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2009 SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition Recap
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| Guest post by: Jennifer Loftus |
Article Overview: It was rainy and damp, filled with good times and great learning experiences. The SHRM 2009 Annual Conference and Exposition drew over 6,000 Human Resource professionals from across the country to New Orleans, LA for 4 days of learning and fun.
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2009 SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition Recap
With over 200 concurrent sessions, attendees had their choice of educational
tracks, including employment, employment law and legislation, international,
skill development, strategic management, and total rewards. Certified attendees
were able to earn up to 12.5 recertification credits in 72 hours. The economy’s
impact on HR, our employees, and our organizations was a common theme
throughout the presentations. The session providers shared new solutions for
surviving and thriving in these challenging economic times.
The talk of the conference was Sunday’s keynote presentation by Jack Welch
of GE fame. In talking with attendees, I found mixed reviews on his keynote.
All were impressed with having him at our conference, and praised SHRM for
bringing such top talent to the event. However, some attendees found his
statements and suggestions unrealistic given our own organizational constraints
and realities. Welch’s main advice? “Don’t be a victim…You have to have the
guts...to make sure you're important in the organization.”
Mirroring Welch’s statements, presenter Hunter Lott strongly encouraged HR
professionals to “get out of the babysitting business.” Tough love is the order
of the day in this new economy.
Another area of buzz at this year’s conference was social networking. Many
individuals “Tweeted” live from the event – some showing greater editorial
skills than others. Remember, if you’re using Twitter, it’s possible that
everyone can see your posts – not just your friends! SHRM also announced its
launch of SHRM Connect, described as LinkedIn meets Facebook meets SHRM. The
service is free to all members. You can access SHRM Connect through the
communities tab on SHRM’s homepage.
While traffic in the exhibit hall was slower than anyone would have liked,
the venue provided a great opportunity to catch up with clients, colleagues,
and friends!
SHRM favorite Meet to Eat was once again a hit! Additionally, approximately
75 attendees participated in “voluntourism” to help rebuild the neighborhoods
devastated by Hurricane Katrina almost 4 years ago. Many attendees found the
Tuesday night Sheryl Crow show a great way to end the conference!
Missed this year’s conference? We’ll see you June 27 – 30, 2010 in sunny San
Diego!
Article Tags: attendees, concurrent sessions, economic times, employment employment, employment law, endif, fareast, gte, mso, new solutions, organizational constraints, orphan, paper source, purple text, recertification credits, skill development, strategic management, style definitions, text decoration, times new roman
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About the Author: Jennifer Loftus RSS for Jennifer's articles - Visit Jennifer's website Astron Solutions gets our articles from our bi-weekly e-zine, Astronology. Astronology utilizes a number of authors, each with their own fields of interest and expertise. All authors are employees of Astron Solutions unless otherwise noted. If you'd like to sign up for your FREE bi-weekly edition of Astronology, please visit http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1101600060994 and fill out the required information. A bit about Astron Solutions: Astron Solutions is a New York-based consulting firm dedicated to the delivery of human resource consulting services and supportive technology. We work nationwide to develop and implement human resource programs that support the strategic direction of organizations through the creation of a positive employee relations environment. For more information and complete contact information, please visit our website. Click here to visit Jennifer's website The Rising Cost of HealthcareCan Small Business Keep Up The Interviewing Process Do You Know the Rules Halloween At Your Place of Employment Deal or no Deal The All or Nothing Mentality in Negotiations Preserving the Dignity of Our Workforce |
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