The Society for Human Resource Management is having its annual conference in Washington D.C. and is apparently having one hell of weather event going on. Maybe it is fitting that it is happening during the largest gathering of Human Resources professionals and vendors nationwide. The weather is changing in the business world, HR isn’t coping the way it should and it is causing problems for everyone else.
Take for instance the supposed necessity of meeting in person at a centralized conference to essentially do three days of networking (which most HR guys would say is the most beneficial). I don’t need to meet people in person to network. Give me a phone number or an e-mail address and we’re good to go. Coming to a central location for a conference is cumbersome to a global network of HR professionals. If we have embraced telecommuting, internationalized employees and communicating creatively in a digital age, why are we still meeting in person?
Now meeting people in person may be “nice” and “useful” but sometimes it isn’t practical. It isn’t practical for me. It doesn’t seem practical for people to be in Washington D.C. right now (even if it is closeby). It isn’t practical for the HR guy in India. The in-person interview has started to fall by the wayside in some companies (especially ones where working by telephone and e-mail are more important). I’ve hired people without meeting them in person. What’s the big deal? If I ever do meet them, it won’t be out of necessity.
While HR may be trying to position themselves as “change agents” or at least “not-that-opposed-to-change-at-least-compared-to-a-couple-decades-ago,” these old school meetings with these (mostly) old school vendors who offer old school solutions (sometimes wrapped in pretty new packaging) are going to become outdated. Attendance at conferences in almost all industries has gone down. With podcasts, video-conferencing, e-mail, instant messaging, blogs and more and more experts communicating on a regular basis rather than limiting their comments to an expensive, cumbersome conference, there isn’t a compelling reason to go. It isn’t surprising that other professionals have found better things to do with their time.
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You all should start an unSHRM blog carnival. Get all the recruiting bloggers out there to write up a little post about what they would say if they were a keynote speaker at SHRM, then post links to them all on one particular blog. Next month, do it again, but rotate so that all the links are now housed on ANOTHER blog.
While a person could network all they want via the blogrolls and the like, it’s much more convenient to the reader to have everything housed in one place, if only for a day.
Kyle: I like your thinking. The wealth of information that could be gained by that could rival SHRM and might even be better due to archiving.
As much of an online nerd as I am- and I totally am!- even I have to admit that the face-to-face networking is where it’s at. I’ve certainly made many great connections online with people I haven’t met in person, but I’m always thinking, “If I ever get to so-and-so’s city, I’d love to have a beer with him/her.” It’s human nature, it’s the best way to get to know someone, and it works.
That’s not to say that SHRM is the best use of ANYONE’S time, but in-person networking rocks hardcore.
Tiffany: The conditions by which you say face-to-face networking “rocks” are the same one’s that I feel are useful. When I am in Dallas, Atlanta or LA, you bet your ass I am not going to be sitting online whenever I could meet with them in person conveniently. And when I am in town, I don’t network over the phone or by email.
I guess the answer is that in-person networking is desirable if it is the most logical option. SHRM conference doesn’t seem to be a good use of time especially if the things I am looking to take from the conference (networking, education and meeting with vendors) can be done from the comfort of my office chair.
As a vendor I have a simple rule about these things: The bigger the booths are, the less likely I am to go.
Colin: I think some of the booths were bigger than my house. Would you consider that too big?
Actually I think any booth is too big. Booths and exhibition halls say, “Beware: Vendors Ahead!” People walk by, ask some inane question, and listen to you for 30 seconds before bolting to catch the waiter with the chicken satay.
The best shows I’ve been to put vendors and prospects around the same table. This presumes that we’re all there talking about the same problems. If we’re not, then why bother? If you’re buying oranges and I’m selling apples then its as much of a waste of my time as it is yours.
Speaking of size, I saw a show yesterday about a vet (animal) talking about his growing business selling um how should I say this….replacement parts for male dogs that have been fixed. It seems people want bigger and this is causing major discomfort and ultimate harm to the dogs.
I guess there are lots who suffer from this need to go big
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