Networking Roundtables: SIM TechExec 2023

1. AI and Staffing - Be prepared for a new way of working
Jerome Guerard, Mercury
Join Mercury for the pivotal roundtable discussion to discover how AI streamlines, personalizes and automates talent acquisition and candidate engagement. This session will equip you with actionable insights on integrating AI into your staffing firm, ensuring you stay ahead in a tech-driven market. Learn about data considerations, security implications, and the necessary upskilling for your team to harness AI's full potential. Embrace innovation, foster competitive advantage, and future-proof your agency in the evolving world of work.

2. Content Marketing Strategies to Build Brand Awareness and Engagement
Brian Jameson, echogravity
Join us for a chat on how to nail content marketing in the IT & Engineering staffing world. Let's break down how to really connect with your target audience, the magic of telling stories and real success stories, and the results of great SEO. See you there!

3. Getting CTO Buy-In for Security Initiatives
Manny Ataebi, Eureka Security
Join the conversation where we will discuss the essentials of securing CTO and tech team support for your company’s security initiatives. Let’s share success stories, persuasive strategies, and direct tips. This is your chance to network, share, and leave with actionable solutions for immediate impact.

4. The H1B modernization proposed rule and what it means for your business
Sunila Bali, Somireddy Law Group PLLC

5. How Can We Navigate Hiring For Future Tech Talent & Keeping up with Everchanging Candidate Expectations
Paul DiVincenzo, Indeed
Discussion Questions we can kick off to start the discussion

What are some of the main challenges when trying to hire new tech talent? What are they asking from us as employers as far as compensation & benefits to attract them going forward?
Research suggests a lot of tech talent would like to work freelance or multiple roles. Is that something we could support? Yes or No what could be the benefits or concerns? Is it something we are offering?
Around 20% of tough-to-hire tech talent that were rejected for a position were rejected because of something that came up on their background check. With a growing amount of organizations embracing fair chance/second chance hiring, is this something we should look at for tech roles going forward?
How have we changed or are planning to change our employer branding going forward to attract a new generation of tech talent with different expectations of their roles?

6. How To Find and Engage Top Talent Using AI and ChatGPT
Jeremy Schiff, RecruitBot
Discover the power of AI and ChatGPT in revolutionizing talent acquisition. This roundtable discussion will highlight how AI addresses challenges in finding and engaging top talent.
Topics explored in this roundtable include:
-   The ethical use of AI, case studies, and implementation tips
-   Upcoming future trends
-   The importance of emphasizing training and upskilling for HR teams
-   The roundtable concludes by showcasing best practices for integrating AI effectively, ensuring fair and inclusive recruitment practices.

7. Legal Trends You Need to Know About
Bill Josey, Staffing Legal News
Changes to the legal environment are accelerating, and the trend is not in favor of your business. Noncompete agreements are being outlawed, employer obligations to employees are being dramatically expanded, and in some states the staffing industry itself is under direct attack. Bill Josey leads the TechServe Premium Compliance Services program and he publishes Staffing Legal News, which tracks the latest legal developments and provides guidance on staying clear of legal entanglements. In this session, Bill will provide an update on current trends and answer your burning legal questions.

8. Leveraging curiosity (T.E.D.) to drive stronger client relationships!
Casey Jacox, Winning The Relationship, LLC
In the current staffing landscape, finding ways to differentiate yourself and your company further is a challenge. The services are the same, so how can you stand out? Through my 20 years in staffing, I've learned it's the questions you ask that will differentiate you.

In this roundtable, I will teach you my curiosity framework that helped me become a #1 seller at Kforce for over ten consecutive years. As a sales & leadership coach, I will share tips on crafting a message (Four essential questions) that will resonate with clients and help your company drive consistency in your message so that everyone will be on the same page.

You will leave with a framework to ask questions in a way that will unlock new conversations and deeper connections.

9. Lifestyle Businesses: How they are developed, maintained, and managed.
Michael Testa, Testa Consulting Services, Inc.
What is a lifestyle business? A lifestyle business is a business that prioritizes work-life balance, financial freedom, and personal fulfillment over maximizing corporate growth and profits. The focus is on living comfortably, rather than getting rich.

Lifestyle businesses often cater to niche clients on a personal basis, not MSP’s or VMO’s, and allow the owners to maintain a comfortable living without the pressure associated with moderate to high growth companies. These relationships offer better margins.

