Beyond HR: Smarter People Strategies for Real Business Impact

Join the Hereford & Worcestershire CIPD Independents Group for a high-energy, interactive half-day event bringing together HR professionals, business leaders and people decision-makers.

This event is designed to offer practical ideas, fresh perspectives and valuable opportunities to connect with others, with insights you can take straight back into your organisation.

What to expect:

• Opening keynote
• Expert keynotes and practical workshops exploring current people and organisational challenges
• Trade stands where you can discover specialist HR expertise and solutions
• Ask the Experts - choose the specialist table most relevant to you and have informal, practical conversations
• Networking and Connection Corner - designed to make connecting with others easy and useful, whether you love networking or usually avoid it
• Opportunities to share issues with others, creating potential collaborations and new professional connections

Key topics

Sessions will explore current challenges including people strategy and business risk, employment legislation, organisational change, culture and engagement, leadership, recruitment and retention, employee relations, and innovative approaches to HR support and professional development.

What will you gain?

You will leave with practical ideas, useful tools and resources, fresh perspectives and new professional connections. You will also have the opportunity to speak directly with experienced HR specialists and explore different sources of support without the pressure of a sales pitch.

Our aim is that every attendee leaves with at least one valuable new insight, one meaningful new connection and practical actions to take back into their workplace.

The event is designed to be modern, practical, honest, inclusive, interactive, solution-focused and commercially relevant - with genuine value at its heart.

About the speakers

Andy Holmes - Director, Career Space

Area of expertise: Career coaching and mentoring, first-line management, career development, process improvement and commercial support.

Session: First-Line Management and Career Coaching

Andy will explore how a combination of coaching and structured management training can help those who have found themselves promoted into management positions based on their technical skills. With a focus on neuroscience and the benefits of providing space to think, he will consider practical ways to support employees while helping organisations develop their people and improve performance

Claire Lawton -Managing Director, Acorn Support

Area of expertise: Practical HR advice, employee relations, absence management, performance management and employee engagement.

Session: Claire will explore how business leaders can manage challenging people issues, including absence, disciplinary matters and performance concerns, in a fair and effective way. She will share practical approaches to resolving employee issues, supporting managers and creating a positive workplace while protecting business performance.

John Heseltine - Director, People Transformation and Change, Our Journey

Area of expertise: People-centred change management, organisational transformation, people-related risk and protecting business performance during change.

Session: Change Management

John will explore why the people impact of organisational change is often underestimated and how this can lead to disengagement, lost productivity and avoidable costs. He will demonstrate how identifying people-related risks early and understanding employees’ experiences can help leaders make better decisions and achieve successful, sustainable change.

Liz Crutchley - Founder and CEO, Orange Orchid

Area of expertise: Equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging, culture change, psychological safety and inclusive leadership.

Session: Diversity Rocks - Conversations That Matter

Liz will introduce Diversity Rocks®, an engaging approach to starting meaningful conversations about identity, inclusion and belonging at work. Through thought-provoking conversation cards, participants will explore different perspectives, challenge assumptions and identify practical actions that help create workplaces where everyone feels they belong.

Liz Gait - Founder, EG People Development

Area of expertise: Leadership and organisational development, executive coaching, learning and development, organisational change and performance improvement.

Session: Insights Discovery - The Power of Understanding Yourself and Others

Liz will introduce Insights Discovery, a personality preferences framework that helps people understand themselves and how they relate to others. Through interactive activities and reflection, participants will explore the four colour energies, improve their communication and discover how appreciating different perspectives can strengthen teams and workplaces.

Ruth Dawson-Jones - Director, Processio Solutions

Area of expertise: Reward, fair pay, HR systems, process improvement, business analysis, organisational design, employment law and learning and development.

Session: Fairness Has Its Rewards: Balancing Performance, Equity and Trust

Ruth will explore how UK businesses can ensure they reward people fairly while recognising individual performance and contribution. Understand some practical steps organisations can take to make reward decisions more objective, consistent and transparent, supporting employee engagement and organisational success.

Reuben Begman - Independent HR Consultant, Petrol Blue HR

Area of expertise: Employee relations, mediation, employment law, HR policy, employee engagement, leadership development and management coaching.

Session: Mediation

Reuben will explore how mediation can help resolve workplace conflict constructively, enabling people to address differences and find workable solutions. He will consider how a practical, positive approach to employee relations can reduce the need for formal HR interventions and help managers focus on building effective working relationships.

Sharon Southcott - Director, Strategic Professionals

Area of expertise: Learning and development, mentoring, training programme design and delivery, and supporting business improvement.

Session: Learning and Development

Sharon will explore how effective learning and development can support individual growth, strengthen team capability and contribute to improved business performance. Drawing on her experience across different industries and backgrounds, she will consider how development programmes can be designed and delivered to meet organisational needs.

Getting to the venue:

By Car:

Worcester is served by the M5 motorway and is accessible from Junctions 6 and 7. Under normal traffic conditions all University campuses can be reached in 15-20 minutes from Junction 7. The University is clearly signposted once you come off at Junction 7.

SatNav: Severn Campus: WR2 5JN

By Bus:

The numbers 31, 31B, and 31E Henwick Park Services operated by First travel connect the Severn Campus to all university campuses via a bus stop outside the Arena.

By Train:

Worcester is served by two train stations:

Worcester Foregate Street – is a 15 minute walk from the Severn Campus.
Worcester Shrub Hill – is a 25 minute walk from the Severn Campus or 10 minutes by taxi.

Parking:

Parking available at the venue information available

The Arena has a dedicated car park with 286 spaces, including 27 accessible spaces. The car park can be accessed via the Arena entrance on Hylton Road where spectators can park for £6.00 per car, per day. In the event this car park is full, visitors are advised to park in the nearby University of Worcester car park or City Council Car Parks.

Guest speakers
Some events may include external speakers. Any views or opinions expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CIPD.

Joining instructions
You'll receive your joining instructions again before the event, along with a reminder shortly before the session starts.

Accessibility and reasonable adjustments
If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your participation, please contact us and we'll do our best to accommodate your needs.

Event venue & nearby stays

University of Worcester Arena, Joel Richards conference Suite, Worcester, United Kingdom

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