HR professionals accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in the UK and by the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) in Australia can enjoy counterpart recognition under a new agreement. Under the new resolution, members joining the counterpart organisation (either the CIPD or the AHRI) will have their existing credentials recognised, providing access to the equivalent grade of professional membership.In what is undoubtedly a boon to the internationally mobile HR community, the new arrangement acknowledges the changing nature of the world of the work and how technology, working across international boundaries and global talent pools, has necessitated a more international outlook.Peter Cheese, CIPD chief executive, said, "The world of work is changing at an unprecedented pace. It is populated by increasingly globally mobile pools of talent and skills, and organisations of all sizes that work across geographic boundaries. This places a strong emphasis on having highly professional people management and development practitioners to ensure the ways we work, our workforces and our workplace cultures are fit for today and drive performance and growth for the future. "By signing this mutual recognition agreement, we can assist employers to have confidence in the skills and capabilities of the HR and people development professionals they are hiring to meet these workplace challenges. We will also help our internationally mobile members to demonstrate their professionally accredited skills and capabilities, wherever in the world they are working."Under the agreement, members who hold a professional grade of membership in one of the two professional bodies will now only need to provide proof of that membership and a current curriculum vitae when joining the other organisation. They will automatically be awarded the equivalent membership grade of the other body, with the right to use the appropriate post-nominal letters to demonstrate the professional recognition they have achieved. They will be bound by the respective continuing professional development (CPD) and code of professional conduct requirements of the two bodies, to ensure that adequate standards of knowledge, practice and behaviour are maintained.The chief executive officer of AHRI, Lyn Goodear, said that the reciprocity agreement would facilitate the global mobility of HR professionals who practise professionally in rapidly changing workplace cultures."With the increasing advent of broadband network technologies that are impacting how, when and where work gets done, even without travelling, HR practitioners worldwide are now engaging in professional practice with global subsidiaries or with home-based companies that operate overseas offices in different time zones within foreign legislative jurisdictions."The time is now ripe to develop more common sets of standards for professional HR skills and capabilities that cross borders and are recognised and respected internationally. I was delighted, therefore, to sign this agreement with CIPD on behalf of Australian HR practitioners, and would see it as a step towards greater collaboration between the two professional bodies in the years to come," said Ms Goodear.The agreement follows a "rigorous mapping" of the two sets of professional standards and membership criteria, resulting in the following equivalencies:

• Associate CIPD (Assoc CIPD) is fully equivalent to Professional Member of AHRI (MAHRI)
• Chartered Member of CIPD (MCIPD) is fully equivalent to Certified Professional of AHRI (CAHRI)
• Chartered Fellow of CIPD (FCIPD) is fully equivalent to Fellow of AHRI (FAHRI)

AHRI members wishing to secure professional recognition from the CIPD under the new agreement should contact +44 (0)20 8612 6208 or membershipenquiry@cipd.co.uk. CIPD members wishing to secure professional recognition from AHRI under the new agreement should contact members@ahri.com.auIn the wake of Australia’s recent change of government, the Winter 2013 issue of Relocate magazine (out late November) will investigate the challenges facing employers in Australia and those managing international assignments to the country, with contributions from professionals on the ground.