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Global Remuneration Professional | GRP®

A globally recognized certification for over 35 years, the GRP designation positions you for success in developing and integrating compensation programs tailored for multi-national organizations. 

Earning the GRP showcases your commitment to upholding the highest standards in compensation management. Armed with the GRP designation, you will be primed to strategically implement effective multinational solutions to today's complex business challenges. This certification ensures alignment with and support for your organizational objectives, enhancing retention and contributing to the overall success of your organization. 

With newly updated content and the consolidation of courses from 10 to 9, the GRP certification is better than ever!  

Recognition as an Expert

With over 65 years of unparalleled Total Rewards education, your GRP designation from WorldatWork sets you apart as an expert in your field

Preferred by Leading Organizations

93% of Fortune 500 organizations rely on WorldatWork’s Total Rewards education and certification to power their attraction, engagement and retention programs.

Confidence and Performance Boost

94% of our customers report increased confidence and 96% note enhanced effectiveness at work as reported by WorldatWork’s Impact Survey

Lifetime Professional Network

Your certification journey will connect you to field leaders, faculty and peers to exchange experiences, ideas and solutions.


Updated GRP education courses will give you the in-depth knowledge and practical skills required to tackle current compensation initiatives and embrace new challenges with confidence. You will be equipped with a solid understanding of proven design techniques, practices and skills required to maneuver through the international landscape and requirements in compensation management.  

With the GRP designation, you will be prepared to strategically navigate and implement effective multi-national solutions to the complex business challenges of remuneration today. Moreover, you will seamlessly align these solutions with your organization’s objectives, ensuring the integration of compensation strategies with broader business strategies.


This certification is perfect for professionals who want to validate their knowledge and credibility in the compensation field for multi-national organizations. Ideal for HR and compensation professionals entering the field or those currently responsible for designing, implementing, and managing compensation programs. Whether working in Total Rewards yourself or engaging with compensation analysts, consultants and advisors, this certification ensures the knowledge you bring is of strategic value to your remuneration design. 


Courses and Required Exams

Obtaining a GRP requires a passing score on curriculum-based exams, validating that you have the technical and business skills for success. We strongly recommend taking the course and exam in the order listed below. 

Learn how compensation is integral in an effective Total Rewards strategy.

To remain agile in today’s workplace, you must formulate a Total Rewards strategy that meets the goals of your organization and the needs of your employees. In this course, you’ll be introduced to WorldatWork’s Total Rewards model and learn how to use it to align your strategy to your organization’s main drivers, resulting in a Total Rewards program that helps recruit, engage and retain top talent.


Navigate the complex landscape of workplace regulations.

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by constantly evolving laws and regulations and the challenges of staying fully updated and in compliance when operating across multiple countries. Getting it wrong can mean costly mistakes and legal complications. In this course, you’ll learn a framework to assess rewards implications in diverse regulatory environments and navigate them confidently, whether in a single country or multinational setting. You will gain a deeper understanding of complex labor laws and the skills to navigate them seamlessly, mitigate risk, avoid expensive legal problems, and ensure international compliance. 


Understand how equitable base pay programs are designed and administered.

The base pay system is the backbone of your entire compensation strategy—without it, your approach to pay is unclear. A poorly designed base pay structure leaves you without the data and confidence to respond to evolving transparency laws and your workforce’s increasing demand for clarity around pay. The stakes are simply too high to overlook the importance of getting your base pay system right. In this course, you’ll delve into the role of base pay in a comprehensive Total Rewards strategy and approaches to crafting, implementing, and assessing a base pay system aimed at attracting and retaining top talent. Additionally, you’ll explore effective methods for job analysis, documentation, evaluation and the development of base pay structures that align with and support your organization’s talent objectives.


Move your business forward with results-driven pay plans.

A smart approach to variable pay ensures increased employee motivation and higher workforce engagement that delivers extraordinary organizational performance and results. In this course, you’ll learn how to design and manage effective programs for recognition, bonuses, and incentives that meet your organization’s goals by motivating employees to perform their best. 