10. Managing Your Receivables
Robert Mocerino, Advance Partners
Join Robert Mocerino of Advance Partners to discuss the best way to manage your receivables. Robert can also be a resource on VMS systems and provide you with tips if your staffing firm wants to work with the federal government.

11. Maximizing your RIO on ROR
Adam Conrad, Great Recruiters
This roundtable discussion will focus on ROR; how firms can maximize the ROI on their reviews, referrals and recruiters. As many firms have been forced to downsize their recruitment teams, there has never been a time that is more critical than now to maximize their return on their reviews, referrals and recruiters (ROR). Having a strategy in place to ensure recruiters are maximizing their potential to attract and connect with talent through reviews and referrals is imperative to growth and success.

12. Navigating the Minefield: Data Breaches and Minesweeper Explored
Amir Khayat, Vorlon
In the realm of cybersecurity, navigating through a landscape filled with potential data breaches can resemble a game of Minesweeper, where one wrong move could trigger catastrophic consequences. This round table discussion aims to delve into the similarities between handling data breaches and playing Minesweeper. With every click in the game, like every decision in cybersecurity, there’s a balance of risk and strategy.

14. Next Generation Software Development
Anand Krishnan, thinkbridge
The next generation of software development must eliminate vanity roles and frivolous deliverables while focusing entirely on outcomes. The intelligent usage of accelerators coupled with feedback-driven development enables custom software development that meets the specific needs of clients without having to re-invent the wheel each time. No more broad strokes and wasted resources. Now meaningful impact can occur without breaking the bank. Accelerated Software Development uses people + tech to elevate engineers to focus on problem-solving instead of wrestling with tools, code, or infrastructure. ASD enables the delivery of working software to production, fast without the cost-quality compromise.

15. Prepping your IT Staffing Firm for Sale
Martin Borosko, Becker LLC
Selling your IT Staffing Company can be a very difficult decision to make along with being a potential lucrative way to cash in on your success as an owner. Deciding when to sell your business is a complicated question with many personal and market factors to consider. Whether you are an owner who has plans on selling their companies as soon as today or much further into the future, making the decision as to when to sell your business is a complicated question with many personal and market factors to consider, sometimes over a long period of time. Historically, the more time you have allocated, the higher the increase in value you can achieve. However, it is never too late to start. During our session, Martin Borosko will discuss the many considerations to think about when you are considering taking your IT Staffing Firm to market along with sharing his insights on the IT Staffing deals he has encountered in the marketplace.

16. Sales Enablement: Is your sales team breaking through the clutter and getting results?
Larry Hemley, S.J.Hemley Marketing
Join this session to learn how to open prospect and client doors with your marketing efforts as well as how to expand within current clients while driving tangible results.

17. Strategies to embrace and accelerate AI adoption in your organization
Srini Gajula, Sage IT
After internet invention, cloud and mobile computing, the latest next big disrupter is AI technology. Many companies started online divisions using internet. There were some early successes but many failures. This led companies to shut down and retreat which allowed startups to disrupt their industries. A similar pattern occurred with Cloud Computing. Companies that continued with Cloud are doing well, while those retracted are catching up! Does history repeat itself with AI? With democratizing of AI, lot of tools and models which were limited to only big tech companies are now available to every organization. This discussion will focus on learning what strategies leaders are adopting in embracing and accelerating adoption of these technologies to gain competitive edge.

18. Thriving in the New Work Landscape: Strategies for Remote and Hybrid Success
Justin Uselton, Avionté
This roundtable will bring together leaders and experts to discuss strategies and best practices for succeeding in a remote or hybrid work environment. Topics will include maintaining employee engagement, collaboration, and company culture; managing distributed teams; leveraging technology to enable productivity; establishing trust and accountability; balancing work-life integration; and more. Attendees will gain insights and actionable tips to drive individual and organizational success in this new era of distributed work. The discussion will be interactive, allowing participants to share experiences and have their pressing questions answered.

19. Unlocking Competitive Advantage: Elevate your placement agency by delivering added value to your independent contractors.
Éric Chevrette, IT360 Financial

20. Unpacking the Trends in Partnerships and M&A in the IT Consulting & Staffing Industry
John McGraw, Access Capital
In the dynamic landscape of IT consulting and staffing, staying ahead of the curve is essential for business owners and industry professionals. Join John McGraw for an insightful roundtable discussion where he will delve deep into the latest trends in partnerships and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) within this ever-evolving sector.

