Workforce Retention and Wellbeing Policy & Practice Summit 2022
Time: 0915 - 1700 BST
Cost per attendee: £295 + VAT
Post-pandemic, UK employers face a bewildering number of policy challenges and change as they struggle to retain staff, manage remote working and implement wellbeing programmes to support their workforce.
Recent statistics have shown that 86% of UK employees want to continue to work remotely, 38.9% are requesting more flexible options and 40.7% of professionals intend to look for new roles in 2022.
The effects of the pandemic has had a huge effect on employees, which has led some to question the values and existing relationships they have with their current employers.
After in-depth research with HR professionals, we have designed this unique programme which will give you the tools to understand and implement the key policy and practice changes. A wide range of speakers from national and global organisations will share the secrets of tackling the challenges posed by the post-pandemic return to work.
Programme highlights include:
- Understanding and meeting the current challenges
- Creating and embedding people-centric workplace policies
- Policies to stem the great resignation: how to retain and nurture your people
- Masterclasses in building a culture of retention
- Data collection and interpretation for retention
- Policies to optimise staff retention and resilience
- Essentials of an upskilling programme
- Ensuring your position as an 'employer of choice' through a robust and updated EDI programme
- Key elements of an empowered, non-toxic and nurturing work environment
- Intensive and information-packed workshops on building effective high-performance teams
This practical and interactive summit is a unique opportunity to hear a compelling mix of strategies and workable solutions from leading employers and experts. You will have the opportunity to partake in a choice of workshops, mini-masterclasses and engage in live Q&A sessions.
Experts in post-pandemic conferences & training
Since 1996, BFI has run ground-breaking workplace conferences and training courses on retention, D&I, menopause, gender pay gap, sexual harassment and bullying policies and have a profound understanding of the specific challenges posed by the post-pandemic landscape.
Delegate feedback
"Thank you for covering topics that are so relatable to the present day and for bringing light and shade to each of them. I am now equipped with some really useful takeaways that will help our organisation become better prepared in facing these challenges as we navigate our way through this recruitment crisis/revolution".
"It was an excellent informative day. Great to come together with colleagues all facing the same challenges. Feel re-energised to continue to strive to make our organisation a great place to work".
Platform: Zoom - An encrypted zoom platform with password access: Click here for further information and to test access
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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
Chair's welcome, opening remarks and ice-breaker exercise
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.
Delegates will be split into small friendly groups for a short ice-breaker in breakout rooms to discuss objectives for the day, exchange experiences and network with fellow professionals.
Opening address
Stephen Bevan
Head of HR Research and Development , IES
Stephen Bevan is head of HR research development at IES with responsibility for developing innovative new projects and programmes with IES partners and other collaborators. Stephen returned to IES in April 2016 after spending 15 years as Director of Research and Managing Director at The Work Foundation. Stephen has conducted research and consultancy on high-performance work practices, employee reward strategy, performance management, staff engagement and retention, and 'good work'. He has a special interest in workforce health and wellbeing, having led a number of national and international projects focusing on workforce health and the impact of chronic illness on productivity and social inclusion. He is the Project Director of a major impact evaluation project for the Work and Health Joint Unit which is tracking the progress of health-led trials for people with mental health and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Stephen is an adviser to a number of UK government departments and has advised employers and policymakers in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Australasia and North America. He has received a special award from GAMIAN-Europe for his contribution to the field of mental health and employment and is a reviewer for several academic journals, including The Lancet. Stephen is a regular columnist for HR Magazine, a judge at the Global Healthy Workplace Awards and an adviser the government’s Mental Health and Employment Review. He is a Board Member of the European HR Director’s Circle and a member of the Britain’s Healthiest Company expert advisory group. Stephen has appeared in HR Magazine's list of Most Influential HR Thinker for the past ten years. He has been an honorary professor at Lancaster University Management School since 2010.
