Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) Practice Exam

Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) Practice Exam

The Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) certification exam, offered by the HR Certification Institute (HRCI), validates your expertise in managing human resources (HR) functions across international borders.  Earning the GPHR demonstrates your ability to develop and implement HR strategies that  comply with diverse regulations and cater to a global workforce.

Who Should Take This Exam?

This exam is ideal for HR professionals who:

• Work in multinational organizations or aspire to careers in international HR.
• Manage or support HR initiatives across various countries and regions.
• Seek to demonstrate their understanding of global HR complexities and best practices.

Are There Prerequisites?

HRCI outlines specific education and experience requirements to be eligible for the GPHR exam. You must meet one of the following criteria:

• Possess a Master's degree or higher and at least two years of experience in a professional-level HR position.
• Hold a Bachelor's degree and at least three years of experience in a professional-level HR position.
• Have at least four years of experience in a professional-level HR position.

Roles and Responsibilities 

• Global HR Specialist: Developing and implementing HR policies, programs, and procedures that comply with international regulations and cultural norms.
• International Compensation and Benefits Manager: Designing and administering compensation and benefits packages that cater to diverse employee needs across various countries.
• Mobility Manager: Overseeing the international relocation of employees, including visa processing, cultural adjustment programs, and logistical support.
• HR Business Partner (Global): Providing strategic HR guidance and support to business units operating internationally.
• Training and Development Specialist (Global): Delivering training programs that address the needs of a global workforce and consider cultural sensitivities.

Exam Details

• Number of Questions: 140+25
• Length of Time:  180
• Registration Fee: $495+$100
• Validity: 3 years
• Exam Language English

Course Outline

1. Functional Area 01 | Strategic HR Management (25%) 

• Responsibilities: 
• Participate in the development and implementation of the organization’s global business strategy, plans, and structure. 
• Develop HR strategies to support the organization’s global strategic plans and the business requirements 
• Develop an HR infrastructure and processes that supports global business initiatives where HR serves as adaptable subject matter expert and credible business partner. 
• Participate in strategic decision-making and due diligence for business changes. 
• Develop HR processes to establish operations in new countries. 
• Develop measurement systems to evaluate HR’s contribution to the achievement of the organization’s strategic goals. 
• Stay current on economic, geopolitical, legislative, employment, cultural, and social trends in countries of operation and develop appropriate HR strategies and responses. 
• Provide leadership for the development and integration of the organization’s culture, values, ethical standards, philosophy on corporate social responsibility, risk management, and employer branding. 
• Establish internal and external global relationships and alliances with stakeholders. 
• Determine strategies and business needs for outsourcing and vendor and supplier selection for HR operations 
• Develop strategies for optimizing workforce and minimizing related expenses using various staffing options.
• Participate in the development and implementation of global change management strategies. 
• Determine strategy for HR technology (examples include HR information systems, intranet) to meet organizational goals and objectives in a global environment. 
• Participate in the development and implementation of the organization’s social media strategy and policies. 
• Participate in the development and implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs consistent with corporate philosophy and goals, host country legal requirements and/or external influences.
• Knowledge of: 
• The organization’s vision, values, mission, business goals, objectives, plans, processes, and culture 
• Strategic/business planning and continuous improvement processes and their implementation 
• Concepts and processes to align the global HR function as a strategic business partner (examples include business environment, markets, consumer segments, industry specific trends and cycles, key business factors) 
• Financial planning processes and budget development 
• Strategies and business models (examples include joint ventures, wholly owned subsidiaries, representative offices, outsourcing/off-shoring) and their implications 
• Organizational structures (by geography, business unit, product line, and functional discipline) and their design and implementation 
• HR analytics, methods, and processes for assessing the value and the results of HR programs (examples include return on investment [ROI], cost/benefit analysis) 
• The organization’s values and culture and their fit with the culture, legal systems, and business practice contexts of other countries, including local and regional differences 
• Business ethics standards and practices at a global level, while maintaining local relevance 
• Role and expectations of customers, suppliers, employees, communities, shareholders, boards of directors, owners, and other stakeholders
• HR technology (examples include HR information systems, Intranet) to support global human resource activities. 
• Procedures and practices for cross-border operation, integration, and divestiture
• Company and site start-up practices and procedures 
• Organization business philosophies, financial models, and financial statements 
• Due diligence and restructuring processes appropriate to specific regulatory environments and countries. 
• Best practices and application of community relations, environmental initiatives, and philanthropic activities 
• Corporate social responsibility practices and policies 
• Strategies to promote employer of choice or employment branding initiatives and best practices 
• Social media technologies, trends, and best practices including knowledge of evolving legislation and regulations

