Programme

The Retail Bulletin reserves the right to change the program’s content at any time

8.15 – 9.00	DELEGATE REGISTRATION
9.00 – 9.15	WELCOME ADDRESS & INTRODUCTION FROM THE SPONSOR
9.15 – 10.45	Recruitment Keynote Presentations Followed By Interactive Panel Discussion & Audience Q & A Session Attracting Real Talent Through Establishing Best Practices Of Retail Recruitment This 90 minute session will feature 4 presenters each giving a 15 minute presentation focusing on retail recruitment strategies. The remainder of the session will consist of a moderated panel discussion using a combination of the bullets below and questions from the audience. Understanding how UK job seekers perceive a career in the retail industry Increasing your candidate pool through effectively promoting retail as a long-term, valuable and worthwhile career Assessing how to make your company’s brand stand out as an retail employer of choice so that talent is attracted to your organisation and motivated to stay there Understanding what retail applicants see real value in order to tailor your recruitment initiatives Evaluating which channels will offer your recruitment strategies the best returns so you know where to spend your budget Evaluating how to drive ROI from online recruitment Appraising how to tailor your recruitment strategies to effectively attract overseas applicants Sharpening your interview techniques so that you can ensure you recruit top-quality talent that will drive your business forward Assessing how to spot leaders as early as possible so that you can maximise the effectiveness of your recruitment Comparing and contrasting the value of recruiting new staff with that of internal promotion Assessing how to determine who are the ‘right’ people to hire so that you know when to spot future employees Speakers confirmed to date: Caryl Roberts, Lead HR Business Partner, Vodafone UK Nicki Crossland, HR Director, Claire’s
10.45 – 11.15	NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK
11.15 – 11.45	Getting The Best Out Of Your People Through A Cost Effective, Optimised Retail Training And Coaching Strategy Evaluating which retail training and coaching techniques deliver real results Identifying training and coaching techniques in order to devise a strategy that is tailored for your employees Assessing which technologies will offer your training and coaching initiatives longer term ROI Demonstrating real measurement of success of training and coaching initiatives to secure future budgets and board level buy in Assessing where training and coaching is headed so that you can tailor your strategies accordingly Darren Bezani, Head of Learning & Development, The Carphone Warehouse PLC
11.45 – 12.45	LUNCH AND NETWORKING
12.45 – 2.15	Retention Keynote Presentations Followed By Interactive Panel Discussion And Audience Q & A Session Delivering On Longer-Terms Business Goals Through Ensuring Your Key Talent Stays With Your Organisation This 90 minute session will feature 3-4 presenters each giving a 15 minute presentation focusing on retail staff retention covering a minimum of 3 of the bullets below. The remainder of the session will consist of a moderated panel discussion using a combination of the bullets below and questions from the audience. Understanding how current and future employees perceive a career in the retail industry in order to cost effectively manage their needs Understanding the impact of retail’s high staff turnover on your business in order to take steps to effectively reduce it Evaluating which packages retail employees see value in so that you can tailor cost effective and competitive remuneration initiatives Assessing how you can deliver an effective rewards package that meets your employees’ needs and manages their expectations Building a benefits strategy that offers real, digestible value to your employees and allows you to remain a competitive employer Evaluating how to effectively communicate change to your employees without scaring them away Building cost effective succession and development plans that will ensure talent remains with your organisation Assessing how you build a working environment that maximises the retention of your key staff Establishing best practices of supporting and developing your staff through challenging times Speakers Steve Smith, Head of Group HR, N Brown Group PLC Sonia Sharples, Head of HR, Poundland Ltd Andy Cole, Head of Learning & Development, Dollond & Aitchison
2.15 – 2.45	Maximising Employee Engagement To Ensure Staff Remain Loyal To Your Organisation And Deliver Your Company’s Overall Retail Vision Evaluating which factors motivate your employees to want to stay loyal to your organisation so you can build tailored engagement strategies that deliver your business goals Establishing which engagement and development initiatives will really meet your employees needs and maximise their motivation Evaluating how to communicate effectively to your employees so that they remain engaged and loyal to your company Assessing how you can effectively measure engagement so you know you are on track Rhys Madoc, MA FCMI Chartered MCIPD, Senior Relationship Manager, Train to Gain
2.45 – 3.15	NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK
3.15 – 3.45	Ensuring Compliance Through A Clearer Understanding Of The Key Legislation Facing UK HR Executives Key areas to be covered include the latest and forthcoming legislation on: The Smoke Free Workplace Maternity and Paternity Regulations Discipline, Conflict & Grievances Working Hours Employee Discrimination Customer Discrimination Annual Leave Audrey Williams, Partner, Employment Law, Eversheds LLP
3.45 – 4.30	Retail HR in 2009: Ask The Experts Panel Discussion And Interactive Audience Q & A Session: This interactive panel discussion allows you to ask some of the UK’s leading retail HR executives for their views on where retail HR is headed in the next two years to allow you to develop forward thinking people strategies. Before opening up to questions from the audience, starting questions include: How can you make a career in retail appear an attractive career choice? What recruitment strategies will show the best results in the next 2 years? What new training and coaching strategies will prevail in 2009? What leadership characteristics will be needed to maintain market share in the next few years? How will the internet affect our future HR strategies? What new ways can you use to keep people loyal to their organisation? What new engagement strategies will we be using in 2009? How can you best prepare your employees for major change? How can you best reduce absenteeism and loss prevention? How can you keep employees motivated in difficult times? Panelists confirmed to date: Michelle Fellows, Personnel and Training Director, The Perfume Shop Marie Matheson, HR Director, SCS Upholstery PLC Jez Langhorn, Reputation Manager, McDonald's Restaurants Ltd Nicky Hillier, Personnel Manager, High and Mighty International
	CHAIRMAN’S SUMMARY AND END OF CONFERENCE