The future of HR: Putting the human back into your resources
Victoria Robinson
People and Organisation Partner , PwC LLP
Vicky is a partner in our London People & Organisation practice specialising in workforce. She is experienced in helping organisations optimise, align and engage their employees and contractors and create a thriving workplace. She has worked on a number of end to end business transformation projects for some major organisations, redesigning and recalibrating workforces to enable organisations to meet their business strategies and aspirations. Areas of specific expertise include change management, culture realignment, organisational design and reward and HR transformation. Over the last 12 months she has been actively working with a number of organisations (including PwC itself) around their ways of working coming out of lockdown and adapting to a more hybrid model going forward.
Andrew Lopianowski
Engagement Director , PwC LLP
Andrew is part of PwC’s Workforce, Strategy and Culture team where he leads the Leadership & Upskilling Practice. A seasoned leadership and talent professional, Andrew brings 15+ years experience innovating the transformation of organisations and their talent. Andrew has a track record in the consulting world, having worked in senior positions at three leading consultancies, as well as having run his own business specialising in the tech sector with high growth startups. As a result, he’s worked across public and private sectors in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. Andrew has a Master of Science in Industrial / Organisational Psychology as well as numerous certifications in assessment, development and innovation tools and practices.
- How and why people need to be at the heart of your business story
- Creating and embedding people-centric workplace policies
Stemming the great resignation: effective policies to retain and nurture your people
Sari Ek-Petroff
Manager, Learning and Development , Suomen Asiakastieto Oy
Sari is a future oriented and a growth minded HR with a passion on building excellent organizations with a winning leadership culture supporting the engagement and wellbeing of all employees. Coaching and emotionally intelligent leadership guide her work. Sari believes in the life-long or life-wide learning and wants herself to be a good example of that. She follows actively new research and other studies on relevant topics as well as gives lectures on different occasions. During the past few years, she has also educated herself for WorkPlace Big Five and EQi tools as well as acquired a coaching certification. Wellbeing is important to Sari, she practices tennis twice a week and plays golf. Travelling and learning new cultures are also her way to relax and recover.
- Essential elements of a happy, productive, healthy workplace: what do you need to do and when?
- Prioritising a healthy work-life balance – what policy and practical changes might be needed?
- Tackling change: an inclusive and collaborative culture
- Problematic habits and behaviour resulting from remote working: a game plan to correct them - the essential role as a team leader
Comfort break
Essentials of an employee retention culture: Interactive mini masterclasses
Matteo Violi
Head of Global Talent and Learning , Christian Aid
With 25 years of experience in the Learning and Organisational Development space, working across the Charity, Public and Private sectors, Matteo currently leads the Global Talent and Learning Function at Christian Aid, working on Culture Renovation, Leadership and Management development, Engagement and Talent across the 27 country in which Christian Aid operates. Matteo is passionate about helping people and organisations grow and reach their best potential, finding and building that sweet spot where organisational Values, Strategy, Culture and Practices meet to create workspaces where individuals and teams can collaborate, innovate, learn, and thrive together, ultimately becoming the best they can be. In his approach to his work, Matteo mixes curiosity, creativity, imagination, pragmatism, reflection and experimentation, leading to facilitating, learning and developing new perspectives and solutions."
Vivek Iyyani
Millennial Specialist, Author of “Engaging Millennials”
Millennial Minds Pte Ltd
Vivek Iyyani
Millennial Specialist, Author of “Engaging Millennials” , Millennial Minds Pte Ltd
VIVEK IYYANI is the Founder & Speaker at Millennial Minds, a leadership training organisation. He empowers leaders in organisations to understand the Millennial Mindset so that they can better engage with the young generation. He coaches leaders to understand the key challenges, competencies and communication styles of the millennial generation better so that they can work productively in intergenerational teams. Vivek is the author of the book, Engaging Millennials and Empowering Millennials and is currently writing 2 more books on the Millennial Generation which is being published by a top international publisher, Penguin Random House. He brings with him over a decade of experience working with Millennials since 2007 from institutes of Higher Learning and High Schools. Vivek has worked with Government Bodies, Multi-National Companies, Associations and Non-profit organisations. He has been featured on ASEAN regional media such as • Channel NewsAsia’s “FirstLook Asia” program • Channel NewsAsia’s “Slackers, Shockers, Suits & Superheroes” • Vasantham’s Neeyum Naanum program • Vasantham’s Kathaippoma program • National radio stations such as MONEY FM, Oli 96.8FM • Business Magazines such as SME Entrepreneur Magazine, CEO Magazine and multiple online blogs. His articles have been published in various national media such as Straits Times, Business Times, business and lifestyle magazines. He is certified as a NLP practitioner and in personality profiling certifications such as MBTI and TetraMap. In his free time, Vivek dreams of starting adventures through travel, adventure-sports and attending events again in a post-covid world.