2. Functional Area 02 | Global Talent Acquisition and Mobility (21%)

• Responsibilities: 
• Make sure global talent acquisition and mobility policies, practices, and programs comply with applicable laws and regulations. 
• Develop a strategic approach for global talent acquisition and mobility that is aligned with business needs and a diverse workforce. 
• Develop, implement, and evaluate orientation and on-boarding processes that are culturally relevant and align with organizational strategy. 
• Monitor staffing metrics to evaluate results against global staffing plans. 
• Comply with required talent acquisition and mobility regulations. 
• Lead all aspects of vendor/supplier management (independent contractor, consultant, agency, and third-party organization) in areas of staffing and mobility. 
• Utilize and promote the employer branding strategy to attract diverse talent from global and local markets. 
• Identify, utilize, and evaluate sources of global talent. 
• Develop a global staffing plan with key stakeholders that supports business needs. 
• Develop, implement, and evaluate pre- and post-hire policies and procedures that are culturally appropriate
• Create position descriptions that define job-specific responsibilities, knowledge, skills, and abilities. 
• Prepare cost estimates for global assignments and advise management on budget impacts.
• Provide consultation to potential global assignees and their managers on terms and conditions of the assignment. 
• Manage and coordinate relocation services and expenses. 
• Manage and coordinate mobility services and expenses for global assignments. 
• Establish/maintain ongoing communication practices with global assignees, host and home country management. 
• Develop repatriation programs for global assignees.
• Knowledge of 
• Applicable laws and regulations related to hiring and employment 
• Strategies to promote employer of choice or employment branding initiatives 
• Methods for developing, sourcing, and implementing a global workforce staffing plan 
• Global and country-specific recruiting and hiring practices, methods and sources
• Position description development 
• Culturally appropriate interviewing techniques and selection systems 
• Employment contract content requirements by country 
• Deployment activities 
• Company onboarding programs 
• Staffing metrics 
• Policies and processes related to types of assignments that address specific needs
• Assessment and selection tools and models for global assignments

3. Functional Area 03 | Global Compensation and Benefits (17%)

• Responsibilities: 
• Develop and implement compensation, benefits, and perquisite programs that are appropriately funded, cost- and tax-effective and comply with applicable laws and regulations. 
• Establish and communicate a global compensation and benefits strategy that aligns with business objectives and supports employee engagement. 
• Design and/or negotiate compensation and benefits programs for business changes (examples include start-ups, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures). 
• Develop, implement, and assess job valuation systems aligned with global business strategy.
• Establish and maintain compensation, benefits, and perquisite programs for key executives and employees in each country of operation, including base salary structures, short- and long-term incentive plans, supplemental benefits programs, and tax-effective compensation arrangements. 
• Develop and implement global assignment compensation terms and conditions (examples include balance sheet and alternative approach calculations, allowances, premiums, end-of-assignment bonuses, localization). 
• Develop and implement global assignment benefit and perquisite programs (examples include health care, employee assistance programs, club memberships, company cars). 
• Develop, implement, and assess programs to address income and social insurance tax obligations, including portability for global assignees. 
• Develop, implement, and manage compensation, benefits and perquisite programs for global assignees and local employees for each country of operation. 
• Manage and evaluate global assignment-related payments, payroll, and activities.
• Research, develop and implement technological tools (for example, HRIS, performance management systems) to support the compensation and benefits programs.
• Knowledge of 
• Local laws regarding compensation, benefits, and taxes (examples include tax equalization or protection, mandatory or voluntary benefits) 
• Global assignment tax planning and compliance requirements and processes 
• Payroll requirements and global assignment payment methods (examples include split payroll, home and host country payments) 
• Localization concepts and processes (examples include compensation and benefits adjustments, tax implications, social insurance issues) 
• Global assignment compensation packages (examples include net-to-net, regional and host location based, headquarters based, balance sheet, host country-plus) 
• Cost-of-living models and their impact on global assignments (examples include goods and services allowances, efficient purchaser indices) 
• Global and country-specific benefit programs (examples include retirement, social insurance, health care, life and disability income protection) 
• Global and country-specific perquisite programs (examples include company cars, club memberships, housing, meal allowances, entertainment allowances) 
• Equity-based programs (examples include stock options, phantom stock, restricted shares, stock purchase) and their global application and taxation issues for the employee and the company 
• The impact of cross-border moves on long- and short-term incentive programs 
• Portability of health and welfare programs (examples include retirement, social insurance, health care, life and disability insurance) 
• Finance, payroll, and accounting practices related to local compensation and benefits 
• Procedures to collect and analyze data from global, regional, and local compensation and benefits surveys 
• Appropriate mix of compensation and benefits for different local and regional markets 
• Global executive compensation, benefits, and perquisites programs (examples include bonuses, deferred compensation, long-term incentives, tax-effective compensation methods)
• Financing of benefits programs, including insured programs, multinational insurance pooling and retirement funding options 
• Information sources on global and local compensation, benefits, and tax trends
• Due diligence procedures for business changes (examples include mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, restructuring) with respect to compensation, benefits, and perquisites 
• Job valuation tools (examples include point-factor systems, salary surveys, benchmarking) 
• Tax treaties and bilateral / reciprocal social security agreements (Totalization Agreements) 
• Collective bargaining agreements and works council mandated compensation and benefits

