The award is named after Michael R. Losey in recognition of his contributions to the HR profession.

Each year, a single annual award of $50,000 from the Michael R. Losey Endowed Research Fund is made to an individual who has contributed to the advancement of the HR profession. Nominations are encouraged for human resource professionals who have made and will continue to make significant research contributions to the field of HR.

Details about the award are available from SHRM. The first recipient was Edward E. Lawler III of the Center for Effective Organizations in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern. In 2004, Lee Dyer of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University became the second recipient. In 2005, Dr. Frank Schmidt of the University of Iowa received the honor, and in 2006, it was awarded to Gary P. Latham, Ph.D., Secretary of State Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Toronto in 2006 and in 2007 to Michael Beer, PhD Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School and Chariman of TruePoint (formerly the Center for Organization Fitness) a research based consultancy he co-founded.

The Michael R. Losey Award is funded equally by SHRM and its affiliates, HRCI and the SHRM Foundation.