Last week Dan Atkinson of Accite attended the HR Directors Business Summit on behalf of UK Recruiter. Here is his review:
The 9th Annual HR Directors Business Summit billed itself as the place 'where the leaders of HR meet to discuss the latest ideas and innovations in Human Resources'.
Being someone that's always been fortunate to enjoy something of an aerial view of the HR world (albeit with a bias to the recruitment side), it was great to get the chance to see what was being said, what was being thought and what was being offered from a speaker and delegate list that really did ooze quality.
The opening address was handled expertly by Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practise at London Business School. Painting a world in which future generations would be roughly divided in to the haves and have nots of the economy her message was a stark one – communication has created a level economic playing field for everyone. Success in the future is going to rest on education and merit. New ways of working will create new challenges and opportunities for people to collaborate and operate in ways that HR needs to understand and work with. All very fascinating stuff, more of which can be found here and here.
Following Lynda's presentation, Chester Elton from Performance Recognition Consultancy O.C. Tanner spoke (along with a panel of industry specialists) about the importance of recognition in the workplace. It proved a strong contrast to Gratton's research and theory based presentation to go back to basics with the importance or recognising contributions through praise. It could be interpreted as a modern day take on common sense, but as the old Yorkshire saying goes, ‘common sense ain’t that common’. To learn more about what OC Tanner get up to take a look here .
After this, the several hundred delegates split off to attend various lectures and seminars and I'm afraid I can only comment on my own choices. Lynne Weedall (Group HRD of Best Buy Europe) gave an excellent presentation on the modus operandi needed to execute change across an organisation. The Tweetup and opportunities to debate Twitter provided by Jon Ingham of Strategic HCM and Charlie Duff of HRZone were a most welcomed opportunity for a bit of round table note comparing amongst some of us more early adopting members of the HR world.
In the afternoon Prof Paddy Miller got the delegates through their post-lunch slump with a presentation on HR innovation and people engagement. The day ended with a panel discussion that pitted Vance Kearney (VPHR Emea of Oracle) against Lynne Weedall (Carphone Warehouse / Best Buy Europe) discussing their frequently contrasting views on Employee Engagement. Anyone familiar with the differing management styles of their respective, highly charismatic CEO's will not be surprised to learn that this led to a very interesting debate.
Day 2 opened with a presentation from Jill McDonald (CEO & President, McDonalds Northern Europe) and David Fairhurst (CPO, McDonalds Europe). Focussing on the role of a Strategic HR Director in the 21st Century, the key themes were those of managing organisational complexity, speed of chance and employee engagement. They addressed complex organisational models and practical real world experience with real world examples of the achievements the McDonalds Organisation, both a business and as corporate citizens. Going in to some depth about trust and organisations, Jill McDonald made a win-win case for being active in the community; people trust what's closest to them. If McDonalds are straight with their customers and involved in their communities then it’s going to benefit both the business and their customers. You can learn about David Fairhurst’s thoughts on HR follow here.
Other highlights on Day 2 for me included a presentation from Durham University Business School and the John Lewis Partnership on their research in to shaping their employer brand, and how to integrate this in to the founding principles of the Business. There was also a terrific presentation by Matthew Hanwell, Director of Communities and Social Media at Nokia. Contrasting the different approaches to the often over complicated world of Web 2.0, Matthew managed what was probably the most re-tweeted quote of the conference when he stated that 'Digital natives don't know they are underwater, whilst digital immigrants can remember being scared of getting their feet wet'.
All in all it was a fascinating two days, delivering a solid balance of theory and practise, ideas and inspiration. If anything there was almost too much to take in. Thankfully it was all being recorded by the organisers to offer as on-demand content to delegates that had paid for extra access. Hopefully my press pass will allow me that privilege as well; otherwise I may just have to get my wallet out.