Saumya Hebbar
Associate Director of People , Lincolnshire Health & Care System
Saumya is currently the Associate Director of People and leads a team of senior programme managers (People Hub) who deliver on workforce transformation programmes for Lincolnshire Health & Care. System wide wellbeing programmes, an innovative approach to equality & diversity, reduction in bank and agency costs, sustained improvement in retention – these are just few of the areas her team leads on – https://www.oneworkforcelincs.co.uk/ Before this she was the Head of Organisational Development at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust where she worked for three years. She has over 20 years of experience in Global HR/OD transformation roles both in Private IT / Consulting companies as well as in the NHS. Saumya’s particular interest and passion is ‘Enhancing the Employee loyalty factor’ and how various ethnicities and cultures have an impact on Organisation culture and its loyalty factor. Working on improving this stickiness and thereby retention is key, especially given the pandemic and its impact on our workforce. She is a motivational speaker and has spoken on many topics from breaking the glass ceiling for BAME women in NHS management, to creating a diverse & inclusive culture, to the financial benefits of a focus on retention. Saumya has a degree in Psychology and Sociology and also a Masters in Organisation Behaviour. She has a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and is an accredited facilitator for a number of psychometric tools.
Delegates will select the relevant stream and hear workable, practical strategy on understanding employee needs, motivation and experience. A deep dive into three different groups will ensure attendees can focus on and formulate appropriate strategy. Delegates receive handouts for all sessions, thus maximising the learning outcomes and ensuring a broad overview.
Delegates will select from one of the following three groups and after discussing for 45 minutes, the group leader will summarise and feedback to the whole summit.
Masterclass A: Gen X - MATTEO VIOLI
Masterclass B: Gen Y - VIVEK IYYANI
Masterclass C: Minority Ethnic Employees - SAUMYA HEBBAR
- Taking a proactive approach: why and how?
- Essential support you must offer employees across the organisations
- Breaking down barriers to create safe spaces for reporting challenging and problematic behaviour
- Establishing anonymous reporting structures
Comfort break
Data: Collecting, understanding and interpreting data to retain employees
Caroline Smith
VP Deputy General Counsel, International , HireRight Ltd
Caroline Smith has been with the HireRight group for over 10 years and is Deputy General Counsel for HireRight’s International business (EMEA/APAC region). Caroline assists in the negotiation of contracts across the region and leads the International business compliance function advising on a range of issues including data protection and regulatory updates. Caroline is a UK qualified lawyer with over 18 years’ experience and prior to joining HireRight, she was with Herbert Smith LLP and Clyde & Co LLP working on a range of complex international corporate, corporate insolvency and commercial matters. Caroline earned her Master of Arts degree at the University of Saint Andrews and went on to study law at the College of Law in York earning the GDL and LPC postgraduate qualifications.
