After a two-year hiatus, the HR Summit conference was held in person on Friday, October 7th. The conference welcomed 74 in-person guests and 14 online guests. The conference kicked off with a presentation from Sarah Light, challenging the very notion of why we call ourselves Human Resources in the first place. The presentation was followed by a talk by Kristen Kaufmann on topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion in which she enlightened the audience about what sort of marginalized group they fall into. Afterward, the group split off into breakout sessions which covered topics such as mental health and the triple bottom line.
After a short break and lunch, more breakout sessions were held. Different aspects of the workplace, such as Talent Acquisition and Workplace Change Initiatives, were among the topics discussed during these sessions. After the breakout sessions, a panel discussion was kicked off, in which Carlton Brunson, Amber Harrison, and Wendy Ratcliff talked about their experiences and their challenges with Organizational Culture and Employment Engagement in a post-covid world as well as answered questions from the audience. Finally, Dr. Shawn Bergman rounded off the conference in a presentation titled “Do I smell? How stinking at your job can help you adapt to the changing nature of work”.
We want to thank all of the alumni, faculty, students, and staff for all their contributions and attendance. We would also like to give a big thanks to the sponsors (BCS, Insperity, CTK@Work, and Equitable) for helping make this event a reality. We hope everyone who attended had a fantastic time, and we hope to see everyone again at the next HR (or POP) summit!
