Supporting Employees through the Cost-of-Living Crisis Conference
Is your organisation committed to building a financially resilient workplace?
Time: 0915 - 1300 | Thursday 17th November '22 | £199 + VAT per attendee
(if you can't attend live, register to watch the recording)
The cost of living crisis is having a major impact on impact on the financial and mental health wellbeing of your employees, especially those on lower incomes. Recent reports highlight that 68% of your workers are currently stressed and overwhelmed: that number won't be going down anytime soon.
Financial worries impact your workforce’s ability to function, with a third taking on extra shifts to make ends meet and 72% stating they’d move jobs for an employer sympathetic to their financial worries. Can we afford to lose the equivalent of 32.5m working days through work-related anxiety?
Financial wellbeing strategies that address the cost-of-living crisis
Feedback from colleagues, thought-leaders and progressive organisations firmly illustrate the need for employers to put time and resources into creating financially healthy workplaces.
We have pulled together some of the most influential thinkers and activists, along with innovative case studies to bring you an intensive half-day conference on tackling the cost of living crisis to best support your employees.
This conference is a one-stop tour of all the possible solutions to ensure you can effectively support your employees through this current downturn. Bringing together workable and innovative strategies to help to retain and support ALL employees during the tough times to come.
With expert input from the REC, Business in the Community, Living Wage Foundation, the Institute for Employment Studies and the Financial Inclusion Alliance, we are confident that this cutting-edge programme will deliver workable solutions to this unprecedented situation.
Platform: Zoom - An encrypted zoom platform with password access:
Click here for further information and to test access
Which functions will benefit from attending
- HR, Recruitment and Resourcing, Talent, Training, Policy & Strategy, Legal, Operations, Line Management, Talent, Equality, Policy, Organisational Development, Engagement, People Development, Learning & Development and all staff with responsibilities within this area
Hear from
Schedule
Welcome and introduction
Elizabeth Smith
Director of Research , Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI)
Elizabeth is director of research and a founding co-director at Business Forums International. She is responsible for all programme content and writing, and researches current areas of interest for senior HR professionals in large organisations. BFI is the UK’s leading HR risk specialist conference and training provider, delivering key and timely information to over 3,000 delegates a year both through public and in-house training courses. Before founding BFI in 1996, Elizabeth specialised in researching corporate financial programmes in Asia and the Middle East, based in Dubai. She also worked in advertising and publishing in the Middle East and London. Elizabeth was educated in the West Indies, Saudi Arabia and Belgium before reading Modern Languages at Durham University. She is currently developing an online training course for line managers to raise awareness of menopause symptoms and ways that employers can work to make their workplaces more inclusive.
Welcome, introduction to zoom and then delegates will split into small groups for a short ice-breaker in breakout rooms to discuss objectives for the day, exchange experiences and network with fellow professionals.
Understanding the Scope of the Issue: Why it’s important and why nobody wants to tackle pay
Kate Shoesmith
Deputy CEO , REC
Kate has been with the REC since March 2013. She is responsible for the REC’s external engagement strategy and providing a leading voice for our industry. Kate is a spokesperson for the REC, regularly appearing in the UK media and speaking on platforms to talk about the jobs market, employment and skills. Kate’s background is in policy and public affairs. Prior to joining REC, she was Head of Policy & Corporate Affairs at City & Guilds. She has been a governor for two London further education colleges and an adviser to a number of external forums, including Business in the Community, UNESCO Education for All, Youth Employment UK and Women in Recruitment.
Training and Empowering Managers to Identify Vulnerable Employees and Initiate Constructive Conversations
Louise Aston
Wellbeing Director , Business In The Community
Louise is an award winning, high profile ambassador for health and wellbeing with a proven track record as an outstanding campaigner in both the private and public sectors. Operating at board level, a skilled influencer, with a demonstrable track record of creating and delivering business case led and people focused solutions. Pioneered ground-breaking resources that actively tackle the stigma that surrounds mental health, including the challenging topics of suicide, domestic abuse and sleep and recovery. Excellent interpersonal skills, creative, passionate campaigner and in demand, high profile public speaker. She has established wellbeing as a core responsible business component and a strategic boardroom issue. Experience of collaborative working with complex stakeholders, including business, government, charities, professional bodies and third sector organisations, towards a common purpose.
