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Human Performance

Published June 2009

Certifying Performance

 

  Harold D. Stolovitch, Ph.D.

Recently, a hiring manager asked me, "How much confidence can I give to a person's certificates of performance?" My answer was not very encouraging.

What Do Certificates, Diplomas and Licensure Tell Us?
Certification is supposed to confirm that someone is competent to do something. It is not, however, a legal document permitting practice of a profession or trade. That is licensure. A diploma is a physical document issued by an educational agency. It affirms an individual has completed a program of study.

Untangling these can be difficult. Of the three, licensure is the easiest to deal with as it is generally issued by, or with the sanction of, a government agency and has legal implications. Some professionals can only practice with a formal license. Granting a license usually requires a rigorous course of study and practice. The right to maintain a license frequently includes periodic monitoring of performance and re-verification of capability to perform.

Think of your driver's license as a simple example. It required study, practice and demonstration of knowledge and performance capability. It periodically comes up for renewal, occasionally with written exams, physical fitness tests and demonstration of driving skill. All licenses are policed and can be revoked if standards are not met.

Diplomas are trickier. They only state the individual has completed something. They do not certify performance. Universities, vocational programs and private institutions all issue diplomas. Their value depends on the reputation of the issuing organization and job relevance.

Certification creates the most difficulty with respect to performance. In general, certificates state the holder possesses ability to perform. My advice: "Buyer beware!"

Certification Circus
Certification of performance takes many forms. To simplify discussion, let's arbitrarily establish three levels, each with an assigned degree of confidence of performance capability.

Level I: Issued upon payment. Alas, some so-called certifying institutions grant certificates for a fee. Just send a check and a pretty certificate arrives in the mail. You can be anything for a price.

Obviously, you attribute zero confidence to these types of certificates as performance indicators. Check out the certificate by going online to track down the requirements for issue. Anyone who presents one of these is telling you something about him or herself.

Level II: Program participation. This type states the person has gone through a program of some kind. It says nothing about ability to perform. While better than the Level I certificate, treat it with caution. To establish its value as a performance testimonial, contact the issuing agency and inquire about requirements to obtain the certificate. Sometimes, the certificate may be somewhat of a performance indicator. However, it's best not to invest too much confidence in it.

Level III: Participation in a program with testing. Many professional organizations offer solid programs resulting in valuable learning. Some include serious testing. If such a certificate is presented, verify the type of testing applied. The highest level requires performance demonstration. If the individual was observed performing tasks within the work context, with mechanisms to capture performance results, the certificate has high validity.