10th Annual SWPP Conference a Huge Success

I N S I D E

swpplogo

Visit our Website at
www.swpp.org

10th Annual SWPP Conference a Huge Success – Were You There?

2012 marked the 10th Annual SWPP Conference, and over 350 workforce management professionals from around the world gathered in Nashville at the Opryland Hotel to network and learn together during this event.

“I loved the energy at the conference,” said Elizabeth Catron of Trase Miller. “And I like how such a large group of people who are trying to achieve the same goals were able to meet in one place and be able to take ideas and give some that work for us. The conference was wonderful!”
Keynote speaker Kelli Vrla kicked off the conference with a fun and motivational talk. After the keynote, the breakout sessions began. There were almost 70 sessions specifically targeting workforce management issues during this conference, all presenting great information about industry trends and hot topics of interest to all.

Here are just a few of the most popular topics for 2012:

Building a Roadmap for Your WFM Team
Leading Operations Through WFM Insights
Measuring Workforce Management Success: Results-Oriented Metrics
Contact Center Magic at Disney
Plan It & Prove It: Building an Effective Workforce Management Strategy
Extending WFM to the Back Office
A Crash Course in Labor Strategy for 2012
Improving Communications for WFM Professionals

According to Colleen Murillo of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, “Every session I attended was extremely valuable to me and my organization. Even if the speaker had more experience in collections, or it was a utility company, I was able to walk away with a great amount of ideas that I could apply to our organization! I had a difficult time choosing which session to attend.”

Meeting your peers and networking in an informal setting is an important part of this event. The first day was capped with a trip to downtown Nashville to one of our favorite places, BB King’s Blues Club. There were several surprises in store, including our own SWPP Board member Todd Gladden taking the stage to sing “Mustang Sally” with the band. On Thursday, the attendees enjoyed our networking reception and spent more time getting to know each other.

The 2012 Workforce Management Professional of the Year award was presented to Robert Dobson of InterContinental Hotels Group on Wednesday at lunch, and the three companies that won our Techniques & Turnarounds Awards (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Computershare, and LoyaltyOne) were honored at breakfast on Thursday.

We brought back Workforce Management Jeopardy on Thursday, and new SWPP Board Member Steve Gordon’s team were the winners, keeping the Erlang Empire of Andy Wainwright from a sixth title.

“Interacting with others who experience similar issues or who have worked through some of the same challenges in workforce management was priceless,” said Denise Schroeder of Allstate Insurance Company. “I had excellent conversations and obtained great advice. And was very fortunate to obtain phone numbers and email addresses to stay in touch.”

Andrea DelValle of Disney noted, “I enjoyed the interaction with other planners. The breadth of companies and all of the industries represented was outstanding and enabled me to really learn from other people. I learned ‘why’ instead of just ‘what’ other companies do for planning. Everyone was really willing to interact and share ideas and perspectives.”

The last day of the conference started off with Behind Closed Doors sessions, where workforce management vendors had time with their customers, and ended up with a closing session where the attendees shared their favorite moments of the event.

“I really enjoyed the conference,” said Dave Granchi of Progressive Insurance. “This is a profession that is on the rise and having an industry wide conference and certification is really exciting to see.”

Mark your calendars for the 2013 conference, which is set for Tuesday-Thursday, April 9-11 at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. Hope to see you there!