Tag Archives: #shrm12

If I Were Running A Company…Conversation with Dwane Lay

In this second installment (first on video), I had a conversation with Dwane Lay, Head of HR Process Design at Dovetail Software and blogger at LeanHRblog.com. We discuss about processes in HR, plus an update on those SHRM hockey sticks.

If I Were Running A Company…Conversation with Angela Hills

At the SHRM Conference, one of the session I wanted to attend was “How Can HR Make the Most of Creative Destruction” because the term, “Creative Destruction,” has been the buzzword with in the past year in business. I spoke to Executive Vice President of Pinstripe Talent, Angela Hills, about “Creative Destruction” and its place in HR and Talent Acquisition.

Sorry about the sound. First time doing this.


If I Were Running A Company…My #SHRM12

(Photo Credit: Dice)

The SHRM12 conference had a different feel than the previous three SHRM conferences. For starters, I was a veteran at the conference, although I have not been to the SHRM Conference in four years (last one in Chicago of 2008), one year before the “social media movement” came in New Orleans in 2009. The other thing that had a different feel was I am a blogger for this conference, so I had more responsibilities to not only go to sessions and expos, I had to discuss it on Twitter and this blog to let you know my perspective on this conference. Finally, I had an inner circle of HR that I started to build right after the 2008 conference from reading HR blogs talking about that conference. Four years later, these HR bloggers/press members I respect, will meet for the first time.

The Hive/Bloggers’ Lounge

This year, SHRM made a huge initiative of getting a section of the conference focusing on social media. SHRM created three new things for this conference:

The Buzz: where bloggers discuss the going-ons at the conference to first-timers or unfamiliar with Atlanta. The name is appropriate to build around the conference

The Bloggers Lounge: This is where all the bloggers get to go network, blog, tweet, and discuss what was going on at the conference. This is also the place I met the HR bloggers for the first time. It was a magical place.

The Hive: This was the place where if attendees have questions on social media, this was the place. There was the SmartBar where HR bloggers and SHRM staff answer questions on social media, There were sessions on social media, popular shows from Fistful of Talent and Drive Thru HR broadcast from there, and tables for networking.

These three sections complement each other and was one of the best ideas they had at the conference. All credit goes to Curtis Midkiff and Dice (the main sponsor) for setting this up and creating a social atmosphere that made this conference successful. If you don’t believe me, people outside of HR wanted to use the Hive model for their own conferences to help their people adapt to social media. If you still don’t believe me, check these stats out, plus the #SHRM12 twitter stream is hit with porn right now. Truly, a home run by SHRM and Dice.

Keynote Speakers

There’s always a theme why SHRM brings these keynote speakers. This year, it was Condoleezza Rice, Malcolm Gladwell, Jim Collins, and Tom Brokaw. In my opinion, the theme of the keynotes was “we need each other.”

  • For Rice: it was dealing with a position that is dominated by white males and had to look up to them.
  • For Gladwell: the older generation believing hierarchy, while the younger generation believes in networks and decentralization. However, both need to understand each other. That’s why the Civil Rights movement was successful because it had a network, plus a leader in Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • For Collins: it is about people and how we use them right. Also, when it’s the right time to grow or not.
  • For Brokaw: it’s the “big idea” and a partnership between private and public sectors

Eventually, all four speakers are saying we have to work together to make this work, no matter the differences and we have to grow together from trials and tribulations, but at the end when everything is in place, it will work. I might be thinking too much about a pattern here, but SHRM gives us an underlying theme  we need to take out of from those keynotes and it worked.

Concurrent Sessions 

Of the sessions I attended, it was night and day. The Monday sessions included speakers Sue Meisinger, Nancy Newell, and Angela Hills. That was a terrific lineup speakers I chose and they all delivered and it was hard to match that the next day…and I was right. The next day, they’re were two speakers I had to walk out because their topic were off the board and landed differently than I expected. The only great session I went that day was Jeremy Eskenazi’s presentation on recruiting turned to consulting. On Wednesday, I only went to one session on “Is Social Recruiting Really Working?” It was a friendly debate on how companies are using social media in recruiting and it was a great session to close out the conference to make people think before the go on their flights.

