The Only Thing that Happens in Vegas AND Stays in Vegas - SHRM19
As I write this, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is having their annual convention, SHRM19, in Las Vegas. Many of my professional acquaintances and social media friends are attending this convention which touts speakers such as Martha Stewart and the current hot dish for middle aged women, Brene Brown. My LinkedIn and Twitter newsfeeds are cluttered with #SHRM19 posts, live tweets of presentations and selfies of attendees.
HR conventions are big business, and understandably so. Who doesn’t love a convention? A break away from the daily grind that includes the chance to grab swag, share war stories and learn about new technology. Professional friendships are formed and opportunities are shared, all under the guise of a great excuse for being out of the office.
So what’s my beef with SHRM19 and other HR conventions? Well, I’ll tell you. The ideas and concepts discussed there are the only things to happen in Vegas that actually stay in Vegas.
What do I mean by this? While there are some great ideas, and many more bad ones, brewing at SHRM19, the odds of getting those implemented are lower than hitting a 00 bet in roulette. Basically, HR has nominal influence in organizations and most HR professionals, myself included, struggle to communicate the ROI of employee centric initiatives. Those who have decision making power generally have profit margins in mind, not employee satisfaction.
HR is by nature in a tough spot—beholden to the person signing your paycheck with a stated objective of protecting employees. Nearly all executives think of HR as compliance at best, admins at worst. To make matters worse, many HR “pros” focus so much attention in their HR silos they fail to learn the business or industry well enough to be able to contribute effectively.
Even with the best of intentions, it can be intimidating to get a point across during the rare occasion HR is invited to the table. As I discussed a couple weeks ago, I’m a huge proponent of hourly workers’ rights, but I struggled to convey that message to company leaders in order to improve policies and conditions. I suspect a lot of HR professionals suffer from the same desire to fit in and continue to be included in decision making that I fell prey to.
What good comes from having groups of HR people get together to discuss #FutureOfWork when the current landscape is dismal at best—only 14% of leaders say they’ve done succession planning well, the cost of a bad hire can be upwards of $240,000, only 12% of employees think their organizations do a great job of onboarding and the biggie of 85% of employees are not engaged with their work. Until true decision makers are exploring these issues and willing to make changes, HR folks will continue to spin their wheels.
I suppose there is intrinsic value in meeting as a group of professionals, but I’m certain the impact that is made from learning about AI in HR are minimal when the overwhelming majority of the attendees have no real power to implement changes when they get back to the ranch. The real work that needs to be done is pushing HR professionals to stand firm for employees and teaching them how to back up employee-centric initiatives with data that proves the business case for implementing. Feel good, woo-woo arguments haven’t worked for decades and they never will.
While I’m on my HR sabbatical, I’m doing soul searching and planning what the next steps in my career look like. If I do go back to the business world, I will push for results and stand my ground because I will owe it to those I represent as well as myself. In the meantime, I hope my HR pals are getting a much-deserved break and having fun commiserating, but also figure out how to advance the most important causes facing our labor force. Viva Las Vegas!
