Top 5 Reasons to get your HR Technology Conference ticket today #HRTechConf

I think by now most readers of the blog know that I am the Co-Chair of the HR Technology Conference, coming up fast on October 18 - 21 in Las Vegas. I have spent months putting together the program and working with literally hundreds of folks ranging from HR executives, IT and Business leaders, the big, massive HR tech companies that everyone knows, and a growing and increasingly innovative set of HR tech startups to develop this year's slate of content, demonstrations, and educational sessions.

And since a great opportunity to attend the Conference at a reduced rate expires tomorrow, Wednesday September 16 at Midnight EDT, I thought I would try and make sure blog readers were aware, and offer up some of my own thoughts about why this year's event is once again a 'must-attend' for HR, Business, and IT leaders, as well as anyone interested in how technology can enable better business outcomes through people.

So with that said, here are my Top 5 reasons to register today and come out to the HR Technology Conference this October:

5. Presentations from HR and Business executives from many of the world's leading organizations on their challenges and how they have utilized a wide range of HR technology solutions to address these challenges. Just some of the companies on the agenda this year are MGM Resorts, Allstate, Unilever, Cisco, Marriott, Novo Nordisk, Delta, UPS, and many more. You will hear first-hand and unfiltered how these and many more organizations are attacking the same kinds of problems you have in your shop.

4. Two General Sessions focusing on what is "Awesome" and new in HR Tech. Once again we will showcase the best innovations in the HR Technology industry both from the vibrant startup community, and from the big, brand name tech companies that you know. Details on both of these "Awesome New Tech" sessions will be released soon, but rest assured (I have seen all of the demos), that you will not want to miss either of these sessions to learn how the most innovative solutions can help your business.

3. The first ever HR Tech Conference Hackathon, where teams of top engineering and design talent from across the HR tech insecurity will show off their skills and creativity in a classic, 48-hour hackathon format. This will be a great look into the behind the scenes of how great HR technologies get created, and a chance for many of the top and most talented people working in HR tech to shine.

2. In another first for HR Tech, the new 'Customer Success' track will help HR leaders, no matter where they are on their organization's journey with HR technology, to gain important insights, tips, and learn from best practices on every point of the journey. From creating an HR technology strategy, to business case creation, vendor evaluation and selection, change management, implementation, and relationship management - leading industry experts will be their to help guide you along the way. At the Conference, we want to help provide attendees with the tools to succeed along the entire journey, not just the first step.

1. Finally, once again HR Tech will be the largest, best, and most comprehensive event in the industry for everyone interested in improving work, workplaces, and business outcomes and how technology can support these goals. We will once again have a sold-out Expo, with a growing section carved out for the HR tech startups that are innovating like mad, a record-high number of sessions and speakers, and thousands of the best and most creative people in the HR tech industry today. HR Tech has become an essential event for leaders that are charged with solving the most important business challenges today - driving better results through people. 

And one Bonus Reason, it is Vegas!

C'mon, you know you love going to Las Vegas. In late October the weather will be perfect, sunny and highs about 80 or so, the food, drink, and entertainment options are limitless, and you the Conference and the other myriad social events that happen around the Conference are an incredible opportunity for you to network, socialize and have fun.

I hope to see many of the blog readers out at the Conference this year!

As a reminder, the Early Bird registration rate expires at Midnight EDT tomorrow, (Wednesday September 16). And as an added bonus - if you head on over to LinkedIn and become a member of the HR Technology Conference Group, you can use the registration code LINK15 to save an additional $150.00 on top of the $350.00 Early Bird discount (expiring Sept. 16) – That’s $500.00 in savings when you register by Wednesday.

Thanks! 

HRE Column: The Big Trends in HR Tech and the #HRTechConf

Here is my semi-frequent reminder and pointer for blog readers that I also write a monthly column at Human Resource Executive Online called Inside HR Tech that can be found here.

This month, I took a look at the program for the upcoming HR Technology Conference (which if I can pat myself on the back for a second, put together), and tried to tease out some of the trends and themes that have risen to the surface from months of planning and literally hundreds of pitches.

