I’m lucky enough to be attending this year’s conference of the Society for HR Management (SHRM – the US equivalent of the CIPD) in New Orleans. The first thing I’ve learnt is that it’s not only the size of the food portions that are huge in America. In a conference centre that is over a mile long, HR professionals mill about carrying a programme the thickness of a Big Mac (well, almost). The Big Easy is full of HR people. And if the opening keynote is anything to go by, I’m in for a very interesting few days.

Preceded by a live brass band, business guru Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, opened with some controversial views on areas such as the Obama administration and the battles women face in the workplace - he said that it’s simply a business reality that the person who’s promoting will choose someone who is there and not someone taking time out, often to the detriment of women’s careers. But he was greeted with warmth by a (mainly female) crowd who knew his passion for HR. He repeated time after time that it was the most important function in any organisation and must not be afraid of pushing itself forward and making an impact. His mantra that “HR is important in the good times, but in the bad times it defines an organisation” is hopefully a message that is spreading across the Atlantic too.

I’ll be keeping an eye on HR trends that might be making their way to the UK, so watch this space.