Though it is already more than a week since TalentNet Live in Austin, I am still working through all my notes and ideas from just one day of learning! It was a fantastic opportunity to have the focus of the interactive case study on my company, 24 Hour Fitness. Here are a few of my key takeaways:
- The people. Wow! It is worth attending TalentNet Live just for the people you meet and the friends you make! The attendees (a solid mix of all levels of company recruiting/staffing professionals, vendors, and consultants) really are thought leaders, technology visionaries, and social media experts in the HR and recruiting space. I am still connecting via LinkedIn and Twitter with all the interesting people I met and look forward to staying in touch with.
- Collaboration. The positive environment for sharing ideas and best practices was fantastic! The energy that developed around the live, crowd-sourced social recruitment strategy and brand audit was exciting! I was truly impressed by the quality of the discussion and the passion of the participants; they really got into the case study! To have so many bright and talented thought leaders in this space focused on my company was an incredible learning opportunity! And, interestingly, the collegial atmosphere of sharing knowledge and best practices ended up benefitting all participants. It’s cliché, but the rising tide…
- Actionable ideas. I joked with Craig, Matt, and Crystal that I have two years of quality actionable ideas to go implement; our 2013-2014 roadmap refined. BAM! I really appreciated the constructive criticism and thoughtful insights the different working groups provided that 24 Hour Fitness can employ to improve and enhance our employment brand strategy and employee value proposition. In particular, we have some really good ideas to improve our competitiveness for IT positions in the San Diego Market.
- Multiple tracks. For the attendees that didn’t participate in the interactive case study, there were numerous engaging tracks to attend covering mobile recruiting, the candidate experience, and diversity to name a few. Bottom line – there was plenty of engaging content for all.
- Fun! Holding TalentNet Live in Austin against the backdrop of South by Southwest (SXSW) only added to the palpable energy of the conference. Add in the great lunch and dinner and the entertaining karaoke party (courtesy of Dice!), and I’m already planning to attend next year!
Thank you all for so freely sharing your knowledge and professional expertise; I promise to do my part paying it forward! Any additional ideas are certainly welcome. Please contact me @LSapP3C or lsapera@24hourfit.com.