WorldatWork 2009 - Day 2 - Expo

Another great day at the WorldatWork conference today: I had a chance to talk with several existing subscribers including Susan from Harvard University, Tammy and Ann from the Port of Seattle, Michelle and Nile from Amazon.com, reacquainted with some folks I hadn't seen in a couple of years, met many new people, learned quite a few new things about what is happening in the compensation world, had a chance to interview Doug Sayed of Applied HR Solutions, and met a fellow HR/Compensation blogger Ann Bares.

I participated in a fascinating discussion on the state of compensation design in Venezuela and how the culture of pay there differs from the United States and also Brazil. This was just one of the interesting topics that came up in conversation at the booth. I have to give extra thanks to Tammy from the Port of Seattle for the rave reviews and sharing her experiences with NextComp with a group of prospective customers today. Thank you Tammy! Also thank you to my Dad for helping out this afternoon. You're a life-saver!

Today's video blog from the conference has the interview with Doug Sayed. Doug is a co-author of the just released "Base Pay Toolkit" which is part of the Strategic Pay Series. It looks like a fantastic series that will meet the needs of many HR departments.

Also, if you're not already reading Ann Bares' "Compensation Force" blog, I highly recommend it. She writes in a very approachable and understandable style. The topics are timely and well thought-out. I also highly recommend "Compensation Cafe" which Ann and Doug as well as several others contribute to on regular basis. Links to both blogs are on the blog roll to the right of the page.

Here's the video for the WorldatWork 2009 Exhibition - Day 2...



This video is also available on Youtube.

A couple of notes on the video.

The map fly-overs are generated using Google Earth and screen captured using Screenflow.

Ann Bares is a Managing Partner with the Altura Consulting Group LLC based in Medina, Minnesota. The firm's website is www.alturaconsultinggroup.com. I know Ann from her blog "Compensation Force" so that's how I referenced her in the video.

Also, at the very end of the video you'll see that I look up out of the frame before the fade to black. Apparently I was causing some concern for one of the people in the neighborhood. He thought I was taking photos of his house. He came out and asked what I was doing and why was I taking photos of his house. I assured him that I wasn't taking any pictures of his house and that I was shooting some video for my blog and I wanted to get the great scenery in the background. I think this caught him off guard and he seemed OK with that answer, maybe a bit perplexed though. I wrapped it up and thought that maybe he was overreacting a bit, but perhaps that's just a sign of the times we live in. Anyway, I think I'll find a different spot in the future!

Here are the photos from today. These are also shown in the video.

The "sky bridge" exposition hall. I needed special permission to take pictures here today.

Thank you to Rodney with the Washington State Convention Center security department for taking this photo of me.
"Freeway park" where I ate lunch and enjoyed some quiet time in the sun today.


Some of the view of downtown Seattle from the Conference Center.



A group photo with Doug Sayed, Ann Bares, me and Bob. Thank you to Meg from Univar for the photo.

WorldatWork 2009 - Day 1 - Setup

It's conference time again!

This year the WorldatWork show is in Seattle. I live 30 minutes from Seattle. The whole experience is much less busy and less stressful since I can stay at home and just drive into the city during the show hours.

Here's a video of the first day of getting the booth setup. At the end is an interview with Audrey Johnson, Visibility Manager for WorldatWork. She's great. Very energetic, enthusiastic and supportive of the sponsors and exhibitors. Thanks Audrey!



This video is also available on Youtube.

Here's what the booth looks like all setup in Seattle.

Audrey really is dedicated to her work. She even had her toes painted with the WorldatWork logo!

We're hanging a banner on the front of our table at the booth this year. Here's what the banner will look like...

Tomorrow I'm taking my sons with me to the booth and Grandpa Bob is going to go along and walk the aisles with them so they can pick up some of those great expo give-aways.

Northwest Compensation and Rewards Forum

I had the pleasure of attending the April 2009 meeting of the Northwest Compensation and Rewards Forum at the Bellevue Hyatt this afternoon. The group is focused on all things "total rewards" including pay, benefits, and work-life related issues. Each quarter they hold a lunch meeting with a well known presenter or panel to discuss the latest topics in the field.

