The Engaging Employees Conference - Adapt, Connect, Thrive | 20th March 2024, London

+44 (0)20 3479 2299

Strategic Employee Engagement Conference 2024:

Connect – Adapt – Thrive

A One-Day, Industry-Led Conference & Networking Event, Central London, 20th March 2024

08.30 Registration, Informal Networking & GIC Opening Remarks

09.00 Morning Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks

Caroline Lagden, Head of Colleague Channels & Experiences, Lloyds Banking Group

Marc Whittingham, Head of Change Communications & Engagement, Holland & Barrett

AXA’s GLOBAL HEALTH & WELLBEING PROGRAM ‘WE CARE’

 CASE STUDY

09.10 Deep dive into the leading global insurer and asset manager, AXA’s ‘We Care’ program

  • Establish the four pillars of this key program: The Domestic and sexual violence policy, The Caregiver policy, The Parental policy, and The Healthy You program
  • Examine the critical steps AXA is taking to drive an inclusive and supportive global workplace culture in 2025 and beyond

Janina Norton, Global Head of Culture, AXA

REMOTE & HYBRID WORKING: PERFORMANCE & ENGAGEMENT

 PANEL & Q&A

TAKE HOME STRATEGIES!

09.30 Cultivate A Connected, Collaborative & Flexible Hybrid Culture That Maximises Employee Engagement & Performance Whilst Fuelling Critical Business Needs

  • A high-performing, flexible, and hybrid culture… the perfect narrative! Ensure your company culture reaches every employee to drive employee engagement and maximise performance
  • Different locations, different technical capabilities, different familial situations… clearly no employee is the same! Discuss fresh and innovative strategies for continually engaging remote and hybrid workers
  • Deep dive into the balancing act between employee needs and business requirements for highly-satisfied employees that drive business goals and ultimately boost business success
  • Tackle communication hurdles by exploring affordable tech and digital strategies that boost colleague collaboration and meet the needs of remote workers

James Furnell, Head of People, UK & International, Papa Johns

Shelley O’connor, Performance Manager & Co-Chair of LGBTQ+ Network from Bank of England

Caroline Watkins, Head of Employee Engagement, Allianz Insurance

“I am the 1 in 4” - How Acknowledging & Understanding Baby Loss Can Support Employee Wellbeing

New & Updated For 2024!

10.00 Learnings About Baby Loss In The Workplace:

  • Zurich and Aching Arms come to the stage to share more about their partnership journey and how proactively recognising baby loss in the workplace has helped support employee wellbeing

Leanne Turner, CEO, Aching Arms

Donna Wayman, Trustee at Aching Arms & Chief Operating Officer, Zurich

SPEAK TO THE HUMAN

10.20 How do you help people do the things that make them and their organisation flourish? In this session, Acteon share insights from their behavioural approach to engagement.

  • Discover what it means to ‘speak to the human’.
  • Think differently about building engagement through motivation, capability and opportunity.
  • See the approach in action with examples from organisations like Wellcome, Channel 4 and Netflix.

 

James Woodman, Director, Acteon

10.35 Morning Refreshment Break With Informal Networking

Is Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) Working Hard Enough?

11.20  Caburn Hope, a Gallagher Company

  • Effective communication drives behavioural change and makes organsations more successful so we’ll explore how you can ensure your communications do just that.  
  • Storytelling is one of humankind’s most influential art forms. It will resonate with every culture, generation, and community worldwide. We’ll demonstrate how you can use it to achieve your goals for engagement.
  • We’ll share our tried & tested strategies that will elevate your employee value proposition (EVP).

Chris Andrew, Head of Caburn Hope, Caburn Hope, a Gallagher Company

INSPIRING LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

 DOUBLE PERSPECTIVE

11.35 Champion Senior Leaders & Managers To Promote & Reaffirm Engagement Initiatives With Employee-Centric & Tailored Leadership Styles That Guarantee To Inspire Teams Beyond 2024

  • One leadership model will not fit all! Cultivate a more people-centric and empathetic leadership approach that engages and inspires all members of your team
  • What is the role of the line manager in employee engagement in 2024 and beyond, and how can managers balance employee expectations with senior leaders’ targets
  • Hone in on empowerment! How do we champion our leaders and managers as spearheads of empowerment to drive next-level communication and engagement?
  • It isn’t all down to managers…encourage everyone across teams to take ownership and champion personalised and engaging employee experiences

Perspective 1, 11.35    Chandrani Chakraborty, Group People Director – Operations & Technology, QBE Insurance

Perspective 2, 11.55    Morgan Kimm, Head of People, Planning & Performance, HM Revenue & Customs

ENGAGING EMPLOYEES THROUGH CHANGE

12.15 Change Is The Only Constant! Maximise Engagement & Employee Advocacy During Periods Of Adversity & Disruption To Foster Trust & Ease Change Anxiety

  • Covid-19, recessions, striking… change is inevitable! Explore how leaders have protected employee motivation and experience during such turbulent times
  • Work-life balance and purpose-led work? Modernise and future-proof your engagement strategies as Millennial and Gen Z expectations begin to influence organisational culture
  • Delve deeper into the “what’s in it for me?” factor to inspire positive feelings of internal change and mitigate concerns around change fatigue
  • Review and refine clear and consistent communication strategies with employees as you restructure your business change journey and continue to build an authentic connection from top to bottom

Sharon Kemp, Head of Employee Communications & Campaigns, Bupa

NEW & INSPIRING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT & EXPERIENCES

Panel & Q&A

12.35 Elevate Engagement & Cultivate Top-Notch Employee Experiences With Insight-Led Approaches That Resonate With All Employees & Their Expectations

