Employee Retention Workshop: Effective strategy & practice

Welcome to the day: Establishing learning objectives

Tom Hadley

Business Coach & International Workforce Consultant
Hadleys Comment

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Tom Hadley

Business Coach & International Workforce Consultant , Hadleys Comment

Tom is an independent consultant and business coach specialising in high-impact strategic communication and workforce issues. Over the last twenty years, Tom has worked with global employers, international institutions, government ministers and two of the UK’s leading business organisations. He reaches into this to provide training and consultancy services in areas such employer brand, leadership, reputation management, research-led campaigning, employee engagement, public speaking and media training. Tom is the author of a number of White Papers and research reports on the evolving world of work and is a regular keynote speaker and media spokesperson. Campaigning activities have focused on Covid-19 business support measures, preparing for Brexit, promoting the positive role of business in society and making change happen on equality and inclusion. During his time as Campaigns Director at the REC, Tom also established the Future of Jobs Observatory to pre-empt future skills needs and the implications of AI adoption. His current work with the International Labour Organization (ILO) involves delivering advocacy training to business bodies from around the world and bespoke support in areas such as evidence-based advocacy and crisis management. Over the course of his career, Tom has been a representative on over a dozen government forums and served on the European board of the World Employment Confederation. He has a Masters in International and European Law from Assas University in Paris and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). He is a qualified rugby coach and an unrepentant aficionado of 1980s French pop.

Ice breaker exercise

• Revising and improving your recruitment and workforce strategies what are smart employers doing now
• The great resignation strategies to mitigate the shortage

Working structures post-covid: Benchmarking your organisation against employers of choice

• Returning to work: key elements of a workable recovery plan
• Putting people at the heart of your long-term strategy
• Team building in the remote era: autonomy, empowerment, goal-setting and independent working
• Stay interviews: When, why and how to check in with employees to maximise retention
• Are your management structures and styles contributing to employee resignations? Ten questions to make sure you’re supporting your most valuable assets

Case Study

Steve Othen

Director of People
Splash Damage

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Steve Othen

Director of People , Splash Damage

A HR and change professional working in the video games industry. Steve enjoys bringing together the aspects of organisation effectiveness and individual performance - helping organisations succeed through people, helping people succeed in organisations. He is a big believer that inclusion is fundamental in this. Experience includes managing organisational change / restructures, leading cultural change programmes, combining business strategy with the people strategy, implementing performance management schemes, management & leadership development, recruitment and induction, OD, and multi budget management. A CIPD level 7 qualified HR generalist with a Masters in HRM. A chartered member of CIPD with experience of both strategic and operational HR. Partnering with colleagues from all levels of the organisation to design and implement initiatives that have a measurable impact on both individual and business performance. Awarded HR Future Leader of the Year at the 2017 HR Excellence Awards. A former Fellow of the Institute of Recruitment Professionals holding a Diploma in Recruitment Practice. Alumni of the NTL Global Organisation Development Certificate Programme. Prosci Change Management Practitioner.

A chance for delegates to hear how innovative retention strategy works in practice, including:

• Top crunch factors for boosting retention in an ultra competitive labour market;
• Using new approaches to internal communication to drive engagement and boost retention;
• Taking stock of HR’s evolving role and remit;
• Understanding the changing needs and expectations of workers across different sectors and the implications for managers and leaders.

There will also be time for participants to ask their own questions and share their own experiences.

Comfort break

Culture change: A highly interactive working session to examine your own offerings and identify areas of improvement

• Creating and communicating credible and inspiring company values
• Work / life balance - challenges and solutions
• Benchmarking your offerings as an employer
• Post-furlough return to work: designing programmes to maximise retention
• Restructuring roles and responsibilities to reflect employee needs
• Effective employee surveys and data collection: what, who and why
• Using data effectively to retain employees
• Retaining and motivating in 2022 through CSR, volunteering and community initiatives
• Onboarding onwards: communicating company values to ensure employees feel included and empowered

Comfort break

Rewards and development: Effective strategies to incentivise your workforce to stay

• What’s motivating your employees in 2022?
• Industry benchmarks and best practice: strategies to remain competitive
• Evaluating and establishing appropriate pay and benefit structures post-RTW: key considerations and examples
• Flexi-days, unpaid leave, sabbaticals, learning programmes, childcare and other options to examine

Interview / Q&A

Michelle Kilcar

Director
HERO Recruitment

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Michelle Kilcar

Director , HERO Recruitment

I was fortunate at the age of 21 to walk into a Recruitment Agency in California who hired me as a Recruiter. You could say really that I fell into it and here I am 27 years later having found a profession I love. What I love most about working with people are those truly engaged moments spent with someone where you share in a vison of either unearthing the very best of people for their team or finding that job opportunity that pivots your career to greatness. I’ve had the pleasure to work with really great companies who are committed to working with the very best people and I’ve had the honour and their trust to align our greatest talent. This is the work that has inspired my 27 years in recruitment. Some of my key learnings over these years are that genuine relationships are priceless and surrounding yourself with great people is one of the most important things we can do as people and as a company. Masters in Management of Operations, Degree in HR Management, Certified Diploma in Accounting & Finance (ACCA) Fellow member of CIPD & NRF.

A chance for delegates to hear a business leader’s perspective on innovative retention and engagement strategies.

• What do business leaders see as the most important factors for driving employee retention?
• How can reviewing staff incentives boost organisational culture and a sense of belonging?
• How can business leaders better understand and respond to the evolving needs of their workforce?
• In addition to innovative retention strategies, how can employers simultaneously refresh their attraction strategies?

There will also be opportunities to raise other questions and for participants to share new approaches 

Lunch

Group work exercise: Training and leadership: embedding an appropriate culture top-down to minimise attrition

• Upskilling and cross-skilling as engagement and retention tools
• Designing and resourcing professional development and learning programmes: what’s working in 2022?
• Understanding and matching market expectations post-Covid
• Mentorship and socialising inn the new normal: smart ideas for 2022
• Avoiding losing staff through poor leadership: supporting your management team to have a positive impact
• Feedback, communication and data: leveraging data to reduce churn

Comfort break

Practical interactive session: employee wellbeing

• Post-covid RTW challenges
• Maximising engagement in stressful times
• Key elements of an effective and proactive wellbeing programme
• Recognising burnout, stress, anxiety and disengagement: pre-emptive and reactive strategy
• Feedback and communication: listening and reacting to your workforce
• How engaged are your employees and what should you be doing to improve this?
• Processes and productivity in the remote working environment: tools and techniques

Wrap up, personal learning and plans, next steps and networking

End of programme