CIPD Conference Blog #1 of many

So here I am at the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition (ACE). And this year I'm part of the Blogsquad. 

That means you'll be seeing more blogs from me this next few days than usual. You don't have to read them, but if you do then fantastic. 

I've been looking forward to this and had trouble sleeping last night because I was a little bit excited*

*sad

The train journey was packed and I was eagerly looking round to spot fellow #cipd15 attendees. But how does one spot a fellow HR professional, without the help of a conference badge?

It proved too difficult, and I was making some people distinctly uneasy with my staring, so I had to stop. 

And I arrived in the Press Office to meet my fellow Blogsquadders, feeling a little bit nervous about what was expected from me over the next few days. 

My badge actually says Blogsquad, which is making me a bit giddy. I can see exhibitors clocking this as I walk through the exhibition hall and drawing some kind of conclusion about me base on that. Quite what conclusion, I'm not sure. 

I've picked the sessions I want to attend and am prioritising the conference sessions over the free exhibition sessions, even though those free sessions have been my lifeblood at previous ACEs. My ability to wander the exhibition hall and network is also diminished this year. But the learning I get from the sessions I attend will be enormous, both in my current role and any future work I do. 

I'll blog when I feel I can. Speed blogging is not necessarily my thing, I like to review, edit and polish my blogs once I've written them and this week I'm having to do it fast. 

It's a learning curve. 

I may even have to abandon spell checking, so apologies in advance. 

If you see me wandering round the exhibition or conference, do stop me to say hello and maybe we can grab a selfie that might make it into a later blog or a tweet.

Right now Peter Cheese is opening the conference by highlighting major trends that are changing the world of work, setting things up nicely for Professor Sir Cary Cooper to follow on.

Peter is talking about how HR needs to respond to the challenges posed by the different working environment, and at the same time build a credible profession for the future based around ethics and values, and less around rules and policies. He's mentioned the uphill battle we all face to make our profession noteworthy and credible compared to other more established professions like finance. 

Maybe a start point is to stop HR professionals hiding themselves away on trains on the way to their annual conference.

Till next time...later today probably.

Gary