If I had to choose one session that was best, it was Angela Hills’s presentation on “Creative Destruction” because the topic has not been covered enough in the business world except in the social entrepreneurial (or entrepreneurial) arena. Creative destruction has been a term for a long-time, but it is getting a lot of play within the last year because of what’s going on with the economy. This might be the new buzz words people going to use in the next couple of years.

Overall, the sessions did have a lot of focus on talent acquisition and talent development and I think SHRM’s underlying theme is continuing in tact.

Exhibit Hall

I remember the last conference I attended in Chicago, exhibit hall was huge as vendors had bigger booths and bigger budgets to play with TV screens and other electronic stuff. in Atlanta, it seemed scaled back. it was probably it was the economy or that Atlanta is not a popular destination like Las Vegas last year, but there were 18,000 who came at the conference. My thoughts on what I saw at the Expo:

  • Lots of vending stores for your offices. Steve Boese had a great write-up about one of the vendors, Avanti Markets. To be honest, the stores are similar to stores you see at your office building or 7-11. I just hope someone included lottery tickets.
  • Astron Solutions, an HR Technology Service company, was showing Euro 2012 on Sunday. A great way to attract people and discover your product.
  • Best schwag: the Dave Thomas Foundation and their kickballs.
  • Yes, Exhibit Hall is huge and it is hard to find people you’re looking for. In my case, I went to one of the vendors and they ask me where I’m from and their partner came from the same high school (Fairfax High School in Virginia) and had a good 15 minute talk. I know some hate vendors as salespeople, but when you come to exhibit hall, you don’t know what to expect and we have to realize the vendors behind the product are people as well.
  • Mobile products are on the rise with mobile ATS, mobile benefits, and mobile rewards & recognition.
  • The giveaway of the conference: either an iPad or Kindle. Frankly, it was a little too much and causing me to not have distinction between vendors. I know technology will change and there will be something else in the woodwork, but if iPads and Kindles are still popular next year, I would just have a big drawing every 15-30 minutes for either of these items and have it listed on the big board. There’s no damn way people who entered for a lot of drawings have to be in one place since some booths require you to show up. I was disappointed no one gave out the Microsoft Surface (not the just released tablet, the technology coffee table), but it does cost $13,000, so…

Parties and Fun

The most fun I had was the SHRM Hockey event at Centennial Plaza where all the bloggers play a little street hockey for the Atlanta Mission. I hope this is annual tradition.

As for the parties, I’m not a party go-er, but if you have to go back-to-back days at the same place, it loses its luster. On Sunday, Bright.com and TLNT held their party at Stats. On Monday, Glassdoor and SHRM held their party at the Der Biergarten. By the way, both Stats and Der Biergarten share the same rooftop, hence the redundancy of the party, although the SHRM party was much more crazier than I ever anticipated.

Improvements

SHRM has made lots of strides and has become mainstream thanks to the Hive and Twitter buzz (no pun intended). What has not change is SHRM believing an HR person is still an HR person in any sector and can be transferable.  I don’t have that viewpoint as  HR is the same in each sector. We have different sectors with different mindsets. Some say SHRM has become big and bureaucratic and don’t give a damn about HR, only making money. It isn’t SHRM doesn’t care, because I think they do, but they have become mainstream and when there’s power, there’s responsibility. SHRM has done a great job building up the HR profession, but it is now time to divide and conquer. SHRM really needs to bring all sectors in the fold from non-profits, gaming, small businesses, media, government contracting, and others to make this a complete experience. What I see in presentations is just a focus on the big brands. Let’s be honest: some of these presentations are more inspiring than a learning experience because these are big brands, but not everyone will work at a big company. I hope SHRM expands to other areas, although to be fair, SHRM did have a Manufacturing Summit , so baby steps are taken. However, more sectors involve in this conference, the better. I do not want HR just be experts at our own profession because we’re already good at what we do (well, some of us are). I want us to be industry experts that we know what were talking about and become future executives at our organization.

The other improvement is more of a proactive approach. The Hive was a great addition to the SHRM conference as people ask questions on how to use social media and how to adopt that in their workplace. Now in the future, the question isn’t if your organization uses social media, or is your business social. It will be what’s next? For future SHRM Conferences, I would use the Hive as a hub for what’s trending. This year was social, next year could be social as well, but what about the following years? Mobile is coming to our lives, don’t forget holograms, transporters, or Google glasses. The Hive, to me, has to be the place for trendsetting topics to be discuss and how to use them. The Hive is a great idea; let us continue that and use it to push HR into a better profession.