Agenda:

Current Landscape Analysis: A comprehensive overview of the IT consulting and staffing industry's current state and exploration of the market dynamics that are shaping the industry.
Emerging Trends: A discussion of the rise of strategic collaborations, acquisitions of niche expertise, and the increasing importance of diversification in service offerings.
Impact on Business Owners: Insights into how these trends are impacting business owners and leaders. Learn about the opportunities and challenges presented by partnerships and M&A, including considerations such as valuation, integration strategies, and cultural alignment.

21. Why Working With an RPO Partner Makes Sense in the Hybrid World
Brian Hunt, KoreRPO
Recruiting and business development workflows have evolved significantly in recent years for the staffing industry. Having a team-based approach with an RPO partner can help improve metrics, reduce costs, cover more time zones, create flexible work environments, and allow your staff to focus on the activities that provide the highest value while improving their ratio of time spent on their areas of strength. This creates a more dynamic organization with a stronger team-based culture that can better navigate the ups and downs of the market, growth efforts, team departures, and differentiation in hiring/retaining internal staff.

22. AI + Human, a Partnership
Gus Samra, JobDiva
Where can we draw a healthy boundary between AI-assisted and human-operated tasks? What are the most productive and precise tactics to leverage all available resources- tech and human included- to achieve optimal workflows and bottom-line results?

1. Accelerate business clockspeeds – Reduce Rework, Repetitiveness and Redundancies – with AI
Suranjan Pramanik, Sage IT
Demands of the marketplace keep changing, however one aspect appears to be constant – the need to stay one step ahead of the competition, of customers' and employees' expectations AND solidify competitive moats. Many medium to large mature organizations with legacy systems and processes have organization clockspeeds that need acceleration – introduce new products, onboard new suppliers / employees / customers, deliver better customer and employee experience, execute contracts etc. This session will dive into learning from insights and experiences of how AI, intelligent automation and other cutting edge technologies can help improve the speed of doing business.

2. AI and Staffing - Be prepared for a new way of working
Jerome Guerard, Mercury
Join Mercury for the pivotal roundtable discussion to discover how AI streamlines, personalizes and automates talent acquisition and candidate engagement. This session will equip you with actionable insights on integrating AI into your staffing firm, ensuring you stay ahead in a tech-driven market. Learn about data considerations, security implications, and the necessary upskilling for your team to harness AI's full potential. Embrace innovation, foster competitive advantage, and future-proof your agency in the evolving world of work.

3. An Overview of AI Tools for Candidate Sourcing, Automation and Parsing
Brian Hunt, KoreRPO
Technology, friend or foe for recruiting? The answer depends on the context and what it is used for. If it is not used enough, there is risk of being left behind in the industry. If it is used too much, the human touch is lost in a people-oriented business. Technology investment needs to be closely managed and properly planned. Most companies are spending either too much or too little on technology. We will discuss a list of AI Tools/Software our team has tried for Candidate Sourcing, Automation and Parsing to get to a more optimal level of technology.

4. Building your AI talent pipeline via university partnerships
Dr. Chrissann Ruehle, Florida Gulf Coast University
Attracting, developing, and retaining AI and Machine Learning talent can be challenging. Join this engaging roundtable to gain insights into forming strategic alliances between your organization and higher education institutions. Discover how to foster collaborative relationships that provide your firm with a steady influx of fresh, skilled tech talent. Explore innovative approaches to engage with universities like digital badges/certifications, research collaborations, and workforce training sessions.

I will share success stories, challenges, and best practices in this essential endeavor. This session is your opportunity to discuss ideas and potentially shape the future of your workforce with a continuous stream of top-tier AI/ML professionals. Don't miss this chance to connect, learn, and refine your talent acquisition strategy.

5. ChatGPT: Leverage Open-AI to Streamline Your Talent Acquisition Workflow
Raghav Nookala, Ceipal
Join us for an engaging roundtable luncheon discussion about how ChatGPT can revolutionize staffing and recruiting outcomes. In an era where talent acquisition is paramount, harnessing the power of AI-driven chatbots like ChatGPT is a game-changer. Ceipal will host an enjoyable luncheon discussion about how to enhance candidate engagement, automate screenings, and even create job descriptions and interview questions with ChatGPT. Learn how AI’s most famous chatbot can ensure a more efficient, data-driven talent selection process. Tap into Ceipal’s talent acquisition know-how, while savoring delicious food and stimulating conversation!

