Boca Raton, FL, Nov. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brandon Hall Group™, which has helped more than 10,000 organizations worldwide achieve human capital excellence through independent research, proven practices, and strategic advisory, today announced significant enhancements to its six professional certification programs. The updated certifications incorporate new research on AI-enabled HR operating models, emerging workforce challenges, and proven practices from organizations recognized through the 2026 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards®.
Available through the Brandon Hall Group Institute™, the refreshed certifications are designed to help HR, learning, leadership development and talent professionals strengthen their strategic capabilities and apply research-backed approaches within their organizations.
The enhancements include updated learning resources, new insights from award-winning organizations and completely redesigned Phase Two assignments that challenge participants to address real-world business scenarios. Each assignment is supported by a companion guide featuring documented strategies and implementation approaches drawn from leading 2026 HCM Excellence Award submissions.
“The role of HR is being fundamentally reshaped by artificial intelligence, new operating models, and rising expectations for business impact. Professional development must evolve just as quickly,” said Mike Cooke, CEO of Brandon Hall Group™. “We have significantly enhanced our certifications to reflect these changes while incorporating the latest insights and proven practices from our 2026 HCM Excellence Award winners. Through the Brandon Hall Group Institute, individuals and organizations gain access to six certifications, more than 400 courses, and our extensive research library. Our goal is to equip workforce leaders with the intelligence and capabilities they need to lead transformation and deliver measurable business results.”
Learning from the Best of the Best
A defining feature of the enhanced certifications is their connection to Brandon Hall Group's extensive research into award-winning organizational practices.
Each year, the Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards® recognize organizations that demonstrate exceptional results across learning and development, leadership development, talent management, talent acquisition, human resources and other critical workforce disciplines.
Insights from the 2026 award-winning submissions have been integrated throughout the updated certification resources, providing participants with current examples of how leading organizations are responding to workforce transformation, emerging technologies and changing business expectations.
The redesigned Phase Two assignments take this approach further.
Rather than relying exclusively on traditional knowledge assessments, participants are presented with practical scenarios reflecting challenges organizations are confronting today. Companion guides provide examples of how award-winning organizations addressed similar challenges, including the strategies, decisions and implementation approaches that contributed to their success.
“Knowing what great organizations do is valuable. Understanding how to apply those practices to your own challenges is what makes the difference,” said Michael Rochelle, Chief Strategy Officer of Brandon Hall Group™. “Our redesigned Phase Two certification assignments put professionals in realistic situations reflecting today's most pressing workforce challenges. Participants are supported by companion guides featuring proven strategies and implementation approaches drawn from the best of our 2026 HCM Excellence Award submissions. Organizations can also bring teams through certification together using our cohort model, creating a shared understanding of the challenges, a common approach to solving them, and stronger capabilities for execution.”
Certifications Designed for Today's HR Operating Model
The refreshed programs reflect significant changes in how organizations structure, manage and develop their workforces.
Artificial intelligence is influencing nearly every aspect of Human Capital Management, while evolving HR operating models require professionals to develop new capabilities in workforce strategy, analytics, technology, organizational effectiveness and business transformation.
Brandon Hall Group has incorporated these developments throughout its certification resources to ensure participants are building capabilities aligned with current and emerging business priorities.
The six professional certification programs include:
- Certified Learning Strategist® (CLS): Develop and execute learning strategies that strengthen workforce capabilities and drive organizational performance.
- Certified Human Resources Strategist® (CHRS): Build strategic HR capabilities and align workforce priorities with enterprise objectives.
- Certified Leadership Development Strategist® (CLDS): Design leadership development strategies that prepare leaders to navigate transformation and changing workforce expectations.
- Certified Artificial Intelligence Transformation Strategist™ (CAITS): Develop the capabilities needed to lead responsible AI transformation across the talent lifecycle.
- Certified Talent Management Strategist® (CTMS): Strengthen talent management strategies that develop, engage and retain employees.
- Certified Talent Acquisition Strategist® (CTAS): Advance talent acquisition strategies that connect hiring decisions, workforce capabilities and organizational goals.
Each certification follows a three-phase development process combining knowledge assessment, practical application and strategic demonstration of capabilities.
Building Organizational Capability Through Certification Cohorts
In addition to individual certification pathways, Brandon Hall Group Institute offers organizations the opportunity to enroll multiple employees in a coordinated certification cohort.
The cohort model enables HR, learning and talent teams to progress through certification together, creating opportunities to develop shared knowledge, evaluate common challenges and apply consistent strategic frameworks.
For organizations navigating significant workforce transformation, this approach can help establish a common language across functional teams while strengthening their collective ability to translate strategy into execution.
Cohort participation is particularly relevant for organizations seeking to align professional development with broader initiatives such as AI transformation, HR operating model redesign, workforce capability development and leadership effectiveness.
One Institute. Six Certifications. More Than 400 Courses.
The enhanced certifications are included within the Brandon Hall Group Institute™, a comprehensive professional development and research platform available to individual professionals and organizations.
Institute participants receive access to:
- Six professional certifications covering critical HR, learning, leadership and talent disciplines.
- More than 400 courses supporting continuous professional development and workforce capability building.
- An extensive research library featuring independent research, benchmarking intelligence, strategic frameworks and emerging workforce trends.
- Award-winning organizational practices providing documented examples of successful strategies and implementation approaches.
- Practical tools and resources designed to help professionals apply research-backed insights to organizational priorities.
Rather than requiring professionals to purchase individual certification programs, Institute access brings together the full certification portfolio, courses and research resources within a single learning environment.
Organizations can also enroll teams and establish certification cohorts to support coordinated capability development.
The refreshed certifications are now available through the Brandon Hall Group Institute.
Explore the certification programs and Institute access options at institute.brandonhall.com.
About Brandon Hall Group™
For more than 30 years, we have helped organizations transform workforce performance into measurable business results. We combine independent research, proven practices from award-winning organizations, benchmarking, strategic advisory, and the collective intelligence of a global executive community to help leaders make better decisions with greater confidence.
Our Workforce Excellence Intelligence is built on evidence, not opinion. By continuously studying leadership, learning, talent, human resources, artificial intelligence, and the future of work, we identify what drives exceptional organizational performance—and translate those insights into practical frameworks, benchmarks, and guidance that organizations can apply immediately.
More than 10,000 organizations worldwide—including many of the world’s leading employers and Human Capital Management solution providers—have engaged with Brandon Hall Group through our research, advisory services, Excellence Councils, Institute, certifications, and the globally recognized HCM Excellence Awards®. Together, they create one of the industry’s richest ecosystems of workforce knowledge, best practices, and proven results.
Our purpose is to make Workforce Excellence achievable for every organization and establish it as the global standard for organizational success.
