What people ask before they enrol.
If yours is not here, Alan answers enquiries himself and usually within a working day.
Section 1
The certification
- 1
How do I get GRP certified in Europe?
The Total Rewards Academy runs the full WorldatWork GRP® curriculum as three one-week workshops across a single year, held at sponsor offices across Europe or online.
Nine courses are taught across the three weeks. Exams are sat privately online whenever you feel ready, so certification does not depend on being in a particular place on a particular date.
- 2
How long does GRP certification take?
One year through the Academy, against the usual two to three years if you take the standard route.
The standard certification programme is ten courses and ten corresponding exams which students complete at their own pace. The Academy consolidates that into three one-week workshops over a one-year period, so participants can certify up to three times faster.
- 3
What is the difference between the GRP and the CCP?
Both are WorldatWork designations: the GRP® is the global remuneration qualification and the CCP® is the compensation qualification, and the Academy prepares participants for both.
WorldatWork is the accrediting body and defines what each designation requires, so their own course catalogue is the authority on which one suits a particular role. If you are unsure which to aim for, Alan will talk it through against your actual job rather than sell you the longer programme.
- 4
Is the GRP worth it?
Over 93% of Fortune 500 organisations rely on WorldatWork for their Total Rewards advantage, and the GRP® is the global benchmark for Rewards accreditation.
Sixty leading international companies sponsor the Academy and have sent more than 400 of their Rewards professionals through it, including the Rewards functions at Novo Nordisk, IKEA, Lundbeck, Mercer and Electrolux.
Section 2
The programme
- 5
What does a place include?
Complimentary WorldatWork membership, full on-demand access to every course recording, and every course resource available to download at any time.
That is in addition to the nine taught courses, one a month, in whichever mix of classroom and online participation you choose.
- 6
Who teaches the programme?
Alan Gibbons leads the faculty and teaches the programme personally.
He was Global Head of Reward and Performance Management at Accenture and a Rewards Consulting Partner at both KPMG and PwC, and is a WorldatWork Faculty member. He also answers enquiries himself; there is no sales team.
Section 3
Dates and format
- 7
When does the next cohort start?
The 2027 programme runs one course a month from March to December 2027, with three classroom weeks in Amsterdam.
Course 1 runs on 8 and 9 March 2027 (mornings) or 11 and 12 March 2027 (afternoons). Each course is taught over two mornings or two afternoons, so the programme fits around a full-time Rewards role, and participants may move between the two. The full timetable is on the prospectus page.
- 8
Do I have to travel to attend?
No. Every class runs both in a classroom and live online, the two are identical, and you can mix the two to suit your own schedule.
Classroom sessions are hosted at the offices of sponsor organisations. IKEA, for example, has hosted participants from around the world at its headquarters in Malmö.
- 9
When do I sit the exams?
Exams are completed privately online, whenever you feel you have achieved your learning goals, rather than against a fixed exam date.
Section 4
Cost
- 10
What does the programme cost?
€7,995 as a single payment. Two instalments of €4,100 come to €8,200, and three of €2,765 come to €8,295, so spreading the fee costs a little more.
The fee includes all course material, attendance at all nine courses in classroom or online, all nine exams, a year of WorldatWork membership and personal tutoring. The second instalment falls on 1 July 2027, or on 1 June and 1 October 2027 for three payments. Corporate rates for whole Rewards functions and a self-funded bursary are available; email Alan for the figures that apply to you.
Section 5
Who it is for
- 11
Who should take the GRP or CCP?
Both those starting out in Rewards and senior practitioners who want the qualification as they move their career forward.
These two certifications represent the gold standard in Rewards qualification, and cohorts deliberately mix levels and companies so participants learn what other leading organisations are doing.
- 12
Can we send a whole team?
Yes. The Academy began in 2018 as a programme for one company’s 50-strong international Rewards function, and it is still bought that way.
Team enrolment brings international HR and Rewards staff to a balanced level of knowledge, develops a shared team language around Total Rewards, and gives the function a common learning platform worldwide.
The rest depends on your own situation.
Which designation fits the job you actually do, whether the three weeks fall around your year, what a place costs for a whole Rewards function. Alan takes those himself. If the decision needs your employer to agree, the one-page case is written to be forwarded.