Like a proud parent seeing his or her child climb the stairs of the school bus to head off to their first day of kindergarten as a ‘big kid’, out into the world to seek their destiny, I think of HRevolution as growing and evolving in a similar way. From small and uncertain beginnings in an old, historic hotel in Louisville, to Chicago, Atlanta, and then on to Las Vegas, with each event the HRevolution grows, adapts, and, well evolves, to try and meet the needs of the smart, innovative, and connected Human Resources professional.

The next installment of the HRevolution, set for Sunday October 7, 2012 in Chicago, promises to build upon the last four events, add some new and interesting twists, and ultimately result in the one true ‘can’t miss’ event for the HR community. HRevolution is about a new way of thinking about the workplace, about HR, and about talent, and equally important it is about a different way of meeting, connecting, and learning from your friends and colleagues.

We will cover topics ranging from social networking and HR technology, management and leadership, influence and career management and more. But whatever the topic, you can be assured the session leaders will challenge you to think differently, while not attempting to tell you what you should think. And you can also be assured the less formal, more interactive and engaging format will make you think, encourage you to participate, and help connect you to the rest of your fellow HRevolutionaries in a way much, much different than other events.

HRevolution is my favorite event of the year. Sure I am biased. But I bet after you come, it will be your favorite event too.

I hope to see you in Chicago on October 7th.

  Steve Boese

This is just a quick note from the organizers for the HRev Las Vegas event (Trish, Ben, Steve, and Matt) to say a huge “Thank you!” to our participants, sponsors, and partners for making this event an amazing one.

We appreciate your support and assistance and hope to see you all again very soon! Please stay tuned for the next event announcement by subscribing to the blog, checking out our Facebook page, or following the #HRevolution hashtag on Twitter.

Paul Hebert of Incentive Intelligence leading a discussion on incentives, influence, and the like.

Video plays in QuickTime. If you do not have QuickTime installed in your browser you can download it free from Apple.

Last weekend, I had the chance to shoot as the Official Photographer at HRevolution in Atlanta. I had been to several HR conferences before, but this was my first “unconference.” Watch, through my photo journey, as I try to capture the energy and essence of the two days we spent in Atlanta.

The TweetUp. Fresh off the plane, train, or car ride, HRevolution attendees gathered for the TweetUp. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, came out for this TweetUp. It was scheduled for 2 hours, but lasted well into the night. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves; smiles, conversation, drinks, cowbells, and a little Royal Wedding spirit all in one night.

Upon entering HRevolution bright and early on Saturday morning, attendees could pick up their personalized “Meet Meme” trading cards. These cards, sponsored by Pinstripe, were colorful trading cards with your photo, contact info, and Twitter bio. These were not only super fun, but they took business card exchanging to a whole other level. You’re not only exchanging info for you at your job, rather, you’re exchanging info for your whole self. And at this unconference, being your whole self was what it was all about!

At first glance, the set up of the session rooms seemed like it would be a typical conference setting: one or two presenters at the front of each room, audience sitting classroom style, presentation on the projector screen. Then, the session started. Chairs got moved around, small groups broke out, debates took place; people were actively involved. These photos truly captured the essence of what an unconference meant for me- the audience is talking and discussing with each other, and everyone is engaged.

I wasn’t able to catch the full sessions because I was in and out of each one throughout the day, but these two caught my interest. To give some background, this is my boss on the left (ewmonster) and he is talking about managing virtual teams (my team!). It was great to watch my team showcased as an example for how to work remotely. Being a remote worker myself, I can say firsthand that the activities and methods talked about during this session work very well. I was also lucky enough to hear a few examples of other teams’ work culture and the challenges they face as well (photo on the right). It was very refreshing to focus on work life culture in such a small setting where several people could share their experiences.

The power of bacon. I watched a woman put these cupcakes out during lunchtime and not 2 minutes after she had finished setting up, a crowd formed. I love that everyone whipped their phones out to snap photos, tweet, and share. It really not only shows the power of bacon, but the power of social. The cupcakes were delicious, by the way.

This was a big moment and breakthrough of HRevolution. During the thank you’s and wrap up at the end of the day, Liz Gottung, CHRO at Kimberly Clark and the keynote speaker for the day, summed up her experience at the event: that she had a lot to learn about HR. Her comment prompted a standing ovation from the crowd.

I like this one because it calls out Maren’s photo and video action. She was my dueling photographer friend this weekend, and I want to give her a shoutout. Shooting events is challenging, especially with so much action like at HRevolution, where literally anything can happen. But it was also fun, since there are so many opportunities for dynamic shots. You can see some of her pics here.

This final photo is of the planning team, l-r, Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane, Crystal Peterson, Ben Eubanks. We all know and love them, and appreciate the effort it took to put on such a flawless event. I love this photo because it was taken in the middle of the day, in the middle of the lunch chaos. Dishes were breaking, stuff needed to be set up, the smell of bacon cupcakes were making people go crazy hungry, etc. We literally had 2 minutes to shoot this, and look how calm and happy they all are. Except maybe for Steve because I think he was really hungry. Once again, this event could not have happened with you, so a HUGE THANK YOU!

Alana Lombardi is one of the fantastic professionals from Monster who helped to sponsor HRev. We appreciate them very much!

(Matt's the one on the left)

Matt Stollak. I still remember meeting him for the first time and wondering what a college professor was doing at an event like HRev. I mean, yeah, my professors were pretty cool, but I wouldn’t expect any of them to challenge traditional thinking or attend a Tweetup. But Matt’s a different kind of professor…

• Who are you?

I am Matthew Stollak, Ph.D., SPHR

• What do you do (day job, any blogging/social media stuff, volunteering, etc.)?

I am an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at St. Norbert College, where I teach a variety of HR classes as well as statistics. I also serve on our college’s Benefits Advisory Committee as well as its Harassment Resource Committee. In addition, I serve as the advisor to our student SHRM chapter. I also serve as the Social Media Director for the Wisconsin SHRM State Council. Finally, I write the True Faith HR blog.

• What is your session title and topic?

Pop Culture, Politics, and HR

• Who is your co-facilitator and why/how did you choose that person?

Laurie Ruettimann. Steve Boese threw us together so that we can be like George and Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolff….” Or, is it more like Parker-Spitzer?

• What are 5 words that describe you?

Chubby, curly-haired, humorous, insouciant, winning

• What is one fun/strange/interesting thing about you?

I have no sense of smell

• Why do you think you are so passionate about your session topic?

As a college prof, I am increasingly finding that my Fletch and Spinal Tap references are rapidly losing their flavor amongst today’s youth. How then can I connect and engage with this next generation? What is the common ground that we share that will help them understand the material I am presenting? Using pop culture is simply one approach that will assist me in providing relevance and credibility.

• If people only remember one big takeaway from your session, what would it be?

What do you want your workplace to be like?

Thanks to Matt for his time! Feel free to connect with him on Twitter before the event @akabruno.