HR Southwest Rocks! Maybe there's an HRmarketer Rock Opera in our future?

If ever there was an HR conference & expo made for me, it's HR Southwest and this year's theme HR Rocks!


Oh yeah. They aren't kidding around. When when of the first things I see on the expo floor are three faux members of Kiss, you know it's going to rock. Also, multiple Guitar Hero and Rock Band games were jamming along with Karaoke, of whom our very own Rita Jackson partook (she has a golden voice for those who don't know).

According to their own plug:

HR SOUTHWEST, the largest regional human resources conference in the United States, offers world-renowned keynote speakers, one of the most extensive schedules of educational sessions, fantastic networking opportunities, fabulous prizes and a first-class venue for exposure to the newest HR products, techniques and services.

Second only to the big annual SHRM show, the HRVendors.com and HRmarketer.com team can attest to that. Everything's just bigger in Texas.

Day one of the expo was crazy busy, with the exception of late afternoon when there were multiple sessions going on.

HR suppliers I spoke with - Halogen, MeritBuilder, CSIdentity, HRsmart, Jobing.com and many more - all concurred that traffic was excellent (@MeritBuilderCEO was in many sessions sending out content tweets like "The it's: #leaders are the question not the answer...Powerful leadership through the Q not the A").

Of course until all the prospects are reviewed, qualified and closed, the final verdict is always out.

Interesting dichotomy with the HR pros expo traffic: many companies are now looking to automate HR systems (acquisition, onboarding, screening, performance management, employee engagement/retention) and execute wellness and other benefits initiatives. That's the good news.

The bad news is that there were just as many HR pros "in transition" - i.e., laid off and out of a job. I recommended Job Angels (@jobangels) to many of them.

I also had the opportunity to meet with Mid-Coast Family Services and we discussed domestic violence awareness. Something that takes a greater toll in a downturn and something I'm very passionate about. For vital workplace violence resources, check out the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence.

Kudos to Jobing.com for co-sponsoring the Hire-A-Veteran Operation JobMatch event last night featuring country singer Mason Douglas. We also went to a great @WaveSpeak After Party sponsored by Jobs2Web and LinkedIn. You just can't beat cool swing jazz drumming before bedtime (for me anyway).

And for those of you keeping score at home, I'm officially a social media junkie; I'm a Twitter Hamster on a frantic tweet wheel.

Rock on. Good luck to all the HR suppliers on day two (come by booth #1308). Maybe there's an HRmarketer Rock Opera in our future? Don't laugh. I just may do it. What a fun marketing campaign that would be...

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn)

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