Are your employees qualified? Looking for qualified people to do competent work? How do you ensure that the people you hire can do the job right? An ever-increasing number of organizations are asking the same questions. Certification planning is the answer and Performance-Based Certification is the key. This is the only book on the market that addresses the growing need to monitor the qualifications of employees. You'll be able to quickly customize the certification tests and other job aids provided on the accompanying disk. Create a certification program within your organization to: Instill confidence that employees, members, or suppliers are qualified to meet the needs of your customers Ensure that your workforce is trained and competent to their job Make your hiring process more cost effective and legally defendable Recognize competence and consistency of your employees Once you've identified the need for a certification program, what's the next step? All of the answers are here!

Table of Contents:
List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits xi Contents of the Website xiii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 The Driver 11 Why Organizations Certify 11 Protecting the Public 12 Reinforcing Professional Stature and Promoting Universal Standards 13 Preparing People for Jobs Requiring Competence in Multiple Disciplines 14 Protecting Jobs and Enhancing Professional Stature 15 Improving Business Processes 16 Establishing Professional Credibility and Influencing Academic Curricula 18 Establishing Uniform Performance Standards 18 Protecting the Brand Name 19 Raising the Level of Core Competencies 20 Success Measures 21 Who to Involve 21 The Players 21 Target Audience 22 Stakeholders 22 Benefits of Certification 25 Missteps and Oversights 26 Tips 27 Summary 30 Where to Learn More 31 Notes 32 Chapter 2 The Business Case 33 What Goes into a Business Case 34 Hypotheses, Premises, and Best Guesses 36 Metrics or Key Success Indicators 37 Economic Metrics 39 Noneconomic Metrics 42 The Requirements 43 Missteps and Oversights 43 Tips 44 Summary 48 Where to Learn More 50 Note 51 Chapter 3 The Requirements 53 Distinctions Among Eligibility, Qualification, and Certification 53 Roles Certification Plays 54 Gatekeeping or Screening 54 Recognizing Demonstrated Performance 57 Recognizing Different Levels of Accomplishment or Different Capabilities 57 Typical Requirements for Certification 58 Acceptance of a Code of Conduct 61 Eligibility 61 Education, Training, and Development 65 Endorsements 67 Experience 67 External Credentials 69 Tests 69 Work Samples 72 Work or Personnel Records 72 Maintenance and Recertification 73 Missteps and Oversights 74 Tips 74 Summary 76 Where to Learn More 77 Notes 78 Chapter 4 The Standards 79 Competencies, Standards, and Criteria 81 Defining the Scope of the Effort 85 The Job or Task Analysis 89 Traditional Job/Task Analysis Methodologies 89 Controlling Bias 91 Sampling Error 92 Design Error 95 Administrative Error 109 Design of the Credential 111 Certification vs. Certificate 111 The Elements 114 Missteps and Oversights 115 Tips 116 Standards 118 The Design 119 Summary 119 Procedures 121 Focus Groups 121 The NGT 122 Outcome-Based Competency Session 123 Delphi Study 124 Where to Learn More 125 Note 126 Chapter 5 Assessment 127 Definitions 127 Rigor and Validity 130 Sampling Error 131 Under-Representation 131 Extraneous Abilities 132 Test Specifications 133 Design Errors 134 Administrative Error 136 Types of Test Items 137 Response-Supplied Items 137 Response-Not-Supplied Items 138 Computer-Based Testing 141 Determining the Passing Score 142 Informed Judgment Method 143 Contrasting Group Method 143 Conjectural (Angoff-Nedelsky) Method 145 Issues in Assessment and Testing 146 Opportunity to Learn 146 Adequate Time and Resources 147 Face Validity 147 Documentation 148 Missteps and Oversights 148 Tips 149 Summary 155 Where to Learn More 161 Chapter 6 Governance and Administration 163 Responsibilities of the Governance Board 163 Candidate Rights 165 Disclosure 165 Appeals and Exemptions 167 Preparation and Remediation 169 Ethics 170 Fees and Compensation 170 Test Administration 174 Responsibilities of the Program Administrator 175 Establishing Administrative Support Systems 176 Analyzing Test Items 177 Missteps and Oversights 178 Tips 179 Summary 187 Where to Learn More 190 Notes 191 Chapter 7 Recertification and Maintenance 193 Stability of Enabling Knowledge 194 Distinguishing Between Knowledge Atrophy and Knowledge Evolution 195 Defining the Purpose of Recertification or Maintenance 198 Redoing the Job/Task Analysis 199 Timing the Requirement 200 Missteps and Oversights 201 Tips 201 Summary 203 Where to Learn More 205 Chapter 8 Implementation 207 The Marketing Strategy 208 Defining the Market 209 Branding the Credential 210 Launching the Credential 211 Rolling Out the Credential and Penetrating a Market 212 Developing and Executing a Communication Plan 213 Developing Effective Program Materials 214 Celebrating Success 215 Missteps and Oversights 216 Tips 217 Summary 220 Where to Learn More 220 Chapter 9 Going Global 221 Distinctions Among National, International, Global, and Multi-National Programs 221 Why Go Global or International? 224 Determining Reciprocity, Equivalency, and Exemptions 225 Safeguarding Against Fraud or Misrepresentation 226 Cultural Issues 227 Language and Translation 227 Missteps and Oversights 229 Tips 230 Summary 230 Where to Learn More 233 Note 233 Chapter 10 Evaluation 235 Developing an Evaluation Strategy 235 Defining Evaluation Processes 236 Determining What to Measure 237 Determining Where to Start 238 Being Clear About Your Purpose 242 Developing an Agenda 244 Presenting Your Data 244 Missteps and Oversights 246 Tips 247 Summary 248 Where to Learn More 251 Index 253 About the Author 269