4 Key Takeaways from Our First Virtual Conference: Bullhorn EngageX 2020 Recap

On June 18-19, 2020, Bullhorn held EngageX, a virtual conference for global staffing and recruiting professionals with over 2,000 attendees. The fully-remote event was chock-full of expert speakers sharing engaging content and innovative concepts. Our own VP of Marketing, Monique Mahler, hosted a roundtable discussion focused on the vital role that video interviewing plays for hiring professionals in 2020. In case you didn’t have the opportunity to attend, here’s a few takeaways from the event.

The Power of the People

The EngageX conference is an annual event that connects staffing and recruiting leaders, tech companies, and industry professionals, and facilitates a (virtual) space for conversation. The keynote speakers and breakout sessions featured informative content with actionable insights for professionals of all levels. These session topics ranged from up-and-coming trends to innovative software solutions to swapping best practices for the current hiring landscape. The goal of the event was to bring the staffing community together to uncover what the power of the people can accomplish.

Bullhorn EngageX 2020

The overarching theme of the conference was the impact that COVID-19 has had on the staffing industry already, along with what’s projected to come as the pandemic continues to evolve our sense of “normal”. Our team found the most salient topics to be:

• The current state of the staffing industry. CEO & Co-Founder of Bullhorn, Art Papas, noted in his keynote address that although most sectors have seen a drop in activity, the trend moving forward is on an incline. Approximately 400 staffing professionals shared their projections for the next quarter in a live poll and more than 70 percent of participants expect business to improve. While the pandemic has come with it’s fair share of challenges, it continues to open doors to unprecedented opportunity.

• Leveraging existing HR tech and adapting new technologies. When our world rapidly pivoted to fully-remote work, businesses did their best to adapt. Now, as we settle into this “new normal,” companies must continue to develop their hiring strategies — incorporating innovative technology (if they haven’t already) is a no-brainer. The attendees of our “Where Productivity Meets Profitability” roundtable asked tons of great questions about the importance of implementing our software, as well as about the different features that they can capitalize on to further improve their processes.
• Overcoming pandemic-related challenges in staffing. Strong leadership is essential for any successful company, but in this climate, it’s paramount to organizational success. Presenter and neuroscientist Marcia Goddard shared, “Leadership through these situations is about being vulnerable and acknowledging the fact that you also don’t exactly know what the future will look like.” Great leaders not only are able to make change, they embrace the change whole-heartedly. In the face of the countless new challenges presented due to COVID-19, leaders are being put to the test, with the cream of the crop rising.
• The positive impacts of the virus. You’ve got to take the bad with the good — luckily that phrase works the other way around too. Despite the many pandemic-related challenges that we’re facing, the fully remote shift has also opened doors to major opportunities: new roles are being created, stagnant companies are making moves to increase automation, relationship building is becoming more intentional and personal than ever before. In response to COVID-19, innovation is a necessity, resulting in industry-changing solutions that are changing the face of staffing and recruiting as we know it.

The Bullhorn EngageX conference confirmed our belief that innovative tech, peer collaboration, and thought leadership are critical for long-term success in the staffing industry. The event was a powerful meeting of the minds that has sparked great internal conversation, pushing our team to drive even more effective hiring solutions for our clients. Thank you to everyone who was a part of this experience. We had an amazing time at our first virtual trade shows, and we look forward to participating in several more through 2020!

About The Author

Monique Mahler is the CEO of interviewstream. She is an avid researcher of facts, a self proclaimed marketing geek, and an equestrian in her spare time.