SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. Calls on HR Leaders to ‘Take Back HR’ at SHRM26

ORLANDO, Fla. –SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, this week delivered a keynote urging HR leaders to reclaim the profession’s influence and redefine its role in shaping the future of work.

Addressing thousands of HR professionals at SHRM26, Taylor challenged leaders to reclaim HR’s influence and expand its role as the architect of work itself.

“There are moments that test every profession,” he said. “This is one of those moments for HR.”

Taylor emphasized that rapid advances in technology, artificial intelligence, and shifting business priorities are reshaping work in real time, and HR must evolve alongside them. He urged leaders to move beyond traditional responsibilities and become experts in how work is designed, executed, and measured.

“We need a revolution to take back HR,” he said. “We’ve got to become experts on work itself. We have to see what’s coming next and get the business ready for it.”

He described HR as often “stuck in the middle of people and CEOs,” balancing employee advocacy with business outcomes, while emphasizing that leaders must embrace a broader mandate. He stressed that CEOs must understand HR’s impact on business performance and previewed HR-X, the first research-validated standard for measuring how HR drives business performance.

As organizations invest heavily in AI and emerging technologies, he warned that HR must demonstrate the value of human talent with the same rigor applied to technology investments.

“With so much pressure to build and implement AI, there’s less money to spend on people,” he said. “HR needs to be able to explain the value and ROI for each and every one of our employees. That’s how we protect employees while helping the business succeed.”

Looking ahead, Taylor shared his vision for a future in which HR leaders become the stewards of all things work, serving as their organization's "Chief Work Officer" to help employers navigate rapid technological and workforce transformation.

“I envision a world where this work, this expertise, will be under the domain of HR, and we will be tasked with all things work,” he said. “We can and we must make ourselves essential to the future of business.”

Acknowledging that transformational change is rarely comfortable, he closed with a call for courage.

“Revolutions are disruptive and unsettling,” Taylor said. “But we absolutely can unleash a revolution that will open incredible new doors to the future of HR.”

About SHRM

SHRM is a member-driven catalyst for creating better workplaces where people and businesses thrive together. As the trusted authority on all things work, SHRM is the foremost expert, researcher, advocate, and thought leader on issues and innovations impacting today’s evolving workplaces.  With nearly 340,000 members in 180 countries, SHRM touches the lives of more than 362 million workers and their families globally. Discover more at SHRM.org.