We’re about to try something new around here. Many observers have described global markets as “flattening”—with the playing field becoming more level for all sorts of commercial actors. Well, the same is true of journalism, which is one reason we value our conferences and summits so much. The collective knowledge of the attendees is positively encyclopedic.
The new technique for accessing that aggregate intelligence is called “crowd sourcing.” And we’re going to undertake a groundbreaking approach to that practice.
At the HRO Today Forum in Las Vegas (May 23-25) our editorial staff will select five HR practitioners from among the attendees. Those five—chosen for their or others’ descriptions of their thought leadership and on-the-ground innovations during the recent past—will be featured on the cover of the June issue of HRO Today Magazine. The issue will then be distributed at the SHRM Conference also in Las Vegas.
In keeping with our theme of the “HR-Powered Enterprise,” we want to select five practitioners from among the attending luminaries who have a great story about how they helped transform some aspect of their business. We want to tell those stories. But these won’t be simple feel-good tales of how an HR department patted its workforce on the head and gave them lollipops.
We want great HR stories of operational excellence that demonstrate how solid business outcomes were produced.
We want to showcase the people who make it happen—and that could be you!
The five cover personalities will be selected from among attendees—not speakers—based on a brief questionnaire that is part of the registration process. The article will feature vignettes from each individual’s accomplishments along with brief profiles and their viewpoints on the future of HR.
The June issue in 2010 also focused on the future of HR and showcased five chief HR officers (CHROs): Sharon Taylor of Prudential, Roger Gaston of Avaya, Dick Whitford of the TSA, (all of whom have keynoted at an HRO Summit at one time), Dennis Zeleny of Sunoco, and John Murabito of Cigna, keynote of the 2011 HRO Today Forum. The chief HR officers have an important perspective from their vantage point, and we will cover that later this year. What we want to cover in this June’s issue is the vantage point of the strategic HR officer who is closer to the execution and the action. What do these executives think of the trajectory of HR as a career in modern business, and how does this vision compare to what we heard last year? Maybe one day one of these five will be back on the cover of HRO Today as a CHRO?
The HRO Today Forum to be held at the Venetian Resort and Casino will feature dozens of speakers and software demos by HR thought leaders and innovative HR software companies. Featuring the HRO Summit, the RPO Summit, the MSP Summit, and the HR Demo Show, the HRO Today Forum is the leading event covering HR services technology and outsourcing.
Most of you already wanted to be part of it. But, for many, the notion of a “user-generated cover story,” will change this year’s forum from a “want to go” to a “have to go.”
Hope to see you there.
