generate better returns for the business.

All changes from this point forward will support this new Vision, and I look forward to sharing more with you as we undertake this more focused journey and opportunity. A Vision Statement is a future-looking state we will strive and accomplish one step at a time.

Please join in ensuring that another black boy like me gets a shot at this incredible work in Human Resources and, more importantly, that he is not alone.

Click HERE to View the LinkedIn Live Event on Overcoming Your Giant: How to Succeed Against The Odds w/ Anthony Howard