Full Circle Moment
SHRM24… that’s a wrap! 😊 Smiling so much as I type this. What a fun few days of learning and connecting with 26,000 HR friends in Chicago.
In 2018, I attended my first SHRM annual conference in Chicago. The environment was electric and I LOVED every second. I knew this was the start of an incredible chapter for me. I attended the amazing Jennifer McClure’s personal branding session at SHRM18, looking up to her and thinking to myself, I want to be on that stage one day. (As part of my work on the SHRM blogger team, I also got to interview Jennifer about her session at SHRM18!)
Over the past 6 years I’ve attended SHRM annual every year, written for the SHRM blog by interviewing speakers and vendors, spoke on a panel, joined SHRM staff to present conference orientation, delivered 2 virtual sessions for the student track, and this year at SHRM24, back in Chicago, did my first spotlight stage and concurrent session. What a full circle moment for me. I’m so proud of myself and just like attending that first conference in 2018, I’m yet again feeling like this conference starts my next big chapter. More cool opportunities to teach, train and help are coming my way – I can FEEL it. And this is WHY I elevate and uplift the next generation of HR leaders, and love to help others (especially emerging HR pros!) with personal branding because being helpful, competent, positive, and consistently working hard can bring you your dream opportunities. Good things can take time, but the journey is really what has been the most fun, enlightening and rewarding.
Start today! If you need help advancing your career and building your personal brand, send me a message. I’d love to set up a coaching call with you! 😊
Thank you to all of the SHRM staff (you know who you are!) who have gotten to know me and have given me opportunities over these past 6 years! Thank you to everyone who attends my sessions and fills out the feedback form so I can keep growing and doing what I love. And thank you to all my SHRM friends and my besties Jeff Palkowski and Paul LaLonde who have been the biggest supporters and sit front row to engage with me and get photos. I’m so grateful.
Conference Highlights
Attending Jennifer McClure’s session: From Traditional to Transformational. Disrupting HR to Thrive in the New Era of Work. I took so many notes that inspired me to bring transformational HR back to my workplace. A few key take-a-ways:
- HR is the key – the way we attract, engage and retain talent is what drives innovation and business results
- Top 3 priorities for global CEOs – attract and retain workers, development leadership and workforce capabilities, strengthen organizational culture (Source – the Conference Board)
- Mine your workforce for skills and interests that you can utilize in the org / develop in people for future roles in the company. Technology and skills needed for the future are changing. Unleash human potential in your org. You already have it! Your people know the culture and business. Develop, reskill/upskill and retain them.
- HR’s role in moving from enforcing policies to igniting a purpose driven culture. Employees need to understand and feel connected to the purpose. Telling customer stories is a great way to create that connection.
- HR is there to listen and help the business achieve its’ goals. Meet with your leadership. What are 3 things that are making it difficult for you to achieve your goals this year? What would move the needle? It’s likely a people related thing. That’s what we are here to help with!
The HR Summer School Happy Hour! Sponsored by iSolved. It was great meeting George Rogers in person, mingling with HR peers, and seeing my friend Merary for the first time in person! Merary and I worked together at the same organization over 10 years ago. I was located in the Buffalo office, and she was located at the NJ facility before relocating to a company facility in TX. We had always spoken over the phone or via email, but until last week I had never met her in person. I love that SHRM conferences bring together HR professionals and friends from all across the globe. I highly recommend getting connected with HR Summer School and joining each summer! Tons of learning, networking, and SHRM/HRCI recertification credits. All for free!
The BFF Birthday Party at House of Blues! It was so much fun to celebrate Jennifer McClure’s birthday with tons of HR friends at the House of Blues Monday evening. Tessa, Shenise, Tracie, Cheri, John, Kyra, Steve… too many friends to name. A great opportunity to catch up with friends and it warmed my heart having us all together in the same place to celebrate.
My 2 speaking sessions! On Tuesday at 8 AM I kicked off the spotlight stage with my topic “Elevate and Uplift the Next Generation of HR Leaders” where I talk about establishing and gaining credibility, moving up at work, and learning/professional development. I have learned so much along the way in my career and love to share my learnings, stories and tips with the next generation of HR leaders to help them get ahead!
Next, at 11 AM, I presented my session “Building Your Personal Brand – Why Starting Now is Important to Your Future Career!” where I teach about what a personal brand is, and then how to develop, build and showcase it in a way that feels good and authentic to you. Showcasing and communicating who you are on and off line can help you attract your dream opportunities. The session was FULL! The door was closed and full session sign put up. I had such a blast and we all shared some good laughs during the session. A line of thoughtful folks with feedback and questions met me outside the room afterwards which really filled my cup! I’m so grateful to share a topic I love and am so passionate about with hundreds of HR pros.
A funny story about my blazer
I got a ton of compliments on my blazer, which always makes me chuckle given the back story. It’s a navy blue blazer, with a busy pattern of pink and green flowers. It’s now officially my SHRM conference blazer. Here’s the funny story. In September of 2022, I was speaking at NYS SHRM at Turningstone Casino. I was driving there from my home in Buffalo, NY, about 3 hours away. I made my packing list in my phone which I always do before a trip (I have a folder of packing lists from everywhere I’ve been in my phone) and hung my blazer on the back of my front door so I wouldn’t forget it as I left. Well, turns out I left for the trip without grabbing my blazer on the back of the door lol. About an hour into the drive I realized I didn’t have my blazer. I thought to myself, well, I can’t go back to get it because I don’t have 2 extra hours in my day to drive, and I don’t want to present in just my t shirt. So I pulled over and looked at the map on my phone to see if there was any store near by. There was a Kohl’s about 15 minutes away in Rochester so I re-routed there. Once I got inside Kohl’s, there were very limited blazer options. I looked for Lauren Conrad’s line because I’ve bought her blazers at Kohl’s before. I found the navy and floral one and they only had 1 small left! It wasn’t something I would likely pick out if I was shopping for a blazer, but given the situation, it was perfect. I happily hopped back in the car and went on my way to Turningstone. I’ve now spoken at NYS SHRM 22, NYS SHRM 23, SHRM Talent and SHRM annual wearing this blazer. I feel like it’s a statement piece and makes it easy to find me in the convention center, so I’m going to keep rocking it!
Wrap-up
Special shoutout to my friend Josh Rock who always lets me tag along on the expo hall floor as he’s meeting with vendors. I ended the trip having dinner with my friend Paul at Monarch & Lion, and it was DELICIOUS. We ordered scotch eggs, deviled eggs, bangers and mash, and chicken pot pie. It was great to wind down with one of my best friends and catch up on life, before getting a great night sleep and heading back to Buffalo on Wednesday morning.
If you joined us in Chicago, I hope you had an amazing conference! Continue to hold yourself accountable and implement the learnings and take-a-ways from the conference. If you weren’t able to join us, I hope to see you next year at SHRM25 in San Diego! Thank you for joining me here on the blog, and I’ll see you next time!
Claire is Coaching 