4. Functional Area 04 | Talent and Organizational Development (22%)

• Responsibilities: 
• Make sure talent development programs comply with applicable laws and regulations. 
• Align local and regional practices with corporate vision, organizational culture, and values. 
• Create and implement awareness programs (examples include diversity, non-discrimination, bullying, cultural sensitivity, multi-generational workforce) that are aligned with the organization’s philosophy and adapt to local cultural perspectives.
• Develop systems that support the implementation of global change management initiatives. 
• Develop and implement communication programs that are effective for a global workforce and other stakeholders. 
• Make sure employees have the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to meet current and future business requirements. 
• Implement and evaluate a process to measure the effectiveness of organizational development programs based on global HR metrics/measurements (examples include employee engagement surveys, turnover rates, training return on investment [ROI], benchmarking data, scorecards). 
• Develop and implement processes, programs, and tools to support organization and workforce development at all levels of the organization (examples include career and leadership development, succession planning, retention, repatriated employees, short-term assignments). 
• Develop programs, policies, and guidelines to support geographically dispersed and/or virtual teams (examples include team building, project management, performance management). 
• Establish work-life balance programs (examples include job sharing, flextime, telecommuting) and their application and appropriateness to different cultures. 
• Implement culturally appropriate performance management processes that support both global and local business objectives.
• Develop and implement global programs to support the organization’s growth, restructuring, redeployment and downsizing initiatives (examples include mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures). 
• Develop and implement competency models to support global and local business goals. 
• Identify and integrate external workforce to provide services to support global and local objectives (examples include consultants, independent contractors, vendors, suppliers) as it relates to talent and organizational development.
• Knowledge of 
• Applicable laws and regulations related to talent development activities 
• Work-life balance programs 
• Techniques to promote and align corporate vision, culture, and values with local and regional organizations 
• Global organizational development programs and practices (examples include succession planning, leadership development)  
• Needs assessment for talent and organizational development in a global environment 
• Training programs and their application in global environments 
• Global learning models and methodologies 
• Performance management, feedback, and coaching methods as they apply locally and globally 
• Techniques to measure organizational effectiveness in a global business environment (examples include engagement surveys, benchmarking, productivity measurement tools) 
• Retention strategies and principles and their application in different cultures and countries 
• Redeployment, downsizing, and exit management strategies and principles and their application in different cultures and countries 
• Career planning models
• Critical success factors for global assignees (examples include family adjustment and support, communication, career planning, mentoring) 
• Best practices and processes for utilizing the experience of repatriated employees 
• Competency models and their global applicability 
• Trends and practices for employee engagement 
• Interpersonal and organizational behavior concepts and their application in a global context (examples include the use of geographically dispersed teams, virtual teams, culture training, cross-cultural communications)

