ConnectingHR - the first UK HR tweet up

The first UK HR tweet up was held in London, 29 March 2010. Co-organised by Jon Ingham, consultant and HRzone columnist, and Gareth Jones, of Courtenay HR, the event was informal with a great buzz.
 

If you're familiar with Twitter, you'll know what it's like. Conversations spring up. Others join in. Then they move away to join others, meeting people through other people they know along the way. They return to those they know well to share their news and what they've learned.

This was exactly what it was like at ConnectingHR. It was like Twitter came to life... in a really authentic way. Most of the people at the event I have seen on twitter and it was great to match up twitter handles to faces and hear what people are doing. It was also nice to chat about the other things we talk about on twitter - apart from the recession, HR, Twitter itself, talent, HR's place in the business and HR publications and blogs, I talked about universities, sport, Wales and vegan cupcakes - the kinds of things we often talk about on Twitter, in fact. But in real life.

As ever I was amazed at the sense of community, the great conversations and the interest people have not only in what each other does but in everyone as a person. Twitter, rather than cutting humanity off from each other, enhances it and makes us more aware of each other as people rather than just job titles. ConnectingHR highlighted this yet again.

Thanks @joningham and @garelaos for organising such a great event - and if you weren't there, you could always come to the next one later this year - click here to register your free place at the event.

On an aside note, at the Recruiter Awards for Excellence, the Stopgap Group, of which  Courtenay HR is a part, won Best Recruitment Agency to Work For - again, after winning the same award last year.

Claire Owen, the Stopgap Group’s Leader of Vision and Values, said: “It’s not what we do that makes us special, it’s how we do it – and that’s all down to our people. They are our greatest asset and working hard to look after them is crucial to the wellbeing of the company. There are so many dimensions to staff happiness and wellbeing and we try to address all of them. People stay with us, not because of the job, but because of our guiding principles, which are reflected in how we treat them.”

Now that is practicing what you preach. Well done all at the Stopgap group and see you at the tweet up!