In Its 75th Year, SHRM Charts a Course for HR to Drive Change



​Buckle up, HR professionals.

Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Great Resignation, inflation and other challenges in the workplace over the last three years "will tell us much about safely and smartly navigating the road ahead," said Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP.

He shared his insights with attendees at the SHRM Volunteer Leaders' Business Meeting. The annual three-day summit drew leaders from SHRM chapters and state councils around the U.S. and marked the beginning of SHRM's celebration of its 75th anniversary in 2023.

SHRM Travel Diary

While many employers have successfully navigated COVID-19 lockdowns, remote work, protests over masks and vaccines, and the Great Resignation, the journey out of the economic lows of the pandemic isn't over. "We at SHRM are not ready to sit back and shift into cruise control," Taylor said. The global HR organization's success "has been built on constantly thinking, planning, innovating and exploring new opportunities at every juncture."

SHRM's strategy to drive change on behalf of its members and the profession is working, he said, pointing to:

• 318,351 total members, an increase of 13 percent over 2017.
• 124,092 certificants in 2022, an increase of 11 percent over 2017.
  
• A total revenue of $205 million, a 41 percent increase over 2017.
• Expansion of the SHRM brand in 2022 with the acquisition of CEO Academy, a high-level intensive learning and networking program for CEOs, and Linkage, a top global leadership development firm committed to advancing women and accelerating inclusion in leaders and organizations.
  

Wage Inflation, Talent Acquisition, and Culture and Mental Health

Constantly on the horizon, Taylor noted, is the looming uncertainty of the economy. "What's keeping even the best economists, business leaders and HR professionals up at night isn't simply that economic indicators are forecasting some really tough times ahead, but they are so upside-down and downside-up." Low labor participation, productivity and unemployment, along with rising inflation and employee demands for raises, are leading HR into territory without any signposts. Yet it's HR's job to steer their companies through, Taylor said.

As Taylor traveled the globe this year for SHRM, he observed that talent acquisition is top of mind for CEOs he spoke with, he said, and he urged HR professionals to consider people who are traditionally overlooked when filling jobs.

"At the SHRM Foundation, we've been preaching for a long time about utilizing traditionally untapped pools of talent," including veterans, older workers and people who were formerly incarcerated, he said. "We've always said it was a good thing to do, the right thing to do. Now, it's both a smart thing to do—and an essential element in strategically meeting our talent needs."

He also emphasized the importance of culture and of advocating for employees' mental health. In October, the SHRM Foundation sponsored its second-annual Visionaries Summit, which focused on mental well-being of workers and the need to build inclusive cultures that foster a sense of belonging.

"The isolation and loss of connection arising from months of remote work [during the pandemic] has contributed mightily to the increasingly fragile state of mind for even the strongest among us," Taylor said.

[SHRM members-only resource: Politics in the Workplace]

How political discussions in the workplace are treated is another aspect of workplace culture, Taylor said. He pointed to a SHRM 2022 Politics at Work survey that found 20 percent of U.S. workers reported experiencing poor treatment by co-workers or peers because of their political views. Additionally, 24 percent said they have experienced bias—preferential or negative treatment—because of their political affiliation. In 2019, 12 percent of U.S. workers reported experiencing such bias.

"When someone does not feel they can express their political views in a constructive manner for fear of retribution, that's the polar opposite of diversity and inclusion—it's division and exclusion," Taylor observed. "As we learned from the turmoil arising from the unprecedented social and political unrest from the recent past, if you don't drive the change, it will drive you. Let's take the proverbial steering wheel into our own hands."