In this post, Sam Higgins, interviews Bill Kutik, a leading independent analyst in the HR Technology space and co-chair of the HR Technology Conference & Exposition coming up later this month in Chicago. Bill discusses his experience organizing the show and his opinions on what the next 12 months hold for HR practitioners. If you haven't yet registered here is a $470 discount code we have arranged.

This entry is part of our series of HR Technology 2009 related posts. Also, in case you missed it, check out the Kindle Giveaway we are running in conjunction with this year's conference.

SH> During the conference last year, it was becoming apparent that the economy was in trouble, and we are just now beginning to see improvement.  How has the economic climate affected your organization of this year's show, both from a promotion/attendance perspective, as well as from a content development perspective?

BK>  The first thing to understand is that we have almost fanatically loyal attendees. We have people who have attend 5, 6, and sometimes 7 times in a row.  During the run-up to the show, I heard from at least a dozen of them to explain why they couldn't attend this year.  Most of the reasons had to do with general corporate cutbacks on conference attendance - it just wasn't being allowed across the board.

The challenge is that a show like mine involves 2 separate budgets: the training budget and the travel budget.  There were people who said that they had the money to get in, but not for travel, and vice versa.  As a result of this, we are seeing a historic increase in the number of people registered to attend just the exhibition.  So it seems that there are many people who, despite not having the funds for a full pass, still want to be a part of the show.

In terms of content we have really focused on 3 areas. First, how to do more with less. Second, how to take what you've already got and make it do a better job for you.  And 3rd, what you can do to prepare yourself for the recovery.  One good thing about capitalism is that the recovery is always inevitable, and so a lot of our sessions are going to be focused on how to best position yourself when it happens.

SH> Which sessions are you most looking forward to this year?

BK> I would have to start with the session hosted by Jason Averbrook, the CEO of Knowledge Infusion, who is incidentally the first person I have trusted other than myself to moderate a panel. He does a spectacular job, and has a group of execs from excellent companies - Keybank, Nike, Dell, and Target - on his panel, "HR Technology Doesn’t Stop in a Down Economy."  I am also looking forward to Leighanne Levensaler presenting the results of her year-long survey of customer satisfaction with talent management vendors.  This topic is hugely important, yet rarely reported on, and certainly not with the depth that Leighanne will bring to it.

The third session, which has turned out to be our most popular, is the analyst panel which brings together many of the industry's top analysts to discuss what is going on in the market.  This is always the highest attended session due to high interest from both vendors and practitioners.

Lastly, I am also looking forward to our most popular breakout session: "Cool New Technologies for HR." This is a group of five early-stage & start-up companies whom I have sought out, or ran across, or come into contact with, who have some really original and forward thinking technologies that are different from what we are all used to seeing. Additionally, if they are startups, this will be the first time most attendees will have had an opportunity to see these companies.

{Editor's note: Check out our interview with one Cool New Technology 2009 panelist, Dan Hilbert from Orca Eyes, next Tuesday)

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