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I was honored to be the first guest on the new IBM Trends In Talent Management podcast this week!
In the quick, 12-minute conversation, we discussed how machine learning, artificial intelligence/AI, and cognitive will affect human resources, talent acquisition, and talent management in the future.
Recently, one of my contacts who is planning her 2015 schedule sent me a question asking for my recommendations for the top 2 – 3 conferences to attend in the US for HR professionals.
I am doing my planning for 2015 and wanted to reach out to you and get your thoughts on something if you don’t mind. One of my plans for next year is to attend more conferences in the US; ideally I’d like to attend events where there is a lot of networking, collaborating and great speakers.
Since there are so many events happening all the time, it’s hard for me to assess which ones are best. Do you have any recommendations for the top 2-3 conferences in the US for HR professionals – other than the annual SHRM conference in Las Vegas?
I shared my recommendations with her directly, but I thought I’d also share them with you – and get your recommendations too!
1. 2015 SHRM Annual Conference (Las Vegas, NV)
I’m assuming my contact asked for recommendations other than the SHRM annual conference because it’s an obvious choice – and it is. If you’re an HR, talent acquisition or learning and development professional, you should definitely make plans to attend #shrm15. The sheer size (12,000 – 15,000 attendees) typically means there are numerous networking opportunities, the chance to visit and connect with vendors who provide every conceivable product or service in the industry, and a wide variety of speakers on topics ranging from compliance issues, to talent management, to personal growth, and strategic leadership.
I’ve attended the SHRM Annual Conference each of the last five years, and I’ve spoken at the last three. I wouldn’t miss it!
2. LinkedIn Talent Connect 2015 (Anaheim, CA)
If your organization uses LinkedIn (i.e. you have some level of paid LinkedIn Talent Solutions) as part of your recruiting and employer branding strategies, then I’d definitely recommend attending Talent Connect. At Talent Connect, you’ll find a high concentration of recruiting, sourcing and employer brand leaders, as well as quite a few HR professionals. The quality of attendees, great networking, informative content – and fun – makes it a must-attend event. In 2015, the main Talent Connect conference will be held in California, but there are also similar events in Sydney and London.
I’ve attended and spoken at four of the five Talent Connect conferences and it remains my personal favorite.
3. The Conference Board conferences (various)
To interact with senior-level leaders, typically from Fortune 500 companies, I’d recommend any of The Conference Board’s events. Their conferences are typically focused on specific aspects of human resources or talent management and are relatively small (maybe 100 – 300 attendees), but the content and caliber of attendees is great. While there is typically not much scheduled networking, there are plenty of opportunities to connect and learn from other attendees.
I’ve been a speaker or blogger at several of The Conference Board’s conferences in the past (Talent Management, Leadership Development, Employer Branding and Executive Coaching) and have always enjoyed their programming mix, which includes plenty of case studies shared by senior-level practitioners.
4. State or Regional SHRM Conferences
When I asked my network for recommendations, many enthusiastically put in a vote for their own state’s annual SHRM conference – and with good reason. (Specific shout outs were given for HR Florida, HR Southwest, ILSHRM, HR Indiana, HR West, OHSHRM, Strategic HR New England and WISHRM). State and regional conferences are a great place to network with peers and make good connections, and also offer a variety of content typically targeted at HR Generalists of all levels.
In 2014, I spoke at nine different state or regional SHRM-affiliated events, so I’m obviously a Fan. When I speak at a state SHRM conference, I try to attend as much of the programming as I can, because the networking and learning opportunities are often on par with many of the larger national events.
5. DisruptHR
As one of the organizers of the first Disrupt HR held in Cincinnati, OH back in December 2013, I’d be remiss if I didn’t recommend these events. Disrupt HR events are different than traditional conferences and are run by passionate local volunteer organizers. The team at BlackbookHR came up with the concept and assists each organizer by providing a framework for speaker submissions and sharing videos of the presentations online. To date, Disrupt HR events have been held in Cincinnati, Denver and Cleveland, with more planned for 2015.
I’ve given 2 talks at previous DisruptHR events (see my Awesomeness Is Not Accidental talk here) and love the format – 5 minute talks, 20 slides auto-advancing in 15 second intervals – content and energy. The attendees are typically an interesting mix of HR and recruiting practitioners, business leaders/owners and community leaders.
A quick poll of my Facebook network included many of the events listed above, as well as the following:
– Achievers Customer Experience Conference (2015 San Francisco, CA)
– Association for Training & Development International Conference (2015 Orlando, FL)
– Dreamforce (2015 San Francisco, CA)
– Equifax Workforce Solutions Forum (2015 New Orleans, LA)
– Great Place to Work® Annual Conference (2015 Dallas, TX)
– Halogen Customer Conference (2014 Washington, DC / 2015 TBA)
– HRevolution (2014 Dallas, TX) / 2015 TBA)
– HR Summit and Expo (2014 Dubai / 2015 TBA)
– Human Capital Institute Events (various)
– National SHRM Conferences (various)
– Ultimate Software Connections Conference (2015 Las Vegas, NV)
Question: What are your top recommendations for conferences or events for human resources leaders – US or global? Please share them with me in the Comments!
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Unbridled Talent LLC is a consulting and advisory firm providing services to clients in the areas of leadership development, executive communication skills and talent strategy. Jennifer McClure offers keynotes, workshops and training that inspire and teach business leaders to be more effective in their careers and as leaders of their organization’s most valuable resource – people. Contact us to schedule an event or to discuss our strategic consulting and advisory services.
Today, I face something that I haven’t faced in over six years. And I’m doing it intentionally, because it’s time for growth and change. It’s time to discover something new.
This morning, I deleted all of my blog subscription feeds (I use Feedly as my RSS Reader) for Human Resources, Recruiting and Talent Management blogs.
