Happy New Year to our esteemed SHRM members and to all who value the HR profession. I know you join me in wishing 2021 brings good health and business recovery—and I believe it will, thanks to HR leaders like you.
But it’s almost certain that in the coming year (like every year), businesses will lose millions of dollars in productivity and squander top talent because of toxic work environments. Discrimination, exclusion, harassment and ill-equipped People Managers will hold back essential COVID-19 business renewal efforts.
Today’s workplaces are strewn with roadblocks that rob employees of the chance to do their best work and realize their goals. And for so many of us, it’s personal.
As children, we dreamed fearlessly of our futures, declaring, “When I grow up, I will be…”. But those childhood aspirations almost always crash into the realities of adulthood and the modern workplace.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Now more than ever, we must break the cycle of disappointment and discontent in the workplace. SHRM aims to forge solutions to toxic workplaces, challenging our profession and the business community to break down barriers to human potential.
That is the message behind our new national campaign, “When I Grow Up.” Its imagery of endearing babies is combined with the message that professional dreams can be crushed by unhealthy workplaces and bad managers—illustrating the need to change workplace cultures now for a healthier future for businesses and workers.
Workplace change starts with baby steps that add up to a monumental journey. We are asking business leaders and managers to consider specific measures to create a future world of work that enables everyone to achieve their full potential, including by pursuing inclusive hiring and making demonstrable improvements to workplace culture.
SHRM, its members and well-trained People Managers can help through such solutions as the People Manager Qualification, the Together Forward @Work platform and SHRM’s full array of membership benefits.
In 2021, make it your resolution to combat old habits, banish outdated and ill-informed thinking and drive disengaging and toxic behavior from your business.
With SHRM at your side—and our bold solutions, guidance and data-driven insights—you can lead your organization to increase performance, fulfill business goals, and preserve a happy, healthy, motivated workforce in 2021 and for years to come.
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management. With over 300,000 members in 165 countries, SHRM is the largest HR professional association in the world, impacting the lives of 115 million workers every day.
As a global leader on the future of employment, culture and leadership, Mr. Taylor is a sought-after voice on all matters affecting work, workers and the workplace. He is frequently asked to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors the weekly USA Today column, "Ask HR."
Mr. Taylor's career spans over 20 years as a lawyer, human resources executive and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit space. He has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/Interactive Corp, Viacom's Paramount Pictures and Blockbuster Entertainment Group, McGuireWoods LLC, and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
He is a member of the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and chairs the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He serves on the boards of the University of Miami, Jobs for America's Graduates, the American Red Cross and Guild Education.
In 2020, Mr. Taylor was named one of Savoy magazine’s “Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America” and later that year received the Distinguished Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of Management.
He is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois and Washington, D.C., and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources.
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