Thursday, June 21, 2007

Where are the HR people at Trade Shows?

Where Does HR Hang Out?
I just returned from the semi-annual International Robot Show sponsored by the Robotics Industries Association which was held in Rosemont, Ill, one exit away from the O'Hare airport. For many years I have attended trade shows and have always found them to be fantastic opportunities for networking and catching up with old friends and contacts while meeting many new contacts and future clients. This was the fist robot show in the past 2 years and so it was particularly well attended and the exhibitors were very pleased with the leads that were generated.

It occurred to me, while walking the booths at the Robot show, that you rarely find exhibiting company's HR people in attendance or working the booths. Here you have a large hall filled with professionals from the heart of the industry. The kind of talent that good companies want to attract and keep. Because the sales and marketing people in the booth focus on selling the product or service adding an effective HR representative to offer a perspective on the culture and the values of the company would be a great move. In addition, how impressive would it be for a company to have in the booth a looping presentation, a soft sell recruiting video on the culture and core values of the company? This approach would help spread positive brand and work culture awareness and will help attract more and ultimately a higher caliber of talent.

Since this bold move is apparently is not on the radar of most companies you'll find me walking the trade show floors, seeking out the best and the brightest, on my client's behalf.

Until next time, Live Long and Prosper!

JC

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