- Data collection, storage and interpretation: key skills for HR professionals
- How lack of data can lead to low employee retention
- Essential documentation policy: what to collect to ensure equitable pay
- Why are employees leaving? understanding the implications of working conditions post-Covid
Lunch
Staff welfare and resilience post-covid
Jessica Badley
Director of People and Resources , British Society for Rheumatology
Jess Badley FCIPD is Director of People and Resources at the British Society for Rheumatology. Jess is particularly interested in the links between wellbeing, agile and flexible working, and innovation and how this can transform an organisation’s culture and approach towards work. Most recently, Jess was Head of HR & OD at Blood Cancer UK, where she led the charity to be ranked as the 9th best charity to work for in the UK by Best Companies in 2021, and the most inspiring not for profit workplace at the Inspiring Workplace EMEA Awards 2022. Blood Cancer UK also won the Wellbeing category of Inspiring Workplaces EMEA Awards, and Jess was awarded the Culture Pioneer award for Wellbeing at the 2021 Culture Pioneer Awards. Jess’s background and experience is across the charity and education sectors. She is also a trustee for Yes Futures, acts as mentor for the CIPD mentoring schemes in London, and volunteers for Young Women’s Trust on the Work It Out programme.
- Poor workforce mental health: key characteristics to look for:
- Anxiety, depression, self-harm, anger fear
- Identifying, managing and reducing absenteeism
- What does a safe space/safe workplace look like and how can you achieve one quickly and cost-effectively?
Designing, embedding and quantifying an effective upskilling programme to drastically reduce churn
James Hampton
Head of Employee Experience , St. Austell Brewery
A self-confessed learning geek, James has spent 22 years developing people. He has worked in the public sector with the Royal Air Force and in Further Education and in the private sector in Retail with Seasalt Cornwall and most recently as Head of Learning Talent & Culture in Hospitality and Production with St Austell Brewery. James’ military grounding provides a unique view on management and leadership development and the overall role of managers in the workplace. As a learning practitioner James likes to take an evidence-based approach to people development and believes in experimentation to achieve results. James has worked to promote learning as a mechanism to progress inclusion, wellbeing and sustainability and is an advocate of apprenticeships. By taking a more systems thinking approach to people development James is on a mission to solve the real root causes to the current skills deficit to ensure all have an opportunity to continually improve. Promoting learning enablement through great employee experiences, James looks outside of the mainstream learning profession for ways support people to get better at what they do.
- Bridging the gap between business objectives and required skills: what are your options?
- Reviewing and training your management to ensure they are proactive in retaining staff
- What role do and should managers play in employee professional development: case studies and lessons learned
Comfort break
Has your EDI programme lost impetus? Key ways to inject new ways to ensure staff to feel welcome and wanted
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.
A brainstorming and feedback session to tease out the real and hidden expectations of the course attendees and establish exactly what success looks like. Attendees have the potential to be a real catalyst for change and this important session will help you develop a roadmap for your organisation to ensure your diversity and inclusion goals are clear, achievable and something to be proud of.
- Tackling bullying, harassment, and discrimination
- Checklist to ensure your programme defines you as an employer of choice
- What are employees looking for and where might effective changes be made in your company?
Roundtable: Ways to foster a positive work environment
Dr Subashini M
Director of Science, Health & Wellness , Holland & Barrett
Suba, a surgical doctor by background, is the Director of Science, Health and Wellness at Holland and Barrett, where she provides expertise powering the delivery of science-backed in-store and digital products and services, to cement Holland and Barrett’s status as a trusted health and wellness destination. She has experience working in insurance, implementing value-based healthcare, delivering data-driven solutions and championing workplace wellbeing. She is a Non-Executive Director at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, where she chairs the Quality and Safety Committee and is the Wellbeing Guardian. She is also a Non-Executive Director at Healthwatch Hampshire and faculty member at Good Governance Institute.
Paul Beard
Director , Acas
Paul Beard is Acas’ Director for the South East. He trained as a lawyer and prosecuted serious fraud, before moving through several investigation and enforcement roles. Whilst Head of Compliance for Ofgem he studied for his MBA and then joined Acas. He has extensive experience of employment law and employee relations across all sectors’
- Eliminating toxicity from the workplace
- How to nurture employee buy-in for health and wellbeing
- Creating an environment where employees feel empowered to manage their unique life and work by making the most of their energy
- How to support delegation and employee empowerment
Comfort break
Interactive workshops:
Dr Subashini M
Director of Science, Health & Wellness , Holland & Barrett
Suba, a surgical doctor by background, is the Director of Science, Health and Wellness at Holland and Barrett, where she provides expertise powering the delivery of science-backed in-store and digital products and services, to cement Holland and Barrett’s status as a trusted health and wellness destination. She has experience working in insurance, implementing value-based healthcare, delivering data-driven solutions and championing workplace wellbeing. She is a Non-Executive Director at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, where she chairs the Quality and Safety Committee and is the Wellbeing Guardian. She is also a Non-Executive Director at Healthwatch Hampshire and faculty member at Good Governance Institute.
