HR Tech 2014 – The View From The Booth
I love HR Tech, but you probably knew that. Being part of the Dovetail team has given me a very different perspective on it, though. In the past, most of my time was spent in the sessions, which are great. This year, our booth was so busy, I didn’t get much of a chance to step away. I found, though, that you can pick up some great information as a vendor without wandering far from home.
The attendees this year were, I think, more educated than I’ve seen in the past. I’m basing this on the number of people who really knew what they were looking for, as opposed to wandering the floor with glazed eyes. I was part of several conversations around how the technology market has evolved lately and what it means to them. They are more concerned with drawing value from their investment than finding the next shiny toy, which feels like a shift from the past. It’s great to see HR pros take ownership of their investments!
I also noticed that there were more conversations between vendors than I’ve seen in the past. There are often walls built up between the booths so you don’t accidentally show something important. This year, it felt like there was more conversation, more exploring of potential partnerships, and more chances to share great ideas. The vendor space is full of smart people. Nice to see them playing well together.
I’ve been asked by a few people about the swag video this year. For a few reasons there won’t be one to share. Sorry. I do want to give a special shout out, though, to Bridget Webb and her team over at WePow (formerly Wowzer). They doled out several pairs of blue Chuck Taylors that are intrinsically awesome. And the limited run made them very special indeed. Other than that, and the $2000 in cash we doled out at our own booth, I didn’t see anything that caught my attention from where I was standing.
Next year will be an interesting show, as Steve Boese takes the helm. I can’t wait to see how it looks. Hoping we will see you there!
