I asked Google “what is Asia’s most popular total rewards certification? The answer:
Why is ATRI more popular, certifying over 1,000 people in less than 10 years?
We are here to serve.
ATRI content is global and universal, it is not specifically Asian. It started in Asia where globally recognized certifications were inaccessible to those lacking a regional budget. The profession was underserved. We decided to serve the Asian HR profession, including country level HR practitioners in countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand or Vietnam, as well as Singapore or Hong Kong regional C&B leaders. There are ATRI certified people in the US, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. It is global.
ATRI is progressive. We meet people where they are, and we identified three levels of certification (specialist, professional, fellow) to align with the three general career stages for rewards practitioners. Several people are double- or triple-certified. Most achieve a single certification, although those with CTRS are increasingly coming back for CTRP as they assume, or aspire to, managerial responsibilities in compensation and benefits. We serve people at three career stages.
ATRI is competency based, building specific knowledge, skill and attitudes needed to be effective in total rewards. Targeted breakout/table discussions and sharing enable workshop participants to calibrate their views against one another. We don’t call them classes, but workshops because we are concerned with the practitioners soft skills and judgement, not simply memorization. Content was designed by Thomas A. Farmer who attained an Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA) from Singapore’s Institute for Adult Learning at Singapore University of Social Science. Competency (ability to do a job) is defined by IAL as knowledge, skills and attitudes. All content and courseware was developed and validated at a global standards of instructional design.
ATRI is non-partisan. We have no government, university or political wing directing us. We present the business and regulatory environments “as is” and teach critical thinking in light of various challenges such as minimum wage, transparency, pay equity and other important matters. The diversity in Southeast Asia demands an agnostic approach. We would have never made it this far if we had any specific political, religious or social agendas. We literally train practitioners from capitalist, socialist, communist, monarchical or sultanate government systems. Nearly every workshop brings together people with a mix of religious and cultural values and we accommodate their schedules and needs.
If you are doing C&B work, or payroll, benefits administration, talent acquisition, HR business partnering, operations or L&D, you will be happy to know that many of your peers have enhanced their HR credentials with ATRI certification. It may help you too.