Honey, you’ve got a big storm coming.

That isn’t just a line delivered in a recorded acting class that became a viral meme. It also was more or less the warning that SHRM’s president and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. delivered to HR pros at the organization’s annual conference last year. This year’s forecast is expected to be the same, he said at SHRM’s latest annual conference held in San Diego June 30–July 2.

“It’s going to be another monster year,” he told the audience during his mainstage presentation on June 30, citing challenges including AI creating job displacement, rising layoffs, and DEI “becoming a four-letter word.”

Taylor outlined the three areas where HR pros can “rise literally above earthly expectations and really make a major difference in how people live, how they work, and how they thrive.”

Keep reading for Taylor’s guide to HR transcendence.—PM

More than 20,000 attendees showed up in-person to SHRM’s national conference held in San Diego from June 29 through July 2. As attendees bustled from mainstage keynotes and fireside chats to the expo floor to breakout sessions, HR Brew chatted with some to get their take on the conference.

What brought attendees to SHRM? Several attendees interviewed by HR Brew said this year marked their first time at a SHRM conference. Many of those said they were there in part to keep up with their certifications (attendees can earn recertification credits while at the conference), while others were interested in networking and meeting with current and prospective vendors.

HR pros cited interest in getting insights to stay on the pulse of major shifts for the HR world. For example, Ellie Ledesma, senior manager of people at insurance comparison firm The Zebra, who attended with other members of her company’s HR team, said she wanted to stay up to date with AI.

“I wanted to make sure that we’ve got a pulse on the industry, any things that are changing…[and] that what we’re looking at, what we’re focused on, is aligned with what others are actually looking at and focusing on,” Ledesma said.

Another common concern? Keep reading here.—PM

What does a president understand about company culture and values? Well, it turns out a whole lot, and that, according to former President Biden, should include empathy and understanding employees on a personal level.

On July 2, Biden took the stage before a packed room as SHRM’s closing keynote speaker, marking one of his first speeches since his prostate cancer diagnosis in May.

“The strength of a team comes down to the individual people on that team, whether they feel valued, or they feel supported,” Biden said, noting that his dad taught him that work is about more than a paycheck. His father believed that work helps people cultivate dignity, respect, and a person’s place in their community.

Biden has historically been praised as an empathetic leader who prides himself in leaning on empathy to build relationships. He’s built unlikely connections with political opponents like the late Sens. John McCain and Jesse Helms.

Biden decided early in his political career that employees should be able to show up as their whole selves to work. “Too often we try to separate people into categories: their work and their family. We say it’s business, it’s not personal,” he said. “Real leadership is all about getting personal. I’ve known every major head of state I’ve sat down and talked face to face the last 40 years. It’s about [being] connected. It means having empathy.”

Here’s how Biden built personal connections with his staff.—KP