And I feel empty.
Back in early 2008, I discovered blogs. The HR Capitalist (Kris Dunn) was my first.
You never forget your first.
As I read more, followed links to other blogs and subscribed to more, I subscribed to hundreds of blogs. I learned. I built relationships with some bloggers. Many became friends, mentors and business partners.
I’ll always be grateful for the knowledge that they so freely shared and how they helped me to grow as I stepped out of the corporate human resources world into executive recruiting and then into building my own business.
At one point, I subscribed to over 300 blog feeds. Not all of them were HR, recruiting and talent management-related, but many in those categories were definitely in my “must read” folder.
However, over the last couple of years, I’ve been slowly unsubscribing to various blogs and now my “must read” list is down to just three. Which makes me kinda sad.
Why the reduction in force?
I’m tired of reading about the same topics (engagement, performance management, culture, sourcing, onboarding, etc.) without any new perspectives. I’m tired of content marketing. I’m tired of posts that are posted just because it’s Monday (or Tuesday, or any other day of the week).
So, I’m starting over. I want your help. And I’ll share what I learn.
Here’s the Plan: Leave a comment with 1 – 3 blogs that you love and/or learn from in the comments section. (Heck, you can even nominate your own!)
I’ll subscribe to all of the HR/Recruiting-related blogs mentioned during the period of July 1st – July 31st, and I’ll read (okay at least seriously skim) every post. I’ll share posts that I think are great with my social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter, Twitter and Facebook) to spread the word and share the goodness. I’ll also keep track of how many posts I share from each blog over the course of the month.
In August, I’ll share on this blog my Top 25 Human Resources & Recruiting Blogs of 2014 list, which will be compiled primarily based upon my shares, but also a little bit of magic pixie dust (i.e. personal opinion).
Please nominate 1 – 3 of your favorite Human Resources or Recruiting blogs in the Comments below to get them in my Feedly Reader for the month of July 2014 for evaluation.
With your help, I’d love to find some new voices, recognize some old ones and also help you connect to some great resources in this process!
Recently, WANTED Analytics published the “20 Most In-Demand HR Skills” – compiled by listing the most commonly specified tools, technologies and other skills that people in the HR field are required to have based upon online job ads.
WANTED’s list included:
Click here to see the full list of 20 “in-demand” skills.
I must say that I was disappointed in the content of this list – but not necessarily surprised. As is often the case, it appears that when companies are searching for HR talent, their wish-list is filled with administrative and compliance focused activities.
Boo.
At the same time, the HR profession is maligned and impugned for being focused on process over innovation and administrivia over enabling success in the organization.
But I don’t blame HR. I blame the leaders of organizations who haven’t changed their perceptions, expectations or hiring requirements (see above) for the function that touches every aspect of an organization’s unique competitive advantage – their people.
Over the years, I’ve spoken with many CEO’s and business leaders who bemoan the fact that HR isn’t a strategic partner in their organization, while at the same time compensating their HR professional well below other leaders in the company and also marginalizing their ability to contribute by not including them in discussions beyond policies, payroll and benefits.
In one specific conversation with a CEO who wanted to replace his current Director of HR for not being “strategic”, I asked him how he would describe a strategic HR professional. His response? “Someone who takes care of all of that HR stuff so I don’t have to talk to them.”
Unrealistic.
To get the most out of the HR function, the mandate of every business leader should be to view the department not just as an administrative or “people” function, but as a business function critical to execution of the strategic plan of the company – and to staff this critical business function with the best and brightest talent available to ensure the organization’s success.
Why?
Because the caliber and quality of the talent in the Human Resources/Talent Acquisition functions has a direct effect on the caliber and quality of talent that an organization is able to attract, recruit and retain.
I think the list of the Most In-Demand HR Skills and Competencies for the Future of HR should look more like this:
Let’s stop giving attention to what HR doesn’t do or why HR isn’t needed anymore, and instead focus on hiring and developing HR Leaders with the skills, talents and abilities necessary to have maximum impact in their organizations and within their profession in the future.
Question: What would you add to the list? Leave a comment to let me know what we should expect from HR professionals of the future.
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Unbridled Talent LLC is a consulting and advisory firm providing services to clients in the areas of leadership development, executive communication skills and talent strategy. Jennifer McClure offers keynotes, workshops and training that inspire and teach business leaders to be more effective in their careers and as leaders of their organization’s most valuable resource – people. Contact us to schedule an event or to discuss our strategic consulting and advisory services.
As a Leader, it’s part of your job to sometimes have difficult conversations with employees. But nobody likes doing this, so it helps to prepare how you’ll handle the situation in advance.
Recently, myself, Donna Rogers and Susan Strayer LaMotte were asked to share some tips on what to say/what not to say during difficult situations in an article on Entrepreneur.com – Difficult Conversations: What Not To Say.
Here’s a tidbit from the article with my views on what can happen when an employee is angry and ready to unload:
As the person delivering awkward or unpleasant news to a staffer, you often try to make yourself feel better by giving the employee time to defend themselves, but this often disintegrates into an arguing and finger pointing. This then puts you in a defensive posture. “It almost always goes south the more explanation you provide,” says McClure. “If then you get some small fact wrong, it distracts from the actual conversation and you are both on the defensive.
Read more about how to handle this type of difficult situation, as well as two others by checking out the entire article on Entrepreneur.com.
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Unbridled Talent LLC is a consulting and advisory firm providing services to clients in the areas of leadership development, executive communication skills and talent strategy. Jennifer McClure offers keynotes, workshops and training that inspire and teach business leaders to be more effective in their careers and as leaders of their organization’s most valuable resource – people. Contact us to schedule an event or to discuss our strategic consulting and advisory services.