Rachael Longley
Regional HR Manager – North Europe , Rohlig UK Ltd
Röhlig is an owner run logistics company, that offers solutions in the field of sea freight, air freight, project logistics and contract logistics. The family-owned company was founded in 1852 in Bremen, Germany. Today, its network covers more than 2,200 people in over 30 countries. Röhlig supports its clients as a reliable partner. The company combines a strong customer focus with high quality standards and state-of-the-art technology. For this reason, Röhlig’s overall brand values are: Truly Reliable, Forward Thinking, Eager for More. Rachael is a versatile and experienced business manager with expertise in all areas of business administration from small, start-up businesses to larger multinational organisations. Proficient in a wide range of general business management activities including project management, events management, human resource management, training and development and building new office procedures and processes. * HR administration & recruiting * Conference, event & meeting organisation * Training * Predictive Index Analyst * Facilities support * Health & Safety Rachael enjoys F1, theatre, live music, cinema, photography and cultural adventures are her simple pleasures in life.
Dr Mike Talbot
CEO & Founder , UK Mediation
Mike is a highly experienced psychotherapist, mediator, trainer, lecturer, and the founder and CEO of UK Mediation Ltd. With over 25 years’ experience in the conflict resolution field, Mike specialises in resolving disputes for teams, groups, and organisations, especially where relationships have broken down and other approaches have failed. He aims to apply his unique psychotherapeutic approach to conflict resolution: looking at how we get into conflict, how we behave when locked in dispute, and what we need from an impartial third party in order to resolve these issues.
Jessica Badley
Director of People and Resources , British Society for Rheumatology
Jess Badley FCIPD is Director of People and Resources at the British Society for Rheumatology. Jess is particularly interested in the links between wellbeing, agile and flexible working, and innovation and how this can transform an organisation’s culture and approach towards work. Most recently, Jess was Head of HR & OD at Blood Cancer UK, where she led the charity to be ranked as the 9th best charity to work for in the UK by Best Companies in 2021, and the most inspiring not for profit workplace at the Inspiring Workplace EMEA Awards 2022. Blood Cancer UK also won the Wellbeing category of Inspiring Workplaces EMEA Awards, and Jess was awarded the Culture Pioneer award for Wellbeing at the 2021 Culture Pioneer Awards. Jess’s background and experience is across the charity and education sectors. She is also a trustee for Yes Futures, acts as mentor for the CIPD mentoring schemes in London, and volunteers for Young Women’s Trust on the Work It Out programme.
Delegates will select from one of the following four workshops and after discussing for 40 minutes, the group leader will summarise and feedback to the whole summit.
- Workshop 1: Reconnecting and rejuvenating jaded teams - Dr Subashini M, Director of Science, Holland & Barrett
- Workshop 2: Building effective and resilient teams: key elements of success - Rachael Longley, Regional HR Manager, Rohlig UK Ltd
- Workshop 3: Managing conflict effectively: reducing RTW tensions and issues - Dr Mike Talbot, CEO, UK Mediation
- Workshop 4: What are the essential foundations of a successful retention programme? - Jessica Badley, Head of HR & OD, Blood Cancer UK
Final wrap-up and end of conference
Contact us to book or discuss our events & services
01983 861133
info@bfi.co.uk
Event supported by
Launched back in 2004, Mindful Employer is a UK wide initiative run by Devon Partnership NHS Trust. Providing employers with easy access to professional workplace mental health training, information and advice; our goal is to help empower organisations – large or small – to take a lead in supporting the mental wellbeing of staff.