For SHRM13 in Chicago

From the news yesterday, I can tell you the main session people will be attending is healthcare and how it impacts them and their company. I can imagine the HR programs department looking through numerous proposals of healthcare sessions. I wish them luck.

Finally, starting next year, MLB will enforce all 30 teams to face one another and since the SHRM13 Conference is from June 16-19, I want MLB to have the Cubs or White Sox face my beloved Washington Nationals before the conference or if SHRM selects a crappy entertainer, I wanted it Monday or Tuesday Night. If possible, make the Nationals-Cubs on Saturday a doubleheader. This will make my conference experience the best. Also, if the Bulls or Blackhawks make it to the Finals, I want a piece of that action.

Overall Impressions

I wouldn’t say this conference was the best because it’s still in the early stages and see how it will develop in the next year, but this conference had a lot of meaning since I took part of it as a blogger and it was definitely the most fun I had. Most of the sessions were top notch, and networking is en vogue again the last time I went to a SHRM Conference. To reiterate again, I want to thank Curtis, SHRM, and the Dice team for this experience like no other and bring together all the HR bloggers and seeing them for the first time. On a personal note, I want to thank Jenny Hughes for giving me an opportunity to be part of the blogging crew this year (this is why commuting 4 hours to and from National Harbor is worth it) and hope to return next year.

That is my final SHRM12 post…now go back to work…oh wait, next week is 4th of July. Go back to your vacation…and then work. Oh let me end on this: SHRM gave us to “Be [something].” There are two phrases I tell everyone: “Be Your Job” and I’ll let the Special One finish this (go to 4:35 Mark):

Other References:

My pics from SHRM12
SHRM12 Preview
SHRM12 Pre-Conference
SHRM12 Day 1
SHRM12 Day 2
SHRM12 Day 3
SHRM12 Last Day
Attendees Reaction to SHRM12
SHRM12 Presentation Slides

If I Were Running A Company…Attendees’ Reaction to #SHRM12

I came at the SHRM Conference as a blogger/press member to discuss events and what I saw. I wasn’t sure that was enough. Beyond my views of the conference, I wanted to see what the attendees’ opinions on the conference since they really drive it. Here are their views:

Before the Conference:

I spoke to a few on what they’re looking for at the conference. It was the keynote speakers and general sessions. I spoke to Paul Arnold of J.J. Keller & Associates and discuss there are three things that are important to HR now:

  1. Getting top talent
  2. Planning for Boomers to retire.
  3. Litigation
That’s what I got a sense from other attendees that these three are the big issues.

Keynote Speakers

Nearly everyone said this was their favorite part of the conference. It must be the celebrity factor as all four keynote speakers (Condoleezza Rice, Malcom Gladwell, Jim Collins, Tom Brokaw) were smart, open, and charismatic in their remarks. I guess if you have a regular dope like me, it might have little meaning, but with a celebrity, it becomes a huge ordeal. Overall, this is good for HR in general that you have these people care about our profession.

Concurrent Sessions

Obviously people have different agendas to the conference as there are many fields in HR, but most liked the sessions they attended. Only a couple hated their session because of the speaker style, which can happen. It’s either a hit or miss, but from the lineup before and after their session, they were mostly hits. The only real complaint is the 7AM sessions because everyone has to wake up very early and are groggy. Other than that, everyone like what they saw in the sessions.

Exhibit Hall

There was no real opinion about certain vendors and booths except exhibit hall is huge, which always is. The volume of vendors made attendees overwhelm on where to go to and what to focus on. If they had a favorite booth, most said it was Monster and their truck. For their favorite booth that helps their company, you have to ask them in a few months.

The Hive

I’m going to make two distinctions: when I was at The Hive, people had nothing but high remarks as the “SmartBartenders” answer their questions on social media and looked satisfied by it. People are still adjusting to social media (saw a woman trying to figure out here Twitter handle) but they know social media is here to stay.

From outside The Hive, there little to no mention to it. It’s either their company is already social or ignoring it altogether. They never gave specifics, but my guess is with so many things going on, they didn’t have time to examine the Hive…or just come by to get a bag of candy.

