I’ll write more about HRevolution in future posts but today, I’d like to share my thoughts and observations about the HR Technology Conference.  Since 1998, this is the premier conference for technology advances in the HR space.  And, as a practitioner for many years, it never occurred to me to attend until three years ago.  Even then, I did not fully understand the positive impact that learning more about HR technology would have on my career.  Taking time to learn about the technological advances in the profession along with the opportunity to network with industry insiders is priceless.  If you’ve never been to The HR Technology Conference, I’d like to share my perspective on the value you can gain.

The Sessions and Speakers

This is one of the few conferences in the human resources industry to adapt the sessions to the specific needs of different types of participants.  They offer traditional presentation style sessions on a wide array of topics, debates among leaders in the space, panels to allow the participants to ask questions of experts and even a new HRevolution unconference-style experience so that participants are fully engaged in discussion and participation.

The topics offered cover workforce planning, talent intelligence, understanding and incorporating social technologies and HCM analytics, to name a few.  And each year, you’ll hear vendors and clients sharing stories of how real, day-to-day workplace issues were solved using technology.

The Expo Hall and Vendors

A trip through the expo hall can be one where great value and insight is gained.  It can also be an intimidating place where a practitioner can feel completely overwhelmed.  Even worse, many HR conferences fill in the gaps with vendors who are there to sell purses, jewelry or other non-business related items.  You won’t find that here.

The expo hall at The HR Technology Conference provides the opportunity to see live demos of solutions.  Almost every vendor will take time to get to know what your business needs are, then show you how their product can help fill the gap.  You’ll see familiar names like Monster, Aquire and ADP.  You’ll also find smaller start ups who are taking social to a whole new level.  So, whether you work for a large, global employer or a small business, you’ll find solutions you need.

The Networking Events

Sure, this year the conference was in Las Vegas and I know that alone can give the impression of never-ending parties.  For some who seek it out, that can be the reality.  However, for most practitioners, you can find a good number of events that are fun and provide the ultimate networking experience.  This year, I was fortunate to attend several events where I met CEOs, CHROs, consultants, analysts and other practitioners.  They included events hosted by The Starr Conspiracy, Monster, Knowledge Infusion and several industry leaders.  These events are one of the best reasons to attend.  I have learned more and made lasting professional relationships here that is worth the cost of the ticket year after year.

The Cost/ Benefit Analysis

The price of a ticket is small considering all the benefits of attending.  Typically starting several months before the event, you can find discount codes with hundreds off the registration fee.  And, if you start planning for 2012 now, you can find great travel deals for your accommodations.  The HR Technology Conference will be back in Chicago on October 8th, 2012.  Be sure to mark your calendar for February 2012 when registration opens.  The conference will also offer scholarships to help qualifying individuals attend.

Thank you to Bill Kutik, David Schadovitz, Claude Werder and LRP Publiciations for hosting one of the top HR events each year!

We are pleased to announce the sponsors for the 2011 HRevolution Atlanta:

Monster.com

Pinstripe

Ceridian

Aquire, Inc.

SHRM

These sponsors help subsidize costs for venue, food, beverages, and all other event-related costs.  We’ll be sharing more over the coming weeks about each one individually and the products and services they offer.

We emplore you to consider them first when you are making buying decisions.  They are not just organizations that sign on for PR reasons- they are organizations that believe in a grassroots, volunteer effort to move the mark in leadership, HR, and Recruiting.

If you are a customer of any of our sponsors, we’d love to hear from you.  Share your story of how they provide great value to you and your business.

Sincere thanks to each sponsor from the HRevolution planning committee and each and every HRevolution participant!

Closing Session

The HRevolution has not ended.

Sure, the 2010 event may be in the history books, but the spirit of evolving an industry that has been one predominantly etched as an administrative function is just beginning.  Since only one day has passed, my mind is still reeling and thoughts about HRevolution are still so conceptual that I’m not quite ready to share.  In the meantime, I will share some observations and thank yous:

