A Re-cap of the National SHRM Conference Through the Eyes of a First Time Attendee

This article was published in the Fall/Winter 2014 Edition of Kentucky SHRM Magazine

It’s 4:30am on the Tuesday of the SHRM Conference in Orlando. And the power has gone out. I know this because I’ve just been awoken by the most annoying of sounds. You know that BEEP that the smoke detector makes when it’s disconnected from power? BEEEEEP. I’m stumbling around my hotel room looking for my Ipod and headphones so I can drown out the BEEP.  Then it sinks in. No power means… what? No wake-up call? No hairdryer? And—so God help me—the Starbucks better have their own back-up generator! Since I’ve been robbed of sleep, I’m going to need caffeine before I present my concurrent session at 7:00am.

Let’s back up. This is my first time at the national SHRM conference. Walking into a room that holds 14,000 people is a powerful moment that I won’t soon forget. Slightly overshadowing that, though, was the sense of awe experienced when walking into a vendor hall that housed over 600 booths, some of them as large as a small city and as elaborate as a nearby Disney theme park attraction. Considering how many mini-Ipad raffles I entered, I’m bound to win one of them, right?

The general sessions were all very engaging and motivating.  On Sunday, attendees were treated to an inspiring and very vulnerable talk from Good Morning America host Robin Roberts. She encouraged people to “make your mess your message,” meaning that everyone is dealing with some challenge in their personal life and we can support and encourage others by being transparent and open with our struggles. Monday, the general session was presented by Tom Friedman, author of one of my favorite books, The World is Flat. He warned that “average is officially over,” and only those who approach their career with creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit will thrive in the new reality. On Tuesday, fellow Kentuckian and YUM! Brands CEO, David Novak coached us on how to recognize and reward employees so as to “take them with you.” Closing out the conference on Wednesday, former first lady Laura Bush shared about her life experiences and updated attendees on the current activities of her various famous family members.

With hundreds of concurrent sessions to choose from, attendees had no shortage of options and could truly tailor their learning experience. When asked what his favorite session was, Kentucky SHRM’s State Conference Director, Perry Sholes from Lexington, said Identity Loyalty—Unlocking the Keys to Creating Productive, Hardworking and Appreciative Employees. Taryn Pearson, HR Manager at PetFirst Healthcare in Southern Indiana enjoyed attending the session called HR Department of One. “It’s great to know that other HR Managers do this on their own and are successful,” she said. “The speaker also provided a lot of valuable resources for people like me who are an HR department of one.”

Of particular interest to many attendees this year was the new certification program being rolled out by SHRM as a replacement for (or alternative to?) the PHR and SPHR certifications traditionally provided through HRCI. Several sessions addressed this topic and John Bachman, LSHRM past president, worked to make sure he was hearing both sides of the story. John attended both SHRM sponsored and HRCI sponsored events on this issue. “It is hard to tell which story is THE story,” John says. “I feel like a child in a divorce; we were “raised” to love and support both, but now they are split. I’m not taking sides; I plan to be active in both and I wish them both great future success.”       

On Monday, approximately 30 conference attendees from Kentucky gathered for lunch.  After 24 hours of feeling disconnected and alone among a sea of strangers, it was very refreshing to be among friends. Throughout the rest of the conference, I met several more Kentuckians that hadn’t heard about the Kentucky lunch. Just a tip—if you plan to attend the 2015 SHRM Conference in Vegas, make sure to reach out and find out when/where the Kentucky gathering will take place. This is an invaluable opportunity to connect with local colleagues and truly maximize your conference experience.

That brings us back to Tuesday morning. When I was notified in late October that I’d been selected to present a concurrent session on Hiring Assessments, I was humbled, honored, and thrilled. When I realized that my session was to take place at 7:00am… I was baffled. Surely no more than 4 people would show up at 7:00am, right? Instead, I was grateful to speak to a gracious and enthusiastic crowd of about 400. And that’s nothing—Louisvillian Erika Tedesco from Hosparus presented at 7:00am Monday morning regarding Onboarding and Orientation Programs and had over 550 in her session.  Rounding out our Kentucky presenter team was Sandy Allgeier, a 10 year veteran of the SHRM faculty. Sandy presented a preconference workshop on being a HR Business Partner, a session she’s facilitated for the past 3 years. The Bluegrass State was well represented in the Orange State!

In reflecting on my first experience at the national SHRM conference, I truly found it thrilling (albeit, at times, overwhelming) to be a part of something so large and energetic. Right now, all I can think about is how I can make sure to be part of next year’s conference… Vegas, baby! Of all the renowned conference speakers, it was perhaps Tim McGraw (who performed for attendees Tuesday night) who summed up the conference experience up best—“I like it! I love it! I want some more of it!”