Late last year, I became a member of SHRM and completed the GPHR certification course and exam. Therefore, the conference promised not only the chance to gain some of my required recertification credits but to also expand upon my recently acquired knowledge and skills base and learn from some top innovators in the industry. I jumped at the opportunity to attend, and registered months in advance.
I was joined by more than 20 fellow HR professionals from the Cayman Islands, and over 1,100 fellow international attendees. As delegates from outside the United States, we were given access to the Global Networking Lounge, where I had the chance to catch up with other delegates from Cayman as well as make new connections with people from all over the world.
Being a fairly young newcomer to the industry and having never attended a conference of this magnitude before, it was a bit overwhelming at first. I had to choose from over 200 sessions and navigate my way through a massive convention centre in the city on my own. However, I am a pretty meticulous planner by nature so I created an itinerary for myself, outlining my first and second choice sessions for each time slot so that I knew what I wanted to attend and had a backup plan if my first choice was full or cancelled. This helped tremendously to keep me on track throughout the 4 conference days.
Everything was prepared and organized brilliantly by SHRM, from the daily newsletters, online discussion boards and the on-site logistics. They even created a mobile App so that you could easily track your sessions, create calendar reminders, view speaker bios and take notes during the session, all at your fingertips. While the conference was a bit exhausting at times, the tremendous amount of energy and evening entertainment kept everyone going.
One of the most impressive parts of the conference was the speaker line up. I heard Hillary Clinton describe the adversities she faced while pushing the frontiers of human rights, heard Blake Mycoskie describe how his passion for helping others has lead him to create a successful business and how it wasn’t always easy, and I heard how Gabby Giffords fought for her life while always remaining optimistic. This is only a snippet of the inspirational speeches that we were so privileged to receive.
In addition to these motivating speakers, I was also able to attend some forward-thinking and very engaging seminars. Topics such as “Strategic Insights & Practical Guidelines for Boosting Performance and Retention,” “A Global Perspective on Recruiting and Retaining the Multi-Gen Workforce,” “Talent Acquisition Strategies in Times of Unprecedented Change,” “The Science of a Good Hire,” “Beyond Behavioural Interviewing,” and “Getting Comfortable with Uncomfortable Conversations: 7 Steps for High-Impact Communication” were just some of the sessions I attended, and I learned practical techniques from people who have worked first-hand in the field.
Throughout the conference, I gained many pearls of wisdom that I believe will help me to be a bolder, stronger and better HR professional and will greatly benefit my organization and the industry as a whole in the Cayman Islands. I would like to share some of these pearls with you:
“Take criticism seriously, but never personally.” – Hillary Clinton
“How good you are at the beginning of something is not an indicator of how well you will do in the long run.” – Mark Kelly
“Even if you don’t reach all of your goals, focus on the journey which is often much more meaningful.” – Mark Kelly
“Bosses fail when they forget to take their employees’ perspectives.” – Dan Pink
“Context drives behaviour more than we realize.” – Dan Pink
“It’s not the strongest or most intelligent person that survives, but the one that can respond to change.” – Darwin (reflected upon in a session led by George Fleming).
“Purpose is what drives you, passion is what fuels you, and pride is what defines you.” – Steve Gilliland
The SHRM Annual Conference introduced me to new ways of thinking and provided me with skills for managing people in today’s environment, and I look forward to putting this new-found knowledge to practice in the workplace.
By Michelle Gibbon, Staffing Coordinator, SteppingStones Recruitment
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