6. Enhancing Your Culture
Tom Nunn, Tom Nunn Consulting, LLC
This will be an add on to Wednesdays session on Culture & Accountability. We'll go over some other ways to promote a great culture with things like Group Norms, Teamwork, Opportunities to Show Leadership for non managers, hiring tips for culture fit, etc.

7. Future-proofing Supply Chain to adapt to emerging trends
Pankaj Bhandari, MINDSPRINT
As per a Gartner report, 73% of average supply chain technology budget will be allocated to growth and performance. Be it solutions to optimize, scale or pioneer, industry leaders are investing in emerging technologies such as actionable AI, smart operations, mobile asset optimization, industry cloud platforms, and more. At Mindsprint, we offer a host of solutions that are proven and tested in over 70 countries and have delivered bottom-line value to our global customers. Our tech solutions are tailormade to cater to the specific challenges our customers face and have a long-term sustainable impact to drive efficiencies in the way you operate. We would love to learn more about how you envisage the transformation in your business operations and build a future-proof supply chain.

8. The H1B modernization proposed rule and what it means for your business
Santosh Reddy, Somireddy Law Group PLLC

9. How to build a scalable sales process for a changing market
Lenore Convery, ClearEdge Marketing
With the marketplace in flux and a volatile global economy at play, strength in sales needs to come from consistency, focus, and solid process. Join ClearEdge for an exploration of how to build critical business fundamentals into your sales process--fundamentals that will keep your sales teams and efforts aligned with your business goals and your business on track for growth. During our time together we will explore:

How to craft your ideal customer profile (ICP) and leverage it for enhanced client acquisition and retention despite the uncertain economy
Proven techniques for adapting your sales process to market fluctuations and making it both scalable and repeatable
The most effective strategies for aligning your sales and marketing teams with your corporate objectives

10. How To Find and Engage Top Talent Using AI and ChatGPT
Kareem Issa, RecruitBot
Discover the power of AI and ChatGPT in revolutionizing talent acquisition. This roundtable discussion will highlight how AI addresses challenges in finding and engaging top talent.
Topics explored in this roundtable include:
-   The ethical use of AI, case studies, and implementation tips
-   Upcoming future trends
-   The importance of emphasizing training and upskilling for HR teams
-   The roundtable concludes by showcasing best practices for integrating AI effectively, ensuring fair and inclusive recruitment practices.

11. How to improve redeployment
Barbara Bruno, GOOD AS GOLD TRAINING INC
Your consultants are either your army of "recruiters" or they are being recruited away by your competitors. If your consultants enjoy working for your company, redeployment be at least 50%. If that is not your reality, participate in this roundtable to learn best practices to dramatically increase redeployment of your top talent!

12. How to Make the Most of AI and Automation Today
Laura Bumby, Bullhorn
In the current staffing landscape, productivity and efficiency are key, and the right technology can help staffing firms make the most of both. Taken together, automation and AI have the ability to help your junior recruiters operate at the same level as your most seasoned professionals and provide an exceptional candidate and client experience, at scale. Join us to hear how Bullhorn's automation and AI capabilities are helping customers reach new levels of productivity and share best practices with your peers.

13. How to optimize your marketing strategy and budget (any budget!) for growth
Alison Richmond, ClearEdge Marketing
With budgets set for 2024, now is the perfect time to look at optimizing your marketing resources for a year of growth. Join us and explore creative and proven ways to make the most of your marketing strategies and budget in the year ahead. Whether you are not sure where to invest or wondering if you have enough resources to drive growth through marketing, this roundtable will leave you with strategies for getting in front of the right audiences at the right time in order to drive growth. Topics will include:

Aligning sales and marketing for powerful growth results
The most effective marketing approaches for 2024
Maximizing the market tools and assets you have
Uncovering the marketing assets you didn't know you had

14. Legal Trends You Need to Know About
Bill Josey, Staffing Legal News
Changes to the legal environment are accelerating, and the trend is not in favor of your business. Noncompete agreements are being outlawed, employer obligations to employees are being dramatically expanded, and in some states the staffing industry itself is under direct attack. Bill Josey leads the TechServe Premium Compliance Services program and he publishes Staffing Legal News, which tracks the latest legal developments and provides guidance on staying clear of legal entanglements. In this session, Bill will provide an update on current trends and answer your burning legal questions.

