Why You Should Make Attending Human Resource Conferences a Priority
Tamara Gravelle
October 26, 2018
Human resource management is a very complicated field, with HR managers have to deal with real emotions, which can be overwhelming at times.
Not only are they responsible for hiring and keeping employees, but also to ensure they remain loyal, productive, and motivated. It can be a very difficult job, facing obstacles in workplace diversity, employee discrepancy, and much more.
This is why it is important that HR enthusiasts attend HR conferences –while many companies push their employees to take part in HR events, some do not understand the importance of attending such conferences.
In fact, many employees also find it a waste of time to attend a conference. They’re usually not aware of how beneficial attending an HR conference can be. It is the responsibility of the employer to push and motivate employees to attend HR conferences.
However, some even hesitate to attend HR conferences due to a lack of confidence in them. They find it challenging to communicate with others and participate in such events. To overcome such issues, one can opt for human resource management training, which encourages you to learn and understand every skill of an HR person. This makes them confident enough to attend HR conferences. Also, it is the responsibility of the employer to push and motivate employees to attend a conference.
What Are the Advantages of Attending an HR Conference?
1. A Chance to Gain More Knowledge
Continuous learning is the habit of highly successful people, according to Stephen Covey. It doesn't matter how skilled or experienced an employee is, there’s always the possibility to learn more.
When you attend a conference, you will get new ideas and approaches to solve problems. These solutions come from listening to others and learning from their experiences.
2. Keep up with Current HR Trends
Most conferences these days have an expo floor for companies to display their products and services. This can be a good opportunity to know what’s next to hit the market and to see it before others.
While you can also read about products online, it’s no match for a live demo where you can also ask questions related to your specific needs.
3. Meet and Connect with Like-Minded People
Human resource management is all about people skills. Conferences and seminars give you an opportunity to meet like-minded people and widen your network.
This is beneficial not only for hiring managers but also for people on a lookout for an opportunity to move to a better position. Recruiters can find new and exciting talent to add to their pool and aspirants can find better job opportunities.
Social media can be a good tool to reach people but it cannot provide the same benefits as an in-person meeting.
Dorie Clark, the author of Stand Out Networking, says, “The fact that technology has made it easier to interact with people across great distances and time zones actually makes face-to-face interaction even more valuable.”
4. Get a Chance to Rejuvenate
Attending a conference can give you a break from your day-to-day life and allow you to relax.
It can be a good selling point if you need to motivate your employees to attend an event. In fact, employees often compete to get a chance to attend a conference. They look at it as a holiday where they get to meet new people, learn new things, and relax.
The benefits of attending HR conferences are clear – you get to know about new things, polish your skills, meet new people, and find your lost energy. But, which conference should you attend to enjoy all these benefits?
How to Select Which HR Conference to Attend?
Not all conferences are created equal. Some can, in fact, be boring, bland, and a waste of scarce resources. When deciding on what conference to attend, it is important to identify which ones offer the most value. Here are some factors to consider that will help you select the HR Conferences that are right for you:
The Agenda: The aim of most conferences is to help you achieve your goals. For example, if you’re having trouble hiring new talent, you should attend a conference that revolves around finding, hiring, and keeping talent.
The Speakers: The speakers should be well established in the field with years of experience. You can easily find such details online so do some research. Moreover, try to pick a conference that includes a Q&A session.
The Expo: Ideally, go for a conference that has an expo floor so you can see and pick a new technology and even enjoy live demonstrations.
What Are the Top HR Conferences?
HR Technology Conference
Winner of Trade Show Executive's Fastest 50 honor, this 22-year old conference is the biggest HR tech conference in the world. The 2018 event was scheduled through the 11th to 14th of September in Los Angeles and had attendees from all levels including CEOs, founders, and executives.
Some of the speakers for the 2018 conference included Adamsen (Founder & Executive Director, Talent Strategy Institute), Derek Belch (CEO, STRIVR), Jeanne Achille (Founder, The Devon Group), and Yessica Cancel (Chief Operating Officer, PACE Center for Girls, Inc.).
The event is known for celebrating women in HR tech and encourages gender equality in all fields. The expo is also quite a success thanks to multiple live demos.
Visit HR Technology's website to learn more about the upcoming HR Technology Conference events.
HR Tech Summit
Scheduled for 18th and 19th June 2019, this is Canada’s largest HR tech conference that is attended by people from all around the world.
While the details for the 2019 event are yet to be announced, based on the success of the 2018 conference, it is safe to say that the 2019 event will be grand.
Some of the names that spoke at the 2018 event include Stacy Donovan Zapar (Founder, Tenfold & The Talent Agency;), Lisa Sterling (Chief People and Culture Officer, Ceridian), Martin Hauck (Head of Talent, Coinsquare), and Ross Sparkman (Head of Strategic Workforce Planning, Facebook).
Go here to book your seat in advance.
Unleash
Promoted as the world’s largest gathering of HR leaders, it is one of the few conferences that travel around the world. It’s scheduled to be held in Amsterdam(23-24 Oct. 2018) London (19-20 March 2019), and Las Vegas (14-15 May 2019).
With over 250+ speakers and 16 stages, the event is a great opportunity to learn more about the industry and get to meet industry leaders.
Additionally, the expo is also expected to be giant – just like previous years – with some major companies scheduled to launch new products. Moreover, Unleash is also a good platform for startups to reach to a large audience.
Some names expected to attend this year’s conference include Esther Perel (Author and Psychotherapist), Matthieu Ricard (Buddhist Monk), Stefan Hyttfors (Author and Futurist), and Brian Humphries (CEO Group Enterprise - Vodafone).
See HRMS World for a complete list of speakers for the 2018 conference.
Additional Tips Regarding HR Conferences
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Try to book your tickets in advance to enjoy some discounts. Most events offer early bird discounts. Moreover, some corporate discounts may also be available.
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Book a kiosk if you wish to promote your services. An HR expo can be a very good opportunity to generate leads.