#HRevolution 2012: You know you need to be there

The fifth, and I am sure the best ever, installment of the HRevolution (Un)conference for Human Resources and Recruiting leaders and professionals is set for Sunday, October 7, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois.

We will shortly be releasing the HRevolution 2012 agenda which can be found here, and once you have a peek at the stellar line-up of stars that have graciously agreed to present and facilitate at the event, you can rush over to the registration page and reserve your place here.

I am sure you will agree with me in that with the incredible list of presenters, and the amazing opportunity for interaction and networking that the much-less-formal format of HRevolution provides, and finally the amazing value that the HRevolution event offers compared to the typical HR conference, that you simply must, as a smart and savvy HR professional, make time in your Fall calendar to join us in Chicago.

With A-list session presenters like Gerry Crispin, John Sumser, Kris Dunn, Laurie Ruettimann, Lance Haun, Elaine Orler, Jason Seiden, William Tincup, Tim Sackett and more, the HRevolution 2012 event promises to be truly a can't miss date this year.

I am really honored and proud to be a member for the fifth time of the HRevolution organizing team, and I can say truly and honestly that this year's event will be the best we have ever produced.

Also, and in an incredible value, everyone who registers for HRevolution will be provided a discount code good for $600 off the published conference rate for the 15th Annual HR Technology Conference, which commences immediately after HRevolution ends. So truly, you can come to HRevolution on Sunday, October 7th, then stay for HR Technology from October 8-10, while enjoying the largest discount available for HR Tech.

Look, don't take my word for how fantastic HRevolution will be. If you are not sure, or need more convincing, I challenge you to log on to Twitter today and tweet:

'I'm thinking of going to #HRevolution in October. Is it worth my time?'

I promise you'll be convinced after you see the responses.

I hope to see you in Chicago on October 7th!

#HRevolution 2012 - Open for Registration

A few years back a couple of enterprising HR professionals hatched a plan to stage a new kind of Human Resources event - one that was more open, and informal, and participatory, and social, and affordable than the typical and traditional conference or seminar. And from that initial small step, the HRevolution was launched. In 2009 the first HRevolution event was held in Louisville, KY and soon thereafter, the event and the community that supports it has become entrenched in the HR landscape.

I have been lucky enough to be a part of the HRevolution organizing committee since that first event in 2009, and I have seen HRevolution grow and evolve while still creating unique opportunities for HR professionals, recruiters, consultants, and vendors to come together to discuss and debate the future of HR.  

I am really pleased to share the announcement of the details of the 2012 event, so here goes:

HRevolution Chicago (aka #HRevolution #5)
October 7, 2012
McCormick Place
8:00 am- 4:30 pm
Click here to register

HRevolution will for the second year partner with The HR Technology Conference in a ground-breaking event in both content, format, and delivery of ideas that are key to the practice of human resources.

We believe and continue to work hard to ensure that HRevolution is not your typical conference.  Our main purpose is to grow your professional and personal network, and expand your ideas around the practice of Human Resources. You will network with 200 of the brightest and most innovative leaders in the industry. 

Other highlights of the HRevolution event include:

• Fully participatory sessions
• Opportunity for participants to bring work issues to debate, discuss, and find solutions
• Workable and practical ideas you can take home to your organization
• Increased reach-  since HRevolution is fully integrated with social platforms, you will be reaching hundreds of thousands of professionals

All past Hrevolution events have sold out, so be sure to register today!  Early bird pricing for the first 25 registrants will be $150.  General registration is $200.  Where else can you have access to top industry professionals for that low price?  Nowhere!  And thanks to our generous sponsors who help defer your costs, you can get both value and quality at HRevolution 2012!

But wait! There's more!

Special HR Technology Conference Discount

HRevolution is excited to be co-locating again with the world-famous HR Technology Conference & Expo – this time Oct. 8 – 10, 2012 in the self-contained West Wing of McCormick Place, Chicago.

HR Technology is one of the must-attend HR events of the year, and continues to grow in relevance and importance. Learn how technology can help you with every aspect of HR including managing your workforce, recruiting and attracting quality employees, identifying and developing your top performers, and much more.

Best of all, after you register for HRevolution you get a whopping $600.00 discount off the HR Technology® on-site rate. Look for the savings promo code at the bottom of your HRevolution confirmation email.

So I hope you will take a look at all HRevolution has to offer. If you have attended one of the previous events, then I don't have to convince you of the event's value. And if you are new to HRevolution drop me a line and a can tell you more. Better yet head over to Twitter and ask 'What is this #HRevolution I keep hearing about?' I am pretty confident you will get a dozen testimonials from past attendees within a few hours.

#HRevolution at the HR Technology Conference

We are just winding down the HR Technology Conference here at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, once again it was a fantastic event complete with all the things you'd expect from this event - great sessions, a lively exhibition hall packed with demonstrations from every solutions provider that matters, and as always the chance to connect and re-connect with peers, friends, and industry leaders.

To Bill Kutik and everyone at LRP that makes this event what it is today - many thanks. 

I was fortunate enough to get to participate in two sessions at the Conferences- as a panelist on the Social Media Strategies panel, (which I previewed here, and will have a recap posted later in the week), and as a co-facilitator along with Trish McFarlane in an #HRevolution-style session titled 'Your Kids Will Never Work in an Office', an open and wide-ranging discussion on the changing nature or work, the influence of technologies like mobile and social on the workplace, and what challenges the next generation of workers will present and provide.

