SHRM Writers Guidelines

SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, creates better workplaces where employers and employees thrive together. As the voice of all things work, workers and the workplace, SHRM is the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today's evolving workplaces. With nearly 325,000+ HR and business executive members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 115 million workers and families globally.

Our goals are to provide timely, engaging and useful content that will:

• Enable those working in HR at any level to do their jobs better and advance in their careers, and
• Educate and advise business leaders and people managers on emerging workplace issues.

SHRM's content typically is targeted to one or more critical audience segments: mid-career HR professionals, senior HR executives, students and emerging HR professionals, managers who are accountable for HR, and people managers. In addition, almost one-third of our readers are the only HR professional in their organization (known as "departments of one") and are responsible for all aspects of human resource management for their small to midsize employers.

On SHRM.org and within our many e-newsletters, we offer 800-to-1,500-word articles that cover news and trends relevant to the HR community. These articles typically are written by SHRM staff and professional freelance writers. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts or vendor submissions, but we are interested in reviewing article ideas from freelance writers. SHRM.org articles cover a variety of disciplines, including benefits; compensation; diversity, equity and inclusion; employee relations; ethics and corporate social responsibility; global HR; labor relations; organizational and employee development; risk management; talent acquisition; HR technology; and workplace trends. Articles should not profile or feature vendors to the HR community, but they can include relevant data and research supplied by vendors.

SHRM's print publication, HR Magazine, is published quarterly and covers business, legal and management trends relevant to SHRM members. Its readers are primarily HR practitioners across the private, public and nonprofit sectors, as well as consultants, academics and employment attorneys.

News Articles

SHRM.org publishes news articles that inform readers about timely workplace regulations and legislation, as well as key HR developments and issues. Each article quotes multiple sources and cites research when appropriate; some also include best practices and case studies. Articles do not promote products or vendors. Our readers are interested in learning about new methods to address HR challenges and problems and in staying abreast of the latest employment laws, and they rely on our news articles to achieve those goals.

Long-Form Feature Articles

SHRM offers long-form content in the print and digital editions of HR Magazine, the All Things Work e-newsletter and on SHRM.org. These articles provide in-depth, multisource analyses of current trends in human resources and the workplace.

We focus on explaining what industry news and workplace developments mean in a broader business context, as well as in the daily lives of our members. The best features go beyond simply quoting experts to interpreting what they say and include relevant research and expert guidance. Feature articles also may provide practical, easy-to-follow steps that will help HR professionals and members of other SHRM audience segments do their jobs better. Our features are both engaging and useful; they weave compelling stories and provide examples and lessons from HR professionals who have tackled the issues we're covering.

Many of our feature articles are assigned to professional freelance writers. They typically are 2,000 to 2,500 words in length and include at least one sidebar, table, infographic, video and/or audio segment. The tone should be that of a trusted, empathetic colleague who can explain to readers what they need to know and why it's important to their job—all while telling an engaging story. Feature articles typically are distributed to every SHRM member, ranging from college students through CHROs, so the content should be easily comprehensible to anyone with a fundamental understanding of business and the basics of human resource management.

To propose an article idea or for more information:

Tony Lee – VP, Content: tony.lee@shrm.org

Beth Mirza – Director, Content Development: beth.mirza@shrm.org

Dori Meinert – Managing Editor, HR Magazine: dori.meinert@shrm.org

John Scorza – Managing Editor, All Things Work: john.scorza@shrm.org