Today's topic was "Refocusing Rewards When the Economy is a Blur" by Juan Pablo González with Axiom Consulting Partners. It was an engaging presentation reminding all of us not to lose track of the importance of high performers and differentiating total rewards even in challenging economic times. The next meeting is in July and I'm looking forward to attending.

Debbie Terry with BECU (Boeing Employees' Credit Union) spoke prior to the presentation on the Lance Armstrong "Live Strong Challenge" being held in Seattle this June. I think I'll get me and my kids involved in participating. It's to raise money for fighting cancer.

New Blog Header

I'm going to be working on freshening up the NextComp blog over the next few weeks, starting with a new blog header. The header image will change regularly to reflect the season. Enjoy!

User Group Thank You And WorldatWork Booth in Seattle

I've been told that Spring is officially here, but I think Nature is playing an April Fool's joke on me, because I woke up and it was snowing (again) at my house. I have seen some hints of Spring around the neighborhood, the cherry trees have some blossoms, but Winter is keeping a toehold at least for now.

User Group Meeting Wrap Up

Thank you to those subscribers that attended the 2009 Northwest Area User's Group meeting held on Monday, March 30th at the Port of Seattle's offices on the waterfront. A huge thank you to Tammy Woodard, Ann McClellan and Hugh Hastings for hosting the meeting, helping setup, and take down and for the help with getting all the food and beverages moved from my car, to the room and back. Also, thank you to Tracey for bringing lunch and to Bob for stopping by at lunch to say "Hi" to the group. It was an excellent meeting and we discussed and generated some really good ideas for Version 3. Everyone, including me, is eagerly anticipating the full release of version three starting in April.

Version 3 Upgrades

A quick note to existing subscribers: we are upgrading each subscriber on a one-by-one basis on a time line to meet your needs. We will contact you when we are ready to proceed with the upgrade OR you can contact us and let us know you are ready. We will not be automatically moving everyone over, primarily because we know some of you are in the middle or just starting your annual analysis. We don't want to interrupt the annual process. We want to be sensitive to your time line and needs.


2009 WorldatWork Exhibit Booth

It's only the first of April, but my mind is already moving to the end of May and the WorldatWork conference and exposition being held in Seattle this year. Yay, it's in Seattle this year! This makes the logistics of setting up a booth and attending the conference much easier for me since I live in the area. The last time the conference was in Seattle was in 2000. I remember that we had an incredibly warm and beautiful week of weather during the conference. I hope that holds true for this year as well.

Here's a link to a "free pass" to the exhibit hall. If you are not attending the full conference, but you want to wander the aisles of the exhibit hall, just print these passes, fill them out, and you can wander to your heart's content.

http://www.worldatwork.org/pub/Expopass_09.pdf

So if you're in the area, or if you coming from out of town, I hope you have a chance to stop by booth 1330 and say "Hi".

Northwest Area User Group Meeting - March 30th - 9:30 AM

The Northwest Area User's Group meeting is now confirmed for March 30th from 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM. The Port of Seattle is hosting the meeting at their offices on the Seattle waterfront. I'll be contacting the Northwest area users this week with a personal invite, but I wanted to get the word out as soon as the location was confirmed.

The meeting details are below.

Address:

2711 Alaskan Way
Seattle, Wa.

Driving and Parking Directions:

http://www.portseattle.org/about/maps/directions-p69.shtml

The agenda is:

• 9:30 to 9:45 AM - Arrival and greetings
  
• 9:45 AM to 10:30 AM - Update on NextComp over the last year and where we're headed next year (NextComp Version 3 and Salary Planner applications)
  
• 10:30 AM to Noon - NextComp Version 3 - Introduction and discussion of features
• Noon to 12:45 PM - Break for lunch
• 12:45 PM to 2:00 PM - Continue discussion of NextComp Version 3
  

Other information:

When you arrive at the Port of Seattle office, you'll need to sign in at the front desk and get a name badge. The receptionist can provide directions to the meeting room.


I'm looking forward to the meeting and hopefully seeing you on March 30th!