SHRM reviews

SHRM has changed dramatically in years of my employment. When I started, employees were treated with respect and kindness. You would routinely see employees with tenures of 10, 15, 20, or 30 years. That is not to say the company was without fault, change was a bit slow, but overall, it was an organization that cared about staff, created an environment in which you could voice new ideas, and allowed you to leave work at work at the end of the day. The benefits were great: remote work was allowed and used across the organization, generous vacation time, and of course the pension plan. Fast forward to the end of 2017 when Johnny C. Taylor came on board as the new CEO. In the years since he joined, layoffs were routine. Some were big (think entire departments) but most were small drips (4 this week, 2 next week) that added up over the years to a flood. When staff were let go, they were not replaced and often not redundant, which meant their work was put onto the shoulders of the remaining employees. Imagine that over and over and over again. Workloads doubled. Stress levels skyrocketed. When staff complained of burn out, they were told that they were just not working hard enough before. (Also, please note, this is a HUMAN RESOURCES organization…). While all of this is going on, the executive team released their new guiding principles. Instead of creating a positive mission and mindset, these principles were lobbed at staff routinely like soul crushing grenades. If you question the rationale behind anything or pushback because your workload is too high or cannot work all weekend at the drop of a hat – you are in violation of the guiding principles. You are not being Flexible and Agile. You are not being Collaborative. You are not being Bold. Senior leadership (and I would include anyone at the Director level and above) likes to parrot off phrases of support for staff and tout benefits but is all gaslighting. Case and point, SHRM offers unlimited vacation! That sounds amazing right? Except when you request a day (one day). Six weeks in advance. Not at a major holiday. A day when no one else on your team is off. And you are told that you can take the day, unless we get busy and then you can’t. So plan to maybe have the day off, but also be prepared to not. Sounds like great work life balance right? The real reason traditional vacation was replaced with unlimited was because staff used to have too much time off. With some staff allotted 6-weeks vacation (in addition to sick leave). And SHRM had to pay that out when people quit…. Or were laid off. I also cannot express how horrible morale is. Burn out is bad (as mentioned before). Employees feel unvalued, unheard and desperate to leave. Whims of the executive team are expected to materialize overnight with little strategy or organization to support them. Johnny C. Taylor’s regular reminder at company meetings is, if you don’t want to work here, go find another job … and that is exactly what many smart, talented, capable employees have and are doing. If you haven't been laid off, you are probably trying to quit. If you are considering working for SHRM, really consider what you are signing on for. It’s a crappy economy and if you need a job and this is the only one, then do what you have to do but with eyes wide open. If you have other options or want to be treated with respect and be happy at work, dig deeper. Consider going somewhere else. From one generally happy, enthusiastic, over-achieving person, this place will drain your joy and confidence.

SHRM has a toxic workplace culture, developed and perpetuated by the CEO Johnny Taylor. The phrase “s rolls downhill” could not apply more. Pressure from the CEO to conform trickles down to Executive Leadership which in turn trickles down to all levels of the organization. It is a culture of fear, that is intentionally perpetuated by those at the senior level. Meetings have been held to reinforce that leadership has an “open door policy” and those with “different opinions” won’t be terminated. This. Should. Not. Have. To. Be. Said. Employees do not feel safe to speak with peers over slack or email for fear of it being shared or leadership learning of their different viewpoints on issues. The level of paranoia here is crippling. Unhealthy competition is a part of everyday life at SHRM. One of the guiding principles is “collaborative openness” but people are paralyzed by fear of sharing ideas because it could prove to be a “win” for another part of the organization and in turn another senior leader that doesn’t happen to be yours. Or even worse, you’ll just be shown the door. The “Flexible and Agile” guiding principle is a catch all for the sloppy and reactive work and a reflection of the staff not living up to the “Excellence and Accountability” principle. It’s also for last minute requests based on whatever is in the news that leadership wants to hitch their ride to or be aligned with. Politics run rampant and are at every level. What side of the aisle would have forced employees to return to work the minute the governor lifted the stay at home order? That’s the side the CEO and the organization is on. The irony is appalling. SHRM’s HR is borderline non-existent at “the voice of all things work, workers and the workplace.” HR serves the employer and that’s consistent with the Editorial content that also serves the work and the workplace—never the worker. In the post-COVID-19 world, SHRM employees (most of whom could easily continue to work from home) have been in office as of June 1 until recently when they were “gifted” time away from the office due to more COVID-19 cases. This is the CEO’s preference and politics and it will result in major challenges for employees. Johnny Taylor is the Donald Trump of associations, a self-promotional, emotional, and defensive leader lacking substance. Surrounding himself with fixers and yes men and firing at will with no cause. In 2020 SHRM quickly terminates outspoken critics, a change.org campaign powers on, and multiple media publications come out against CEO Johnny Taylor due to lack of support for Black Lives Matter, the LGBTQ+ community, internal management dysfunction, and a lack of Board oversight. See reviews in late January 2020 over three days where seven five star reviews are posted, all using the same language: “good place to work,” “no cons at this time.” Ask yourself, do these sound like real employees with real experiences?