Overall, people had a good time at the conference with few complaints. They also like how SHRM organize the event from inside the Georgia World Congress Center to the  details of the buses, though there was only one complaint about buses before the Seinfeld show. If attendees are the bosses and give performance evaluations to SHRM, it will say, “Good Job. Keep up the good work.”

Tomorrow, you will get my opinion on SHRM12 and that will be it.

 

If I Were Running A Company…#SHRM12 Last Day

Today was the last day of the conference where people are carrying to head out to their homes, or their vacation homes, or jumping ahead of 4th of July plans.

Tom Brokaw

Tom Brokaw was the closing keynote and had to follow Jerry Seinfeld, who was the “margarita,” and he was the “hangover.” Brokaw’s main point in his keynote is “big ideas.” He is upset at both political parties of promoting “small ideas” and need to take risks that people care. Another big idea is military hiring that HR has a huge role in transition veterans from military life to civilian life. Finally, he wants more private-public partnerships like they have in Indiana with Mitch Daniels partnered with companies on toll roads. The last part has gotten a lot of play last month as private-public partnerships were great in the 50s and 60s, but polarization and power has shattered that relationship. Brokaw has been around the block and he knows what he talking about.

Concurrent Sessions

Only attended one session today and that’s “Is Social Recruiting Really Working?” Some highlights:

- 14% of people trust what they see in social media.
- 67% of people thought their job is different than what they expect on the job description. Thought that number was low.
- Jim Stroud touting Google+, while the panel ignore the fact.
- 87% of people who use Pinterest are female.
- Jeremy Langhans said his company use Instagram to better source candidates. Need to use that.
- To get quality referrals, you have to go outside your network. That’s where the quality of talent is at its best.
- Social Recruiting (or Social Media for that matter) is democratizing communication.

That is all for the conference. Tomorrow, I will write a post on the attendees reaction to the conference. On Friday, I will write my own views on the conference.

If I Were Running A Company…#SHRM12 Day 3

Tuesday is always the busiest day at the Annual SHRM conference with speakers, people rushing to exhibit hall to enter all the drawings, and the entertainment at night.

Jim Collins

Jim Collins drove to the point that businesses is about people first and strategy second and to get from good to great, they need humility, drive, and innovation. He also discuss the growth and decline of companies. His favorite company was Southwest Airlines because they were aware they’re in it for the long run. They started with 4 cities when there’s a lot of demand and when they were efficient in their process, they could expand to other cities. Collins had great ideas, but it seem his speaking style is more of a salesman and blew me off a little, but he is a smart guy and made great points that people run things, but companies need to know when to hold’em or fold’em.

Concurrent Sessions

Remember I said nothing will match yesterday’s concurrent sessions that I attended? I was right. In the morning, I attended a session on Navigating C-Suite: how businesses can learn from sports teams and there was only one reference on sports throughout the presentation (mention sports owners hang out with Director of Player Personnel, not CFO). Other than that, he uses politics as his examples. I search him and he was more of a political junkie than a sports fan. I really think when he applied to present, he replace “politics” to “sports” to get to speak at the conference…and it worked, but his presentation was all over the map.

The other session I attended was RecruitConsult from Jeremy Eskenazi and it was a 180 from the morning session I attended. It was more fun with music and beach balls before the session and a lot to learn that everyone in HR (and recruiting) must be consultants and experts, not yes people or customer service professionals. Easily the best session I attended that day.

Exhibit Hall

In my “Exhibit Hall” challenge, I entered 600 times (give or take a two) for a tablet and some other stuff and lost all 600…as expected. On a personal note, I was walking around to one of the vendors and someone over heard me saying that I live in Fairfax and went to Fairfax High School. Sure enough, one of the partners at the booth did go to Fairfax High School (she graduated in ’02, I graduated one year before) and we had a long talk about our days in Fairfax HS and our lives now. That’s why you talk to vendors; you don’t know what to expect.

Dice Blogger Party

It was great for Dice and SHRM to hold this event just for bloggers and friends. I wasn’t part of the “blog squad” in 2009 but between those years, SHRM has been trying to understand and grow in the social scene. When Curtis Midkiff arrived in 2010, SHRM was getting into a new area for the better. Curtis made an emotional and passionate speech that there are sponsors and there are partners. Sponsors gives money and leaves; partnerships are a collaboration between two businesses. Couldn’t say it better.