15. Navigating misclassification risks: safeguarding independent contractors and agencies, a strategic approach.
Éric Chevrette, IT360 Financial

16. Navigating the Minefield: Data Breaches and Minesweeper Explored
Amir Khayat, Vorlon
In the realm of cybersecurity, navigating through a landscape filled with potential data breaches can resemble a game of Minesweeper, where one wrong move could trigger catastrophic consequences. This round table discussion aims to delve into the similarities between handling data breaches and playing Minesweeper. With every click in the game, like every decision in cybersecurity, there’s a balance of risk and strategy.

17. New H-1b Rules?
Anthony Zarate, Corporate Immigration Partners, P.C.
The USCIS recently published proposed rules impacting the H-1b visa including how the cap lottery is handled. Attorney Anthony Zarate will lead a discussion of these changes and how they may impact your hiring.

18. Remote Work
Kim Whiteley, MeeDerby
Discussing the pros and cons of remote work and tips for leading an entirely remote team.

19. Revolutionizing Talent Acquisition: Unleashing AI and Automation for Future-Ready Recruitment
Justin Uselton, Avionté
Talent acquisition is being radically transformed by new technologies like artificial intelligence and automation. This roundtable will explore how leading companies are leveraging these innovations to build the talent acquisition tech stack of the future. Experts will discuss how AI and automation can optimize sourcing, screening, interviewing, assessments, and more to find and evaluate top talent quickly and efficiently. We’ll examine how these technologies can reduce bias in hiring and create better candidate experiences. Other topics include integrating new tech with existing HR systems, change management strategies, data privacy considerations, and the future of talent acquisition tech. Attendees will come away with an understanding of how to harness AI and automation to hire great people faster, along with a roadmap for creating a modern, intelligent, automated recruiting infrastructure.

20. Sales Enablement: Is your sales team breaking through the clutter and getting results?
Larry Hemley, S.J.Hemley Marketing
Join this session to learn how to open prospect and client doors with your marketing efforts as well as how to expand within current clients while driving tangible results.

21. Selling Strategies - pro's and cons of situational opportunities
Rick Carlson, Harvyst Consulting Partners
Breaking into new accounts is demonstrably harder in this ultra-competitive environment. What strategies are we using that garner attention and open new doors?

22. Unpacking the Trends in Partnerships and M&A in the IT Consulting & Staffing Industry
John McGraw, Access Capital
In the dynamic landscape of IT consulting and staffing, staying ahead of the curve is essential for business owners and industry professionals. Join John McGraw for an insightful roundtable discussion where he will delve deep into the latest trends in partnerships and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) within this ever-evolving sector.
Agenda:

Current Landscape Analysis: A comprehensive overview of the IT consulting and staffing industry's current state and exploration of the market dynamics that are shaping the industry.
Emerging Trends: A discussion of the rise of strategic collaborations, acquisitions of niche expertise, and the increasing importance of diversification in service offerings.
Impact on Business Owners: Insights into how these trends are impacting business owners and leaders. Learn about the opportunities and challenges presented by partnerships and M&A, including considerations such as valuation, integration strategies, and cultural alignment.

23. What 15 questions should you be asking.
Traci Newkirk, Intellectual Capitol
Remember this: employee engagement is a foundational component to workplace outcomes. If you want to talk about wellbeing, manager development, performance (and more), you also have to talk about employee engagement.

Why? Because every conversation a manager has with an employee affects their engagement -- and engaged employees perform better, which differentiates you from your competitors. To drive real change within your teams, and to move the needle on the business metrics that matter, learn more about employee engagement in your organization.

24. Nearshore IT Staffing Services
Mac Berman, myBasePay
Discover how nearshoring can revolutionize your access to top IT talent in neighboring regions.
Whether you're a tech leader seeking to optimize your workforce or simply curious about the advantages of nearshore IT staffing, this roundtable offers valuable insights.
Unlock the potential of nearshore IT staffing services and learn how they can propel your organization's success in the digital age.

25. Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.