Showing posts with label #shrm14. Show all posts

My Annual Love Letter to the @SHRMFoundation #SHRM14

by Matthew Stollak on Monday, June 23, 2014



Dear SHRM Foundation,

We’ve known each other for years.  We’ve had our ups (your support of the HRGames) and our downs (the 247 Director’s Circle pins you sent me as a sign of your affection).  However, despite this rollercoaster of emotions, I’ve always supported you and been in your corner.  So, in this public forum, it is time to declare my love for you and say that you’re the best thing under the SHRM umbrella.  How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

  1.  I love your heart and generosity- you provided $200,000 in scholarships and awards in 2013  These scholarships and awards are available for such things as certification, studies in HR, as well as for dissertations and the HR Advisor of the Year (I'm a proud recipient in 2006).  Further, you continually give many of the products that are the result of your efforts away for free to the greater HR community.  You have changed and affected the lives of so many in such a positive, affirming away.
  2. I love your mind – You are the leading funder of HR research.  You provided more than $600,000 in research dollars in 2013.  You are changing the face of the HR profession with cutting-edge products, such as the Effective Practice Guidelines, and the DVD Series.  Your Thought Leadership Initiative is setting the tone by identifying trends that will impact the workplace in the next 5-10 years.
Thanks for all that you do to enrich and advance the profession.

Xoxo,

Matt

P.S. if you know of others who love you as much as I do, please tell them to stop by Booth 2264 and contribute to make the Foundation even stronger.  If you are reading this at home, go visit the SHRM Foundation website at http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/Pages/default.aspx, and read more about the great things the Foundation does.  You can also "Give on the Go" by texting SHRMF to 56512

The Four #SHRM14 Conference Keynote Archetypes

by Matthew Stollak on Sunday, June 22, 2014

If you're a newbie to the SHRM Annual Conference, you'll see that a major attraction to entice people to attend is the array of keynotes providing guidance and inspiration.  Perhaps this was one of the critical factors influencing your decision.

 After attending for 14 years, you'll see that their are 4 major types of keynotes (h/t to Matt Charney for inspiring the post) that SHRM brings in.

 The CEO/Major Executive.  

 This speaker shares his (usually) insight of how he views HR and the workplace.  Think Earl Graves, Richard Branson, Jack Welch, Tony Hsieh, Louis Gerstner or Steve Forbes.  This year we have David Novak.

The Management/HR Pundit

 This individual usually has a best selling book on HR and is sharing his or her results.  Think John Kotter, Patrick Lencioni, Malcolm Gladwell, Jim Collins, Marcus Buckingham, or Dan Pink.   This year it is Tom Friedman.

The Celebrity/Political LeaderIn the past, SHRM has brought in such names as Tom Brokaw, Hillary Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, Al Gore, Rudy Guiliani, Al Gore, Bill Cosby, and Sidney Poitier.  This year, we have Laura Bush.

The Inspirational/Motivational Speaker

 This speaker usually has a message that gets us excited about what HR is about, or inspires us about how he/she overcame obstacles.  Sometimes, this overlaps with the celebrity speaker.  Such audience pleasers have included Lee Woodruff, Captain Mark Kelly & Gabby Giffords, Erin Gruwell, Liz Murray, Michael J. Fox, and Lance Armstrong.  This year is Robin Roberts.
Keep these archetypes in minds for future SHRM conferences.


#HRPickUpLines and the #SHRM14 Expo Hall

by Matthew Stollak

This is the 14th SHRM Annual Conference I've attended, so I'm a bit jaded when it comes to the promotion from vendors to visit their booths.  However, this year, Careerbuilder has a unique take by using the hashtag #HRPickUpLines as a way to get attention to their name.  The "best" lines can win an iPad air.  Here is the first winning line:

 Here is a sampling of my entries:











































































Which ones your favorite?  Have a better one?  Submit it, and you may win an iPad.  See you around the Exhibit Hall.

What Should Be Discussed Instead of Certification at #SHRM14

by Matthew Stollak on Tuesday, June 17, 2014


The SHRM Big Show begins in less than a week as 15,000+ HR professionals descend on Orlando to hear about the latest in human resource management.  Unless you are a HR professional living under a rock, the topic du jour(s) will be the new SHRM certification being introduced....you won't be able to escape it.  SHRM will have 3 straight days of sessions dedicated to the topic.  HRCI, while banished from the conference, will be holding a Monday night event at EPCOT to share there insights.  Vegas has put better odds of snow occurring during the four days in Orlando than Hank Jackson NOT discussing certification during the opening session.  I fully expect that SHRM will hand out an HR action figure called "Certy" to attendees at their booth in the exhibit hall.

 Never has so much attention been paid to an issue that has so little impact on the day-to-day functioning of HR.

 I wish a modicum of attention was paid to these issues instead:

1.  Sleep

Did you hear about the accident that nearly killed TV star Tracy Morgan?  It was the result of a Walmart truck driver who had gone more than 24 hours without sleeping.  According to Teamsters President James P. Hoffa, "drivers feel pressure from their employers to drive more than 60-70 hours a week with insufficient rest."  Further, Congress is attempting to make regulation of truck driver rest even more lax:


Days before Morgan's accident thrust trucking safety into the news, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation that would undo rules that only went into effect last year that mandated certain rest periods for truck drivers. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) added an amendment to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill that would suspend a regulation that truck drivers rest for 34 consecutive hours, including two nights from 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM, before driving again.

