Society For Human Resource Management - Society Of Human Resource Management

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a professional human resources membership association headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. SHRM promotes the role of HR as a profession and provides education, certification, and networking to its members, while lobbying Congress on issues pertinent to labor management.

History

Founded in 1948 as the American Society for Personnel Administration (ASPA), the organization operated on a volunteer basis until 1964, when it established headquarters in Berea, Ohio, and began hiring staff members. In 1984, the headquarters was moved to Alexandria, Va., and in 1989, the organization changed its name to the Society for Human Resource Management.

SHRM was ranked the twelfth largest association in the United States in 2015, bringing in $114.56 million in revenue. The association has more than 575 chapters in the United States and around the world, which provide certification, education and networking opportunities for members. The organization is currently focused on several topics including: the Department of Labor's new overtime regulations, health care reform, the skills gap, workplace flexibility, sexual orientation nondiscrimination, and compensation equity.

Today SHRM has over 400 staff members and over 285,000 members in 165 countries. The President and Chief Executive Officer is Henry G. (Hank) Jackson.

Research

SHRM's Survey Research Center produces original research on emerging workplace issues and their implications for the HR professional and business leaders. Among its research surveys are the annual Employee Benefits Survey and Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement Survey and the monthly Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) report. In addition to producing surveys in house, SHRM conducts Customized Research Services for organizations.

Conferences

SHRM holds annual conferences and regional student conferences. The individual state conferences are organized by SHRM's State Councils.

SHRM's national conferences include:

• The Annual Conference & Exposition is SHRM's biggest conference, attracting around 15,000 attendees every year. Held in June, the conference's keynote speakers have included Duke University men's basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski(2015); Robin Roberts (newscaster) with ABC's Good Morning America (2014); and Hillary Clinton (2012). There are hundreds of concurrent sessions, and an HR marketplace.
• The Employment Law & Legislative Conference is held in Washington, D.C. every March, with sessions on employment law and legislation that impacts the workplace.
• The Talent Management Conference & Exposition is held in April and is designed for recruiters, HR generalists and managers with recruiting responsibilities.
• The Leadership Development Forum is held every year in September and is designed for mid-level managers looking to move into HR leadership roles.
• The Diversity & Inclusion Conference & Exposition in October is for diversity and inclusion professionals and HR professionals who want comprehensive strategies for diversity and inclusion.

Lobbying activity

SHRM lobbies governmental bodies regarding workplace law and industry practice. For example, in April 2008, SHRM announced in a press release that its representatives had appeared before the US Senate to petition for changes in the administration of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Additionally, the organization announced in the November 2003 issue of its HR Magazine that it had submitted a position paper to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suggesting factors the agency should consider when determining how to amend the definition of the term "job applicant" for the purposes of record keeping required by companies in order to comply with affirmative action and anti-discrimination laws.

In 2003, SHRM conducted an e-mail survey of its members intended to gauge the effectiveness of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and provide feedback on how the commission could improve its operations. It presented the results of this survey to the EEOC at a meeting on September 8, 2003.

In November 2006, the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) of the U.S. Department of Labor established an alliance with SHRM to encourage and promote the employment of people with disabilities.

In 2015 and 2016, SHRM worked to oppose the United States Department of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Overtime regulation. The rule greatly increases the salary under which employees are eligible for overtime and the number of the employees who qualify for it.