Jerry Seinfeld

SHRM didn’t have a comedian as the main entertainment in over ten years. Jerry Seinfeld had a tough task to make most of the 10,000+ HR professionals to laugh. Not only he did that, but he killed his set. From coffee and 5-Hour Energy drinks to his family life, Seinfeld had nearly everyone rolling. It seems going back to his stand-up roots and changing his tactics has helped Seinfeld a better comedian than he was before his TV show. Now, is SHRM going to try two in a row for comedians? I just hope it ain’t Frank Rich or Dane Cook.

For Today

It is the last day of the conference with Tom Brokaw closing us out, a few more sessions, and off to our boring lives.

If I Were Running A Company…#SHRM12 Day 2

I’m glad SHRM is an all-day conference. The problem with that is it really is an all day conference, so you have to wake up very early in the morning. It truly takes a commitment, especially in HR to do that. That being said…

Speed Networking Event

A speed networking event is what it is…a speed networking event. In this event, there were tons of first-time attendees who want to network and experience the conference itself. You will mostly hear people attend the event for sessions, parties, or the city itself. These people want to network for their company and/or collecting a list of names. The most interesting person I met was Wesley Forest who is job hunting in Atlanta. This triggers something SHRM might do: Have 50 (or 100 or whatever the number) HR job seekers and bring them over to the conference to network and attend sessions. That will be some goodwill.

Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell was Monday’s keynote and just to me, it isn’t new. He discuss how different generations function. The older generation believe in hierarchy while the younger generation believes in networks and run it their own way. This seems old bat to me because of the controversy Gladwell stated that the Arab Spring was not a “mobile” revolution. All of social media went up in arms. That controversy alone proves the point Gladwell was making. It wasn’t about how you get your network, it’s how to establish a network and by that, get a network that has some structure and hierarchy. Gladwell mention the Civil Rights movement as an example of a network that is organize and finish the job because of Martin Luther King. I have been joking about tweet-jihad Gladwell’s comments a few months ago, but he’s right that it’s important to build the network, which Gen Y does well, it’s how you finish and from Occupy Wall Street, my generation has a long ways to go.

Of note: to read in detail why Occupy Wall Street failed, read Michael Kazin’s article here. This is what exactly Gladwell was talking about.

Concurrent Sessions

I would normally get one bad session a day when attending these conferences that long. I really can’t say the sessions I went to weren’t bad…they’re great. I attended three sessions: HR Innovation from Sue Meisinger, who was a former President of SHRM, Beyond Behavioral Interviewing from Nancy Newell, and Creative Destruction from Angela Hills. All three had expertise, wisdom and captured the audience; ingredients of a great session.

Exhibit Hall Challenge

I was at Exhibit Hall for probably an hour. Some of the time was sitting at a presentation where China Gorman was discussing employee engagement. The other time was standing in line for some thing. I thought it was for the $5000 cash prize/ Free Conference pass to Chicago next year. When I spoke to someone at the line realizing I might be at the wrong line, the person said this is for the line to win a free Kindle…and a second chance to win a Kindle. This bother me so much because aren’t there other vendors, er… I mean all vendors are giving away Kindles, Kindle Fires, iPads, iPods, iPhones, Blackber…oh, right? Today, it is my journalistic duty to enter every giveaway the vendors have because of the sheer ridiculousness that nearly everyone is giving away a tablet of some sort. Sadly, my odds of getting another tablet is greater than someone dating me.

SHRM12 and Glassdoor Party

I won’t get into too much detail, but when HR are “off the clock”, they do let themselves go. There was one HR person (or a co-worker at the bar, I don’t know) showing off her midriff and tattoos and dancing like her Spring Break years in Daytona, FL. You can imagine the party for yourselves.

For Today

The keynote speaker is Jim Collins, author of Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos and Luck, more concurrent sessions (although tough to beat yesterday), the Exhibit Hall challenge, the Dice Blogger pre-party, entertainment from Jerry Seinfeld and a likely surprise in the morning. Hint: he’s 25 miles from my house…and he has a big house.

