Since I joined the HR social media community back in late 2009 I’ve gotten into talent management blogging, met a troupe of brilliant professionals, learned more about my trade than I could ever hope to from any book or classroom, and evolved my own platform based on the multitude and diversity of perspective out there. The first conference (un-conference, really) I ever attended based on my new involvement in this community was HR Evolution 2010 in Chicago. At the onset, it was a bit overwhelming. For the first time in a very long time I was surrounded by HR professionals who were much smarter than I. It quite literally shut me up; I said very little that day. But the fire was fueled that much more. And, by the way, if not for my attendance at that conference I might not have gotten my current job (I used the excuse of being in Chicago for the conference to “force” the CHRO of Navigant to meet with me…and it worked!)
After another year of entrenching myself even deeper into this growing community, I can’t wait to attend my second HR Evolution in Atlanta this Friday and Saturday. And this time I’m co-facilitating a track with Mary Ellen Slayter, Smartbrief’s Senior Editor for general business and finance. After last year’s conference, I did what I often do and played armchair quarterback – both a strength and weakness for me. I ranted about having too much presenting and not enough dialog. I ranted about too many vendors and consultants and not enough HR professionals. I made my point a little stronger than I probably needed to, but it was one I felt needed making. And I’m glad I’ve been giving the opportunity to put my money where my mouth is this year – to facilitate a session that will be driven almost entirely by the participants. It’s a working session…a case study of sorts. It’s about the real HR challenges, quandaries, issues, problems we deal with on a daily basis. It’s designed to give attendees something that they can take back with them and apply in a pragmatic way. It will hopefully be about the importance of executing on good ideas…not just letting the collect dust. In order for this session to be juicy, though, we need input from the Human Resources Community – and particularly the Trench HR Community…
Give us a case study to work through…something groups of 4 or 5 can sit down and tackle…something that’s just nagging at you. It could be technical, strategic, operational. It could be HR or it could be Business. It could be recruitment, benefits, compensation, employee relations, training/learning, performance. Just as long as it’s meaty. You can Email your suggestions to [email protected] or even leave them as a comment here. And if yours is selected, you’ll receive a $50 gift card to Amazon!
We all love to “think big.” It’s fun to theorize and philosophize and strategize and dogmatize. But sometimes how we execute as HR professionals can bring just as much – if not more – value to an organization. And while not the primary driver to what we do every day, pragmatism never-the-less plays a role in how we do it. This track will provide room for both: thinking big, but then executing with consideration for the immediate practical consequences. Thanks for your input!
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