The International Journal of Selection and Assessment published research by Associate Professor of Management Brian Lyons and Jenna Bayer '19 about the demand for human resource certification.
Brian Lyons, associate professor of management in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, and Jenna Bayer ’19 have co-authored the paper “Reexamining the demand for HR certification in the United States,” which was published in the International Journal of Selection and Assessment.
In the paper, Lyons and Bayer investigated the current rate of demand for human resource certification given the addition of new HR certification offerings by the Society of Human Resource Management, as well as the increase in HR certifications awarded by the HR Certification Institute.
Their research analyzed more than 5,300 HR job announcements and found 20.7 percent of those postings required HR certification, which showed an increase in the number of jobs requiring certification. Lyons and Bayer also found that the demand for certification was positively related to salary, experience, education level, and job title, with demand reaching 33.7 percent for managerial HR roles.
The IJSA accepts only 33 percent of original articles related to all aspects of personnel selection, staffing, and assessment in organizations. The journal received an “A” rating in the 2019 Australian Business Deans Council Journal Quality List.
Lyons joined Elon’s faculty in 2014 after three years at Wright State University and four years at Fresno State. His research interests involve recruitment, selection, counterproductive work and off-duty behavior, and leadership effectiveness. He received the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2016, the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2017, and the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service in 2019.
Prior to entering academia, Lyons conducted HR-related research for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the American Institutes for Research in Washington, D.C. He earned his doctorate in organizational studies from the University at Albany, State University of New York.
Bayer graduated from Elon in 2019 with a BSBA in management with a focus on human resource management. Bayer completed her Honors undergraduate thesis with the help of Lyons, who served as her faculty mentor for the research. Bayer now works as a business consultant for IBM’s U.S. Public Service, Global Services division.