Editor’s Note – Today’s post is brought to you courtesy of Dustin Henderson, co-founder of MeritBuilder. Dustin went to HR Southwest conference last week to cover the show for us. You can follow him on Twitter. Thanks!
HR Southwest (the 2nd biggest HR show in the US) is over. I thought I would take a few moments and summarize my thoughts on the show. Luckily I tweeted most of the stuff that was on my mind because to be honest my memory is beginning to fail me. For the full twitter experience search twitter for #HRSW.
In hopes of making his recap a little more interesting I thought I would expand on some of my tweets. Unfortunately I could not fit it on to one post so you guys are stuck with a two-parter (see part two here).
But first a quick word about our hosts:
HRSW was a very professionally produced show. The staff was very helpful and made sure we were well taken care of. The signage was outstanding (a small item that can make a show miserable if done incorrectly). Every event flowed nicely into the next and the keynote-speakers were outstanding. A special Kudos on the registration process – plenty of knowledgably attendants!
On to the twitter review:
Note to Exhibitors – Eye contact is required if you want to make me think you care.
I was talking to a guy at an employee incentive booth about MeritBuilder. The entire time we were talking he was literally looking over my shoulder. I get it – I am not that interesting of a guy, but do me the common courtesy of looking me in the eye.
Who knows, I may run across a client that might be a good fit for his service. I believe networking is about helping others as much as you (perhaps more). Do you think I will be sending any business his way?
HINT: This is a small space and there is no such thing as little people
Hotwire: Example of Great Customer Service
If you guys saw my tweet about Hotwire not offering a lot of deals for those going to HRSW, what you probably did not see was how Hotwire replied to me. They asked that I give Hotwire a try again soon and gave a shout out to those going to HRSW.
This is an outstanding example of great social media. It should make you feel closer to the company. We don’t deal at the corner store any more, but SM can make if seem like we do. Nice job Hotwire!
Social Media will amplify your culture, so make sure you have the culture right before you have the sales team download tweetdeck!
First Networking Event:
It was well attended and I had a great conversation with a person from Wes-Tex, a printing operation based in Texas. Someone commented about the volume of tables & seats and how that hindered quality networking. I disagree.
I like to get to know people. I know this is not an “efficient” use of a conference, but I take a real interest in people. Understanding them takes a little longer than 5 minutes and that requires a comfy chair. So, thanks for all the chairs and tables and thanks to the lady for Wes-Tex for the great conversation.
1st day Key Note – People want to be Known:
While there were a number of themes that could be pulled from Victoria Labalme’s energetic keynote speech, the one that stood out for me was: People want to be known. There was a great commercial from Monster.com a few years back where children talk about their future goals. Perhaps it is their honesty or the reality of their statements, but was pretty powerful.
People don’t want to be a number or an entry on your to do list. Some think the answer is to learn communication skills so they can act like they care. I would suggest that people just really learn to care. The first step to caring is KNOWING your people.
Shane Yourt: meetings are not “team time”… Meeting must advance business goals
Mr. Yourt was by far the most challenging speaker at the show. His views of the organization are so different from those of MeritBuilder that it was hard to listen to. Perhaps most annoying to me – he is correct on many levels.
Yourt suggests that one should care less about how the employee feels and that one should manage almost entirely through accountability. Yes you may hate “me” and your job – but did you get that thing I asked you to do – done – when I asked you to do it? While extremely efficient, it ignores the power that positive relationships play in employee engagement.
Summary:
Have you ever seen the Newton Balls on someone’s desk? They are those cool little balls in a line. You swing the end ball and the energy is transferred through the other balls pushing the final ball up into the air. That ball then comes back ands strikes the balls and the process starts over until the energy is depleted… Just keep that in mind.
The theme for the post above is caring. Your customers what to know you care (guy in the booth, networking, keynote & Shane). So, that is what you tell the sales guys. But, I think it works like those balls. Caring is something that starts at the top of the organization and works it way through until it burst out the other side. It is not something that will spontaneously start in the middle.
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