A conference tour from a 'conference whore'.
I asked the newly free Shally Elvis Steckerl what conferences he attends. He said:
Not all conferences are the same. So, if you have a limited budget you have to know where to spend it. And how can you know? Well, of course, he's going to tell you.
1. The ERE Conference
ERE's focus is on the attendees. They want you to learn. So, they offer a number of presentations at any one time. And they shut down the expo to make sure you attend the lectures. [Do they shut down the bars?]
"When I get invited to be a speaker, I get a free conference pass and I always become an attendee as well, meaning someone who is there to learn and share." says the Shally.
The people who attend ERE are the Doers, primarily corporate recruiters (and vendors).
So, they teach you about the tactical, day-to-day activities like pre-employement assessment that front line recruiters are interested in. The speakers are the same tactical kind of guys who are hauled out of the trenches to tell you what they've just done. So, they're not always polished and, sometimes, tend to give more detail than you can readily assimilate.
As you might imagine, ERE is good for networking if you want to hire recruiters. It's also a good place to learn the best hiring practices of other employers. And, for some reason, RPO's (recruiting process outsourcers) like ERE. (Does anyone know why?)
2. The Kennedy Conference
The Kennedy conference is a bit smaller than ERE. And, it's focus is on the vendors. At The Kennedy, vendors are given opportunities to speak whereas at other conferences vendors are typically not invited to be speakers.
Also, in order to get to the main speakers you have to walk through the expo floor which is kept open from start to finish.
The attendees at Kennedy are more buyer-level decision-makers. The speakers are at the level of a VP in Staffing . So, if you are a corporate staffing manager making a decision, you attend this show to see someone who has made that decision as a speaker.
The Kennedy show seems to attract equal amounts of third party recruiters, corporate recruiters and vendors. (Not including the independents and contract recruters). In its last two or three conferences, Kennedy has put a special focus on the healthcare sector.
3. Onrec
The Onrec conference, at present, is worth attending if you have an international interest but not if you are a domestic company. Onrec might, however, have more of a US-orientation in near future.
Shally would like to see how a US company translates its recrutiing strategy to Europe. But, right now, all they tell you is what Europe is doing. Those Old Europeans! I'm sticking with the Liberty Fries. (And so should you!)
5. The HR Technology Conference
The HR Technology Conference is great for evaluating Applicant Tracking Systems. ATS is a big reason people go there. They also focus on pre-employment assessment.
They draw a more professional speaker at a higher or more general HR level. And attendees tend to be management and above, in charge of evaluating purchases of new large scale systems. It's usually held in Chicago.
6. SHRM
SHRM is a general Human Resources conference and does not yet offer much to a recruiter.
7. IQPC Staffing Summit
The IQPC Staffing Conference is only worthwhile if you are local and don't have to travel far or if you have a strong interest in some of the specific topics being covered.
If it's in your city or if you can drive there, go. If you have to fly there, it's doubtful that there will be enough all round content to make the trip worthwhile.
8. HR.com
HR.com is a great conference. It's very interactive and the format favours group activity as you are put into a focus group and experience the conference with the members of the group and your leader.
It's more about HR than recruiting. There are lots of Directors and VPs in attendance. The topics of the keynote speakers are very general whereas at ERE and Kennedy the topics are very specialized.
You might, for instance, see a CEO or an economist talking about global talent. It's very high level for everything HR under the sun.
Which is the best party conference? Shallworth refused comment. "I don't speak and tell," he said.
Picture: Carmen Electra, leader of the original Pussycat Dolls,
ex-house band at the Viper Club, LA
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