Farewell, #SHRM13: You Were Like a Movie of a Concert

A poignant scene in cinematic history concludes 1970’s Woodstock, the part documentary, part concert film chronicling the storied Woodstock Festival, which left its mark on civilization the previous year. A bluesy number that famed guitarist Jimi Hendrix performed during his, the final muscial set of Woodstock, plays over the audio as the camera trains on stragglers who had yet to leave the festival, observes staff and volunteers cleaning up the premises, and follows several hippie couples as they scavenged the waste and navigated their way off Max Yasgur's farm and back to regular life.

Leaving #SHRM13 yesterday was kind of like being in the final scene of the film Woodstock. ...

#SHRM13 was another world. Human resource professionals who’d traveled to Chicago from domestic destinations as far as Anchorage, Alaska, and from myriad points international left the tedium of their day-to-day lives for three-plus days of camaraderie and cheer. SHRM leadership and keynote speakers of the highest order spoke of a future that is bright, and a can-do attitude permeated the educational sessions and parties, too. The sea of people stretched as far as you could see, everywhere. There was even a concert, performed by Kelly Clarkson.

And then #SHRM13 drew to a close. With a flight leaving Chicago later than those most of my peers had booked, I was a straggler and watched the clean-up crew for a while. SHRM’s attendees left the premises far, far cleaner than Woodstock’s did, but I still heard the music in my head. I marveled that, just hours earlier, the sea of HR covered Chicago. SHRM’s spirit surely accompanied HR professionals as they returned to the day-to-day realities of managing human capital. Surely they were already looking forward to next year’s SHRM Conference & Expo. I know that I am.

Exciting News: I Have Joined CeridianHCM as Marketing Manager

I am thrilled to announce I am joining CeridianHCM as marketing manager working full-time on the division’s full range of products, with special emphasis on the SaaS application, DayforceHCM. As a business writer covering human capital management, I have had many wide-ranging discussions with some of this marketplace’s finest innovators and disruptors. These conversations have led me to conclude that Ceridian Corporation, through its acquisition last year of Dayforce, is poised to change HCM technology irreversibly and for the better.

It has been a pleasure, as a researcher, business journalist and blogger, to observe and cover human resource technology from the perch of impartiality. Most know me for my work these past couple of years as tech editor for HRO Today and as co-founder and lead co-host of #HRTechChat. My experience in this market space dates back, in fact, to 2006, when I joined Kennedy Information to write for Executive Recruiter News and conduct research into the executive search profession and talent management technology. That focus, on technology, sharpened as I became editor in chief of TalentManagementTech, a website launched by Tarsus Group plc and later acquired by the publishers of HRO Today.

In aggregate, my experience has been the precursor preparing me to join CeridianHCM. I look forward to being a part of the team as the company delivers DayforceHCM, technology that does what HR departments and the organizations they serve have long needed.

#HRTechChat Breaks Top 15 #HR Hash Tags for 2012!

Thank you, Cezanne OnDemand (@CezanneOnDemand), for creating this infographic, which shows #HRTechChat among the top 15 Twitter hash tags in all of HR for 2012. We couldn't have done it without all our faithful tweeters. Again, thank you.

UK HR Twitter Trends 2012 from Cezanne OnDemand - HR Software for SMEs

#HRTechChat Episode Forty-One Slideshow Rewind

Last week Yvette Cameron, (@YvetteCameron), vice president and principal analyst at Constellation Research, Inc. (@ConstellationRG), was guest moderator as we discussed From Workforce to Raceforce. A slideshow of our many tweets appears below. Feel free to scroll through, and don't forget to attend #HRTechChat Episode Forty-Two at 2pm ET / 11am today (Friday, Dec. 7). This week's guest moderator is Kathy Herndon, GPHR (@kathyherndon), who is not only a senior systems analyst and HRIS and privacy compliance manager at Kimball International, but also a member of the Society of Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) HR Technology Expertise Panel. Our topic is figuring out how to raise HR's interest in HR technology. Here's the preview: Hey, Guys, Over Here!

#HRTechChat Episode Thirty-Six Slideshow Rewind

Last Friday we trained the heat of a hundred-plus #HRTechChat tweeters laser-strong on the ins and outs of Workday's sensational IPO. Did you miss the discussion? Then you really need to check out the #HRTechChat Episode Thirty-Six Slideshow Rewind below. And please consider joining us again, or for the first time, today, Friday, Oct. 26, to discuss "The Sizzle & the Steak in HR Tech." The questions kick off at 2pm ET / 11am PT!

#HRTechChat Episode Thirty-Five Slideshow Rewind

Last week we tweeted with guest host ADP for #HRTechChat Episode Thirty-Five. Robert Mattson (@RMattsonADP), director of marketing for ADP’s Talent Management division, led the charge as his colleagues and the rest of us unearthed a bevy of insights big and small. Our topic was a look into the competitive advantages that Big Data promises for HR leaders who can sort through and interpret it. Check out the recap, "Big Data Better Have a Big Heart," and, to see the many, many tweets, scroll through the #HRTechChat Episode Thirty-Five Slideshow Rewind below. In the meantime, please join us for #HRTechChat Episode Thirty-Six, "Workday's Earthquake of an IPO." That would be today, Friday, Oct. 19, at 2pm ET / 11am PT. We look forward to your tweets.

#HRTechChat Episode Thirty-Four Slideshow Rewind

Last week's #HRTechChat was all semantics. "What's the Difference?," we asked, and you answered with a torrent of tweets about the unnecessary vs. inescapable meanings of workforce management vs. talent management and technologies for each and both. Are your tweets in the #HRTechChat Episode Thirty-Four Slideshow Rewind? Click on that link, to see, or on the image below.

In the meantime, please join us today, Friday, Oct. 12, at 2pm ET / 11am PT for #HRTechChat Episode Thirty-Five: "Big, Bigger, Biggest #HRTech Data." ADP is our guest host to chat all about the promise Big Data holds for leaders in human resources. Guiding our discussion will be Robert Mattson (@RMattsonADP), director of marketing for ADP’s Talent Management division, and several members of his team. Consider joining us.