I came up with three big trends that I tried to describe in my HR Executive column. From the HRE piece:

Organizations of all sizes now have access to powerful technology solutions in support of all the functional areas of HR. It will be incumbent upon the HR leader of 2015 and beyond to make the best technology choices in order to successfully develop and execute the organization’s people and talent-management strategies.

When I review and reflect on this year’s HR Tech conference program, several key themes emerge:

Data and analytics continue to drive HR and talent management.

A continuing theme in 2015 has been the realization and maturation of the importance of bringing more analytical approaches and rigor into the HR discipline. The importance of data; the strategies to gather, compile, assess, and make meaning from that data; the role technology plays in support of these efforts, and the ways that data enhances our understanding of people and talent will be explored at this year’s event. Large organizations such as IBM, Unilever and Wawa Inc. are using data, analytics and the modern tools that have become increasingly available for HR and business leaders to efficiently manage this barrage of data and, in time, make more effective and efficient people decisions and set talent strategies.

We will also hear how analytics are being directly applied in specific functional domains such as recruiting, learning and succession planning, and are not just being carried out for their own sake.

Finally, the popular “Awesome New Technologies” demonstration sessions will once more have a heavy data and analytics slant. Many of the new innovations that will be presented showcase new ways to capture, present, analyze and make actionable HR and workforce data.

Building on a theme from 2014, the HR Tech Conference program will once again reflect the continued confluence of marketing, social media and technology with HR, and how these trends are being exploited in functions such as talent acquisition, employer branding and employee engagement. The program lineup will feature interactive panel discussions and conversations with HR, business and talent-acquisition leaders from organizations such as Glassdoor, Cisco, United Health Group and Marriott on the ways modern HR is advancing the application of best practices, borrowed from classic consumer-marketing approaches, to execute talent strategies...

Read the rest of the HR Exec column here 

Good stuff, right? Humor me...

If you liked the piece you can sign up over at HRE to get the Inside HR Tech Column emailed to you each month. There is no cost to subscribe, in fact, I may even come over and wash your car or cut the grass for you if you do sign up for the monthly email.

Also, if you are interested in the HR Technology Conference you can learn more, see the full agenda, and register to attend at the HR Tech website - www.hrtechconference.com.

Have a great weekend!

Notes from the Road #17 - You should pay more attention edition

Quick dispatch from Day 4 (or maybe 5) of my trip over to Hong Kong and China to take some meetings and do some on the ground prep work for next April's inaugural HR Technology China Conference. Here are my top 5 thoughts and observations coming from someone who prior to this trip, had never come over to China before:

1. I travel a lot, but the one thing even for me is that I bet 95% of the trips I take are to somewhere I have been to before. Even savvy travelers forget what it is to actually be someplace brand new, and factor in that new place pretty much totally different than anywhere else you have been before, and that is a recipe for trouble. I go to Vegas so much I don't usually know which hotel I am staying in until I get in the cab at McCarran. That kind of 'Oh, I will just figure it out when I get there' is not a great strategy over here.

2. American pop culture is everywhere. We had a long meeting here yesterday in the hotel with some of our local partners and contacts, and every so often when the conversation paused I could here the music that was being piped in to the room. I think I heard 'Hotel California' about 8 times during the meeting. Do the Eagles resonate with the average local? I wonder.

3. Business cards are still a pretty big deal over here. When you come out next April, make sure you have a stack. I am not kidding, this is a much bigger deal than you think.

4. No matter how many or what variety of electonic charging device converter you bring, it will somehow be the wrong one. This is uncanny. I took along two different charging adapters and for reasons I can't fathom, they do not work. Luckily the hotels I have been in so far have converters in the rooms that work just fine. I just have to ration the power back and forth between my phone and PC all night. 

5. Expedia customer service will keep you on hold so long you will eventually break down and hang up.

6. Hand towels folded up in the shape of an elephant is a nice touch.

7. You sometimes find unusual things in the hotel closet (see pic at right).

All kidding aside, this has been a really fun and interesting trip so far. You should definitely come some time.

