Reporting from SHRM 2011

Posted by: Joel Capperella

Yesterday I spent the majority of my time at SHRM taking a deeper look at the ecosystem of products and services that addresses the needs of the HR community that cares about how workforce strategies are developed and executed. From that, I can report that there are far more technologies and services that are somewhat new this year compared to last.

This is nuanced, to be sure. Some of what’s new is presented as realigned service offerings or repositioned focus for those that have been in the ecosystem for some time. What is different, however, is that the approach is clearly aligned to do two things:

1. Increase the development of talent communities overall.
2. Deliver innovation that focuses squarely on the impact that talent has on the overall business objectives of a company.

Generally, that is good news. The not-as-good news, however, is that it is becoming a rather noisy space. This noise can make it difficult for an organization to easily prioritize the technologies and services that will help them execute their workforce strategies. It is an issue similar to what many firms face when crafting a social media strategy — so many tools, but limited information to help discern how best to use them.

But once you eliminate the confusion, properly-leveraged technologies and services inevitably lead to a deeper and more valuable talent community from which to quickly and easily source talent, creating a solid foundation to ensure that the strategic goals of the company can be met.

After taking this deep dive into the products and services that are being presented here in Las Vegas, I decided to interview some of the providers to get their input on the factors that should be considered to maximize the impact and value of these products and services to the overall workforce. Be on the lookout for these interviews, which we’ll be posting throughout the week. In them, you will find some great perspective that should help to make sense of all the options and in turn, help guide prioritization and decision making.

What will the impact of the great recession be on the workforce?