IES Annual Conference 2024: Creating a Sustainable Workforce

HR sits at the centre of the biggest challenge currently facing the UK economy - labour and skills shortages combined with work environments that are failing to attract and retain workers.

There is likely to be growing pressure in the year ahead for organisations to do more to deliver ‘good work’, whether as a result of an upcoming UK election, acute retention and skills challenges, changing social attitudes and expectations around work, or to wider pressures such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

The pressure for organisations to have an evidence-based story to tell about their workforce strategy, and to provide more information about material workforce risks that could affect the business or society more widely, will affect many organisations both directly and indirectly.

Faced with these challenges and forces, HR has a job on its hands. In this year’s annual conference, we will hear from a range of speakers who can inspire our thinking about how to proactively address the risks that could well undermine workforce sustainability and shape a workforce strategy that is future-proof.

Questions we will seek to address include:

• What is the current state and prospects for the UK labour market? And what does that mean for building a sustainable workforce strategy?
• What are the implications of wider external factors e.g. political, regulatory, on the workforce sustainability agenda?
• How do we create work and workplaces that retain people and valued skills?

Speakers include:
Tony Wilson, Director, Institute for Employment Studies.
Tony leads the Institute, is a labour market expert, and regularly comments on the world of work, the labour market and its implications for both public policy and HR. Tony is a former civil servant and worked on employment, skills and welfare in the Department for Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus and HM Treasury.

Nita Clarke OBE, Director Involvement & Participation Association
Nita is the Director of the IPA, Britain’s leading organisation delivering workplace support for good employment and industrial relations. She is co-author of the influential MacLeod Review on employee engagement and continues to work with David MacLeod on the new national Employee Engagement task force, launched by Prime Minister David Cameron in March 2011. She was formerly the adviser on trade unions to Prime Minister Tony Blair, working as assistant political secretary in the Political Office at 10 Downing Street from January 2001 to June 2007. Nita was a senior official with public services union UNISON from 1992 -2001. She is the author of the report, The way forward: trade unions and the third sector, commissioned by ACEVO. Nita was awarded the OBE for services to employee engagement and business in the Queen’s birthday honours list 2013.

Claire Campbell, CEO, Timewise
Claire is the CEO of Timewise, a social enterprise focussed on creating more inclusive workplaces powered by flexible working. She is an experienced OD consultant and has run many large consultancy projects and innovation programmes for Timewise, for organisations ranging from the NHS, to energy providers, to transport organisations to both local and national governments. Claire is a former civil service HR Director, where she led on resourcing and talent in DWP and DECC, following an earlier career in HR consulting. She has a Masters in Occupational Psychology and is a Fellow of the CIPD.

Dr Wilson Wong, Director Insight and Futures, WongonWork
A data scientist and futurist, Wilson has over 30 years of experience of applied research into organisations – their leadership, values/ culture, futures strategy, and the evaluation, management and development of human capital for policy & practice, investors and in academia. His research consulting and futures strategy development clients include the Metropolitan Police, Logica, Standard Chartered Bank, Nottingham County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, DWP. MoD, Human Capital Development Corporation, HCLI, and RBS. He is Visiting Professor at Nottingham Business School, Adjunct Professor at HK Baptist University, and sits on several academic research strategy boards, and is Chair of the IJHRD. He was for over a decade the Head of Insight & Futures, and Head of Research at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD, UK), and helmed the research at the European Association of People Management (EAPM) and the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA). A UK human capital metrics expert to ISO, and a member of the UN Millennium Project global futures experts network, he co-edited Human capital management standards: A complete guide, published by Kogan Page.

Woosh Raza, Director of People, Culture & Inclusion, NCVO (The National Council for Voluntary Organisations)
Woosh is responsible for leading on the people strategy across NCVO, and supporting NCVO and the wider sector in advancing its aims in equity, diversity, inclusion & belonging. Woosh is a chartered member of the CIPD, having worked across the private and public sectors before developing his career in not-for-profit organisations in housing, health care and criminal justice settings. An experienced change management expert, Woosh has a proven track record in leading and delivering large-scale transformation projects and is a co-chair of the central London CIPD Committee, sits on the BAME leadership alumni for Stonewall and runs his own ED&I consultancy focused on supporting third sector clients in advancing their strategies in equity and belonging.

A panel of experts chaired by Dan Lucy, IES Director, HR Research and Consulting, will discuss and consider the role that HR can play in developing a progressive workforce strategy that can mitigate the risks of building long lasting workforce sustainability.

Who should attend:
HR professionals including those with responsibility for people and workforce strategy, diversity and inclusion, health and wellbeing, workforce planning and talent management.

Conference fees:
IPA members benefit from a discount of £55.00 + VAT per person and should email [email protected] to claim their discounted tickets. 

Non-members may book directly via Eventbrite at £150.00 + VAT per person.

Cancellation policy:
Cancellations made five working days or more in advance of the event will receive a 100% refund. Cancellations made within 5 working days of the event are liable to payment of the attendance fee in full. Delegate substitutions can be made at any time ahead of the event. Please contact [email protected] for further information.