SARA CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) POLICY
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Why has SARA embarked on this process of professionalisation?
The main reasons for professionalising SARA briefly are:
 To promote accountability
 Peer recognition of qualification and experience
 Public confidence of professional competence
 Preservation of professional standards
2. What is CPD?
CPD (Continuous Professional Development) refers to learning activities that aim to develop
and maintain capabilities to enable members and associates to perform competently within
their professional environment. All professional organisations require of their members to
uphold their levels of competency and also to remain relevant within the professional field that
they operate in.
3. What are the benefits of being accredited in one of the professional designations?




Registration with a professional body in designations associated with specific knowledge
and experience
Strict governance of minimum standards associated with the profession
Affiliation with a recognised body
Raising of the standards in the reward profession

Upholding a code of conduct appropriate to the reward profession
4. How can I apply for accreditation in one of the professional designations?
Applicants need to complete the online application form in full. The application form will be
placed on the SARA website (www.sara.co.za) under the Professionalisation tab and will be
activated from 15 May 2013.
The system allows for the electronic uploading of supporting information e.g. confirmation of
your current position by your line manager, your CV, copies of qualifications etc.
Unfortunately, no manual applications can be accepted.
5. Once I have submitted my application form what happens thereafter?
The completed application form will be sent to the Accreditation Committee who will award a
relevant designation. The Accreditation Committee will meet twice per annum. For 2013,
applications received in the period 15 May 2013 – 31 May 2013, will be considered by the
Accreditation Committee in their June 2013 meeting.
1
Applications received in the period 1 June 2013 – 31 August 2013, will be considered by the
Committee in their September meeting. The next meeting will be held in March 2014, for
applications received in the period 1 September 2013 – 28 February 2014.
The Accreditation Committee‟s decision will be communicated to you via email. As an
accredited member of SARA, you will then be required to show evidence of relevant activities
in order to be awarded CPD points within a reporting cycle. By earning the required points per
level, the member will retain the professional designation over a three year period.
After you have been accredited in one of the professional designations, all SARA events
attended, as well as other ways of accruing points (refer to the CPD policy for more
information), may be used in your CPD cycle.
6. What is the reporting cycle of the professional designation?
The reporting cycle is a three year cycle, running in calendar years. The first cycle will start in
January 2014 and run until December 2016.
All professional members who are accredited with a professional designation in 2013, will
start their three year CPD cycle in January 2014. Thereafter, all members accredited in 2014,
will start their CPD cycle in January 2015.
7. How do I change my professional designation?
An application for a “change in professional designation” needs to be submitted in the same
manner as your original application. Record of CPD points accrued since the last registration,
also needs to be submitted.
8. Does the CPD policy recognise activities outside the RSA borders?
Activities will be recognised in accordance with the requirements defined under „Categories of
CPD requirements‟ and „Reporting and Record keeping‟ activities. Activities are not limited to
the RSA borders.
9. Should I exit the profession during the 3 year reporting period, what happens to the
points that I have accrued?
This is set out under the „Deferral of CPD Requirements‟ of the CPD policy. It is important to
note that the Accreditation committee will review each case on an individual basis.
10. Do I have to be registered as a corporate member, for me to apply for registration as a
professional member?
There will in future be three membership categories, namely:
a) Corporate member – organisations register and pay an annual membership
fee that provides them with membership benefits such as free access to
SARA events (excluding CPD events), discount at the annual conference,
access to the SARA library, etc.
b) Individual member – the same as the corporate member with the exception
that only one person will be entitled to SARA benefits.
c) Professional member – accredited under the professional designation
framework. Members will have access to CPD events, and will continue to
be accredited provided they remain updated with their professional
membership fees. As a professional member, who is not also registered
2
under the corporate membership categories, you will be treated as a “non
member” for purposes of all other SARA related events (that are not coded
as CPD events), and will be invoiced accordingly for attendance.
Professional members will be entitled to the discount at the annual
conference as the conference is coded as a CPD event.
11. If I disagree with the outcome of my professional designation application, what is the
appeal process?
The member should formally address the matter to the Accreditation Committee and state the
reasons why they believe the designation awarded, is incorrect and if applicable, provide
additional evidence to support the appeal.
12. Are tertiary qualifications outside the RSA borders recognized?
Should the qualification be accredited from a formal recognised tertiary institution the
qualification will be recognised under the CPD policy.
13. What governance process will support the CPD reporting process?
At the end of a three year cycle, a sample audit of professional members will be extracted and
the professional members selected, will be required to submit evidence of CPD points that
had been accrued over the three year cycle.
In the event that professional members have not accrued sufficient points, they will be
granted a six month period to accrue sufficient points, as per the CPD policy. If the
professional member thereafter still does not have enough points accrued, and cannot
provide sufficient motivation for not accruing the points, the professional membership will be
suspended.
14. What will the non-refundable application fee cover?
The non-refundable application fee will cover the costs relating to the administration of the
original application, the first year‟s professional membership fee as well as the CPD events
offered in the first year (2014 for members accredited in 2013).
15. Can SARA prevent people who are not accredited to practice Reward management?
Accreditation in terms of the designations, is voluntary and we believe in time, will be desirous
by employers, recruitment agents as well as members feeling recognized by their peers.
SARA therefore has no intention to prevent people from practicing Rewards who choose not
to become registered, as they believe that all members in time, would desire to be accredited
as a means to promote their careers.
16. If I have any questions or suggestions, who can I contact?
Should you have any questions or suggestions, kindly forward these to [email protected]
3