Showing posts with label #shrm13. Show all posts
Student Reflections on the #SHRM13 Expo Hall Experience
by Matthew Stollak on Tuesday, June 25, 2013
One of the unique aspects of our school is that they have allowed me to create a course where students can attend the SHRM Annual Conference for course credit. Given the immersion into HR over four and a half days, 19 sessions, and the expo hall, students garner a much broader view of the HR profession than they would get in the classroom. Six of my own students along with nearly 400 students across the nation descended on Chicago for the SHRM Big Show
As one of their requirements, students had to do an analysis of the expo hall as a whole, as well as conduct in-depth analysis of five of the vendors. This analysis should include gaining a complete understanding of the functions of the organization being displayed, a brief interview with the individuals representing this organization, and a critique of their trade show booth.
This was easier said than done. Unfortunately, a common theme emerged, one that I have see all too often over 13 years of attending the SHRM conference. I'll let the students put it into their own words:
Student 1:
One of the frustrating things that I came across in the expo hall was that many of the vendors did not want to talk to us because we are students. You would lose their attention immediately after saying "I'm a student."
Student 2:
One thing I noticed about the vendors was that many of them were turned off once I mentioned that I was a student, with the exception of a few. They didn't seem as willing to try and sell their business to me.
Student 3:
Once the booth found out that we did not work for a company that could use their services, but rather that we were lowly, lowly students, we were sent on our way. I figured this would be a one or two time occurrence, but that ended up being a misconception very quickly. Over and over, we revealed our status as students and were quickly ushered out of the way to get the next attendee scanned and entered into a drawing for a vacation or an iPad Mini.
Student 4:
I was expecting more students to be at the conference and exposition hall and I think the companies were not expecting students at all. I could tell in their tones sometimes that they did not want to be talking to a student, but rather selling their products or services to someone who did. Many were surprised and happy to see students while others were looking past us.
Student 5:
I was a little disappointed in some of the companies within the hall. Now it was not too many of them, but there were a little over a handful of booths that did not take me seriously due to the fact that I was a student. For example, when I was approached by a representative, he or she was very friendly and began the conversation by presenting me with a question about the company I worked for. However, once I told him or her that I was a student, they immediately changed their tome. They simply pushed me on my way and acted as though they did not have the time of day to explain to me their company.....I think it would have been very helpful for many of those vendors to attend the sessions themselves. Many of the sessions I attended emphasized repeatedly the importance of meeting the needs of people, creating fulfillment, and showing respect; many behaviors that these booths did not show. It truly made me question their company's credibility and their performance.
Just as a reminder...these aren't students attending on a whim.
*They had to pay a registration fee for the conference.
*They had to pay for 5 nights of Chicago hotel costs (the student conference starts on Saturday)
*They had to pay for travel to get to and from Chicago
*They had ancillary costs of attendance, such as meals.
*They gave up 6 of their summer days to attend (Friday-Wednesday)....time that could otherwise be spent working to pay for school
These are passionate students who care about the future of HR. Several were so motivated by a session that they went to the SHRM Store to buy the author's book.
Hence, it was disappointing to hear, yet again, of such shoddy treatment by some vendors. They are your future customers. Vendors should have treated them that way.
As one student put it..."It made me not want to use their product even when I graduate."
Can one tell a person's management/leadership style by how they follow the "rules" of concert attendance?
Well, the SHRM Annual Conference has come to an end. Lots of great speakers, SWAG, fun, networking and tweets. However, the highlight for some was the double dose of musical greatness - the tweet-up at the House of Blues with DJ Jazzy Jeff on Monday, and the Tuesday night entertainment with Kelly Clarkson. Yet, for others, actions at the concerts tainted their conference-going experience. Let's set the stage (pun intended):
- Both events were "free" - One simply had to register at Eventbrite to attend the DJ Jazzy Jeff party. Meanwhile, the Kelly Clarkson ticket was included as a benefit of attending the SHRM Conference. Its not a tipping point on the conference attendance decision. No one is saying "I would have attended SHRM Annual, but Kelly Clarkson is the entertainer, so I'm not going." I've been to SHRM Annual 13 times, and have attended the Tuesday night entertainment only three times.
- Seating is general admission - For DJ Jazzy Jeff, it was an open floor concept - no seating whatsoever. For Kelly Clarkson, it was first come, first served. People were lining up hours in advance so that they could grab a chance to sit as close to the front as possible.
Now, one of the unwritten rules of attending a rock concert is that people generally crowd to the front when the music starts, particularly at a general admission show. Also, people stand during the concert, perhaps blocking one's view. It's to be expected.