Issues involving sleep are not limited to the trucking industry.  As a parent of 15-month old twins, getting 6+ hours of uninterrupted sleep is a luxury.  The impact of less sleep is huge:

Sleep_difficulties

 Instead of certification, we should be discussing how the profession can assist employees in ensuring they are properly rested so they may perform at a more productive level.

 2.  Wage Theft 




According to the New York Times,

When wage theft against low-wage workers is combined with that against highly paid workers, a bad problem becomes much worse. Data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute show that in 2012, the Department of Labor helped 308,000 workers recover $280 million in back pay for wage-theft violations — nearly double the amount stolen that year in robberies on the street, at banks, gas stations and convenience stores.

Moreover, the recovered wages are surely only a fraction of the wage theft nationwide because the Labor Department has only about 1,100 wage-and-hour investigators to monitor seven million employers and several states have ended or curtailed wage enforcement efforts.

 This is a huge black eye for the profession, and we should be discussing how to minimize this occurrence.

 3.  A Living Wage

My wonderful blogging colleagues at SHRM14 are putting together a little charity event on Sunday night to raise money for No Kid Hungry.  It truly is a worthy endeavor.



At the same time, how much discussion is going into their Congressional representatives cutting funding for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families?  Or, eliminating unemployment benefits after a certain period of time, even when unemployment remains high.  Each contribute significantly to childhood hunger.

Recently, Seattle passed a minimum wage increase of $15 an hour.  Given HR's role in setting compensation, what influence, if any, should they have to address the impact of wage stagnation?


Nine Things NOT To Do at #SHRM14

by Matthew Stollak on Wednesday, May 21, 2014



In less than a month, individuals will be heading to Orlando to attend the 2014 SHRM Annual Conference.  This will be my 14th SHRM Annual Conference, and, based on my years of experience, here are 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 22 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 Orlando, 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." #SHRM14 #SHRMShame"

5.  Do NOT be Gwyneth Paltrow in "Contagion"

I know you are excited to be going to Orlando, and hanging with 13,000+ of your favorite HR friends.  You may have already spent significant dollars on travel, hotel, Disney tickets, etc.  However, if you are even remotely close to being ill, please consider staying home.  It seems I get ill once every couple of years, and most likely I caught something from a sick person.  So, do not be patient zero.

 6.  Do NOT, treat students with disrespect

This one goes out to the exhibit hall vendors.  Ideally, every person who walks through the exhibit hall should be treated with respect.  However, it is inevitable every year that my students will come back with horror stories about being treated rudely by someone manning an exhibit hall booth.  I know you are there to make potential sales connections, and a student is unlikely to be a customer anytime soon.  However, if these students are dedicated to travel to Orlando, they are dedicated to the profession, and will likely be a potential customer in the future.  Don't burn a bridge before it has a chance to be constructed, as those students will remember who did them wrong!

 7.  Do NOT text or tweet and walk

 There will be 13,000+ individuals in attendance at the Orlando Convention Center.  When that General Session with Robin Roberts or Tom Friedman 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 #SHRM14 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 make me stand up & participate during your sessionIf you are a speaker and part of your schtick is to get me to do some activity as part of the session (particularly as a warm-up at the beginning), unless it magically causes me to lose 40 pounds, you will receive the lowest rating possible.  It tells me you do not have enough material for the time required.

 9.  Do NOT wear your SHRM Conference badge at night.
  
As SHRM notes, wearing your badge outside of the convention center 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 they are out there.  Bad behavior might ensue.  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 #SHRM14Festivus (h/t to Laurie Ruettimann for the hashtag).  Also, check out the #SHRMChat twitter discussion this afternoon at 3:00 p.m./2:00 Central for all things #SHRM14 related.  http://weknownext.com/blog/nextchat-the-shrm14-experience

How Expensive Will #SHRM14 Hotels Be?

by Matthew Stollak on Thursday, October 24, 2013




With the news  that hotel reservations are now being accepted for the 2014 SHRM Annual Conference, I bring you my 5th annual expose of SHRM hotel costs.
I look at selected SHRM conference brochures (i.e., the ones that I still possessed) over the past 14 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 2014, so I use an inflation calculator to adjust costs to today's dollars.  So, how does the 2014 Conference in Orlando compare to years past?

Cost of an Average SHRM-Affiliated Hotel (per night)
San Francisco (2001): $262.71 (standard deviation of $57.92)
Chicago (2008): $262.19 (sd of $30.18)
Chicago (2013): 248.49 (sd of 20.58)
San Diego (2010): $250.22 (sd of $43.07)
Washington DC (2006): $238.34 (sd of $40.95)
Philadelphia (2002): $223.02 (sd of $559.63)
San Diego (2005): $210.37 (sd of $51.29)
Atlanta (2012): $202.33 (sd of $22.57)
Las Vegas (2007): $171.69 (sd of $33.09)
Orlando(2014): $162.07 (sd of $36.07)
Las Vegas (2011): $132.56 (sd of $18.38)

On average, Orlando looks to be one of the best hotel bargains in years for SHRM attendees.  Half of the hotels are below the median cost of $151.50.  The first quartile is at $139, and the 3rd quartile is at $186.   The lowest price hotel is at $99 with a top price of $244.

Given that the average price of a Chicago hotel was $248.49 last year with significant hotel and food taxes, SHRM14 attendees will be saving an average of $86.42 a night...more than enough to buy a ticket to Universal Orlando or Walt Disney World.

See you in Orlando