There’s something special about meeting others in your industry face to face. No matter how many Twitter chats, webinars, and Slack channels you join there’s a synergy lacking that you can only find at live conferences and with person-to-person interaction.
I’ve put together a list of what I think will be the 10 best staffing firm conferences to attend in 2018. I hope my recommendations will help you allocate your money and spend your time wisely to get the most out of these great events.
Hosted by: Staffing Industry Analysts
Dates: February 26 to March 1, 2018
Location: Miami, Florida
Cost: Corporate Member: $2,800. Non-member: $3,145
Staffing Industry Analysts’ Executive Forum is embarking on its 27th year and is widely considered the most important conference of the year for staffing firm executives. If you choose to attend, you’ll be among other CEOs, business owners, and company vice presidents. Keynote speakers this year include Adrian Gostick, Jason Jennings, John Stepper, and Randy Street. You’ll be able to enjoy keynote speeches and break out sessions on a wide range of topics.
Hosted by: VMSA
Dates: March 14 - 16, 2018
Location: Orlando, Florida
Cost: Enterprise members: $0. Non-Enterprise members: $2,500 (before March 5)
What’s special about VMSA Live is they get everyone in the same rooms: buyers, suppliers, and MSPs. Unlike most conferences you attend, VMSA Live focuses on making it interactive. The schedule is full of experiential learning, interactive sessions, time for peer-to-peer exchanges, and unscheduled time for networking.
Hosted by: Bullhorn
Dates: June 13 - 15, 2018
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Cost: $799
As one of the premier global staffing conferences, at Bullhorn Engage you’ll learn how to more effectively connect with talent and leadership while also gaining insight on the future of the staffing industry. Featured speakers for 2018 include Eric Gilpin, Jackye Clayton, and Geno Cutolo. If these dates don’t work for you, consider their conference in London in September.
Hosted by: ProcureCon
Dates: June 19 - 21, 2018
Location: Denver, Colorado
Cost: Procurement practitioners: $1,699 or Service providers: $3,099
ProcureCon IT is the preeminent, peer-led IT sourcing conference. Over the three-day conference, there will be 50 speeches, 55 interactive sessions, and 8 hours of networking. Featured speakers include Michelle Little from Google, Shara Holliday from Microsoft, Aashish Talwar from GE, and Rahul Vijay from Uber.
Hosted by: CareerBuilder
Dates: Sometime in September 2018. Dates have not yet been announced.
Location: TBD
Cost: TBD
If you’re involved in the staffing industry even in the slighted, CareerBuilder’s Empower conference is the place to network. The 2017 conference included speakers such as Peyton Manning, Michael Arena from General Motors Corporation, and Matt Ferguson, the CEO of CareerBuilder. The dates for the 2018 CareerBuilder Empower conference have not yet been announced so keep your eyes open and start dreaming of what amazing speakers they’ll recruit.
Hosted by: Staffing Industry Analysts
Dates: October 4 - 5, 2018
Location: Dallas, Texas
Cost: Corporate Member: $1,870. Or non-member: $2,080
Most conferences focus only on those who are managing the staffing industry, but this conference also welcomes those that are also participants in the gig economy: gig workers. The goal of Collaboration in the Gig Economy is to connect and optimize the talent supply chain. The conference is structured to encourage collaboration across organizational boundaries.
Hosted by: HR Technology Conference
Dates: September 11 - 14, 2018
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Cost: $1645 (Costs will go up, daily passes are also available.)
The HR Tech Conference is the largest conference that focuses solely on HR technology. After 20 years of putting on this conference, you can expect a fantastic experience. Each speaker offers actionable tips and the expo, which is the size of seven football fields, is a great opportunity to compare products side-by-side.
Hosted by: American Staffing Association
Dates: October 16 - 18, 2018
Location: Washington, D.C.
Cost: TBD
Staffing World is the largest, most comprehensive convention and expo in the staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry. The American Staffing Association knocks this event out of the park every year, and are always adding new features like the Tech Park, which was new in 2017 and returns this year. The conference will be hosted in Washington, DC in October.
Whether you’re new to the industry and eager to learn, or an experienced veteran staffing exec, this is the conference for you. Staffing World is celebrating their 52nd conference this year.
Hosted by: Staffing Industry Analysts
Dates: November 5 - 7, 2018
Location: Denver, Colorado
Cost: Corporate Member: $1,710 or non-member: $2,090
This niche conference focuses specifically on staffing within the healthcare industry. This conference brings together healthcare staffing and workforce solutions leaders to discuss how to thrive in an MSP world and allied staffing. You can expect talks and content focused on nursing, locum tenens, and allied health.
Hosted by: TechServe Alliance
Dates: November 7 - 9, 2018
Location: Bonita Springs, Florida
Cost: TBD. Registration opens April 1, 2018.
The TechService Alliance IT & Engineering Staffing Conference generally attracts member companies and staffing firms, but is always well-organized, informative, and fun. Featuring top industry experts in multiple disciplines sharing their IT & engineering staffing and solutions insights, this conference offers twenty breakout sessions aligned with four different tracks in the IT space, and numerous opportunities with your peers in the IT & engineering staffing business.
I’m planning to attend most of these conferences this year for Sense. Which conferences are you planning to attend, and why?