Design market-aligned pay structures and compensation packages.

In today’s data-driven rewards landscape, methods for market pricing are rapidly evolving. Meanwhile, employees and job candidates now have easier access to pay data, raising questions and concerns about fairness and trust in pay rates. Reliable competitive market rates have never been more essential for pay structures, merit increases, promotions, and incentive programs. In this course, you’ll learn the foundations of pricing skills and learn how to incorporate new sources of pay data in your job benchmarking approach. You’ll gain the skills to improve the accuracy of your organization’s pay structures, positioning you to build credibility with management and employees, help your organization reduce turnover and increase engagement, and ensure higher acceptance rates for job offers. 


Apply the power of data to boost positive business outcomes.

HR professionals and compensation managers are under increasing pressure to provide evidence-based solutions. As data aggregation technologies and access improve, leadership and employees expect greater accuracy and precision in compensation decisions. However, navigating KPIs, formulas, and success metrics in compensation can be complex and challenging. This course empowers you to master compensation analytics, enabling you to analyze KPIs, set pay rates, develop salary ranges, assess fairness, and ensure compliance using data-driven strategies. It covers everything from gathering, collecting, and analyzing data to making sound compensation and rewards decisions. You’ll master how to use data analysis to craft a compelling narrative that you can share with others in your organization. 


Sharpen your financial acumen and invest wisely in employee rewards.

Labor costs are the largest portion of the operating budget in most organizations—which means Total Rewards professionals influence bottom line results in an important way. It's essential for today’s compensation professionals to have a keen understanding of business drivers and an appreciation of the financial realities of their organizations, enabling them to deliver effective and efficient rewards programs. In this course, you’ll gain the finance and accounting skills you need to optimize your organization’s investment in compensation and other Total Rewards. The curriculum includes both Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) accounting standards and navigating the intersection between rewards and finance.  


Enhance your strategic insight, organizational influence and communication effectiveness to ensure Total Rewards programs have high impact.

In a world where agility is paramount, business priorities shift rapidly, and competition for talent is fierce, Total Rewards professionals must innovate to stay ahead. Many grapple with linking reward programs to business outcomes and effectively communicating their impact. Our course empowers you with the business acumen and relationship-building prowess to craft rewards that fuel organizational success, and the persuasive communication skills to champion their strategic value. Ensure your programs don't just exist, but are understood, valued, and embraced across your organization.


Develop impactful Total Rewards programs designed for workforces across the globe.

Global operations and expansion come with critical challenges. Navigating operations in a global marketplace requires vital insights for attracting, engaging and retaining a diverse workforce around the world. You need a comprehensive framework for evaluating global Total Rewards and compensation designs that are created with local sensitivity and a cohesive rewards philosophy aligned with your organizational strategy. In this course, you’ll learn the considerations to examine as you create impactful Total Rewards programs and fully optimize them to attract and retain high-performing talent on a global scale. 


How It Works

The WorldatWork GRP designation is earned by passing 9 required exams. WorldatWork provides a corresponding course designed to help learners prepare for each required exam. It is highly recommended learners take the related course before sitting for the exam. 

Flexible Class Schedule

With live online and self-paced
e-learning classroom options you can easily fit your professional development into your busy schedule.


Manageable Time Commitment

On average 17 total hours of study per course.


Convenient Exams

All exams are taken online at the time that works best for you.

Recertification Credits

The courses and exams listed above can earn you credits to recertify additional WorldatWork certifications. 

Earn a Certification, Boost Your Career

Hear how earning her certification helped Michaela Leo, Head of Compensation & Benefits (North America) at Ipsen Biosciences, advance her career.

Track Your Certification Status

WorldatWork members can readily see their progress on certification, see the deadline for recertifying, rest easy knowing that recertification credits earned through WorldatWork are automatically added to their profiles, and manually manage any credits they earn from other organizations.