HRevolution 2011 - Thoughts and Thank-You's

Wow.

What a fantastic event.

HRevolution 2011 took place over the past weekend in Atlanta, Georgia and at least for me, was the best of the three HRevolution events we have put on thus far. And certainly as one of the members of the HRevolution organizing committee I could be accused of having a biased opinion. I freely admit it - I am biased. So if you don't want to take my word for it, connect with any of the 130 or so people that attended, keep an eye on the Twitter stream for the tag #HRevolution, and read some of what are sure to be dozens of reflection blog posts that will be posted in the next few weeks.

I am not so biased though as to suggest that somehow HRevolution is better than other events, be they large and traditional major conferences like SHRM, or the many other 'Unconferences' that one can find these days. But I do believe HRevolution is different, and really kind of unique in the space, and really quite special. The level of commitment, passion, engagement, and enthusiasm for this event, at least for me, surpasses what I have seen and experienced for any other event in our extended industry.

Attendance at professional conferences and events can be driven by many reasons - some are attended for specific learning opportunities, some for the chance to meet and network with one's colleagues in a professional community, and some simply are used to re-charge and energize and hopefully re-ignite passion for one's career. I think HRevolution succeeds as an event because it offers attendees all of these things. Intelligent and insightful session leaders, relevant and engaging content, a format that encourages connection and engagement, and finally the chance to spend time with 130 other folks as passionate as you are about the worlds of Human Resources, Recruiting, Talent Management, HR Technology, or whatever precisely matches your interest.

After the event one of the attendees Bonni Titgemeyer tweeted the following:

It is a fantastic and interesting question, and I think gets to some of the core or the essence of why so many people feel so passionate about the HRevolution event.

Particularly for first-time attendees, the event can be seen as a bit of an enigma. It kind of looks like a 'regular' conference - we were in a large, professional conference center, there was an excellent catered lunch and a General Session room and smaller breakout rooms; some of the sessions had elements of more traditional presentation formats. But other sessions had attendees standing in front of the room holding up posters of cartoon characters and rap stars, and as Matt Stollak and Dawn Hrdlica-Burke both observed, the F-Bomb was dropped sort of casually and reasonably often during the day. But contrast that to the big-brained Josh LeTourneau exploring the depths of complex Social Network Analysis, a topic and conversation to challenge your ideas about talent management to their core.

So is HRevolution a phenomenon, movement, or a cult?

I am not sure. Maybe it is all three. For a small event, the HRevolution manages to be a collection of different, complementary, and interesting elements, and to me, that is why it really is unique and special. Maybe the event is anything the attendees want it to be.

Lastly, many, many thanks for all who attended, presented, supported, and come toghether to make this event what it is.

Most importantly, my thanks and undying respect and admiration for Trish McFarlane, Ben Eubanks, and Crystal Peterson. It is an honor and pleasure to work with you.

Comments

[Trish McFarlane]

It's been a pleasure to work with you over the last few years and I am proud of what we are creating. I agree that this event was better because it captured great content along with the feeling of "oneness" with the rest of the attendees. Great job on planning all our content Steve. It's hard work and all your input makes the event what it is. Now...on to Vegas!

[Steve]

Thanks Trish - of course working on these events along with you, Ben, and Crystal has been a joy, and a real highlight for my personal and professional development as well. Here's to October in Vegas!

[HRMargo]

I'm really sorry I missed this year's event. I hope to attend next year. It is wonderful reading about the event.

Margo

[Debbie brown]

Renewed energy, and many takeaways to apply on Monday in leadership and every day living ! Many thanks to you, Trish, Crystal and Ben for all the work that goes into this- I always enjoy seeing you all-

[Seth McColley]

I've never attended a HRevolution event, but feel that I need to put it at the top of my list after reading and hearing so much about it. Look forward to the next event. Any ideas when, and where, it will be held?

Seth

[Shannon]

Steve -
My thanks to you, Crystal, Trish and Ben for pulling together a great event. I am not sure which I would label it, but did leave wishing I spent more time with a number of folks, I guess that is always the way. You rock in my book and I look forward to staying connected - thanks again for your help. Cheers, Shannon

[Steve]

Debbie and Shannon - Great to see you both at the event, and many, many thanks!

Sean - We have an event on the front end of the HR Technology Conference in Las Vegas in early October. I will post here once all the details are firmed up. Thanks!