Building a Clear Path Forward
In the field of human resources where regulations shift, best practices evolve, and certifications require ongoing education, continuous learning isn’t optional. It’s essential.
While HR Resolutions team members have always been encouraged to pursue education that inspires them, Karen Young, President and Founder, recognized an underlying challenge: how do we ensure professional development supports both the growth of each team member and the long-term needs of the business?
It’s a question many organizations struggle with. Employees want opportunities to grow, businesses want to plan for the future, yet without intentional structure, development can become disconnected. Employees may choose courses that interest them, but don’t always align with the competencies needed for advancement or organizational success.
This year, HR Resolutions set out to change that as part of their overall succession planning strategy.
The Challenge: Aligning Growth with Goals
As the team looked ahead to the company’s long-term goals including expanding service capabilities, succession planning, and promoting from within, they realized the path to advancement needed to be clearer, more consistent, and grounded in recognized HR competencies.
Not only would this support staff in making informed development choices, it would also:
- Help employees understand what skills are required at each level
- Give leadership a transparent, equitable framework for promotions
- Strengthen overall consulting capabilities
- Ensure everyone is working from the most up-to-date HR knowledge base
Career development matters for morale, retention, and the future of the business.
Turning to the Experts: Using SHRM’s Competency Model
To build the program they wanted, HR Resolutions went straight to an industry source of trusted HR knowledge: Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
SHRM is the world’s largest professional HR association that provides resources such as online tools, compliance guidance, templates, and professional certifications. It focuses on linking the workforce to the core strategies of the business, ensuring HR practices support a competitive advantage, building a strong organizational culture, and improving overall business performance.
Over the years, SHRM has conducted extensive research to identify the core competencies necessary for effective HR practice ranging from Ethical Practice and Interpersonal Skills to People Knowledge, Organizational Knowledge, Consultation, Relationship Management, and more. In total? More than 50 competencies.
The leadership team reviewed each one individually, mapping them to position levels within HR Resolutions:
- All employees
- HR Specialist
- HR Generalist
- HR Manager
- HR Director
For every competency, two key decisions were made:
- Does this competency apply to this role level?
- Is it a required competency for promotion, or is it preferred?
The result? A clear, structured competency framework that links each stage of an HR career at HR Resolutions with the skills needed to succeed!
Understanding Strengths and Opportunities
With the competency model built, the next step was evaluating where each employee stands. Leadership worked closely with the team to identify which competencies individual employees already demonstrate, and which competencies need further development before they’re ready for advancement.
For example, several years ago HR Resolutions had assured an employee they would be promoted to HR Manager by their third year. At the time, both the employee and leadership knew what the goal was, but not what “HR Manager-ready” meant in measurable terms.
Now, there’s no guesswork. Employees know exactly what competencies are required, and leadership knows exactly how to support them.
Building the Learning Pathway
Competencies alone aren’t enough, and employees need access to high-quality training that strengthens those competencies.
To do this, HR Resolutions curated learning programs from reputable, industry-aligned sources, including:
- SHRM
- HR Certification Institute (HRCI)
- LinkedIn Learning
- Additional vetted training resources
Each course or program is intentionally matched to a specific competency or skill gap, ensuring that learning is relevant, meaningful, and tied to real career progression.
As the team enters 2026, these competency-based learning pathways will be formally introduced and “assigned” to team members. While still offering flexibility and autonomy, the program now gives everyone a transparent framework.
Team members understand exactly what’s needed to grow into the next role, leadership can confidently plan for succession, and HR Resolutions continues to sharpen expertise, stay current, and deliver exceptional HR consulting!