SHRM26 Debrief · Global Workforce Trends · #3646
Redefining Global HR Leadership: Credentialing Confidence & Scaling What Matters
with Achal Khanna
& Aslam Sardar
& D. Shiv Shivakumar
& Aslam Sardar & D. Shiv Shivakumar"A credential is a filter. It's a filter, which is a risk-free filter."
What it was about
The future of HR is no longer about process excellence but about business impact, and trusted credentials plus continuous manager development are becoming the strategic levers that let organizations outperform competitors who only recruit talent instead of building it.
By the numbers
AI can crunch a balance sheet in 15 minutes vs. a week for the finance department
Time savings from AI in financial analysis, per Shiv
pay increment longevity of three years for CP-grade certified professionals
Singapore ministry study finding on certified vs. non-certified HR pay
Key notes
- Pursue or support HR certification (e.g., IHRP or SHRM credentials) because certified professionals report higher pay, longer pay-increment longevity at junior levels, and greater hiring confidence from business leaders.
- Move HR assessment toward scenario-based, business-outcome-oriented case studies rather than standard if-this-then-that questions so credentials reflect real judgment, not rote knowledge.
- Invest in training and coaching line managers to be true 'people managers,' since the manager is the last-mile interaction between the organization and the employee and the biggest multiplier of strategy success.
The contrarian takeReference checks (via services like Private Eyes) are becoming a more valuable and telling credential than formal degrees or certifications, according to Shiv.
Take this back Monday
Do this for your team
Roll AI tool access (Copilot/ChatGPT) out to every employee, not just managers, and redeploy freed-up time toward higher-value work.
Say this in your next leadership meeting
Organizations that continuously train and certify their people will outperform those that only recruit talent.
Watch out for
- Hiring for degrees and pedigree instead of character, attitude, and resilience.
- Tolerating the wrong people on a team instead of managing them out (named as the top mistake companies make in talent development).
- Treating HR as payroll administration and routine transactional work instead of elevating it to a coaching/advisory/business-partner function.
Fun fact · D. Shiv Shivakumar
Before becoming a management thinker, he ran PepsiCo India as Chairperson & CEO and led Nokia's business across all emerging markets.
If this landed, see these
↳ Go deeperThe Global Employee Experience: What's Shaping Attraction, Engagement, and Retention WorldwideMaps exactly which EX levers, stability and growth factors, actually retain the talent you build.⇄ The counterpointCharting the Future of Work: A Fireside ChatTension worth having: skills-based hiring says ditch degree-default, this session bets on credentials.✦ The unexpected oneBuilding an AI-Enabled Recruiting TeamThe recruiter time this session frees up is exactly what funds the manager coaching this talk champions.