  • Uncover fresh and innovative communication strategies that respond confidently and empathetically to support employee wellbeing during times of change and encourage a healthy workplace culture
  • Explore best-practice techniques to craft a tailored and personalised employee journey that creates next-level employee experiences and maximises business engagement
  • What do employees really want out of their job? Cut through the noise and dig deep to the roots of demotivation and dissatisfaction to determine the metrics needed to tap into engagement and motivation at work
  • From Microsoft Teams to Slack… discover and assess the best digital interfaces available to help deliver rich collaboration and engagement across teams

Meredith Klaar, Regional Senior Internal Communications Manager, Ministry of Justice UK

Holly Gaffney, Central Communities Lead, Future Workplace, Lloyds Banking Group

13.00  Lunch & Informal Networking For Speakers, Delegates & Partners

PEER-TO-PEER DISCUSSIONS

13.40 Relaxed & Intimate Insight Sharing

          A) Personalisation

          B) Benefits & Rewards

          C) Crisis Comms

          D) Non-Digital Engagement

14.05 Afternoon Chair’s Opening Remarks

Sara Turner, Head of Internal Communications, Prison Resourcing Communications Team, Ministry of Justice UK

COLLABORATIVE WORKPLACE CULTURES

PANEL & Q&A

14.15 Foster A Culture Of Trust, Transparency & Communication To Keep Your Employees Engaged & Committed To Their Work & Your Organisation

  • The million-dollar question! How can organisations foster a high-performing, inclusive, and collaborative culture in a hybrid working environment?
  • Refresh your employee listening strategies to build a culture that is founded on transparency, well-being, and crucially employee experience and engagement
  • Cultivate a supportive and nurturing organisational culture that encourages open conversations from both the office and home to provide effective health and wellbeing support to all employees

Tor Goldfield, Senior Director, Internal Communications, Expedia Group

Shelley O’connor, Performance Manager & Co-Chair of LGBTQ+ Network from Bank of England

Sarah Tait, Workplace Experience Lead, Lloyds Banking Group

James Hampton, Head of Employee Experience, St Austell Brewery

WELLBEING, MENTAL HEALTH & WORK-LIFE BALANCE

CRITICAL SAME DAY TAKE AWAYS

DOUBLE PERSPECTIVE

14.45 Prioritise Your Health & Wellbeing Agenda & Boost Personalised Care For Protected, Empowered & Engaged Employees & Supportive Organisational Cultures

  • Office politics, financial stress, health worries…how can you create a tailored and personalised wellbeing programme when employees have such varying needs and expectations?
  • Work to Live or Live to Work? Evaluate and implement programmes that will benefit employee’s health and wellbeing with meaningful impact and inspire a healthy work-life balance
  • Implementing well-being policies and programmes is the first step but how do we encourage and empower employees to actually engage with them to create meaningful personal change?
  • Examine winning reward and recognition schemes guaranteed to empower staff, boost morale, and leave employees feeling engaged and valued

Jeremy Gautrey-Jones, Assistant Director Employee Experience, RSPCA

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

15.05 Truly Embed A Sense Of Inclusion & Belonging Into Your Organisation With Authentic & Employee-Led ED&I Strategies That Support The Varying Needs Of Every Employee

  • Embrace your employee listening strategies and feedback systems to create day-to-day approaches that actively embed inclusivity and belonging into organisational culture
  • Gain a better organisational understanding of neurodiversity and its complexities and recognise the critical adjustments needed to minimise barriers and challenges and drive employee engagement
  • Leverage vital employee resource groups to increase connectivity, collaboration boost engagement in future employee experience strategies

Natasha Whitehurst, Global Inclusion Lead, Rolls-Royce

15.25    Afternoon Refreshment Break With Informal Networking

ENGAGING TOP TALENT & CAREER DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

ATTRACT & RETAIN

16.00 Attract & Engage Top Talent & Empower Employees To Kickstart Their Career Development Journey With People-Led Strategies That Boost Engagement & Maximise Retention

  • Remain victorious with the war on talent! What steps are you taking to create a positive organisational culture that attracts top talents and keeps employees engaged in the long run?
  • With budgets as tight as ever and hybrid working a new reality, how can you protect the importance of L&D with management and continue supporting employees career goals no matter the location and external circumstances
  • Evaluate and refresh your pre-hiring strategies to get your employees excited about working for you before they have even signed that dotted line!
  • Deep-dive into critical strategies for engaging employees in their future career and current career development to boost employee experiences and maximise long-term retention

Corinne Mills, People Director, Alzheimer’s Society

CHANGE & UNCERTAINITY

TAKE HOME TOOLS TO IMPLEMENT!

16.00 Dealing With Change & Uncertainty

Joss Gill, Head of People Consultancy & Change, Nationwide Building Society

DATA & MEASUREMENT

16.40 Harness New & Effective Data & Measurement Strategies & Translate Findings To Guide Future Decision Making & Policies Surrounding Employee Engagement

  • Identify and analyse actionable employee insights to inform and adapt future employee engagement strategies
  • Are you utilising all your data? Better leverage available people data to identify correlations and gaps in employee demographics to help leaders make more informed business decisions
  • Dial up your listening approaches and feedback surveys to temperature check and maintain engagement through times of adjustment

Rhian Moore, Head of Internal Communications, Great Western Railway (GWR)

17.00 Afternoon Chair’s Closing Remarks & Official Close of Conference

Sara Turner, Head of Internal Communications, Prison Resourcing Communications Team, Ministry of Justice UK