• HRevolution is a spirit of change.  The participants and facilitators bring it alive in the way they interact.  There was not one session that did not have key learning points and take aways.  The facilitators did a great job of making sure that they took the step of challenging the group to use techniques and tools once they returned to their organizations.
• The HR Happy Hour show creates amazing energy when all the guests are in person. It’s like capturing magic in a bottle.
• Monster, Ceridian, Pinstripe, Rypple, and SHRM made the event possible.  Many thanks to them for providing the funds for the venue, catering, transportation, and tweetups.  The Pinstripe Tweetup and Sue Marks made our closing tweetup the perfect way to end on a high note.  HUB 51 was an amazing venue and special thanks to Bryon Abramowitz for arranging the tweetup.  Monster also threw the biggest, best opening of HRevolution and the participants were grateful. From the blinking beverage glasses to the iPad/ Kindle/ Flip/ Camera/ iTouch give aways to the numerous Monster goodies for us all,  they outdid themselves. Special thank you to Eric Winegardner for believing in us and making greatness happen.  We love you for all the energy and insight you bring to us.
• It takes EACH participant’s actions to make the event what it is. The planning committee pours our hearts and souls into the event.  The companies that sponsor individuals to come to the event are instrumental (Whiting Consulting and Nobscot Corporation).  The facilitators who work very hard to start interesting and thought provoking conversations.  The participants who become actual teachers to the group.  Having a mix of HR pros, recruiters, consultants, professors, CEO’s, journalists, marketers, and pundits make it a great learning opportunity.
• HR people CAN have fun!
• You do not need to be a day-to-day HR practitioner to bring value to HRevolution. I learned so much from many people who are not HR practitioners.  These ideas will challenge me to continue to go beyond HR and truly be a business partner in my organization.  Thanks to all who shared business information on culture, finance, marketing, influence, communications, and technology.  You’re helping us find challenge so we can grow.
• Mark Stelzner does a great impersonation of Donald Trump and being #2 sometimes means you’re the winner. (You’ll have to wait for my Apprentice session post for the back story on that one).
• Jason Seiden, Ben Eubanks, Steve Boese, Crystal Peterson, Joan Ginsberg, and Mark Stelzner are the finest teammates I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Their dedication to HRevolution is truly amazing and I sincerely thank them each for the HUGE contribution of time and skills.  I’m honored to know you all and call you friends.
• You really can make solid relationships using the internet to network. ‘Nuff said.

I’m going to do some heavy-duty thinking about some of the learning points and calls to action and will share them in the coming days and weeks.  Thank you all for supporting HRevolution.   If you have any observations to share, let me know in the comments.

Un-conferences.

They are becoming all the rage in many industries.  Since we are one day away from HRevolution, I think today is a good time to share the vision and mission of HRevolution and  and how we are unique.

At HRevolution, we believe individuals and organizations embrace the future when given the opportunity to discuss and test their ideas in a safe environment.

The HRevolution un-conference exists to catalyze HR’s continuous development, by providing an open forum for discussion, collaboration, and relationship building within the global HR industry.

I think you’ll find that our focus is very different from any un-conference out there.  We’ve made a conscious choice to be a blend of some of the early ones (like BarCamp) where the style is completely open and not determined until the day of the event, to the traditional conference setting where you listen as someone presents information via PowerPoint.  Our approach is to give you a setting that is comfortable and will encourage conversation.  We’ll make sure you have all the necessities for a conference in this day and age:  free wifi at the event, outstanding professionals to learn from in a less-structured way, and we’ll keep you full with all the food and goodies!  We’ll also offer you two nights of amazing fun and networking thanks to Monster and Pinstripe Talent.

As the event evolves, we’re taking steps to share what we’re doing with you via our LinkedIn Group, our FaceBook page and our main site, HRevolution2010.com.  We’ll have professional note-takers in the room who will capture many of the details that will not be shared via twitter.  We’ll also share video after the event and there will be a special HR Carnival dedicated to HRevolution.

HRevolution is really a living, breathing case study in change management.  Who would have guessed that a group of strangers could come together via social media less than a year ago and have a grassroots movement start to change the Human Resource profession?  For anyone who doubts the power of social media, I offer this event up as an example that when creative minds come together and are motivated to share their voices, great things happen.

Thank you to all our sponsors for helping us make the dream a reality.

Viva la HRevolution!

The first video is from Benjamin McCall at RethinkHR.org:

The next video is one that my friend Bill Boorman created.  I love it because I’ve never had a Trish avatar before.  I think he did a great job mixing humor with some great information about HRevolution.

I also want to thank the HRevolution sponsors for making this year’s event possible. If it weren’t for the innovation in these companies, HRevolution may not exist.  Be sure to check out their sites for some outstanding HR and business solutions:

Unbridled Talent, LLC

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