But, it also got me thinking about the notion of the familiar topics of transactional vs. transformational leadership. Transactional leadership focuses "on increasing the efficiency of established routines and procedures and are more concerned with following existing rules than with making changes to the structure of the organization." Whereas, transformational leaders "engage with followers, focus on higher order intrinsic needs, and raise consciousness about the significance of specific outcomes and new ways in which those outcomes might be achieved."
Were those individuals complaining about the violation of unwritten concert attendance rules likely to have a more transactional view of managing people at work?
- 2 comments • Category: #shrm13, Kelly Clarkson, procedures, rules, transactional leadership, transformational leadership
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The Speakers
- Hillary Clinton - didn't get to see her. Closed to press.
- Blake Mycoskie - Nice inspirational message. Hard to screw up a talk about shoes at a HR conference. Definitely fit category 1 of Tim Sackett's 3 categories of HR speakers
- Jennifer McClure - Talked on the Future of HR and knocked it out of the park. Definitely book her for your future HR conference.
- Steve Boese - Excellent presentation on harnessing social tools.
- I probably have spent less time there then in any previous conference. As a professor, I'm not likely to be a customer of whatever product is being hawked. My name is not going to be drawn for a booth prize. And, I learned long ago that SWAG remorse is never a good thing.
- I felt bad for the booths in the 3500-4300 range. It seemed like they were the discount casinos in "Vegas Vacation" where games such as "Pick a Number Between 1 and 10" and "Flip a Coin" were being played
- I was disappointed to hear from students, yet again, that some booths treated their visit with disdain. These are your future customers. Treat them that way.
- It is still a heavily dominated female crowd. On three of the four shuttles I've taken, I was the lone male among 30 or 40 females.
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- That for many, work and identity are inextricably linked.
- Human resources plays a crucial and integral role in helping individuals identify and embrace their vocation.
- That this can be accomplished while still making a firm profitable and delivering shareholder value.
Enjoy the conference and Happy Father's Day to all the dad's in attendance. Much love to my 14 week old twins, Micah and Mia.
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You know it is effective, because you will have "Hot Drinks" in your head for the rest of the day.
I'm hoping that DJ Jazzy Jeff will be spinning a remix at the 80s themed #SHRM13 Tweetup Monday night (RSVP Now: http://shrm13tweetup.
Hope to see you at the SHRM Annual Conference. Off to Chicago.
- Leave your comment • Category: #shrm13, Chicago, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Wendy's
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Advice has already starting flowing in about what to do while in Chicago for the big event. In case you missed it: China Gorman provides some excellent advice about maximizing your SHRM Conference experience. Jessica Miller-Merrill provides you with the top 10 things to do while you are in Chicago and not going to the conference. Trish McFarlane has brought back her 10 Conference Commandments.
This will not one of those posts.
I will be attending my 13th SHRM Annual Conference, and below I, instead, will provide you, based on my years of experience, the things you do NOT want to do while attending.
1. Do NOT suffer from SWAG remorse.
The exhibit hall is going to open at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 16 and you going to be tempted by every vendor with some sort of gee-gaw or doo-dad that you absolutely have to bring back to the office. You may have already received an inch tall pile of vendor mail and you've mapped out your strategy for maximizing your haul. You may have even packed light so that you have plenty of room in your suitcase for the haul. It is free, right? You HAVE To grab it. Trust me, as a former victim, you will suffer from SWAG remorse. It may take a week....it may take a month, but you are going to look at that tote bag full of "goodies" you brought back and you are going to ask yourself why you grabbed that 7th t-shirt or 14th squeeze ball. Regret always tastes sour.
2. Do NOT bring a rollerbag to the conference
I have posted this several times since 2010, and people are still not listening. Rollerbags are the scourge of the exhibit hall. They get underfoot, and people are often unaware of the people behind them when toting it along. Don't be that person.
3. Do NOT get in the way
You make think the exhibit hall is huge, but the rows are narrower than you think. If you see someone you know, step out of the way, so that others can traverse the area more freely. If people have to walk around you, you're doing it wrong.
4. Do NOT use the phrase "Seat at the Table" or you'll be fined $100
The phrase "seat at the table" is officially barred from mention at the conference. If you say it, you owe $100 to the SHRM Foundation. If you overhear it in Chicago, tell that person they owe $100 to the SHRM Foundation. If a speaker uses it in a session, please tweet out the following phrase:
"(Insert speaker name here) owes $100 to the @shrmfoundation for saying "Seat at the table." #SHRM13 #SHRMShame"
5. Do NOT attempt to scalp your Kelly Clarkson wristband
Unless you're registered as a "ticket broker" with the Illinois Secretary of State, selling/bartering for tickets anywhere at an event venue aside from the box office is illegal. It is a Class A misdemeanor and you may be subject to a $5000 fine from the state of Illinois.
