Well, punk rockers, I have exciting news!
- I have been issued a bukkit of press credentials from SHRM and I will be live-blogging from the SHRM annual conference in Chicago.
While I won’t be affiliated with SHRM, I will have full access to the conference and events. That sounds great — until I think about what I want to cover during my visit to Chicago. We all know that SHRM takes a rap in our community, and I’m afraid that blogging about the convention and the speakers will drive traffic away from my website.
There’s nothing less punk rock than blogging about HR…
…until I start blogging about a bunch of self-congratulatory HR practitioners spending time with one another in a big conventional hall.
I can hear the crickets already.
So let me ask you guys a couple of questions:
- If you’re not attending the SHRM convention, what do you want to read about?
- If you are attending the convention, what behind-the-scenes stuff do you want to know about?
- If I am able to meet Lionel Richie or Sidney Poitier, what questions should I ask?
The comments are open — and I need your help.
(By the way, I have one more question: what the hell should I wear?)
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Make a game out of it…
1) Holy Ribbons Batman- find those dorky HR folks who add all of their HR certification ribbons to their badge (take a pic for us).
2) Fresh Ink- How many pens can you collect from the exhibit hall booths?
3) Drink up Buttercup!- Each time you hear HR, employee, development, or selection- take a drink.
4) Punk Rock Audience- When everyone claps at the end of a speech, loudly boo, then hand the speaker your business card and tell him you can help.
5) Shock and Awe- go to booths and see how quickly you can make their jaw drop. i.e. when a company is pushing diversity training, tell them diversity is overrated and you’ve been looking into cloning yourself.
6) Breakin the Law- just for fun, take off your badge and see how far you can get before “security” stops you.
7) Free Ride- Take the SHRM shuttle bus, but don’t get off…just ride and eavesdrop for the day.
Enjoy!!!!
PS – There’s a SHRM bus? Maybe I ought to read all that stuff they sent me, eh?
Oh poooo. Where is my invite? I guess maybe SHRM isn’t happy with me right now.
Cool for you tho!
I just want to know what the demographics are like for the attendees- age, race, gender, waste size. Yes, waste size… Actually, that’s the only demographic I care about. Oh, and I’d like to know how many people you are rocking their PHR or SPHR lapel pins.
Have fun! Looking forward to you blogging from there.
I’ve never been to a SHRM conference, being a mere HR newbie and having joined just a few months ago (I’ve already learned to study the toolkits and white papers, snicker at the flame-ridden forums, and toss the mag right into the recycling bin). Anything you write about from the conference will be read with wide-eyed amazement and enthusiasm.
At least the first couple entries will be. After that, it will remind me of computer conferences I’ve attended, and I’ll just be interested in gossip, freebies, and play-by-play broadcasts of any drunken luggage cart races through the Hyatt corridors.
All I want to know is how many navy blazers you see on conference goers. I have money on this. Start counting.
There are so many drinking games at this conference… a friend and I actually played it at the DC Conference a couple of years ago. We sat at one of those ginormous booths where they’re trying to sell you their super-terrific product to make you a better HR professional. We drank every time we heard the phrase “HR needs to get a seat at the table” and how that product was going to make HR more “strategic.”
We were toasted before we got our free stuff for having to sit through the presentation.
(not that it wasn’t totally worth it)
Ooohhh – you could also go up to those BIG booths by Monster, ADP, Yahoo, etc. and ask a Salesperson – “So, what do you guys do?”
Jensmack….PHENOMENAL!!!! I’m so doing that!!!
Name badge tags aside (how many new ones are out now?) my next area of interest is “what to do and see in Chicago, after the conference.” SHRM does take a hit more than every now and then (!) and the one conference I was at did have some pretty great speakers – seek them out and tell us about them. Have a great time!
In terms of what you should wear, since you’re not looking for a new job or repping some company, why not announce yourself as Punk Rock HR Chica? I bet lots of closeted navy blazer people sport piercing holes and hidden tattoos, they’d love to meet an HR rebel like you. Get a t-shirt made or something. At least carry business cards with your new site on them.
I’d like to learn if anyone said something truly amazing, blew you away with a new model or insight, or in any way alluded to the fact that SHRM is useless at best. I also think you should crash any and all parties and receptions, especially the SHRM-sponsored ones, and see how many stuffed shirts you can irritate before getting kicked out.
Who knows, maybe by the end of the conference you’ll have met a New Model Army of thoughtful, honest HR pros. Then we can start our own association and have conferences that matter.
What’s with all the hatred for SHRM? I actually think they have done a lot of positive things for our profession. Are they perfect? No way. Do they need to rethink their strategy? Sure. But I don’t think you can classified the whole organization as worthless when in fact they have made huge contributions to both aligning and legitimizing our profession over the past 60 years. Go ahead and call me a SHRM homer. I am cool with it.
Okay, dudes, I’m not drinking during the day but I will probably count the number of navy blazers I see and I will keep track of the buzzwords. I also want to track down old skool HR peeps who don’t know what a blog is — and then get their reaction to what I do.
If I meet Sidney Poitier, I’m going to ask him, “Have you ever actually dealt with a Human Resources professional?” Because I’ve got five bucks that says he’s never had a ‘use’ for members of our profession.
If I meet Lionel Richie, I might ask him to give me an example of a time when he failed at something. Then I’ll ask him if he learned any lessons. (If he says PARENTHOOD, I’ll give him credit for being totes honest.)
Another question for these non-HR speakers: how much are you getting paid? It’s HR and I’ll keep your salary information confidential.
I’m not bringing business cards to further my strategy of being totally inaccessible to most people. If you need to know me, you’ll know me. If you need to find me, you’ll find me. I’m a punk rock HR blogger, not a car salesman.
Take the Verified Person shuttle bus. Free booze. You can meet Erik Estrada. It beats waiting for the SHRM shuttle.
HOLY CRAP ERIK ESTRADA????
Yes, Ponch himself. It’s a huge, green bus. If you want a ride, call 901-237-2881 and talk to Camille. Or you can look for it outside the convention center. The shuttle runs from 10 to 10 today and Estrada will be on board from 4 to 8. You should check it out.