Perceptive HR Technology

I am on the Norwegian Dawn attending the HR Forum.  It’s a beautiful cruise ship with too many amenities to discuss here, especially considering we don’t have 15 seconds to enjoy any of them!  When the marketing team suggested that I attend the event, I was skeptical at best.  They match customers to their interests, and exchange for free passage for the delegates, they commit to a specific number of vendor meetings.

The first few meetings were fantastic — buyers with active projects, interested in modules we can deliver!  You couldn’t complain about that.  I also like the 1:1 format — it’s a great way to talk to a customer, offer them insights into our strategy without the noise and distraction of a trade show booth, and a real opportunity to meet senior HR professionals in an environment conducive to learning.

And it’s been good fun too — meals are a great way to relax and mix some business with pleasure.  Surely the contacts I’ve made will be useful over time.  When everyone converges at the Casino, you can’t help but root for your new friends at the craps table.

But with all of that said, I can’t honestly say that the event is going to generate immediate leads that we can convert into sales….time will tell.  Which makes it difficult because when you do a new event, you want to know if it’s going to be successful sooner rather than later (especially when they want you to sign up for next year before you even leave the ship!).

Kudos to the folks at Richmond Events — the event is flawlessly organized, expectations were well set for all of the parties involved, and as we start into the second half of the last day, everyone is still engaged, but a bit fatigued.

The biggest miracle?  That the miserable internet connection on the ship actually worked long enough for me to publish this post!  And the view of Long Island Sound from the deck isn’t bad either.

Off to the spa for a hot stone masssage (I wish!)…..