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SHRM 2008 – A First-Hand Overview of the Conference

Written by: Jennifer Loftus

Article Overview: Were you at the 2008 SHRM Conference & Exposition? Did you miss it? Either way, here are high-lights from the big show; enjoy!

SHRM 2008 – A First-Hand Overview of the Conference

This year’s Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Conference was bigger and better than ever. Over 14,000 HR professionals from across the globe gathered in Chicago, the Windy City, to hear the latest in HR trends, network with peers, tour the exhibit hall, and party with friends. Good walking shoes were a necessity, with McCormick Place – the site of the convention – being the largest convention center in the US.

Several recurring themes permeated the conference, including the impact of the economy on recruitment and retention of key employees. Rising gasoline prices was a topic of conversation all around. A number of vendors gave away pre-paid gasoline cards as an incentive for stopping by their booths.

In the exhibit hall, a new group breaking onto the scene complemented the usual variety of vendors – resources for employees to address elder care issues. From sitters to in-home elder care to long-term care insurance, the aging population appears to be a key concern for many an attendee.

Prior to the official start of the conference, SHRM’s Special Expertise Panels met to kick off two of SHRM’s largest and newest initiatives for the coming year. The first addresses the issue of Workforce Readiness. Did you know that out of 100 students currently in the 9th grade, only 18 will receive a Bachelor’s degree within 6 years, or an Associate’s degree within 3 years of starting a program? The statistics are frightening when considering our workplace of tomorrow. Many of today’s graduates do not have the skills needed to perform successfully in the workplace. SHRM has begun the process of developing a response and action plan to address this major concern.

The second area of interest is developing a competency model for senior HR practitioners. Specifically what are those non-HR competencies necessary for someone below the C-Suite level to be a successful business partner? Special Expertise Panel members discussed these competencies against both HR and general business frameworks to identify what is essential for success now and in the coming years.

Sunday’s keynote speaker, Sidney Poitier, inspired attendees with the story of his life. From his humble beginnings in the Bahamas, born two months premature, to his rise to fame in the United States, Poitier shared the lessons learned from his family that helped to mold him. He urged attendees to examine their own lives, to be kind and philanthropic towards others, and to keep getting up and doing good, even when we’ve been knocked down.

The annual conference also marked a period of change for SHRM. SHRM’s President and CEO, Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR, gave her farewell address prior to her retirement June 30th, after 21 years of dedicated service to the organization in particular and the profession in general. She dared attendees to be proud, be bold, take charge of the profession, and be personal. In other changes, the HR Certification Institute, formerly known as HRCI, began a new branding campaign to personalize the certification process and encourage more HR professionals to achieve PHR, SPHR, PHR-CA, SPHR-CA, or GPHR certification. To help with the branding efforts, some currently certified professionals received special buttons encouraging curious attendees to “ask me where my letters have carried me.”

On the fun side, the Tuesday night event featuring Lionel Richie was entertaining, fast paced, and fun. He sang is classic hits in their traditional style – avoiding traps performers at past conferences have done by “jazzing up” and modernizing their past hits.

See you next year in the Big Easy, New Orleans, for the 61st annual conference, June 28th through July 1st!

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Article Tags: aging population, chicago the windy city, competency model, gasoline cards, gasoline prices, hr competencies, hr practitioners, hr trends, human resource management, long term care insurance, mccormick place, network with peers, recruitment and retention, shrm conference, society for human resource management, society for human resource management shrm, term care insurance, trends network, walking shoes, workforce readiness



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