Author: Amanda Allen, IPAC Conference Program Chair

The 2023 IPAC Annual Conference is right around the corner and is being held in Washington, D.C., July 23-26 at the Capital Hilton.  For those readers not as familiar with IPAC, it is the International Personnel Assessment Council (formerly part of IPMAAC) and our members include HR directors and managers, specialists in staffing, recruiting, and organizational performance management, psychologists, attorneys, management consultants, academic faculty and students, and others.  Our members represent the private sector, public sector (including local and federal governments), and nonprofits.  We all share professional interests and expertise in the development and effective use of HR selection and assessment methods.

Program Highlights

At this year’s conference, we are lucky to be located in the heart of D.C., near the White House and tons of restaurants, bars, and shopping.  This is the second in-person conference IPAC has held since the start of the pandemic, and we have a great program planned.  This year’s submitted content ranges in topics from job analysis and test development and scoring to leadership assessment and workforce and succession planning.  Prior to the start of the conference, we have two pre-conference workshops that provide more hands-on learning opportunities on two important topics: 1) conducting barrier analysis and 2) developing Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS). 

New this year, we have a special topic track that includes invited speakers who will present on different aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in assessments.  Because this has become such a hot button topic with recent guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as well as interest from Congress and the White House, we wanted to provide our attendees with up-to-date information as this area evolves.  We have five presentations from experts in academia, government, and consulting that cover the following topics:

• AI-based assessment regulations/enforcement
• Recommendations and actionable strategies for employers and AI-vendors from the AI Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)
• Practical application of AI to augment existing job analysis procedures
• In-depth discussion of the good (benefits), bad (potential risks and pitfalls), and ugly (challenges) aspects of generative AI for selection and assessment
• A review of current research on AI

In addition to the special invited speaker track, we have some well-known and exciting keynote speakers who will be talking about various assessment topics.  You’ll hear from:

• Elaine Pulakos, Ph.D., CEO of PDRI, on leadership and organizational resilience;
• Juliet Aiken, Ph.D., consultant with Volta Talent Strategies and Head of Consulting at Conducere, on leveraging assessment technology in an equitable way;
• Victoria Mattingly, Ph.D., CEO and founder of Mattingly Solutions, on effective measurement in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts;
• Eric Sydell, Ph.D., entrepreneur and consultant, on the implications of AI for talent acquisition and the broader tech landscape; and
• Elizabeth Kolmstetter, Ph.D., Chief People Officer at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), on assessing capabilities and culture in organizations. 

You won’t want to miss these presentations!  See the conference website for more information.

Social Events

As if that is not enough to convince you to attend the 2023 IPAC Annual Conference, we also have a lot of social and networking opportunities planned throughout the three days.  For those of you who may not have attended an IPAC Annual Conference previously, it tends to be more of an intimate setting with lots of opportunities to connect with other attendees.  To facilitate this, we host a hospitality suite each night of the conference where attendees can mingle and connect with each other in a relaxed setting.  In addition, we offer a welcome reception to kick off the conference on Sunday night and a social event – with drinks and snacks - on Monday night.  First-time attendees can also participate in a coordinated dinner on Tuesday night designed to facilitate connections at the conference.  Check the conference website for more details on these events.

Lastly, we couldn’t put on such an event without our generous sponsors!  You’ll see many of them throughout the conference, but please check them out on our website as well to find out more information now.

Discounted Conference Registration

IPAC has decided to extend the registration discount for the 2023 IPAC Annual Conference to all PTCMW members because we are sure some members did not attend the Happy Hour event on June 8th due to the extreme smog that day.  The code below can be entered when registering and will work until the end of the conference. 

PTCMW Members – $350.00

Code = ptcmwhappyhour2023!

We hope to see you at the conference this year!  Come join us in Washington, D.C.!

Author Bio: Amanda Allen, Ph.D., is an Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychologist and Senior Consultant at DCI Consulting Group. As a member of the Employment & Litigation Services Division, Amanda provides consultation to clients primarily in the areas of employee selection and assessment.