The Invisible City

Business travel is (mostly) terrible because we spend comparatively more time per trip dealing with the worst aspects of the process of traveling, (airports, delays, long cab rides, crowds...), and less time actually doing the fun parts of traveling, (sightseeing, trying some local restaurants and shops, meeting new people, catching a ball game). No, most business travel is actually two stressful, periods of 'travel', interrupted briefly by a little 'business' in the middle. And if you are a frequent business traveler you sometimes are faced with pressure from home (partners, spouses, kids, the dog), to minimize all non-essential elements of these business trips so you can get your butt back on the plane and come home. Which might make for some peace on the home front, but does nothing but increase the traveler's angst and to some extent guilt. After all, jetting to San Diego for a meeting or a conference in February sounds a hell of a lot more fun than dealing with the 27th Winter storm of the season back home. Just let's not talk about spending 9 hours at O'Hare after you missed your connection and nothing is going out due to the snow storm.The Invisible City, Chermayeff & Geismar Associates

But you usually (and usually rightfully) give in to the demands of home and family and work, and minimize the time you spend away. You will willingly take Monday at 5:45AM flights on the way out and red eye flights back home so you are not giving too much of the appearance that you actually might, you know, want to take a little time to have a tiny bit of fun on one of these trips. And you do that so often, in so many places, that after a while everyplace starts to seem kind of the same. Starbucks in every city tastes the same. So does Chipotle. Sure, it would be better to try something unique and local, but the Starbucks is in the hotel lobby and the Chipotle is right next to the rental car drop off. And you need to get home, so if you grab something fast you might be able to stand by on an earlier flight.

And that is probably the worst part of business travel, especially for folks that travel frequently. That we allow it to become routine and ordinary and mind-crushingly the same no matter the destination. Lao Tzu is said to have said that 'A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving'. Which is the opposite of what we make business travel. We always have plans, we are obsessed with getting in and out as quickly as possible, and eventually we turn these experiences into the mundane, and not the remarkable opportunities they should be.

And I don't mean just the opportunity to see another conference room or a hotel ballroom or the Starbucks in the lobby. 

PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 206 - Live from Benefitfocus OnePlace

HR Happy Hour 206 - Live from Benefitfocus OnePlace 2015

Recorded Wednesday March 11, 2015

Hosts: Trish McFarlane, Steve Boese

Guests: Shawn Jenkins,  Shan Fowler

Listen to the show HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve did a live show from the Benefitfocus OnePlace 2015 event in Orlando, Florida, (Trish was on assignment this week at the Peoplefluent event in Miami).

On the show Steve was joined by Shawn Jenkins, President, CEO, and Co-founder of Benefitfocus and Shan Fowler, Benefitfocus' Director of Marketplaces. Benefitfocus provides robust, modern, and powerful technologies for the management, communication, and the employee experience with their benefits programs -both for employers as well as carriers and exchange providers.

On the show, Shawn and Shan shared some of the history of Benefitfocus, and how Benefitfocus' offerings help employers and providers to meet their goals of engaging, educating, and providing the most effective benefits programs for their employees and enrollees.

One of the most important ways that average employees interact with workplace technologies is how they interact with their employer's benefits technology. From annual open enrollment, to periodic live event type changes, and even in ongoing benefits for health and wellness - these employee experiences are critically important ones, impacting employee's engagement, well-being, and helping them to take care of themselves and the welfare of their families.

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Additionally, Shawn and Shan shared some of the important decision drivers that bring organizations to invest in more robust and powerful benefits technologies than the ones often present in 'core' HR systems, and the basic steps that organizations follow to get the new benefits platform up and running in rapid fashion - often in as little as 120 days.

We also lamented again (well, just Steve), about the terrible winter weather, we talked college foootball fan affiliation, and Shan was given the title of 'Best beard ever for a HR Happy Hour guest'. 

You can listen to the show here, or using the widget player below, (Email and RSS subscribers will need to click through, or go to the show direct link)

Check Out Business Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Steve Boese Trish McFarlane on BlogTalkRadio

As always, you can listen to the current and all the past shows from the archive on the show page here, on our HR Happy Hour website, and by subscribing to the show in podcast form on iTunes, or for Android devices using Stitcher Radio (or your favorite podcast app). Just search the iTunes store or your podcast app for 'HR Happy Hour' to add the show to your subscriptions.

This was a great show, and many thanks to Shawn and Shan for being a part of the fun.