- Recognising the signs and symptoms of poor mental health
- Unengaged and distracted workforce
- Financial anxiety and depression
- Exhaustion and cognitive fatigue
- Moving past mindfulness to practicality: essential strategies to implement and communicate
- Reducing stigma: strategies to encourage open communication and getting staff to speak up in time
- What to offer: financial education and advice
- Managing and meeting minimum employee expectations
Case Study: Smart Solutions to Enhance your Employee Benefits Programmes
Natalie Quail
Director , SmileTime
Natalie Quail is the 32-year-old CEO & Founder of one of the UK's leading oral care & cosmetics brands - SmileTime. After leaving her career as an international tax lawyer in 2019, she bootstrapped & scaled SmileTime from 0 to 7 figures, 100,000 + customers in 2.5 years - a profitable business now also available at Boots U.K. Featured on BBC One’s Dragons’ Den - Series 19, Episode 5, Feb 22 - winning two offers on the show from Steven Bartlett & Touker Suleyman. Also featured in Business Insider, ITV News, TalkTV and is a regular speaker on BBC Radio - on topics including cost of living, entrepreneurship, digital marketing & oral care. Ex international tax solicitor - previous firms include Baker & McKenzie, White & Case & Mishcon de Reya.
- Effective salary-stretching initiatives and how best to deploy them
- Communication strategies to reach and include all staff
- Reskilling and training initiatives: what works and what doesn’t?
Comfort Break
Case Study: SME and Global Organisation Challenges: What will work best for your organisation?
George Stone
Director of HR , Shields
Culture, change & capability focused HR Director with experience across Europe and USA. George is a passionate and results-oriented HR Leader with a proven record in guiding business strategy, organisational growth and change management. George has been with Shields since February 2020 and his first meeting in the business was to discuss whether COVID-19 would affect the workforce. During his time at Shields he has guided the business by leading the global agendas to deliver impactful strategies in scalability, ESG and connecting workforces in new ways of working. After a rapid progression and growth in the practice of people, George has been involved with different programs and seminars supporting other business leaders and HR professionals. He has a passion for helping the younger generation in the workplace and has recently been visiting schools across the country, holding ‘Education to Employment’ seminars for 16-18 year olds getting into the workplace.“
• Challenges of international organisations: cultural challenges and sensitivities
• Collecting, interpreting and using data to showcase effectiveness to stakeholders
• Salary sacrifice, financial empowerment and bonus schemes: ensuring fairness across multiple regions, and allowing visibility to staff
• Wellbeing and pay initiatives across different cultures – not one size fits all: war stories
Discussion: Designing and Implementing a Pay Review: Fair pay and living wage
Norman Pickavance
Independent People Consultant , University of Liverpool
Norman Pickavance is an advisor to Corporate Boards, Not for Profits and Politicians, developing innovative people strategies and partnerships which deliver ethical, social and governance responses to today’s big ESG, business & social challenges. Norman passionately believes that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things and that the key to unlocking potential is shaping environments which are ‘More Human’. To that end Norman has written books on Corporate Purpose, reports on The Working Poor, and has been a frequent contributor to journals and magazines on all aspects of The Future of Work. Actively campaigning for more progressive approaches to social inclusion, diversity, and mental health, Norman is a Member of the Council of Community Mental Health Charity - The Camerados, a collaborator with Talk for Health, Co-Founder of The Financial Inclusion Alliance, and The Black Leadership Advisory Council. He was also a founder of Create, a social impact business focused on the homeless and excluded, winning accolades from the Prime Minister and The Observer newspaper. Norman spent his early career leading international change projects in the high tec sector, before becoming a FTSE 100 Group HR Director, a Fellow of the CIPD, and Board member of a Global Professional Services Business. His work has been recognised in various professional awards and he has been voted one of the most influential leaders in the UK by HR Magazine on several occasions. He has most recently been CEO of People & Governance Think Tank - Tomorrow’s Company and now works independently on a wide range of projects and initiatives.
