IHRIM 2011 Recap
I attended my first IHRIM conference last week in Washington D.C. I was quite impressed by the attendees and their thirst for knowledge: from the various sessions, through networking, and by the various technology solutions being showcased by the vendors in the Expo hall. Dovetail also exhibited at the conference and we were very busy at our booth, often times people were waiting for assistance or the chance to see a demo of our product. It was great to see that attendees were interested in learning how a HR Help Desk solution could help their organization.
I walked the Exhibit Hall a number of times and met a number of the CEOs I had previously talked to, but never met, including Lois Melbourne of Aquire, Jason Averbook of Knowledge Infusion, and Shafiq Lokhandwala of NuView Systems. Unfortunately, each of these visits was brief and I wish we all had more time for greater interaction. Maybe this is an opportunity to create some sort of networking event for senior executives of HR technology vendors, obviously in a way where we can separate competitors.
I didn’t get a chance to attend a lot of the break-out sessions, but really enjoyed Jason Averbook, CEO of Knowledge Infusion, speak on New Technologies for 2011: Emerging Trends and Technology Critical to Your Workforce to a standing room only crowd. Besides the information and data Jason shared with the audience, he also had the group thoroughly engaged and involved, giving away Starbucks cards left and right (still waiting for mine).
As I thought about the conference on the plane home, it was clear to me that HR personnel are looking for answers, and looking for better technology to help solve their problems. Technology alone isn’t the answer, but if implemented properly can certainly assist the HR function in gaining a seat at the table and getting a voice in the decisions CEOs are making. I know that Dovetail will do its part to assist, and hope that my fellow technology vendors will also step to the plate.
I’m certainly looking forward to the next big conference, the HR Technology Conference in Las Vegas in October. Wish it were sooner.
Until Next Time,
Stephen
