Attending SHRM 2011 and Wishing I Could Be Cloned

I’m at the 63rd annual conference for the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) in Las Vegas, where I’m learning not only the ins and outs of HR, but the need for cloning. There’s so much I want to hear about — technology and HR, the latest on employee benefit issues such as health care reform and wellness programs, globalization, and emerging HR trends, and more. But there is only one me, and alas, human cloning is still the stuff of science fiction. So since it is physically impossible for me to be in more than one concurrent session at a time, I have to rely on a flexible itinerary, comfortable shoes and a fast walking pace. (The latter two items also help when walking the immense exhibit hall, where it seems like every other exhibitor is having drawings to give away an iPad 2. Thompson Publishing Group is being unique and is giving away a $500 gift certificate for Coach — we are in Booth 1468 and Tuesday is the last exhibit day, so if you are at SHRM, please stop by!)

I also have to rely on some quick impressions, and here are two of them. Impression number one: The issue of technology and HR is big this year, and that’s not just evident in the number of sessions on that topic, but in how well attended those sessions appear to be…at least two sessions I was able to attend (no cloning yet, remember?) were standing room only. And it’s not just talk about the role of “social media” but also how cloud computing, “crowdsourcing” and internal “Wikis” will shape the HR department of the future.

Impression number two: Globalization is also big. SHRM Board Chair Jose Berrios made a profound statement during the June 27 general session: In a recent survey, 75 percent of companies expect to compete in the global market, and separately, 85 percent of consumers are now outside of the United States; so HR has to meet the workforce challenges that will result from such a shift in the marketplace. For example, during lunch, I and a Thompson marketer talked with three HR professionals — two of which worked for companies that were recently acquired by Japanese interests. As they explained, that’s not just a business transaction, but a corporate culture transition. (For example, their executives tend to revolve and never stay more than about five years. And unlike what you see now in the United States, many Japanese executives tend to stay with the same company their entire career.) Hmm, so now I know why several sessions at SHRM are devoted to global talent and cross cultural issues. Glad I have a flexible itinerary — I’ll be making some adjustments and checking at least one of those sessions out on Wednesday. That’s when I’ll provide more details on Tuesday’s impressions, plus add any new insights I discover on the last full day of the SHRM conference.