Walking through New Orleans’ Ernest N. Morial Convention Center as SHRM’s annual conference stretched into Day Two on Tuesday morning, I spent my time navigating through a sea of HR folks whose heads were down.
Searching for that one piece of swag to fill a third bag slung over their shoulder? Nope. They were anxiously checking the weather, which went from a passing comment on Sunday to full-fledged topic of conversation as Tropical Storm Cindy developed in the Gulf and approached the Crescent City. I mean, when the hotel’s housekeeping staff is telling you about it, time to get concerned.
Depending on the source we’re about to get anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of rain Tuesday and Wednesday — the days most folks are planning to head home.
Guess I better alert my dog-sitter.
…
In Other News: Believe it or not there is news here besides the pending Gulf storm blowin’ into town tonight (hat tip, Mary Chapin-Carpenter).
News of CareerBuilder’s acquisition came down Monday during the first full day of the conference. Parent company Tegna sold the venerable job board to private equity firm Apollo Global Management and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board for a reported $250 million.
“We are excited about the new ownership structure,” said CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson in a statement issued to the media. “Apollo and Ontario Teachers are powerhouses that invest in many of the largest B2B and consumer brands in the world. They can help us take our business to the next level. CareerBuilder has transformed into an end-to-end human capital solutions company. We have built a fully integrated platform for finding, hiring and managing employees. With Apollo and Ontario Teachers’, there is a great opportunity to accelerate our growth and innovation.”
The news didn’t generate a buzz around the conference but that evening there was some chatter about it during the Nexxt happy hour session. The talk wasn’t so much about who was acquiring it but in which direction CareerBuilder will go.
“We all know what happens when private equity buys you,” said one person at the event.
Beyond Beyond.com: I spent a good half hour searching for Beyond.com Inc.’s booth Monday afternoon after hearing about some news they were releasing. Because I hate to ask for directions I thought I’d hunt around. No luck. I finally consulted a booth guide and headed for space 738. Not there, I must have misread the guide. Find another guidebook. Yep, 738. I circled again; still not there. Now I’m getting frustrated. I’m checking out the booth at 738 and notice a portion of the Beyond logo in one corner. The news? Besides me spending 30 minutes looking for a booth, Beyond.com rebranded to Nexxt.
…
I Love a Parade: Speaking of Nexxt, congrats are in order to CEO Rich Milgram and his people for the clever rebrand from Beyond.com to Nexxt. Being in New Orleans, the recruitment media company on Sunday brought a dirge complete with a brass band playing somber songs into the convention center for Beyond.com’s funeral.
Which, naturally, I missed since I was covering the SHRM press conference. But the festivities — if you can call a dirge festive — are available on Nexxt’s Facebook page.
…
Get Your Kicks: Swag remains a huge draw at SHRM. From Apple TV giveaways to squeezy balls to photos with world-famous zookeepers, it’s all about the tchotchkes.
Give CareerBuilder the swag-of-the-conference honors. Those lucky enough to spin the giant wheel at CareerBuilder’s booth and land on big winner got a pair of customized Bucket Feet shoes.
In years past the company’s booth workers wore colorful Converse Chuck Taylors. This year they apparently decided to … wait for it … put the shoe on the other foot.
Rick Bell is Workforce’s editorial director. Comment below or email editors@workforce.com.