Meet The Disruptors: Wendy Dailey of DisruptHR Brookings

Who are the people that are taking the lead in disrupting the future of work?

They’re the official Disruptors (Organizers) of DisruptHR events held in cities around the world. Each week, we’ll introduce you to one of these intelligent, inspiring, and beautiful people (okay, pick two) who have stepped up, and volunteered to organize a Disrupt HR event in their city.

Wendy Dailey of DisruptHR Brookings (Disruptor #182)

LinkedIn – Wendy Dailey

Twitter – @wyndall93

Who are you, and what do you do in your “day job”?

Officially, my job title is “Employment Coordinator.” Reality, I am the HR Business Partner for the Facilities & Services Department at South Dakota State University. I blog here and converse with other HR professionals on Twitter.

How did you first hear about DisruptHR?

Twitter. I got to know a lot of great HR professionals through the SHRM sponsored #NextChat. I saw some posts from Mary Faulkner and got the change to chat with her about it at SHRM16.

Why did you decide to raise your hand and become an organizer for DisruptHR events in Brookings?

Our local SHRM group had been looking for something like this. Our members were asking for more networking opportunities and less boring PowerPoint presentations on ACA, FMLA, FLSA & all those letters. When I learned about DisruptHR, I knew this was the event we were looking for.

How many events have you organized?

We had our first event on August 17 and had about 120 people attend (including speakers & committee members). We had set our goal for 75 and 100 as our stretch goal and were thrilled with the attendance. We didn’t even have that many no shows, so we had to pull out more chairs as people kept coming!

What types of people/industries have attended your events?

Most of our attendees were HR practitioners in our community. We had a few from out of town. One goal for 2.0 is to figure out how to get non-HR people interested in attending.

What are you most proud of that has come out of being involved with/organizing DisruptHR events?

A new excitement from the event. Most of the attendees were very engaged in the evening and we received some great feedback.

What kind of feedback have you received from those who attended prior DisruptHR Brookings events?

We had time after the speakers set aside for networking and the people who stuck around to talk and just be together was really great. I loved the buzz of excitement from everyone.

What is your favorite DisruptHR Talk, and why?

Well, duh, my own. My first experience with DisruptHR was giving a talk in Sioux Falls #BusierThanThou. I don’t remember any of the talks from Brookings, so am eagerly awaiting our videos so I can actually watch & pay attention to them rather than running around a bit.

My actual favorite is Why the CEO should report to the CHRO by Kristen Harcourt. I did share it with my boss!

Based off of the Talks and conversations at your events, what do you feel are the areas with the biggest opportunity for disruption?

Getting the non-strategic thinking HR professional to attend & get out of the day-to-day, paper-pushing, policing role. To get the front line supervisor to see that HR is really there to help them, we can be their strategic partner & help them see the big picture.

What excites you or frustrates you about the future of work, your career and/or DisruptHR?

I just really want to be a DisruptHR-Head, get the VW bus & travel the country attending events! I love the energy that DisruptHR is bringing to the HR community and profession.

I really do want to figure out how to get the local business leaders, front line supervisors to attend 2.0 and see that HR is not just for and about the HR professional, but it is about how we do business and how we as a business can be successful.

Follow What’s Happening With DisruptHR Brookings City:

DisruptHR Brookings Community Page

DisruptHR Brookings Facebook Page

DisruptHR Brookings on Twitter (@DisruptHRBrkgs)

#DisruptHRBrookings Twitter mentions

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