Lessons from the 2016 HR Tech Conference

Updated: October 7, 2016

By: Cornerstone Editors

3 MIN

It's hard to believe this year's HR Technology Conference is already over. The 19th annual conference brought together the best and brightest innovators and companies in the HR world to explore the latest trends, demo new products and compare best practices. It was a great four days in Chicago, and we're already looking forward to next year.

This year's sessions covered everything from social media to data analytics to women in tech. With 400 vendors in attendance and 65 different sessions spanning 4 days, it was impossible to see it all. So, whether you attended the conference or didn't have a chance to make it this year, we wanted to share a recap of our favorite moments and major themes coming out of the conference. To read more, check out #HRTechConf on Twitter!

It's going to take more than good talent management to keep employees engaged and committed. Embracing "talent mobility" could be the difference between success and failure. William Tincup, President of Recruiting Today, sat down with our own Jason Cosello and Mike Bollinger on Wednesday to discuss how to convey a culture of growth to candidates and use technology to improve the recruiting process.


Employees are the absolute best recruiters now. Organizations need to be using social media to push culture from inside to out. #hrtechconf

— Mary Kaylor (@SHRMKaylor) October 4, 2016
"The market has moved from people finding jobs to jobs finding people" #recruiting mega session #HRTechConf

— getTalent (@gettalent) October 6, 2016

Advancements in technology have created a whole new world for HR professionals to improve talent management. The problem? According to Barry Libert, CEO of Open Matters, 98 percent of today's organizations are neither truly digital nor networked. In his session, Liebert explored how digital transformation is driving change in IT and how HR leaders can take part in the discussion.

"Recruiting is like marketing and sales and our tools need to be able to enable us to work like that" @elaineorler AMEN SISTER. #HRTechConf

— Christy Childers (@christychilders) October 5, 2016
@RAEricksonPhD @Josh_Bersin well said, and great slide

— Kevin Nash (@AccessHRkevin) October 5, 2016
"Every company is a technology company, and every HR leader is a technology leader" - @SteveBoese #HRTechConf @HRTechConf #futureofwork pic.twitter.com/bLXLJW3ZZE

— Michael M. Moon, PhD (@mikemmoon) October 5, 2016
Lack of speed kills deals. Find #hrtech that pushes data to you in order to stay ahead of comp #HRTechConf

— Paul Bridgewater (@PBridgewater01) October 6, 2016

This year's conference marked the inaugural 'Women in tech' panel attended by an overflowing crowd. The speakers, including our very own chief operating officer, Kirsten Helvey, spoke about how companies can better align the HR process to cultivate, develop and support women in tech.

Women in HR Tech - be fearless, be comfortable taking risks, seek out the opportunities, know you add value #HRTechConf

— Jennifer Payne (@JennyJensHR) October 4, 2016
"You often will be the only woman in the room and it can sometimes feel strange." But your diversity will add value #womenintech #hrtechconf

— Mary Kaylor (@SHRMKaylor) October 4, 2016
"There are more CEOs named John than there are female CEOs." (via @TacyByham) What is wrong with this picture?! #HRTechConf #womenintech

— Tracy Volkmann (@tvolkmannPR) October 4, 2016
Campus recruiting is important, but you also need the internal programs in place for onboarding ~ @lisamsterling #womenintech #hrtechconf

— Mary Kaylor (@SHRMKaylor) October 4, 2016

We hope to see you at next year's HR Tech Conference!

Photo: Twenty20

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