I’m sure many of you are looking forward to attending the Fall ERE Expo in
Washington D.C. in a couple of weeks.  For some of you, it may be the first time; for others, you may have attended before – in either case, if you are involved in recruitment, it definitely will be the place to be… 

I have had the opportunity to meet some of you at previous conferences and  hope to meet other new faces at the upcoming conference.  In case you haven’t guessed yet, I have the honor of serving as the Chairperson of the event this fall.  In my spare time, I am employed as the Director of Workforce Planning for HealthEast Care System in St Paul MN; an organization with 7,000 employees deep in the throes of recruiting and retaining a competent health care workforce.  

In the past, some of the chairmen have been Dr John Sullivan, Gerry Crispin and Jeremy Eskenazi.  While I have some pretty big shoes to fill, it’s exciting to be the first practitioner to serve in this role but I will need your help to make this an outstanding event. 

I’ve recently had the opportunity to talk with most of the speakers and have been able to see their presentations.  I know that you will come away with new information and many great ideas.  You are encouraged to ask questions of the speakers either during their presentation or as you encounter them in the exhibit hall or the hospitality hours. This is your opportunity to get as much as you can from them.   

The best advice I can give you to maximize this event is network, network, and network! Review the participants list prior to the conference and find out who you want to meet – maybe its someone in your industry, hopefully its not.  Who do you want to steal ideas from (sorry I do it all the time and adapt to my needs) – now is your chance.  Take advantage of the opportunity to meet these people and start a dialogue. 

The same holds true for the vendors.  You never know when you’re going to need some of the services that the vendors provide, so create those relationships in anticipation of this.     

I do have to steal the idea/advice from Jeremy that he offered for the spring ERE. It’s so much easier to network and meet other people if you place your name tag on your right lapel.  You shake hands with your right hand and it is then a natural movement to view a person’s nametag as you make eye contact – without looking at their midsection to see a nametag hanging from a lanyard. (Thanks, Jeremy) 

Finally, be sure to bring your credit cards or your checkbook to participate in the silent auction.  The proceeds go to the ERE Foundation which provides educational support to disadvantaged youth in the US and abroad. Some of the things you will be able to bid on are:    iPhone, iPods, Digital Camera, Telephone Sourcing Learning Series, Exec Talent in Asia Conference and more. The top bid wins the prize (I won a conference located in
Hawaii last year – not bad)….  

Take a minute and share any questions or comments that you have: what you are looking for from this conference, who would you like to meet – or what sites are you going to see in Washington.   Looking forward to meeting everyone in a couple of weeks. 

Trudy Knoepke-Campbell

ERE Conference Chairperson

Hi everyone, I’ll be covering the event for the RecruitingFly blog. You’ll probably see me the exhibitor area a lot and at certain presentations taking video, audio and pics for those who could’nt make it. Should be interesting. Check out my past video @ RecruitingFly TV.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at ERE WashDC Oct!

 Cheers, 

Jeremy Langhans ~ Cisco Systems, Inc. ~ Executive Recruiting ~ jlanghan@cisco.com  

If you’re speaking in DC, this is a great time to post questions for attendees, to get a sense for what’s on people’s minds as you finalize your presentation. If you’re attending — it’s also a good chance to let speakers know what’s up in your company … are you hiring as fast as ever? Slowing down? What’s keeping you up at night? What are the 2-3 priorities in your corporation right now — particularly as they affect staffing?

A 20-year W.L. Gore veteran, Barbara Pizzala introduces herself at the ERE Expo presentation as the global leader of recruiting.

She quickly adds, “But titles don’t really matter at Gore.”

A repeat winner on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work for in America,” Pizzala explains that “team” is a big word at Gore, which averages 7% to 9% turnover.

“If someone is not a fit, it’s usually pretty obvious pretty quickly. When it works, it’s awesome, and we have very engaged people who stay a long time,” she says.

Best known for its GORE-TEX fabrics, the company’s annual revenues near $2 billion. Gore’s four divisions include industrial products, fabrics, medical products, and electronic products.

The company has approximately 7,500 associates in 45 locations around the world. “Our culture is experiential. It takes living it for years before you really get it,” she says.

“As recruiters, we have to constantly set expectations for candidates, so we get pretty good at describing what life is like at Gore,” she says.

The first thing you need to know about Gore, she says, is that “hardly anything is required.”

“We obey the law, but we don’t have bosses. No one has authority to tell anyone what to do. We make our own commitments, and we’re responsible for keeping those commitments,” she says.

What guide employees’ actions are principles and core actions, something that is taught early on in the life of a new associate.

“We look for good judgment, maturity, and a track record of making good decisions. People bring their brains to work,” she says. “We guide them with some things, but hardly anything is in a policy. We don’t even have an employee handbook!”

“We put an amazing amount of energy into building trusting relationships. If you don’t see the value of relationships, forget even coming. Trust is the grease that makes everything work at Gore. Until recently, we operated mostly in small, local teams; it was very easy to build trust in that environment.”

Gore has managed to expand successfully in a truly global nature…certainly not an easy task in its “policy-less” culture. Pizzala doesn’t seem fazed, adding that it’s simply a matter of working hard to build those types of trusting relationships around the world.

The Cheesman-Goldberg debate is over, and the winner is definitely the audience.

The 600+ attendees got to witness the much-hyped tête-à-tête between Jobster CEO Jason Goldberg and prolific blogger Joel Cheesman.

Even though the Wednesday morning debate had fewer sparks than anticipated, the mood of the audience was giddy as they watched the two men settle into their spots on stage.

Not that Cheesman didn’t ask the tough questions. For one, he pointedly asked Goldberg to define his company. Tags? Vertical search? Video?

Goldberg’s answer clearly explained that his company is aimed for the digital generation, and his broad services simply cover the gamut of what the 17-year-old to 34-year-old generation is seeking.

“It’s clear you learned a lot during your time with the Clinton administration,” snorted Cheesman.

Cheesman was allowed four total questions, one less than he had planned. The remaining three questions were as tame as the first. However, it seems that no matter what the intensity of questions Cheesman asked, Goldberg would have quickly delivered a prepared, quasi-political sound-bite.

Perhaps Neal Bruce, Monster’s vice president of alliances, said it best.

“Job posting on Monster: $400. This debate,” said Neal, pointing broadly toward the two men fidgeting on the stage, “is absolutely priceless.”

Following the debate, Goldberg was asked whether he was happy with how the Q&A session turned out.

“It went well. I wouldn’t have changed anything,” he said.

“I live in the moment,” Goldberg added, then slipped out into the crowd.

This is my first ERE Expo. One of my main goals is to research a software program that will allow us to manage our search process, and allow my recruiters to communicate with each other, as they all work remotely from a home office. One main concern I have is with my growth, and adding more recruiters, how do other firms manage their searches? How do we keep our recruiters from both contacting the same candidates, as they all have access to the same information. Any suggestions?

Best regards,

Marni Sampair

The Constant Search

One of the best times I had at ERE-Miami was at the late night bull sessions that claimed to be a poker game.  Would LOVE to play in a cash game (vs the play money type of the foundation charity game). 

Anyone who knows me, knows my participation probably means I’m funding the entertainment funds of the rest of the games participants…

 Any interest?

Simon’s 10 suggestions for the vendor floor.