By Amy Schabacker Dufrane
It’s always energizing—and, often, a little nerve-wracking—to launch something new… especially when that “something” has the potential to impact hundreds of thousands of HR professionals.
After months in the making, HRCI has officially introduced a first-of-its-kind online community designed for members at every stage of their HR career. Built for professionals just like you, HRCI ENGAGE allows you to collaborate with peers, learn from diverse perspectives, and tap into expert insights, all within a mobile-friendly format that is accessible wherever you go.
I’m not sure there has ever been a more dynamic time during which we need deep resources to guide our people decisions. HRCI ENGAGE has welcomed community members form 74 countries so far, ranging from HR business partners to HR generalists, and from CHROs to HR operations. Our users span a wide range of industries, including healthcare, technology, financial services, and construction.
You might be wondering why we have chosen to offer HRCI ENGAGE to HR professionals at no charge. Time and again, the HRCI community has told us that your departments are becoming more resource-constrained, and the speed at which you are challenged to address exceptional circumstances continually increases.
By having “self-care” time to focus on your own career and gain valuable wisdom from industry leaders in one easy-to-access online destination, you can refine your skills through real-world knowledge exchanges. In fact, HRCI-certified professionals can earn free HRCI recertification credits through HRCI ENGAGE.
One of my favorite features of HRCI ENGAGE is the dedicated space to “share your HR challenges” with your peers. Whether aligning compensation with business strategy, tracking meaningful metrics, or concerns about AI, odds are your peers have grappled with similar problems. HRCI ENGAGE provides a safe space for these conversations. It’s a force multiplier for your HR team, available the moment you need it.
For 50 years, HRCI has set the global standard as the premier credentialing and learning community for the human resource profession. In fact, we are secretariat for ISO TC 260, which produces international standards on current and anticipated issues involving people management.
Given our global operations, we have been able to ensure that HRCI ENGAGE has ambassadors overseeing their respective regions, which include Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. This is particularly valuable to our members who need to be aware of legislative and cultural requirements in multinational organizations.
I would be remiss if I didn’t highlight the job seeker functionality in HRCI ENGAGE. Community members can post job openings and job seekers can share their “open to work” status. Whether looking for the right remote job or considering a major life change by relocating to another country, our resources section offers abundant opportunity – especially because it is specific to the HR professional.
HRCI ENGAGE also features a robust event component, allowing our community members to view upcoming events (both HRCI and local), attend live gatherings within HRCI ENGAGE, and even engage in live chat discussions on key topics. The events function is also constantly growing, with more exciting developments to come in 2025.
Like any community, we are interdependent, connected, and we grow and progress through the growth and progression of others. Join us to learn, contribute, and flourish on the journey that is your HR career. To access HRCI ENGAGE for free, visit https://www.hrci.org/engage.