If I Were Running A Company…#SHRM12 Day 1

Today was the official start of the SHRM Annual Conference and already, the buzz around the conference yesterday was The Hive (no pun intended). A lot of people were asking questions from the basics like how to register and how to choose your username to more advance questions; mostly about policy. The Hive has been a great addition not only for the conference, but SHRM’s Social Media Guy, Curtis Midkiff’s mic skills.

On the side

On a personal note, another thing I love about yesterday was meeting the other bloggers for the first time. I’ve been in the HR twitter scene since 2009. They’re were rare opportunities to meet the other bloggers and Atlanta was perfect for me since I have friends (in HR and other circles) there, and SHRM won’t be coming to DC anytime soon (remember the monsoon of 2006?). It was great to see their faces for the first time and why social media is cool.

Dr. Condoleezza Rice

The keynote speaker was Dr. Condoleezza Rice and for the first 20 minutes. It was interesting to note in the “three greatest shocks” that she mention the 2008 financial crisis. She mention the housing crisis as the primary cause, although there are findings that suggest otherwise. Other than that, Dr. Rice mention little to no education is the biggest national threat and U.S. needs to regain footing in advancing human potential.

Then, Soledad O’Brien did a Q & A with Dr. Rice. It was an odd segment where it went all over the place from her childhood to Iran and Syria. It didn’t sound slick. Don’t get me wrong, Iran and Syria are big issues people need to read about. However, I think O’Brien should done a better job transitioning and carrying the positive momentum Dr. Rice created that afternoon. Overall, it was a great speech, but I do hope they eliminate the Q & A from Dr. Rice’s talk and guest speakers Malcom Gladwell, Jim Collins, and Tom Brokaw, it does seem SHRM’s “Be ____” campaign does have a purpose.

Exhibit Hall

I only went to Exhibit Hall for 45 minutes and it’s like the last time I went there since Chicago 2008. You got big companies occupy space, people gathering swag, run over to get in line for A CHANCE to win something, and new this year…nearly every vendor has a tablet to give away. Cool, but I want some other prizes like a brand new Vespa, a 3D printer, or win a free trip to the moon. The one I like was a HR outsourcing vendor showing the Euro 2012 quarterfinal between England and Italy, and the most intriguing one was a vendor that does mobile rewards & recognition where Executives and c-suites can text or message their employee on doing a good job. Apparently, from Amy Shat, there are vendors who focus on unique things like pre-arrange funerals and breast pumps. Although these companies are important and fill a unique niche in HR, those vendors should be heard, but not seen. I will expand my horizon tomorrow.

#SHRMHockey

I participated in the first #SHRMHockey game, which was started by Dwane Lay and it was a lot of fun and for Atlanta Mission. As for my performance: I suck as an offensive player, but I can block a shot like Anton Volchenkov. Seriously though, it was great and hopefully a new tradition begins in SHRM. Photos of the event are by Heather Bussing.

For Today

If Sunday is the sizzle with the parties and rowdiness at the Expo, Monday starts the meat & potatoes of the conference with concurrent sessions, The Hive into high gear, a more focused Exhibit Hall and Malcolm Gladwell as the keynote. In honor of Gladwell, let’s tweet jihad his speech.

If I Were Running A Company…SHRM Pre-Conference

I arrived in Atlanta on Saturday and I registered for the conference so I can beat the rush that is coming in today. It felt empty because well…I arrive at the conference at 4:30. Already, I met friends and other bloggers/tweeters/social (you know) immediately.

At the conference, I saw a glimpse of what to expect at the conference and SHRM is really going big. The Hive, which SHRM has been talking about as being the social aspect of the conference, is bigger than I expected. Let’s see in the next few days if attendees come to really become social. So far as I heard, a lot of people are asking about how to use social media for their department. It will be interesting.

As for Atlanta; I was amazed how similar downtown Atlanta is to the DC Metro area. I was surprised at how walkable downtown Atlanta is and from the Convention Center to my hotel, which is at Midtown. I was also amaze at how similar Atlanta’s transit system, MARTA, is to the Metro in DC: similar structure, track work on weekends, similar seating. The differences are MARTA takes 15-20 minutes to the next train, and they have digital ads (c’mon Metro, if you want to make money, get digital ads on your train or have scan shop grocery story the Koreans have).

Today, the conference officially begins with keynote speaker Condaleeza Rice and the expo hall opening. Follow me on Twitter at @tracytran and follow this blog for updates and opinions.