Good morning from the exhibit hall at the SHRM Staffing Management Conference in Las Vegas. The conference started yesterday and I thought those of you who couldn’t attend would be interested in finding out what you’ve missed.
It should be no surprise that attendance is down to about 800 from the record number of 1,200 attendees last year. Given the current state of our economy, I think that is an impressive number. SHRM has done a great job of tailoring their programming to the here and now. They are not glossing over the issues HR professionals face in today’s economy and are providing very realistic information about what the near future holds.
While exhibit hall traffic isn’t what it has been, we had a number of great conversations with attendees yesterday. Many have shared their challenges as they relate to employment background screening. I am encouraged by the depth of knowledge that HR professionals now have about background checks. Only a few years ago, most just considered them an obstacle in their in-boarding process. Not any more.
I also have to give the folks from SHRM props for sending members of their executives teams out there to thank both exhibitors and attendees for coming out to the conference. Their sincerity was obvious and I think it is a nice touch.
This morning, employeescreenIQ President and COO, Jason Morris led a educational session entitled “What Employers Need to Know About Social Networking Sites”. Couldn’t believe how many showed up for a 7am session. And no one left!
Okay, exhibit hall opens in a couple. Gotta go spread the gospel about employeescreenIQ. More to follow.
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