The IES Annual Conference 2023: Shaping a fairer world of work

Whilst Covid served to highlight inequity in the workplace and potentially drew new fault lines in the workforce, the post-Covid context is being shaped by a cost-of-living crisis, disputes over pay and conditions, recruitment and retention challenges, as well as the continued importance of diversity and inclusion. We know the importance of perceptions of fairness for employee engagement, retention, commitment and willingness to support organisational change, as well as its importance as a guiding principle in shaping a great workplace.

The focus of this year’s conference will be on some of the key challenges in the current context, and how we can shape a fairer world of work both now and in the future.  You will hear from leading HR thinkers as well as have the opportunity to network with like-minded colleagues.

Questions we will seek to address include:

• How do we make work more inclusive now and in the future?
• How do we enable employee voice to create a climate of fairness?
• How can we redesign work to be more flexible and remove barriers to progression?
• How do we shape a future workplace which is fairer and enables opportunity for all?
• What does fair pay and reward look like in 2023 and beyond?

Who should attend:

• HR professionals including those with responsibility for people and workforce strategy, pay and reward, diversity and inclusion, employee relations.

Speakers include:

Tony Wilson, Director, Institute for Employment Studies

As Institute Director at IES, Tony leads a team of fifty people delivering research, analysis and consultancy support on employment, skills, education and HR. He has particular expertise in labour market policy and analysis; the design, delivery and evaluation of employment and skills programmes and supporting organisations to understand and apply evidence of ‘what works’ in employment policy and service delivery. Prior to joining IES in October 2018, Tony was Director of Research and Development at the Learning and Work Institute, and before that a Director at the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion. Between 2001 and 2011 he worked on employment, skills and welfare in the Department for Work and Pensions, Jobcentre Plus and HM Treasury.

Dr Duncan Brown, IES Principal Associate

Duncan is a Principal Associate at IES and an independent government and employer adviser and researcher on reward management issues. He has worked at major HR consultancies including Willis Towers Watson, Aon Hewitt and PwC, and research institutes, most recently heading up the employment consulting work at IES. He also spent 5 years as the Assistant Director General at CIPD. His recent clients have included Shell, SGN plc, UK Research and Innovation, the UK Cabinet Office and NHS Employers, The UN, European Commission and Unicef.

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.

Heledd Straker, People Evolution Consultant, And Digital

Heledd Straker is a Workforce futurist with 16 years’ experience working in client-facing and internal roles, creating highly innovative, practical and inclusive employee experiences based on future trends. Currently Heledd works at AND Digital, where she created and now leads their new strategic imperative: strategic inclusion. This goes beyond traditional D&I of focussing on recruiting diverse individuals, to transforming ostensibly ‘neutral’ processes to fairly include and benefit everyone. 

Nicola Smith, Interim CEO, Timewise

Nicola is passionate about how good flexible working can improve lives and strengthen businesses and throughout her career, has focused on bringing research, policy and practice together to achieve change. Prior to Timewise, Nicola led external relations as an Assistant Director for the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Before that, she spent around a decade at the TUC, starting out coordinating the work of the Commission on Vulnerable Employment (CoVE) before being promoted to Head of the Economic and Social Affairs and then becoming Joint Head of Equality and Strategy, a role she held as a job share arrangement. Nicola was also a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee, scrutinising secondary social security legislation. Earlier in her career, Nicola held research and policy roles at the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion, Barnardo’s and the Children and Young People’s Unit (CYPU) at the old Department for Education and Skills (DfES).

Paul Drechsler CBE, Chair International Chamber of Commerce

Former President of Confederation of British Industry, Paul is Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC/UK), Independent Director Schroder &Co, and President of Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). Senior business leadership roles included; Chairman of Bibby Line Group, Chairman & Chief Executive of Wates Group, Executive Director of ICI Plc, Senior Non-executive Director of Essentra Plc, Non-Executive Director Greencore Plc., Chairman of BusinessLDN (London First), Chairman CBI energy Policy Committee. Prior to joining Wates, Paul spent 24 years with ICI PLC, holding senior / Board positions and living in the UK, Brazil, the USA and the Netherlands. He was previously Chancellor Teesside University, Chairman Teach First, Chairman of UK Skills Funding Agency Advisory Board, Director of Business in the Community, The Princes Trust (Construction Council), and TCD Provost’s Council and TCD Business School Advisory Board.

Rob Barkworth, IES Principal Associate

Rob is a business psychologist and Director of Develop Inclusion, a business psychology consultancy specialising in creating inclusive organisations. Rob has focussed on diversity and inclusion in organisations over the last 20 years. His approach is research-based and data-led, to ensure that organisational interventions can have the intended impact. Rob specialises in a range of diagnostic approaches including diversity & inclusion audits, process reviews and live observation to understand blockers to D&I and to implement changes to practice that will have tangible benefits. Rob has a particular interest in fairness in complex decision-making environments and over the last five years has worked with a range of academic funders to make improvements to peer review processes.

Agenda:

09.20 Coffee and registration

09:40 Opening Chair remarks: Dan Lucy, Director, HR Research and Consulting, Institute for Employment Studies

09:45 Keynote address: Tony Wilson, Director, Institute for Employment Studies

10.15 Fair Pay: How is the pay transparency and pay equity agenda affecting pay gaps, and what works in closing them? Dr Duncan Brown, IES Principal Associate

Questions & discussion

10:45 Coffee

11.00 Enabling employee voice to create a climate of fairness: Nita Clarke OBE, Director Involvement & Participation Association

Questions & discussion

11.45 Case study – Making Work Inclusive: Heledd Straker, People Evolution Consultant, And Digital

Questions & discussion

12.30 lunch

13.30 Designing flexible working that removes barriers to progress: Nicola Smith, Interim CEO, Timewise

Questions & discussion

14.15 Closing keynote: Paul Drechsler CBE, Chair International Chamber of Commerce

14.45 Panel discussion: Rob Barkworth, Nita Clarke, Paul Drechsler

15.00 Closing remarks

15.05 Close

The event will be chaired by Dan Lucy, IES Director, HR Research and Consulting

Location:

This is a hybrid event and colleagues may participate online or in person at:

Broadway House

Tothill Street

London SW1H 9NQ

Nearest underground station is St James’s Park (District & Circle Line). Mainline stations at Victoria, Waterloo and Charing Cross are within walking distance or a short bus ride.

Conference fees:

Online

Colleagues from IES and IPA member organisations may participate in the online conference free of charge.

Non-member organisations: £95.00 + VAT per participant

In person

Member organisations may send a maximum of two participants to participate in person free of charge, additional participants may attend at the non-member rate below.

Non-member organisations: £150.00 + VAT per participant.