Duncan Brown
Principal Associate at IES & Visiting Professor , University of Greenwich
Duncan has 30 years’ experience working in major HR consultancies and employment institutes, including Willis Towers Watson and IES. He also spent five years as the deputy CEO at CIPD. His clients have included National Grid, the Cabinet Office, the Department of Health, Unicef UK and the Fairtrade Foundation. He has carried out major reviews for the government of the pay determination methodologies for groups including doctors and dentists and the judiciary. He has been on expert panels on topics including employee engagement, fair pay and pensions; and he inputted extensively on the gender pay reporting proposals. He was also a member of the research team that have carried out the gender pay gap in medicine review. Earlier this year, he was confirmed in the top ten HR Most Influential Thinkers list produce by Human Resources magazine.
Katherine Chapman
Director , Living Wage Foundation
Katherine joined the Living Wage Foundation as Director in March 2016. The Living Wage Foundation oversees the Living Wage movement in the UK and accredits employers who pay all direct staff and regular contractors the real Living Wage. Since Katherine joined, the number of Living Wage employers in the UK has grown to 10,000 including 50% of the FTSE 100 and thousands of small firms. The Foundation has also launched a new benchmark Living Hours and is developing a Living Pension. Before joining the Foundation, Katherine was Assistant Director at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, a public body providing leadership on employment and skills issues in the UK working with industry leaders and policy makers on strategies to boost productivity, wages and social mobility. Previously Katherine was Head of Education and Skills at Policy Connect bringing together business leaders, public bodies and parliamentarians on a range of issues including the gender skills gaps, careers advice and Apprenticeships. Katherine is a trustee of the Good Business Charter in the UK and a Commissioner for the Business Commission to Tackle Inequality for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
- One-off lump sums, loans, incremental payments: implications for Universal Credit and tax
- Implications for workers with variable hours
- What if the employee leaves? Ethical and practical considerations
Comfort break
Case Study: Ethnic Minority and Female Workforce Considerations: What specific issues must be addressed to support your vulnerable employees and how to ensure you communicate options clearly
Irene Muma
HR Business Partner , Sage Publishing
'Irene is a seasoned HR professional with significant years of experience partnering with UK & global organisations on both strategic and operational HR matters. She has worked in various sectors such as Publishing, Financial services, legal and Oil and Gas. She has led, inputted and coordinated several DEI projects including establishing mentorship & internships for underrepresented groups, hiring for diversity and increasing representation of women & ethnic minority’s in senior positions. Irene also founded black working mothers network in 2021 to advocate for women’s rights & maternal health in the workplace, raise awareness of the barriers and challenges black women face at work, and encourage organisations to provide better workplace racial equity.
- Supporting vulnerable colleagues as part of your overall D&I strategy
- Collecting and interpreting data: gender and ethnicity pay gaps to formulate equitable policy and procedure
- Understanding specific challenges faced by vulnerable groups and understanding how to formulate supportive strategies
- Active listening: support and consultative groups: conversation and reporting
Engagement with Unions to Ensure Transparency and Equality
Afzal Rahman
Policy Officer , TUC
Afzal is a Policy Officer at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) covering pay and employment, minimum wage, living wage and working hours. He sits on the advisory council of the Living Wage Foundation. Before joining the TUC, Afzal worked at Citizens Advice, the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion, and in roles in local government and parliament.
- Minimum wage: growth and targets
- Insecure workers, key workers and night workers: what does ‘fair’ look like?
- Zero-hours contracts: the TUC perspective
- Implementing fair pay deals: essential considerations when negotiating with your unions
Wrap up and review
End of conference
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