HR Technology Conference Recap

The HR Technology Conference in Chicago earlier this month was well worthwhile on several levels. Simply having the opportunity to meet face-to-face with a variety of colleagues and potential customers, and being able to attend information-rich sessions that aren’t available any place else, is invaluable. To make sure we didn’t miss anything, Marketing Innovators had a team of people at the conference. For example, Margie Nanninga, our solutions specialist, attended sessions to gather good information on what professionals at this conference are interested in and concerned about, and to learn how we can improve what we do to support professionals in this field.

Here are some nuggets Margie picked up:

• Cloud-based software has huge advantages. A speaker at the Thursday morning keynote told the audience: “….benefits of having software in the cloud include reduced costs, free upgrades, improved service levels due to these frequent upgrades and free or reduced price training programs.”
• Social recognition and social media aren’t just for Millennials. One speaker shared that the biggest contributors to their social recognition platform are between the ages of 46 and 60.
• The key to successful use of social technology in the workplace is asking people what they want to share with others, not what they want to learn.
• One idea for bringing employees closer on a personal level was building social platforms around groups based on interests outside of work. One example given was of a new entry-level employee who could get a chance to interact with the CEO if they both joined the group for NASCAR fans. This type of connection can be very engaging for an employee who otherwise might not get a chance to communicate with upper management.

As a company, we were especially thrilled to see the spotlight shine on cloud-based technology, and we had numerous opportunities to give demos of our own solution, PPM Suite Express. Because it is cloud-based, PPM Suite Express installs quickly and is easy to administer. It also incorporates social recognition—the other hot topic at this year’s HR Technology Conference—and even allows participants to build their own groups.

We met with some HR and IT professionals who were interested in moving management of their global recognition programs from spreadsheets to a solution that would make administration easier and provide better and more consistent award delivery. We also visited with people who represented associations or member-based groups that were searching for an online solution to communicate and engage all members. In all cases, we are able to help them in a cost-effective way.

At MI we are committed to staying on top of trends in our clients’ areas of expertise so the solutions we bring to the table help them with real issues they face. We appreciate not only the chance to exhibit and meet new customers but an opportunity to be a full conference participant and learn. How do you approach an event like HR Tech? How does being there help you in your business? We’d love to hear from you, so give us a call at 1-800-543-7373!