institute for employment studies

the IES HR Network

Membership of the IES HR Network

Membership of the HR Network is designed to allow you to choose the elements that will most benefit you and your organisation. The Network provides members with the opportunity to access a mix of research, seminars, an online knowledgebase, in-house CPD and consultancy. There is a modular structure incorporating a core membership module together with add-on modules which can be used to tailor your membership package. All members take the core module and can then choose their own combination of additional options.

Core module

As an HR Network member, you help shape the Network research agenda, ensuring that both your organisation and the HR community get the research that is needed for better-informed HR practice. Many research projects also allow members to participate in the research perhaps in the form of action learning or in-house surveys leading to immediate benefits for the participating organisations.

The members-only website and knowledgebase contains all of the IES-published research, together with much unpublished material available only to members. Anyone from a member organisation is entitled to access the members-only website, which can be linked through your intranet.

Members participate in Network seminars and conferences, which provide an opportunity for you and your colleagues to take some time out to reflect, to listen to what others are doing, and return with new ideas and increased confidence in the way ahead. All our Network events and conferences combine a unique mix of research findings, client organisation presentations, and the opportunity to share experiences in a confidential setting. Typically we run ten seminars a year, a mix of full and half days. In addition, we hold an annual conference which addresses issues from across all the Network themes. Members taking only the core module are entitled to send one person free of charge to up to four seminars plus the annual conference, each year.

For senior HR people, we run a 24-hour HR directors’ retreat allowing them to spend time with their peers sharing experiences and learning about the latest practice and thinking. The event provides thought-provoking sessions delivered by key strategists in the HR world today. There is also the opportunity to network and build relationships.

In-house briefings are an annual option, for one of our experts to attend your team meeting and discuss key HR issues and trends. Member organisations have used this opportunity to provide briefings to departments and HR strategy meetings.

A quarterly advisory one-to-one session enables you and your senior team to keep up with IES’s latest thinking, by meeting with a senior IES expert, either face-to-face or by teleconference.

You also gain access to the IES research and consultancy team at a 10 per cent discount from our standard rates.

Additional module: Networking & seminars

This module, chosen by most members, allows organisations to take full advantage of the complete seminar and conference program. Members taking this module are entitled to send up to four people to all ten seminars and the annual conference. This option allows organisations to provide their HR community with easy access to a wide range of external seminars where they can learn from other organisations and hear the latest thinking and practice.

Additional module: In-house training

This module provides access to a range of continuing professional development (CPD) programmes for HR people, that we will run in-house for you. These go beyond the normal HR training modules that are widely available, to focus on those capabilities that really set excellent HR people apart from the rest.

• Knowledge Knibbles™ are short, sharp 90-minute masterclasses on the latest ideas, to stimulate your thinking.
• Our Masterclass workshops are typically a whole day and we present knowledge, research, examples and insights for tackling specific issues, allowing time for discussion and planning about how these can be used in your organisation.
• The Advanced Skills Development programmes are focused on those skills that will help you make the most effective impact on the organisation.

Members taking this module get five days of CPD delivery to use on the programmes of your choice. You can then either buy additional days at a reduced membership rate or an additional block of five days at the module rate. You can also use your credits to have personal coaching with one of our expert HR Coaches for one or more people.

Additional module: Consultancy

The additional consultancy module allows organisations to gain access to our team of consultants and researchers at highly preferential rates. The module gives you access to five days of support at any time during your membership year, and can be used on any kind of consultancy support. For example, you might use this support to get a diagnosis of a particular problem, to test out your strategy or to help develop new policies. Our consultancy support can come in any of the six themes described earlier. The choice is yours. Again organisations can take one or more blocks of consultancy support.

Join the IES HR Network

• How to become a member