In 1984, when the late Ron Pilenzo, former president and chief operating officer of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), wanted to move the organization’s headquarters from the Cleveland area to the outskirts of Washington, D.C., he faced an uphill battle. There were questions, operational hurdles and challenges. Yet he felt strongly that, for SHRM to be a leading voice on public policy issues affecting the workplace, it needed to be closer to the action.
“We wanted to be near think tanks and government,” Pilenzo recounted in one of his final interviews. “We wanted to be the group that the federal government would call first on HR issues.” Fast-forward to today, and SHRM is that respected and highly sought-after voice. Read more about our advocacy efforts in this month’s issue of HR Magazine.
It’s been more than three decades since SHRM picked up its Ohio roots and moved to our nation’s capital. Being at the epicenter of public policymaking is just as important now as it was then. In what will be a landmark year ahead for workplace issues, you can be sure that advocacy will be part and parcel of the work we do at SHRM.
As the world’s largest HR professional society, it is not only our responsibility to serve as a leading voice on behalf of effective human resource management, it’s our mission.
Hank Jackson is the President and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management.
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