The slides that Trish and I worked from have been uploaded to Slideshare here, and are also embedded below:

HRevolution Session at HR Technology Conference 2011

View more presentations from steveboese

This #HRevolution session was just one of three separate breakout sessions that #HRevolution veterans presented today at HR Technology.  In addition to our session, Dwane Lay and China Gorman led a discussion on 'HR Technology and Differentiation'; and Daniel Crosby and Lance Haun took on the topics of 'Change Leadership and Gamification'.  All told across the three session, we likely introduced the HRevolution format, vibe, and style to about 250 attendees.

Our session on the future of work was extremely lively and participatory - exactly as an HRevolution-style session should be. While Trish and I set up the topics, offered some discussion questions, and tried to guide the discussions - the conversations were clearly driven by the participants. There were engaged and thoughtful comments, questions, and opinions from all corners of the large room, and I'd estimate we heard from at least 30 different individuals during the course of the hour.

The lesson for me is certainly not that any event including HRevolution can truly solve big problems in an hour, but rather that HR and HR Technology professionals have lots to contribute to these discussions, and that when provided the opportunity, (as HRevolution does), they will dive right in and offer their expertise, and openly look to their peers and colleagues for support.

Our industry needs these opportunities for professionals to come together and engage in this way, and while HRevolution does not claim to be the only option for this kind of dialogue to happen, it is certainly one the seems to have resonated here today at the HR Technology Conference.

Many thanks to Bill Kutik, Claude Werder, and everyone else at LRP and HRevolution for all the support.

#HRevolution and the Connected World

First, a quick shout-out and thanks to all the attendees, session leaders, and supporters of the HRevolution - Las Vegas event that was held yesterday at the Mandalay Bay Resort - thanks so much for everything!

This was our fourth HRevolution event, and while they all have had distinct characteristics and vibes, there have been some common themes that have been consistently exposed over the course of the series. Connection, interaction, shared passion about the future of not only Human Resources, but about the design of work itself.  Sure, at times these kinds of big, hairy, and theoretical discussions might not seem to have direct and instant payoff back in our day jobs, but participate in enough intense discussions with a group of really smart, talented, and engaged people, and hopefully themes and concepts emerge that actually can be distilled into actionable strategy and near-term benefit.

In yesterday's event, the big theme I picked up on was connection - not just that simple and kind of obvious realization that technologies, (internet, mobile, tablet), have and will continue to inexorably change the way we work, socialize, learn, play, find, and stay connected to each other, our employees, our customers, and our communities - but rather the more significant implications the connected world will have on the next generation, my kids, your kids, their kids - you know what I mean.

From simple things like your 8 year old having to teach you how QR codes work to more complex and possibly important implications of how the fundamental organization of the corporation, workplaces, and even societal changes are being effected by the current and next generation of 'connective' technologies - these are among the most interesting and important questions of our times.

From the opening session of HRevolution, where Joel Cheesman talked about the sheer vastness of mobile connectivity, and some of the implications this has for organizations, to Jim Buttimer from Glassdoor sharing some incredible examples of crowd-sources intelligence, to the Daniel Crosby and Colleen Sutherland 'Change Leadership' session where the power of making connections around a shared goal can lead to amazing and unexpected results - the theme of 'connection' was the primary feeling for the day.

How this all plays out going forward certainly remains to be seen - but one thing is for sure, the connected world looks and works nothing like the world most of us grew up in. 

At the HR Technology Conference on Wednesday morning at 9:00AM HRevolution co-founder Trish McFarlane and I will facilitate an 'HRevolution-style' session about these ideas. Our working title for the session is 'Your Kid Will Never Work in an Office', a take on how the connected world of work in the future might look for the kids in elementary school today. While no one has a crystal ball or some kind of clairvoyance to see clearly into the future, most of us want to be sure our schools, societies, organizations, and families will be best prepared to take on the challenges and opportunities this connected future will bring.

If you are at the HR Technology Conference on Wednesday, we hope you will come to the session and share your ideas as well.

Everyone's talking about the HRevolution

The next iteration of the justifiably legendary HRevolution event for Human Resources and business leaders is set for October 2, 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. We do have a fantastic lineup of sessions and presenters once again, to learn more about what you'll learn, check out the HRevolution Sessions and Speakers page here.

But, rather than me go on (again), telling you how amazing the HRevolution events are, and how you need to be there, I'd like to point you to two other pieces that make the point for me.

First, Jay Kuhns on the 'No Excuses HR' blog offers 'HRevolution: Did You Answer the Challenge?', which is simultaneously a challenge and a re-commitment to apply the lessons learned, and the connections made at the last HRevolution to Jay's role as a senior HR leader. That kind of passion, and ongoing support and community that manifests at HRevolution events is like none other in the HR space.

Second, head over to HRevolution co-founder Trish McFarlane's HR Ringleader blog today to get the rundown on the specifics and logistics for next month's event. On her piece titled 'Teamwork and Sticks in a Bundle', Trish spells out how she sees important parallels in the her team of HR professionals and the team and community from HRevolution.  Trish describes what we who have attended previous HRevolution events all have realized, these events do make us better at what we do.

The HRevolution information site can be found here, and to register for your ticket to attend the event on October 2nd, head over to the registration page.

As a bonus, in partnership with the 14th Annual HR Technology Conference that will be held October 3-5, 2011- immediately after the HRevolution, all attendees of HRevolution will receive a special discount code for HR Technology, good for $600 off the HR Tech show listed rate. This is the largest discount code for HR Tech that is still available, and it is good right up to the day of the show.  

I hope you will make the decsion to come to Las Vegas to participate in what is a really special and different kind of event, and better still, stay for the HR Technology Conference, which is the pre-eminent event of its kind.

If you have any questions at all about the event please shoot me a note - steveboese at gmail dot com.

Thanks!