Newsletter - July 2008
Inside SHRM ’08
July 17, 2008 - Robert Denniston
The 60th Annual Society for Human Resource Management Conference was held at the McCormick Place in Chicago. Many attendees who stopped by the OI Partners booth commented on the size of the convention center and the number of vendors exhibiting this year. With more than 2.7 million square feet of exhibit space, it’s no wonder attendees were impressed with the enormity of the event.
Top of mind was the inspirational message that Sidney Poitier delivered as the general session speaker on Sunday night, June 22. At 82 years old, he spoke about how he grew up as the son of a poor tomato farmer in the Bahamas. Sidney inspired the crowd by describing the milestone events that occurred in his life. This included his film career which encompassed, “In the Heat of the Night,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “Lilies of the Fields.” Many attendees spoke about the impact Poitier had on them individually as well as on our society. A Kennedy Center biography stated, "With his unique career, a career he forged without any precedent or model, Sidney Poitier helped change many stubborn racial attitudes that had persisted in this country for centuries.” Poitier is still making a difference in the world by serving as the Bahamas’ ambassador both to Japan and to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Coaching, leadership development, retention and the war for talent were key topics being discussed by the majority of the attendees. Patrick Lencioni was a speaker that many people enjoyed. A number of attendees had his most recent book, “The Three Signs of a Miserable Job,” which provides insights as to how to retain key talent by addressing specific issues. For example, he talks about irrelevance. Our reliance on technology for communicating and analyzing organizations using ASP and PeopleSoft often leaves individuals feeling isolated. Individuals cannot make the connection between what they do and how it applies to the goals of the organization. Lencioni speaks to the need to take a personal interest in the life of an employee or the result will be an employee who feels anonymous. How do we retain individuals if they feel isolated and not connected to the organization? Another key factor is what Lencioni refers to as “immeasurement,” the inability of individuals to gauge their contribution to the success of the organization.
There was a lot of chatter about the size and creativity of some of the exhibitors’ booths. One of which, Jobing.com, was in excess of 8,800 square feet and had more than 120 staff members. Others served food and beverages or featured celebrity impersonators, karaoke machines or video game consoles.
During the show, SHRM presented the $50,000 Michael R. Losey Human Resource Award to Dr. Herbert G. Heneman III. The Losey award recognizes human resource researchers or professionals whose contributions significantly advance the field of human resource management. The award acknowledges major research accomplishments and aims to help fund and facilitate future individual contributions to the field. Dr. Heneman is a professor emeritus at the University Of Wisconsin School Of Business where his research focuses on staffing, performance management, union membership growth, work motivation and compensation systems. For the past decade he has studied the design and effectiveness of compensation, performance management and strategic human resource systems for teachers and principals in public schools. As SHRM president and CEO Sue Meisinger stated, "There are few more deserving of this award than Dr. Heneman.”
Many attendees stopped by the OI Partners booth and talked to us about some of the issues they are facing in the coming year (see OI Partners Survey Finds HR Professionals Value Coaching, Concerned about Leadership Development). Based on the issues attendees spoke to us about, in my opinion, OI Partners is well positioned to address the needs of organizations in the upcoming years.
Robert Denniston is a senior vice president with SSP-BPI Group, an OI Partners firm. He can be reached at SSP-BPI Group's Racine, WI office at (262) 886-2750 or by e-mail at rdenniston@ssp-bpi.com.