SHRM Conference

I have been planning to go to the SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) conference for 6 months. My amazing friend Karen, graciously financially supported me so I could go to the conference. And not only did she give me money, but she was my sounding board as I dealt with some unforeseen drama that hurt deeper than I ever thought it would and probably because of hurt, the hurt has caused me to really think about somethings in my life. Yes, this is cryptic, but that's okay with me. 

Back to the awesome SHRM conference!

The conference started on Sunday at 11am. Thankfully during the weekend metro is not as busy and I am able to drive to a closer metro station (Fort Totten) and then I was able to take the yellow/green line to Mount Vernon square (yay for an easy 10 minute commute). I knew this conference was going to be awesome when I got on a new train!

I have never been to the convention center, it is huge (2 buildings, 4 floors and 3 floors at the hotel next door)!!

Official conference goer! Notice the mistake on my badge? I favor the mistake.

On Sunday I attend the conference orientation and then went to my first session - The 11 Facts of Life for an HR Professional.

After my first session I went to the open ceremonies - featuring Alan Mulally and Mike Rowe. Alan Mulally is the former CEO of Boeing (during 9/11) and Ford (during the recession, when Ford did not take the government bailout). Mr. Mulally is truly an inspirational leader! Next was Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs. I personally haven't seen Dirty Jobs, however Mr. Rowe brings up some interesting facts about the skills gap and our unemployment rates.

At 4pm they opened the expo. I remember doing college career fairs when I was at my first grown-up job, and this was nothing like those career fairs! This expo has around 650 vendors!

Swag from my first day, including 2 gift cards!

Monday started bright and early as I got to the conference around 6:20am (that is not a typo, which meant that I left my house around 5:45am, which meant that I got up at 5am - yes this is still the non morning Mere here). On Monday my first session was at 7am - The Human Side of Ethics: Has your Company Bridged the Gap Between Human Values and Ethics? Next was the keynote session with Amy Cuddy  - Presences: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges. So inspirational! Amy also does a wonderful TED talk if you have 20 minutes - listen to it!.

After the keynote session I attend my 3rd session of the day, titled, You're Not the Boss of Me: Part 2 1/2 - this was about employee behavior inside and outside the workplace. During lunch a coworker and I went to lunch, coffee and then we walked around the expo.

My first afternoon session was a hilarious employment law session (I love employment law!) - Dear Helga Returns (AGAIN) with NEW and More Complicated HR Problems! And my last session of the day was my only not so good session - I-9s and E-Verify - New Compliance Challenges. 

I was home by 6pm and exhausted! Not as much swag as the first day, but still got some stuff, one of which I will use as a gag gift for a friend at Christmas.

Day 3, Tuesday, started just like Monday did. I got to the conference center around 6:20am and my first session was at 7am - The Top 10 Employment Cases of 2016 (have I mentioned how much I love employment law)! Next was the keynote session. This time it was a politic one with Tucker Carlson from Fox News and Paul Begala from CNN. You would think, politics in DC - cliche, and that is what I thought, but it was really good. While they both have drastically different views, they can still be friendly! Imagine that, be politic and still friendly. Take note - it is possible!

After the keynote session, I went to my next session - Follow Me, How to Grow Yourself and Your People  by Steve Gilliland (I need to look up his books!). During lunch I ate quickly and then walked around the expo for one last time. My afternoon sessions were How to Master Progressive Discipline and Structure Termination (I work in employee relations people!) and Working with Humans: Behavior Science Insights with HR.

Little swag from the expo.

All my swag - love it!

Wednesday, the last day of the conference :( I so have enjoyed myself! On Wednesday the conference started later - 8:30am and it started with the keynote session - Sal Khan from Khan academy - what Sal Khan does is amazing - free education for everyone - we need more people like this in our world.

My only 2 sessions of the day were Fight. More. Better. Doing Conflict Well. This is so something I truly need to work on. I don't like conflict and I do everything in my power to avoid it - which really makes me passive aggressive.

My last session of the day was another employee relations topic - He Said/She Said: Six Steps to an Effective and Legally Compliant Workplace Investigation. 

The conference ended at 12:45am and it was back to work I went. 

I am so very thankful that I went to the SHRM conference. I have always thought these were overpriced conferences (and they are expensive), and while I did get 14 hours of continuing educational credits, the experience was something I will always cherish and remember. This conference reminded me of why I love HR and why I am in HR and why I am me.