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👥 Human Resources  ·  Advanced

Certified Performance Development Specialist

Online Certification  ·  10 Weeks  ·  Globally Recognised  ·  (CPDS)

✅ 2026 Edition 🎓 CPD Accredited 🌍 100+ Countries 📜 Digital + Physical Certificate 100% Online
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Executive Summary

Certified Performance Development Specialist

Designed for today’s high-impact professionals, the Certified Performance Development Specialist (CPDS) delivers a rigorous Advanced-level curriculum that equips participants with the knowledge, tools and frameworks needed to excel in human resource management, talent development and organisational effectiveness.

This 10 Weeks programme is structured around SHRM, CIPD and ILO Labour Standards, ensuring every graduate applies internationally validated methods to real-world challenges.

GLI’s CPDS holders are recognised by leading organisations across Africa, the Gulf, Europe and the Americas as qualified, results-driven professionals. Whether you are advancing your current career or transitioning into new responsibilities, this certification provides the competitive edge you need in 2026 and beyond.

Programme Overview

Certification at a Glance

Certification
Certified Performance Development Specialist
Acronym
CPDS
Category
Human Resources
Level
Advanced
Duration
10 Weeks
Delivery Mode
100% Online
Assessment
Online Examination
Certificate
Digital + Physical
CPD Eligibility
CPD Accredited
Alumni Benefits
GLI Network Access
Self-Paced
USD 449
Live Virtual
USD 649
Target Audience

Who Should Enrol?

  • HR Managers and Directors
  • HR Business Partners
  • Learning and Development Managers
  • Employee Relations and OD Specialists
Programme Inclusions

Everything Included in Your Enrolment

  • All study materials and study guide
  • Access to GLI online learning portal
  • Online examination and assessment
  • Digital certificate and digital badge
  • Physical certificate (shipped to you)
  • CPD credits for professional bodies
  • GLI alumni network membership
  • Facilitator and tutor support
  • Resource downloads and reference library
  • Automatic enrolment confirmation
Certification Benefits

Why This Certification Matters for Your Career

Career Advancement
Accelerate your career towards CHRO and senior people-management roles
Professional Recognition
Credential aligned with SHRM, CIPD and ILO Labour Standards
Leadership Capability
Develop the strategic and operational skills to lead complex human resource management functions
Organisational Impact
Design and implement human resource management systems that drive performance and measurable results
Compliance Readiness
Master the standards, compliance and ethical governance central to human resource management
Global Employability
Qualify for human resource management roles across multinationals, NGOs and international organisations worldwide
Competency Framework

Core Competencies You Will Develop

✦Individual Performance Baselines
✦Development Goal Structures
✦Performance Coaching Interfaces
✦Performance Feedback Systems
✦Development Milestones
✦Performance Sustainability
Course Curriculum

Programme Modules

The full programme, module by module.

