Top 2012 SHRM Annual Conference Sessions

We’re cutting through the crap and getting to the meat of the matter when it comes to SHRM 2012 Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA next week. We’ve chosen our Top Ten sexiest sessions you really shouldn’t miss. There are so many great concurrent sessions it was difficult to choose our favs. It’ll be difficult to go to them all so be warned you may be room hopping. Pick and choose wisely, young grasshoppers. Just be sure to sit in the back so you don’t look like the jerk leaving or arriving in the middle of a presentation.

•  Why Online Social Games Are So Effective at Improving Employee Wellness and Engagement by Adam Bosworth from 4-5:15 PM Tuesday. He’s discussing how online games can help motivate employees to exercise more and eat better thru rewards and team interaction. Dang it! Guess I should put away the Lara Croft costume I had planned. (More information)

•   It Takes Four to Tango. The Monday 2-3:15 PM session teaches improved communication, successfully dealing with unexpected change and implementing strategies for diversity training and employee orientation.  I love to dance but I have two left feet.   Good thing Candace Elaine Whirley of SBG Services explains a simple 1-2-3 waltz through obstacles in a changing ballroom of work. Hope I don’t step on any toes.

•  Workplace Privacy: Whose Business is it Anyway?!  Your personal relationships to the use of medical marijuana are up for grabs as states adopt lifestyle legislation. 7:00 AM Monday is early but you’re still up from last night changing all the privacy settings on your social media.  Christine Walters of FiveL Company takes on the legality of workplace privacy as the lines blur for today’s non-traditional worker

• Talent Acquisition is About Great Search Engine Optimization (SEO). With the bajillion different job search engines out there, it’s overwhelming enough for the job seeker. Makes you want to just give up and veg out. Carrie Corbin of AT&T and Nancy Holland of DirectEmployers say the solution to their 10:45-noon session on Monday digs deep into the need for companies to keep fresh content flowing and how to use microsites and online advertising to drive those Ferrari candidates into the company talent garage. Vrrrooom!

• When Harry Sued Sally – HR and the Rise of Non-Traditional Discrimination Claims.  The 2:15-3:30 PM Tuesday session by Matthew Effland of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.,  addresses the blunders employers make because they are caught off-guard by these formerly rare complaints, quickly becoming the latest fodder for headlines. Excuse me while I go change out my calendar.  You usually don’t hear of the guy complaining about the women in the office ogling the latest firefighter calendar or when a female coworker makes a pass.

• The Convergence of Video, Mobile and Social Media in Recruiting and Employer Branding.  Look mom, I’m on YouTube!  This session discusses the analytics behind video and how HR pros can use to recruit and increase visibility on the internet.  Lindsey Stanton makes the case for video and mobile on Tuesday at 4:00 PM.  

• My U.S.-Based Company Has Gone Global, Now What Do I Do? on Tuesday at 7:00 AM. You’re bopping along with a growing business when suddenly, the theme from It’s a Small World! International man of mystery Mark Fogel of the Marcum Group helps navigate thru the crazy ride of a booming business that goes international.  Time zones are different and that colloquial expression you love to use may be quite offensive in that other country. Fogel answers the questions to get your game plan started. Now I can’t stop thinking of those evil puppets of cuteness with their vacant expressions.

• Communication Bleeps and Blunders in HR will even show you how to be a better HR professional who understands your staff and how to leave the best voicemail message that gets the point across to callers. Sassafrassing, gosh durnit and WHOOPS! Yosemite Sam always thought he was right and so does everyone else in your office. Laugh and learn Monday at 2:00 PM as Todd Hunt shares vital HR communication concepts in teaching how to better communicate within the organization, including problem words that can cost you customers and employees.  So leave a message at the BLLLEEEP.

• The Anatomy of ‘AHA!’: How Creativity Happens. In Tuesday’st 10:45 AM session, David Rock of the NeuroLeadership Institute helps HR professionals keep employees in a creative mood and how science can now pinpoint that moment of insight. SCIENCE!  Eureka! By George, I think she’s got it! Lightbulb moment! Creativity in the workplace can be harnessed for good or evil but how do you recognize that moment of clarity?

• I’m Too Sexy for My Job!It’s a good thing I’ve never been discriminated against in the workplace because of my hotness. Or maybe I have? James McDonald of Fisher & Phillips, LLP says the good, the bad AND the ugly have sued companies for what they claim is aesthetic discrimination. Our number 1 pick for a MUST see session is Monday from 2-3:15 PM.

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