Take a look at the other reviews on this page. You'll see ups and downs. Some former employees come and speak their truth; then some devotees of the current cult of personality are dispatched to toss up some positive reviews; the cycle continues. SHRM has diligently offered empty replies to the negative reviews that focus more on promoting talking points that are important to SHRM than the issue at hand - and that's a good way to frame SHRM at this moment. Even SHRM's use of the COVID-19 feature here on Glassdoor - it's intended for employers to highlight what they are doing for their employees during this time, and SHRM - tone deaf and singularly focused on money - is using it to advertise their products and services. It's a well manicured message created by an organization that is constantly churning out vapid and poorly substantiated "research" that is a far cry from the strong and durable SHRM research and content of the past on which the organization's reputation was built.
What SHRM doesn't mention in the little COVID-19 box here on the side is what SHRM has done for it's employees during COVID-19: required employees to return to work early in June, and recently dealt with exposure of an active case in the office. SHRM's initial response to employees being exposed to COVID-19 was to double down and keep the office open and reiterate the requirement to come into the office. They have started to back track, but here's the takeaway: SHRM is an organization that will take extreme risks to see how far employees are willing to bend, no matter the cost.
SHRM's problems are much deeper than just the flawed COVID-19 response, however. Many of the reviews here hit on the points - bullying runs rampant and is led right out of the top of the executive office. Over the last few months, dozens of employees have disappeared with no notice - at this point I've lost count. Some of us were lucky to make it out on our own terms, but the review here that mentions being labeled "culturally misaligned" really hit the nail on the head. The subsequent review that blamed "slackers or whiners" really makes the point - SHRM culture has no space for a full range of viewpoints, perspectives and ethical groundings of all people.
For years, an expected feature of all staff calls has been the CEO taking a few minutes to openly threaten people who "don't fit" and challenging them to leave or get out, because they don't belong. To be frank, this culture may work for some people - either those who thrive in excessively toxic environments or those who aren't observant enough to know that they are the frog being boiled. SHRM has both sorts of folks inside, and they happily go about their day relatively unaware of the negative impact the environment is having on their coworkers. Those affected coworkers, in turn, are being slowly fired / pushed out / disappeared, so SHRM is serious about building the culture it wants.
Any prospective candidate should ask themselves if they're willing to take that kind of risk - especially younger employees or those new the workforce should stay away; starting your career in this kind of environment could really stunt you forever.
A basic Google can find a litany of problems with SHRM - there is a growing group of HR practitioners who are mounting a petition questioning the leadership and strategy of the organization of which they are members. The real problem with SHRM is that despite everything around them going wrong and the organization falling tragically out of touch with the world around them - the leadership perspective seems to be that everything is going fine, and in fact - going exactly how they want it to. SHRM's is led by a narcissist who must always focus himself as a victim and doesn't actually think there's a problem - and that is the biggest problem of all.
There are plenty of great places to work in the great Commonwealth of Virginia - SHRM, ironically, is not one of them. Keep looking!
