Musings on HR Technology Conference

Well, I’m back from the HR Technology Conference in Chicago and just getting caught up on all the goings-on here.

What did I think of the show? Well, compared to last year, it was the year of Talent Management. The number of vendors in this area seemed to explode compared to 2007, and many were spending tons of money to attract attention. It kind of reminded me of the new Mac vs PC commercial where PC uses humungous investments in marketing to solve all evils. Hmmm.

According to HRchitect, the mood was a bit fearful based on uncertain economic times, and there were more vendors and analyst than actual prospects. But I got to connect with several of our users as well as industry contacts, and they had some great perspectives for me. Prospects more than ever are looking for exceptional value – and proven solutions. And because of market conditions, many prospects were also concerned that the vendor they were considering had staying power. Analysts at the show were predicting many vendors will not survive this downturn. Vendors who do not have a solid customer base, market share or a financially responsible business model are most vulnerable. Web 2.0 technologies also got a lot of hype, but at least one analyst – Gartner – thought it was just that: hype.

According to the bloggers at MySTaffingPro.com, the resounding theme at the event was “you have to go where the employees are”. According to these guys, the new generations of workers are connecting in many different ways and a company seriously needs to focus on Web 2.0 technologies. They felt that many at the conference regarded MySpace as a youth-oriented site, with Facebook being more for employees or potential employees, including college students.

That’s an interesting point – but how a vendor chooses to embrace Web 2.0 technologies is another thing. We all need to remember that our main goal is to solve process issues, improve performance, align employees – and give them the coaching and development they need to be top performers. We also need to give HR a practical and easy way to gain insight into their workforce. It’s not about spinning baseball cards. At least that’s what I’ve been told.

Anyway, hats off to Human Resources Executive for pulling off another great show. Once I’ve caught up I’m sure I’ll have more perspectives on the event. For now, I’m already looking forward to next year!