Core CurriculumModules 1–20 · specific to Certified Performance Development Specialist · module 20 is the capstone
1
Performance Development Foundations
Coaching for performance · Coaching for performance versus coaching for development · Embedding learning in performance · Aligning learning to performance
2
Individual Performance Baselines
Baselines, targets and the counterfactual · Cost, performance and capacity management · Monitoring profitability and performance · System operation and performance
3
Development-Oriented Performance Reviews
Performance management that is worth the time it takes · Performance management that people use · Performance scorecards and reviews · High-potential identification and talent reviews
4
Performance Potential Assessment
Organisational maturity, assessment and improvement programmes · Security assessment, vulnerability management and remediation · Interpreting financial performance · Identifying and developing high potential
5
Development Goal Structures
Learning cultures and the learning organisation · Talent, succession and workforce learning · Adult learning theory (andragogy) · The learning and development profession
6
Individual Development Plans
Learning in the flow of work · Self-directed and continuous learning · Sustaining a learning organisation · The evidence base for effective learning
7
Competency Improvement Pathways
Learning technology ecosystem · Learning analytics and data · AI and adaptive learning · Data-driven learning design
8
Performance Coaching Interfaces
Performance coaching in a work context · Building a coaching culture and an internal coaching function · Managing performance through coaching · Coaching principles and ethics
9
Development Assignment Systems
Designing practice and feedback: where learning actually happens · Assessment design for learning: testing what was meant to be learned · E-learning design: what changes when nobody is in the room · Learning platforms and technology: choosing and running the LMS
10
Career Performance Mapping
Career, transition and life coaching · Career coaching: direction, transition and decisions · Knowledge audit, mapping and critical-knowledge risk · Managing team performance and dynamics
11
Performance Feedback Systems
Feedback and challenge in coaching: saying the hard thing well · Feedback, challenge and psychological safety in coaching · Operations performance and throughput · Contract performance management after award
12
Skill Development Through Work
The manager as coach: developing people through the work · Capacity and performance management · Coaching and skill development · Supervised and unsupervised learning
13
Performance Improvement Plans
Managing poor performance: capability, support and the honest conversation · Driving measurable learning impact · Designing a learning programme or curriculum · Questioning, discussion and active learning
14
Development Milestones
Talent metrics and workforce reporting · Learning transfer and capability building · Talent review and succession in practice · Incident causation, investigation and learning
15
Performance Progress Monitoring
Compliance monitoring and testing: finding breaches before the regulator does · Evaluating learning honestly: reaction to impact · Learning technology, platforms and blended design · Learning and adaptive management: using evidence while the programme runs
16
Development Metrics
Time-to-hire, quality-of-hire and cost metrics · Goal setting, action and accountability · Mentoring: sharing experience without taking over · Supervision, ethics and the coach’s own development
17
Performance Sustainability
Exit, sustainability and handover: what continues after the project · Goal setting and working toward a defined change · Behaviour change: why intention is not enough · Policies and procedures: writing rules people can actually follow
18
High-Performer Development
Capturing and curating expertise · Curriculum and programme design · Sequencing, chunking and scaffolding · Storyboarding and content development
19
Performance Development Reviews
Capability and skills frameworks · Onboarding and induction design · Technical and compliance training · Higher and further education contexts
20
Performance Development Framework
Content development and storyboarding: from design to build · Knowledge strategy and knowledge governance · Knowledge creation, the SECI cycle and external acquisition · Taxonomy, metadata and findability
Professional ElectivesModules 21–30 · common to all GLI certifications · broaden your professional range
21
Strategic Communication and Executive Presentation
Vision, purpose and translating direction into work · Audience-centred communication and message structure · Executive leadership: the board interface and enterprise stewardship · Persuasive structure: framing, evidence and the ask
22
Leadership and Team Effectiveness
Leadership identity, style and the limits of style · Leadership assessment, feedback and continuous self-review · Leadership versus management and when each is needed · Situational and adaptive leadership
23
Analytical Thinking and Evidence-Based Reasoning
Creativity and critical-thinking development · Analytical techniques and bias · Evidence-based improvement · Problem framing: symptoms, definition and scope
24
Professional Decision-Making
Managerial decision-making, bias and decision rights · Escalation and decision-making · Decision support: briefs, options and judgement under pressure · Decision frameworks: criteria, weighting and trade-offs
25
Negotiation, Influence and Stakeholder Management
Negotiation preparation: interests, options and the walk-away · Power, followership and organisational politics · Negotiation: preparation, interests and value creation · Concessions, anchoring and the shape of a bargain
26
Project and Execution Management
Proposals, bids and the business case · Project roles and the project manager · Developing the project business case · Planning, scheduling and personal workflow systems
27
Financial Literacy for Professionals
Financial reporting standards and their application · Financial management for the operating manager · Liquidity, funding and balance sheet management · Management accounting: costing, budgeting and decision support
28
Digital Skills, AI and Technology for Professionals
Digital workplace, collaboration and user support · Productivity, collaboration and workflow tools · Tools for interaction and collaboration · Working with data: quality, interpretation and honest presentation
29
Ethics, Governance and Professional Accountability
Ethical leadership: integrity, tolerated behaviour and moral courage · Ethics, conduct and speaking up · Business development risk, ethics and integrity · AI for managers: adoption, oversight and governance
30
Personal Effectiveness, Productivity and Career Growth
Emotional competence: awareness, regulation and expression · Self-awareness, strengths and the accuracy of self-image · Emotional intelligence and self-regulation · Priority: outcomes, importance and the urgency trap

Every module opens in the learning portal with its full lesson set, worked examples, further reading and video masterclasses. 30 modules · 150 lessons.

