The Profession Map - FAQs for Organisations

Using the Profession Map to assess the capability of your people professionals

The Profession Map standards are an ideal way to assess the capability of your people professionals, teams or function.

Our People Impact Tool and HR Diagnostic Tool complement our face-to-face competency assessments and focus groups. And our guides show how you can use the Profession Map to support your colleagues, people teams or function.

If you'd like to talk about assessing the capability of your team using the Profession Map, please contact your account manager or email clientdevelopmentenquiry@cipd.co.uk.

Does the Profession Map show what a great HR team or function looks like?

The Profession Map sets the values, knowledge and behaviours for all people professionals. It also provides a clear view on what good HR capability looks like across a team, function or organisation. It does this by helping people professionals, of all specialisms, to make good decisions for their context.

We provide guidance on how you can use the Profession Map to develop your team, design people roles or review your people function.

If you have any questions, please contact your account manager or email clientdevelopmentenquiry@cipd.co.uk.

What is the CIPD’s view on generalist and specialist roles?

We recognise that the people profession includes a wide range of generalists and specialists, all of whom make a valuable contribution to their organisations, clients, peers and the profession as a whole.

The Profession Map sets the standards for both generalists and specialists. There are core knowledge areas and core behaviours that all people professionals should understand and use, and that generalists need to focus on. And there are areas of specialist knowledge that define expertise in specialist people professional roles. Generalists can also use these if they want to deepen their expertise in a particular area.

Can we use the Profession Map to underpin our company’s standards for HR excellence?

Yes. The Profession Map sets the international benchmark for the whole people profession. It enables you to take a fresh, critical look at people teams and functions within your organisation. And it encourages you to ask the difficult but vital questions:

How good are we?
Are we doing enough?

Asking these questions helps you discover more robust, precise and insightful ways to assess and build capability across your organisation. The Profession Map helps you deliver a more skilled, fulfilled and motivated workforce by providing a clear framework to support values-based decision-making.

Can the CIPD help our people professionals, teams and function make the most of the Profession Map?

The Employer Solutions team would be delighted to learn more about your organisation and your people function.

And we can answer any questions you have about how the Profession Map can build the effectiveness of your people teams.

Please contact your account manager or email clientdevelopmentenquiry@cipd.co.uk

The Profession Map

Make the most of the Profession Map

The Profession Map is for everyone in our profession – individuals and teams, members and non-members. Learn more about the Profession Map and how you can use it.