Every year most of us decide to attend one show or another based on a number of factors.
Location - Have I ever been to Timbuktu and is it practical for me to consider going?
Timing - What time of year is it and can I afford the time to go?
Content - What will I, can I, could I learn? Who´s presenting?
Value - How much will it cost and is there enough good content for me to justify the expense?
Conference organizer - Do they have a good track record and will this be a well-run event?
All of these things are to be considered and more. There are enough to choose from as well and selecting which ones to attend is usually the most difficult decision.
I´ve decided it was time to give a quick run down of each show to help in the decision-making process. These opinions are my own and in no way reflect the organizer´s definition (they do that quite well on their respective websites). This is simply my impression of the events that I have attended.
Before I start I will tell you that there are dozens more ´niche´ shows every year that focus on a specific vertical such as training or leadership or staffing, etc. These shows are very focused. The shows I will review are typically of interest to varied areas of HR.
For a complete listing of all HR related shows please visit:
http://www.hrmarketer.com/home/index.htm
HR Technology Conference & Exposition
HR Tech, as it has come to be known, is the one show that focuses on technology in HR. HR Executive, under the guidance of Bill Kutik, has put`on a gr%at show every year that tries to make it as easy as possible for you to get a handle on what´s new in technology for HR. Everything from workshops and educational sessions and panels of industry experts to keynote speakers provide you with examples of technology gone good and in some cases, technology gone bad.
http://www.hrtechconference.com/
Shifting in location every year so as not to favor one coast over another, IHRIM provides a technical slant to HR management issues and leans in the direction of those who manage technology (HRMS, etc.). Attendance is usually a manageable size (1,000-3,000 attendees) and the content is generally geared to case studies and other examples of technology in use in an HR setting. They usually have something for everyone from the novice to the systems expert.
http://www.ihrim.org/events/2006spring/index.asp
Every year, for the last 57 years, SHRM has become bigger - although some might argue bigger is not always better. This year in San Diego it was estimated that between 20,000 and 30,000 people attended. SHRM also just announced that they have signed on their 200,000th member while at the show this year. That´s quite a milestone and they should be proud. However, when you get that big it gets harder to serve your membership effectively. This year´s show made it obvious that unless you´re a generalist looking for booth tchatchkees (freebies) or a vendor looking to get some attention with cool freebies, there was little focus to the show. This is, however, a good attempt at making a catchall show for everyone. Every aisle was filled with vendors who had some sort of offering or connection to HR - albeit vague. Everyone from the GAP Stores to Starbucks to Target Stores had some sort of presence at the show and long lines of HR people looking for handouts. Gift certificates, free flip flops and coffee of one sort or another were there to be had by all.
http://www.shrm.org/conferences/annual/
And finally what kind of team player would I be if I didn´t mention our very own conference...
Along with the name change in the past year, we´ve also enhanced and stayed very focused on our content for this show. Targeted at the senior HR executive (Director/VP of 1,000 employee plus companies) we´ve developed a series of conference tracks that really focuses its attention on the needs of the decision makers in HR. In every track we have industry experts and accomplished HR executives presenting their findings on what works and what doesn´t in HR. These are real life HR people speaking to their colleagues. We´ve tried to minimize the level of involvement of vendors in the workshops and presentations. In fact, if a vendor is involved they are there simply to support the presentation of the HR executive they may have partnered with to accomplish a specific goal. But, in an attempt to make for an even more targeted approach, we´ve supplied vendors with an ability to meet one on one with HR decision makers who show interest in their offerings. This provides everyone with a unique opportunity to customize his or her own experience at the conference. Feedback from other shows tells us that this model works well and the return rate of attendees and vendor sponsors year over year tells us we´re doing something right.
Employers of Excellence