CHICAGO, Sept. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Human Resource Executive(R)'s 10th Anniversary HR Technology(R) Conference & Exposition today announced that this year's major focus on Talent Management and two of its critical elements -- Recruiting and Performance Management -- are generating record interest from pre-registered conference attendees. The event is being held October 10 - 12, 2007 at Navy Pier in Chicago.

In the late nineties, a study conducted by McKinsey & Company illuminated the "war for talent" as a critical driver of corporate performance. According to this study, regardless of economic fluctuations, proactive talent management is vital to every company's success. Since the time of the original findings, the race for talent has intensified and the situation has been further complicated by the exodus of aging baby boomers from the workforce and proliferation of globally dispersed workforces.

The annual HR Technology(R) Conference & Exposition seeks to give attendees "real life" actionable insights into how technology can address organizational challenges and provide tangible business benefits. Called the "world's best conference on HR technology" by PeopleSoft founder and now Workday founder Dave Duffield, this year's conference will feature nearly 70 industry experts and senior executive practitioners relating their professional experiences and best practices in talent management as well as their use of human resource software in all areas of their profession.

The conference kicks off Wednesday, October 10, with a series of talent management seminars, including "The Talent Management Panel," featuring five senior HR executives from such companies as Yahoo! and Aramark, sharing their processes and use of applications to help attendees better plan their own talent management strategies.

Wednesday afternoon will also feature "What is the Talent Management Suite? And What Are Vendors Actually Delivering?," by Leighanne Levensaler, principal analyst of Bersin & Associates. She will discuss findings from her comprehensive study on the Talent Management Suite and its proposed benefits. Also Wednesday, "Cool New Tools For Recruiters" will feature live demonstrations of the latest candidate sourcing tools by Gerry Crispin, co- founder of CareerXroads, and his panel of expert colleagues.

On Thursday, October 11, the conference will present several sessions designed for the special needs of small to mid-market companies on topics such as talent management, human capital management, portals and outsourcing.

The third in a series of interviews honoring thought leaders in HR technology, who have helped create the vision and products others have followed, will also be part of Thursday's lineup. This year's "Visionaries of HR Technology" interview features Naomi Lee Bloom, managing partner of Bloom & Wallace, who will enlighten and engage the audience with her more than 40 years of industry experience as a leading independent business and HR technology consultant.

Thursday will also include the conference's signature feature after 10 years, a competitive Shootout of live software demonstrations. In the "Industry's First Integrated Performance & Recruiting Shootout," the CEOs of Authoria, HRsmart, SuccessFactors and Vurv will demonstrate their software solving pre-written HR problems.

An attendee at last year's Shootout, Carol Baker, vice president of HR at Yamaha Corporation of America, said, "The HR Technology Conference is a great conference and outstanding forum to evaluate leading-edge technology. The sessions we attended gave us insight into how major corporations are utilizing that technology plus useful ideas for process improvement. The Shootout was very impressive and showed us how to evaluate Talent Management applications."

Thursday finishes with "The First HCM Battle," featuring competitive live software demonstrations by Oracle, Lawson and Workday designed to provide attendees with a first-hand look at some of the industry's leading HRMS solutions.

Friday, October 12, closes the conference with a host of helpful sessions, including one entitled "Great New Technologies Just For You," led by Jason Averbrook and Jason Corsello, CEO and vice president, respectively, of Knowledge Infusion. They will demonstrate and explain the personal productivity and HR-related value of a series of new Web-based tools, including Wikis, RSS Syndication, Instant Messaging, Facebook, Mashups and others.

These and nearly 30 other sessions will make up the 10th Anniversary HR Technology(R) Conference. HR professionals, presenters and lecturers from more than a dozen countries are projected to attend the conveniently located Chicago-based event to acquire useful business benefits from today's HR technology solutions.

Stephen Ostiguy, senior manager of operational performance for Accredited Home Lenders, said after the 2006 Conference: "Clearly the best HR or technology conference I have ever attended ... informative, high-quality, and a must-attend event for any HR or IT professional."

For a complete agenda, please visit http://www.hrtechnologyconference.com. The early-bird registration discount of $300 expires on September 14, 2007.

SOURCE HRE Conferences