Learning Outcomes

What You Will Achieve

  • Individual Performance Baselines — applied to your own work
  • Development-Oriented Performance Reviews — applied to your own work
  • Performance Potential Assessment — applied to your own work
  • Development Goal Structures — applied to your own work
  • Individual Development Plans — applied to your own work
  • Competency Improvement Pathways — applied to your own work
Enrolment Process

How to Get Certified

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Step 1: Choose Your Certification
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Step 3: Study in the GLI Learning Portal
Work through 30 structured modules and 150 lessons at your own pace, with downloadable resources and expert-designed content — all inside the LMS.
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Step 4: Pass, Get Certified & Verified
Sit your final examination online, earn your certificate instantly, and receive a globally verifiable Certificate ID — plus GLI Alumni Network access.
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Secure checkout · Instant LMS access · Globally verifiable certificate
Frequently Asked Questions

Common Questions

What is the CPDS certification?

The Certified Performance Development Specialist is a professional certification awarded by the Global Leadership Institute. It covers 20 core modules specific to Performance Development Specialist, culminating in the capstone “Performance Development Framework”, plus 10 professional elective modules common to all GLI certifications. Candidates study through the online portal, submit the capstone project and sit a final examination; those who pass receive a verifiable certificate carrying a unique certificate ID.

Who should enrol in the CPDS?

This certification is ideal for HR Managers and Directors, HR Business Partners, Learning and Development Managers and Employee Relations and OD Specialists, and other professionals seeking to formalise their expertise in human resource management, talent development and organisational effectiveness with a globally recognised credential.

How long does the CPDS certification take to complete?

The programme is structured over 10 Weeks and offers flexible learning modes. Self-paced learners can progress at their own schedule, while live virtual participants follow a structured cohort schedule with facilitator-led sessions.

Is the CPDS internationally recognised?

Yes. GLI certifications are recognised across 100+ countries and are aligned with SHRM, CIPD and ILO Labour Standards. Graduates receive a digital certificate, a physical certificate and CPD credits recognised by employers worldwide.

What is the cost of the CPDS certification?

The Certified Performance Development Specialist is offered in two formats: Self-Paced at USD 449 and Live Virtual at USD 649. Corporate group rates are available for organisations enrolling 5 or more participants. Contact GLI for a bespoke corporate training quotation.

What does the CPDS certification include?

Enrolment includes all study materials and study guides, access to GLI's online learning portal, online examination, digital certificate and badge, physical certificate (posted), CPD credits, GLI alumni network membership, and ongoing facilitator support.

What is the assessment format for the CPDS?

The Certified Performance Development Specialist is assessed through an online examination consisting of multiple-choice questions, case study analysis, and practical application assignments. The assessment is designed to evaluate real-world competency, not just theoretical recall.

What CPD credits do I earn from the CPDS?

The Certified Performance Development Specialist carries Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits, which can be applied towards professional body requirements including recognised international professional associations.

Can I study the CPDS while working full-time?

Absolutely. The self-paced option is designed for busy working professionals and allows you to study when and where it suits you. Live virtual sessions are typically scheduled in the evenings or on weekends to accommodate professional commitments.

What career outcomes can I expect from the CPDS?

Graduates progress towards CHRO and senior people-management roles. The CPDS strengthens your expertise in human resource management, talent development and organisational effectiveness and positions you for advancement across multinationals, NGOs and international organisations.

Graduate Voices

What Our Alumni Say

“

The curriculum was directly applicable to my daily work. I immediately applied what I learned and saw results within weeks of completing the programme.

HR Director
Private Sector
“

GLI's certification is the most practical professional programme I have attended. The international frameworks gave me credibility with my employer and clients.

People Manager
NGO Sector
“

I earned my CPDS while working full-time. The self-paced format made it possible, and the quality of the content is genuinely world-class.

Talent Lead
Government
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