
Strategy chain from vision to HR plan; financial statements and business KPIs for HR
Credible data check for HR decisions
Turnover, cost per hire and ROI of an HR initiative in $; pay equity analysis under the Equal Pay Act
Tools: HR metrics calculator
Exam trainer with 15 questions in five HRCI item types, plus flashcards, memory and match games
Risk register with likelihood and impact; five risk responses for people risks
Three levels of culture in daily practice; inclusivity initiatives within Title VII
Kotter's 8 steps and ADKAR for change; stakeholder map by power and interest
Tools: one-page risk and change plan
Exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Employee count rules for each law and the headcount ladder of federal laws from 1 to 250
Overlays for federal contractors and public employers
Concerted activity rules for non-union teams
Law check for expansion, reduction and restructuring
Tools: US federal law applicability map; exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Workforce plan in four steps and five options to close the gap
Reduction checklist with the WARN test
Recruitment strategy from labor market data; employee value proposition on one page
Adverse impact check with the four-fifths rule; onboarding and cultural integration after M&A
Tools: workforce plan and reduction checklist; exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Goal cascade from company measures to individual goals; performance cycle with defensible documentation
Workforce development program: need, mode, timing; leadership development plan on 70-20-10
Career paths, internal movement rules, nine-box grid and successor readiness levels
Tools: succession plan for key roles with bench strength
Exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Engagement and retention plan with stay interviews
Employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act; manager conduct card for union organizing
Collective bargaining preparation and grievance procedure; return-to-organization rules for leave and military service
Layoff procedure with valid releases for employees over 40; exit interviews and alumni program
Tools: labor relations and offboarding playbook; exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Total rewards philosophy for six worker groups
Pay range math: midpoint, spread, compa-ratio, range penetration
FLSA exempt test and overtime regular rate with nondiscretionary incentive pay
Incentive, equity and executive pay in $; benefit strategy under ERISA, ACA and COBRA; recognition within IRS award limits
Tools: total rewards calculator; exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Personnel file map and retention schedule; HIPAA firewall for the employer health plan
Phishing and payroll fraud defense
OSHA recordkeeping in seven steps; emergency action plan and crisis response
HRIS and self-service rollout steps
Tools: HR data and safety audit checklist; exam trainer with 15 questions and study games
Five exam areas and their weights; reading senior "best, first, most" items
Weighted readiness score, three action zones and study hours split by weight and gap
Full mock exam: 115 questions in 2 h 30 min, flags, review screen and a score report by area
Exam-day plan for OnVUE or a test center; short overview of eligibility and fees
Tools: readiness scorecard and the 115-question mock exam
This course contains the use of artificial intelligence
The SPHR exam gives you 115 scored questions, 2 hours 30 minutes and scenarios where every option sounds like something a good HR leader would do.
This course teaches all five functional areas and the US federal laws behind them on video, then drills them in 8 exam trainers, study games and a full 115-question mock exam.
You have years of HR behind you, so the Senior Professional in Human Resources exam looks familiar on paper. Then you read the item: a restructuring, a union campaign, a headcount that just crossed a legal threshold, and four sensible next steps. The SPHR is a practice-based exam: it tests judgment at the strategy level, US federal employment law and exam math on metrics and pay, with no partial credit. Practice question banks tell you that you picked the wrong option, rarely why the other three fail, and give you nothing to use at work the next morning. HRCI's own prep packages start at $499, and a live class costs $1,180.
After this course you read a scenario and see which outline item is really being tested. You know that Leadership and Strategy carries 33% of the exam and which area costs you the most points. You say which federal laws cover your organization at its headcount and which switch on at the next hiring wave. You defend HR plans with turnover, cost per hire and ROI in dollars, set pay against ranges and plan a reduction that meets WARN. You walk into the test center or the OnVUE session with a readiness score by area and a study plan built on your gaps, and you keep a senior HR toolkit you use every week.
The course is built and taught by Mike:
HRCI representative in Eastern Europe
PHRi holder, working with HRCI since 2015
Coaches HRCI certification candidates
Founder of PapaHR Academy: 170,000+ students from 185 countries and 180+ courses since 2011
The course follows the 2024 SPHR Exam Content Outline in proportion to its weights. First you spend three lessons on Leadership and Strategy: business strategy and HR metrics, risk, culture and change leadership, and US employment law for HR strategy with a headcount ladder of federal laws. Then you plan the workforce and talent acquisition, including the WARN test and the four-fifths rule. Next come two lessons on talent management: performance, succession and leadership development, then employee and labor relations under the NLRA, layoffs and offboarding. After that you work through total rewards with pay range math, the FLSA exempt test, ERISA, ACA and COBRA, and then HR information management, OSHA recordkeeping, HIPAA and HRIS. Finally you calculate your weighted readiness score and sit a full mock exam: 115 new questions in the proportions of the five areas, a 2 h 30 min timer, flags, a review screen and a score report by area.
Every lesson from 1 to 8 comes with its own interactive exam trainer: 15 scenario questions in all five HRCI item types, multiple choice, multiple response, fill in the blank, drag and drop and scenarios, with an instant explanation, the outline item it tests and a retry of missed questions. Study games for every lesson, flashcards, a memory game and a timed match game, lock in the terms, formulas and laws before you move on. Every practice question is written for this course; there are no real exam questions or dumps. Everything interactive opens in any browser, on a phone too.
This course prepares you for the US SPHR, built on US federal employment law. The international SPHRi and the GPHR are different HRCI exams, and state law such as California is outside the scope.
This is an independent course. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by HR Certification Institute (HRCI). SPHR and HRCI are trademarks of HR Certification Institute.
What's included:
Lifetime access to all materials
Active instructor support in Q&A
Udemy Certificate of Completion
A practical assignment on your own organization in every lesson
8 interactive exam trainers with 120 questions and explanations
Study games for every lesson: flashcards, memory and timed match
A full 115-question mock exam with a 2 h 30 min timer and a score report by functional area
A senior HR toolkit: HR metrics calculator, risk and change plan, US federal law applicability map, workforce plan with reduction checklist, succession plan, labor relations playbook, total rewards calculator, HR data and safety audit checklist and readiness scorecard
Employers look for senior HR leaders who can prove strategy with numbers and keep the company on the right side of federal law. Every month you wait is another month of guessing on scenarios while the laws you are tested on keep changing.
Enroll now and start your first lesson today.