Note: I am not a lawyer, nor will I be staying in a Holiday Inn Express while at SHRM Annual.
6. Do NOT, under any circumstances, sing "Happy Birthday" to Jennifer McClure at 8:15 a.m. on Monday, June 17.
While it is Jennifer McClure's 32nd birthday on June 17, she would TOTALLY be embarrassed and would just hate it if a capacity crowd began singing "Happy Birthday" to her as she closed out her Mega-Session. Instead, she would appreciate it if you simply attended...oh, and some Diet Coke, cupcakes, and M&M's.
7. Do NOT text or tweet and walk
There will be 13,000+ individuals in attendance at the McCormick Place. When that General Session with Dan Pink or Blake Mycoskie lets out, you and all your new friends will simultaneously be trying to get out of the hall and head to the next session, the bathroom, or to grab some coffee. Please do not start walking and stare down at your phone. I am excited that you have the Twitter, Facebook, or Hootsuite app, and you are using the #SHRM13 hashtag. But, inevitably, you will run into the back of someone. This will not be one of those "meet cute" scenarios you see in the movies. Instead, you will likely be called out because that person you just ran into will see your name on your badge.
8. Do NOT wear your SHRM Conference badge at night.
As SHRM notes, wearing your badge outside of McCormick Place will peg you as a visitor from out of town and a target for crime. Even worse, many of you will likely heading to one of the bevy of parties, or, from what I hear, Chicago has a few bars. Drinking will likely lead to bad behavior on the part of some of you. Wearing your badge will likely make your name live in infamy as people mention your sordid exploits at future conferences. Try to drink in relative anonymity and leave your badge in your hotel room.
So, what else would you tell attendees NOT to do? Leave a note below, or tweet your suggestion to #SHRM13Festivus (h/t to Laurie Ruettimann for the hashtag)
- 3 comments • Category: #shrm13, China Gorman, humor, Kelly Clarkson, Laurie Ruettimann, roller bags, SHRM Foundation, Trish McFarlane
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There were lots of mediocre ads during the Super Bowl.
However, the ad of the night, for me, was the Dodge Ram Farmer ad, featuring some brilliant still photography, and the iconic voice of Paul Harvey. Check it out below:
I anticipate that SHRM is rapidly working on a "So God Made A HR Professional" ad, perhaps in time for the Annual Conference in June.
So, if you were SHRM...
What should the ad say?
Who should do the voice over?
With the news today that hotel reservations are now being accepted for the 2012 SHRM Annual Conference, I bring you my 4th annual expose of SHRM hotel costs.
I look at selected SHRM conference brochures (i.e., the ones that I still possessed) over the past 13 years to see what it would cost a person to book a single room on a per night average. Clearly, prices in 2001 will be different than in 2013, so I use an inflation calculator to adjust costs to today's dollars. So, how does the 2013 Conference in Chicago compare to years past?
Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night)
San Francisco (2001): $258.73 (standard deviation of $57.04)
Chicago (2008): $257.38 (sd of $29.63)
CHICAGO (2013): 248.49 (sd of 20.58)
San Diego (2010): $247.86 (sd of $42.66)
Washington DC (2006): $234.27 (sd of $40.25)
Philadelphia (2002): $219.58 (sd of $58.71)
San Diego (2005): $206.89 (sd of $50.45)
Atlanta (2012): $198.36 (sd of $22.13)
Las Vegas (2007): $168.68 (sd of $32.51)
Las Vegas (2011): $130.04 (sd of $18.04)
I ran a simple one-way ANOVA (i.e., a fancy way of comparing multiple means simultaneously) to see if there was a significant difference across the means of these 10 sampled years. The results showed a statistically significant difference overall with F = 23.58 (p=.0000) with an R-squared of 38.48% (hence, nearly 39% of the variation in hotel costs can be explained by location). The result is not surprising, given that San Francisco and Chicago is nearly twice as expensive as Las Vegas.
I also looked at hotel minimums (i.e., what is the cheapest hotel available through SHRM). For 2013, the cheapest hotel is $195. This is the 2nd most expensive minimum in these 10 years of data (only Chicago in 2008 outpaced it with a minimum cost of $202.23).
Clearly, attending the SHRM Annual Conference in 2013 will be a much more expensive proposition than in 2012. Hotel costs in Chicago are approximately $50 a night more expensive than in Atlanta (and approximately $119 a night more expensive than in Vegas 2011). The one saving grace? Given the 2nd smallest standard deviation in the sample, you will be able to find higher quality/higher rated hotels for not much more than the overall average/median.
With the conference tagline being "Bigger!"...SHRM really meant it when it comes to hotel costs!
See you in Chicago.
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