When searching for a qualified service professional, do you often ask if they are licensed and/or certified? Many industries require licensing and some require certification. Some are required to be both - or at least it is expected of them, and you wouldn't consider hiring one without those two labels.
Not so in the home and business inventory industry. Neither is required, or expected. There is no official licensing - period, even though some make that claim! Possibly they're licensed in another profession (home inspection, for example), but being licensed in the home inventory industry? No such thing!
Now, certification is another story. Just as with licensing, certification is not required nor given a blessing by any of the powers that be in the business or legal world. Certification can be very loose. Anyone can create a certification program and claim they have the certification for that industry. However, that is their take on their program. That doesn't make it bad. It doesn't make it the best. It just is what it is.
So, "Why?" you ask (I'm assuming you're asking), are we as a home inventory professional and also owner of a home inventory turnkey business package, certified, when none is required by law?
There is a perception of excellence by the public when someone is certified. There is a sense of being "better" when there are initials following someone's name. Other professional inventory service providers are getting certified, and since we consider our program and product to be tops in our industry, we felt it was our responsibility to provide the opportunity for all of our group members to achieve a certification as well.
Certification, according to Wikipedia, "is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task." As with most certifications where it is not required by law, there is no "anointed grand poo-bah" who blesses those of us in the industry who have chosen to be certified. What achieving certification does, however, is demonstrate a desire to be considered one of the best, one who cares about their customers, one who seeks excellence, and one who wants to represent himself or herself in a brighter light as a leader in the industry.
Is one certification better than another? No, I don't think so. We chose to be certified by the National Inventory Certification Association because of their policy regarding confidentiality and respect for each individual company's intellectual property. This fits better with our organization since we guarantee confidentiality and proprietary information for our Group Members - one reason they purchase the turnkey package. The NICA allows us to honor that.
Are others as good as NICA? I would guess the answer to that is, "Yes." Actually, I believe that certification is as good as the members of the organization, not the other way around.
So, should you ask if someone is licensed? Definitely - and if they say yes, that will tell you exactly what you want to know about them - then run!
Should you ask if they are certified? Again, definitely! This tells you that they spent time and money learning the industry and passing a test, and agree to abide by the ethics the certifying company posts on their website.
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