society of human resource management

society of human resource management

The Evolution and Impact of the Society of Human Resource Management

1. Introduction to the Society of Human Resource Management

The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the largest association in the world devoted to human resources (HR). SHRM’s goal is to promote knowledge and understanding of, and expertise in, the field of human resource management and the effective management of human resources in organizations. Founded in 1948 as the American Society for Personnel Administration, SHRM has over 120,000 members. Since its inception, SHRM has changed the nature of the HR industry. Initially operating as a networking organization, SHRM has shifted its focus to learning more about its members, creating a career path and a common body of knowledge, as well as professionalizing HR. Today SHRM is a market-driven organization. By developing services and products specific to the needs of its members, SHRM is working to meet the requirements of its members. SHRM’s four guiding principles include research, professionalism, recognition of the association’s members as the employer’s most important resource, and interaction with the business community.

The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) was founded in 1948 as the American Society for Personnel Administration. Today, SHRM has over 120,000 members in 150 countries. As the leading professional organization in the field of human resources, SHRM is a driving force in continuously changing the human resource (HR) industry. This chapter provides an overview of SHRM by reviewing its history, structure, and mission. Reporting specifically, this chapter will also examine the quality of SHRM services, products, and research. Finally, it will explore SHRM’s effect on the functional areas of HR.

2. Historical Development and Evolution of SHRM

This chapter examines the roots and support of the newest organizational development – the Society for Human Resource Management. It is essential to ground any new organization within its historical framework and within the environmental domain that it so powerfully influences. It is equally important to recognize and appreciate the activities and roles that this organization undertakes. The ability to recognize the significance of this organizational progression and to locate various streams of HR management support relative to the rapid escalation of the field is critical to future development. Understanding this pivotal organization will help us to direct its future, set our priorities, and prepare our students who will be its future members and leaders. Our students’ future employment success and the success of their employing organizations may very well depend on cultivating this understanding.

The explosive growth of the human resource field during the last part of the 20th century illustrates the ever-increasing importance of managing human capital in the workplace. Although the roots of the study of human resource management lie in the 20th century, the evolution of the field reflects an amazing range of new organizations and activities that support and foster the study and practice of managing people in organizational settings. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) exemplifies one facet of this support. Over the decades, the society changed from a small support unit within a larger association to a distinct, multicomponent professional service organization with extensive reach to its internal and external publics.

3. Key Initiatives and Programs by SHRM

Research and Publication The Society for Human Resource Management produces several high-quality publications and research reports that contribute greatly to the field of HRM. SHRM publishes two monthly magazines, HR Magazine and HR News, with a combined readership that exceeds 275,000. HR Magazine contains hard-hitting features that address HR strategy, practices, and job and career management. It is read by HR professionals at all levels in the United States, and increasingly overseas. SHRM also produces web-based resources, including research papers, executive briefings, and reports. The value of these resources is enhanced through public forums, surveys, and work group meetings, webcasts, and professional exchange groups. Additionally, SHRM supports 575 professional chapters in 50 states.

Certification The premier certification program for HR professionals is the SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and the SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), which is administered by SHRM. By creating the professional certification program, SHRM has declared that HR is an independent profession. Presently, 1000 SHRM professionals have passed the examination. For the first day, over 99 individuals took the examination earning their SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP credential. This gives an estimated passing rate of 30%. The national average passing rate of the other HR professional designation programs varies between 50% and 70%. These programs are also administered by a certifying board or other regulating body of the associated HR professional organizations. Due to SHRM’s passing rate consistently under the national average, should the program exist?

4. The Impact of SHRM on the HR Profession and Business Practices

SHRM helps HR professionals deliver HR products and services in a manner that is both cost-effective and responsive to high organizational performance standards. The CEO is concerned with increasing human performance in a business’ mission-critical jobs. The HR manager is responsible for facilitating strategies to help improve performance by contributing to the development of well-trained, motivated, and effective work teams. High-performing HR people understand the implications of fundamental business strategies and learn how they, including their compensation, benefits, employee relations, and administrative functions, can be aligned to support desired business strategies. SHRM, with its certification assistance, websites of knowledge, and seminars, helps individuals obtain essential HR knowledge and apply it to real-life business needs. It creates a lifelong learning environment that encourages top performers to stay alert and involved. Masters of their craft, SHRM members recognize change as the essence of the future. The result is more effective human resource management that ultimately accelerates organizational performance.

The creation of SHRM expanded the knowledge and skills of HR professionals. It embraces the strategic view that people are the most sustainable competitive advantage in times of constant change, and that organizations must capitalize on human behavior to survive. Learning how to do this effectively through improved HR practices, processes, and procedures is what SHRM is all about. Human resource professionals always have been good at solving individual HR problems, but SHRM places a problem-solving process into a strategic business context. HR people gain a holistic perspective of HR as it relates to business growth and survival within an organization. They can see and internalize the many ways professionals in their field have both tactical and strategic impact on business matters. HR is a unique function in that its primary customer is management. It is better able to respond to management needs when HR professionals understand and recognize the challenges inherent in executing business strategies successfully.

5. Future Trends and Challenges for SHRM

In addition to its 100-year past, SHRM is continually focused on its future and the critical trends and challenges that members and affiliates, who are now in over 165 countries, will be addressing. Among the key trends and challenges are (1) workforce diversity, EEO, and affirmative action due to the increasing EEO legal requirements of the federal government, states, and local jurisdictions, which affect not only the United States but also every country in the world; (2) Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) that store data on and analyze employees’ evolution and impact of the Society of Human Resource Management 15 jobs, selection, training, performance, and other factors in a comprehensive and consistent manner, thus permitting better strategic decisions; (3) HR productivity, which is now expected to do more with less, in light of the advent of more and more technology in the discipline; (4) equal pay for equal work and pay equity as a contentious issue in USA HR and the EEO discipline; (5) contingent workers worldwide who are found in four basic categories – rank and file, independent contractor, leased, and intermediary; (6) the work ethic that varies from country to country and even within countries; (7) outsourcing for certain business functions including e-HR; (8) virtual sharing, followed by the migration of a company’s application service providers from in-house to an outside-source provider or in-house e-HR team; (9) economics of global competition; (10) competent HR professionals; (11) workplace crime including alcohol and drug abuse and workplace violence that heavily impact the corporate climate and bottom line profit; (12) distance and Internet learning, followed by e-training.