3 Things I Learned at #SHRM14 That Have Nothing to Do With HR

What a crazy few days in Orlando! Since I didn’t get to spend too much time in sessions this year, I’ll leave it to the expert practitioners to provide their insights and instead share three key takeaways that have nothing to do with HR. Hopefully next year I’ll heed some of my own advice and be better prepared for the tornado that is SHRM! 1. Prepare for SHRM as you would for battle. There was a visible difference between those who were well-prepared for this event and those who assumed they could wing it. Which one were you? Those who were organized planned each day’s agenda well in advance. They knew what sessions they were attending, they marked the rooms on their map so they didn’t have to stop and ask for directions, and many used the handy session planner on the SHRM app to manage their day’s activities from their mobile phone or tablet. Purses and laptop bags were swapped for SHRM survival packs that contained protein bars and healthy snacks, chargers and battery packs, water bottles and plenty of extra space for booth shwag. These same soldiers connected with their industry friends on Facebook or Twitter to make sure they were on the lists for the best parties and synced up hotel check ins so they could get on the same floor. They seemed to skip through the halls in comfortable flats with boundless energy, regardless of the fact that they were out until 2am at the karaoke bar. And the rest of us? Well, by mid-afternoon each day, we wandered the convention center like glassy-eyed zombies, grossly dehydrated and stomachs growling, unable to respond to emails from the office because our phone died and all the cords at the charging station were being used. 2. SHRM offers a huge opportunity to return to your teams as a thought leader. If you’re well-organized like the group previously mentioned, I can’t think of a better opportunity for an HR practitioner to get up close and personal with some of the top minds in the industry, learn about the newest and greatest products and services from top notch vendors and learn about best practices and trends from the leaders who always seem to be a step ahead of the pack. What a fantastic opportunity to be a thought leader for your organization, regardless of your title or position! Instead of going back with anecdotes and scribbled notes from a few sessions or merely checking off the required boxes assigned by your manager, take this chance to step back and really think about how you take what you learned at SHRM and propose actionable plans for your department back home. Industry heavyweight, Will Staney, gave a killer SHRM presentation on How Social Media Has Transformed Talent Acquisition. For anyone who’s up for promotion, is seeking a leadership position or just has the desire to have a broader impact on their team and their employees, this is your chance to enact change! Step up to the challenge, go above and beyond and return to your team with actionable insights that could produce lasting change. This is your chance to be a Talent Warrior.

3. HR really does know how to party. From undercover VIP text lists and flash cocktail parties to hosted vendor dinners and nighttime parties, I was once again reminded that HR loves to have a good time! For many, SHRM is one of the only times each year that you get to see all your industry pals together in one place, so the opportunity to eat and drink with your friends on someone else’s dime is appreciated. At our Glassdoor booth this year we were super excited to hand out copies of our first book, Employer Branding for Dummies, Glassdoor Special Edition featuring a  foreword by industry branding guru Lars Schmidt. We even had the Dummies mascot on hand!

Since at Glassdoor, we know you can’t spell H-E-R-O without HR, we gave out clever superhero costumes and booth visitors got pictures taken in our photo booth to bring home home or email to friends.

But it was our social bash at the Hard Rock on Monday night featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff that had everyone talking….

So there you have it. I hope you survived SHRM and will return to your teams confidently as the HR superheroes we know you’ve always been, armed with actionable insights to have an even broader impact on your organization. If you didn’t get to pick up your copy of Employer Branding for Dummies, Glassdoor Special Edition, you can download the eBook here. Anything else I can help with? Reach out to me directly at Alison.hadden@glassdoor.com and follow me on Twitter @alisonhadden!