5. Functional Area 05 | Workforce Relations and Risk Management (15%)

• Responsibilities: 
• Make sure activities related to employee and labor relations, safety, security, and privacy are compliant with applicable laws and regulations, from initial employment through termination. 
• Comply with extraterritorial laws to mitigate risk to the organization (examples include US Title VII, US Americans with Disabilities Act, US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, EU Data Privacy Directive and Safe Harbor Privacy Principles, UK Bribery Act). 
• Make sure the organization complies with globally recognized regulations to enable effective workforce relations and meet acceptable workplace standards (examples include OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, ILO conventions, Mercosur, NAFTA, WTO). 
• Monitor employment-related legal compliance and ethical conduct throughout the global supply chain (examples include consultants, independent contractors, vendors, suppliers) to mitigate the risk to the organization. 
• Develop assessment procedures for HR internal controls, evaluate results and take corrective actions. 
• Comply with all regulations related to employee records and data (examples include EU Data Privacy Directive, US HIPAA, Australian Federal Privacy Act). 
• Establish alternative dispute resolution and grievance processes, disciplinary procedures, and investigative processes in compliance with applicable laws and practices. 
• Develop and implement programs to promote a positive work culture (examples include employee recognition, constructive discipline, non-monetary rewards, positive reinforcement). 
• Confer with employee representative groups in compliance with statutory requirements (examples include works councils, unions, joint action committees). 
• Develop, implement, and communicate employment-related corporate policies (examples include ethics and professional standards, codes of conduct, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, antibullying). 
• Coordinate global risk management, emergency response, safety, and security practices (examples include intellectual property, occupational health and safety, disaster and crisis management, duty of care).
• Knowledge of: 
• Applicable laws affecting employee and labor relations (including termination of employment), workplace health, safety, security, and privacy 
• Major laws that apply extraterritorially (examples include US Title VII, US Americans with Disabilities Act, US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, EU Data Privacy Directive and Safe Harbor Privacy Principles, UK Bribery Act) 
• Globally-recognized regulations, conventions and agreements (examples include OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, ILO Conventions, Mercosur, NAFTA, WTO, UN Compact) 
• Employment-related legal compliance and ethical conduct of vendors, suppliers and contractors 
• Internal controls, compliance, and audit processes 
• Employee rights to privacy and record-keeping requirements (examples include EU Data Privacy Directive and Safe Harbor Principles, US HIPAA, Australian Federal Privacy Act). 
• Individual employment rights (examples include employees’ rights to bargain, grievance procedures, required recognition of unions) 
• Appropriate global and local techniques for managing employee relations (examples include small group facilitation, dispute resolution, grievance handling, employee recognition, constructive discipline). 
• Legal and customary roles of works councils and trade unions 
• Local collective bargaining processes, strategies, and concepts 
• Employment litigation 
• Workplace security risks including physical threats and piracy of intellectual property and other company-proprietary information 
• Local conditions relating to personal security (examples include kidnapping, terrorism, hijacking) 
• Emergency response and crisis-management planning (examples include plans for medical emergencies, pandemics, disasters, evacuation, riots, civil disorder, other physical threats, facility safety)
• Core Knowledge: 
• Basic business, global, political, and socioeconomic conditions, demographics, law, and trade agreements, and how they relate to business operations 
• Globalization and its drivers, opportunities, consequences, and trends 
• Global management techniques, including planning, directing, controlling, and coordinating resources 
• Global project management methods and applications 
• Global application of human resource ethics and professional standards 
• Change management strategies,processes, and tools 
• Global leadership concepts and applications 
• Qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for analysis, interpretation and decision-making purposes and their application 
• Intercultural theory and specific cultural behaviors 
• Cross-cultural management techniques 
• Strategies for managing global vendor/supplier relationships, selection processes, and contract negotiations 
• Communication processes and techniques and their worldwide applicability 
• Effective use of interpreters, translators, and translations 
• Techniques to promote creativity and innovation 
• Principles and practices that foster a diverse workforce 
• Strategies of globalization versus localization of HR policies and programs 
• HR capability within the organization (both global and local)