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HR Director Boardroom

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Since 2001, we have been recruiting HR professionals in the UK, working together with the HR community to encourage collaboration and engagement. We offer online HR Directors Boardroom events that provide a great opportunity for this in collaboration with Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP.

These events typically include a Chairperson, Guest Speaker, and 10-15 HR Directors. Our sessions follow Chatham House rules, therefore all information shared is kept confidential.

Sessions are scheduled for 8.30am to 10am and are held on Teams. We ask that the cameras are on (just as if you were in the boardroom).

Whilst we can appreciate that from time to time something arises that may need immediate attention, because of the interactive nature of the meetings, we would ask that you try to remain with us for the entire session.

This is a fantastic opportunity for HR directors to share ideas and support each other through continued networking.

If you are interested in attending a session this year, please email amanda.underhill@ashleykatehr.com

Date: Tuesday 4th June 2024
Time: 8:30am – 10:00am
Topic: Mastering the Art of CEO Management: A Guide for HR Leaders

HR Director Boardroom June 2024

Key topics in this session:

  1. Understanding the CEO’s Vision: Align your strategies with the CEO’s vision for the company. Understand the importance of communication in conveying this vision to the rest of the team
  2. Influencing Decision-Making: Discover techniques to effectively influence the CEO’s decisions in a respectful and professional manner. Learn how to present data and arguments that resonate with the CEO.
  3. Building Trust: Understand the importance of building a strong, trust-based relationship with the CEO. Learn practical steps to earn and maintain this trust over time
  4. Managing Conflict: Gain insights into managing disagreements or conflicts with the CEO. Learn how to navigate these situations while maintaining a positive working relationship.

Mark Hammerton

Mark is an employment law partner within Eversheds Sutherland’s Employment, Labour and Pensions Group. Mark has focused on employment law since qualifying in 1994 and he has been a partner since 2005. As an employer, Mark can advise you across the full range of employment and labor issues globally. This includes the people aspects of transactions, having worked on hundreds of outsourcing and corporate deals. Mark has many years’ experience helping clients take a commercial approach to the challenges of TUPE. Mark has worked on cross-border and UK-only deals. Mark advises extensively on engagement and misclassification issues, assisting clients in navigating the evolving case law and legislation on status. Mark works with clients managing their contingent workforces on issues such as the IR35 off-payroll tax reforms, the Agency Workers Regulations and the Employment Businesses/Agencies Conduct regulations which apply in the UK to staffing companies and their customers. Mark can help employers resolve difficult workplace issues such as executive terminations, National Minimum Wage compliance, and complex disciplinary and grievance matters (including matters involving whistle-blowing and relationship breakdown). He has led complex restructuring and reorganisation projects, including in the context of insolvency. Mark has inputted into various Government consultations and supported leading business and industry bodies on, for example, the response to the Covid-19 pandemic and contingent workers reforms.

Susie Fehr

Susie Fehr is an experienced Human Resources Executive known for providing time-sensitive solutions to complex organisational, strategic, and employee-related issues. She excels at maximising operational effectiveness while minimising business risk. She has a proven track record of assembling and leading national and international HR teams, motivating and empowering individuals, and ensuring adaptation to rapid business change.
As a partner to the CEO/Chairman, she guides them through complex C-suite performance and organisational issues while maximising the effectiveness of the executive team. She pays strong attention to interactions between business-critical functions, implementing synergistic workstreams to ensure a cohesive approach to achieving business goals. Some of her standout projects have included engaging and retaining staff through a complex acquisition process, ensuring business continuity and retention of key expertise; professionalising and modernising HR and operational processes to create a more engaged workforce, reducing staff turnover and cutting recruitment costs; and implementing new processes to allow for effective talent retention and promotion, enhancing the internal talent pool. She has been at the forefront of employee and business transformation throughout her career. She has worked for large PLC’s and industry leaders as well as SME’s, start-ups, and consultancies. Having worked for US, UK, and Japanese businesses, she understands how to navigate complex cross-cultural boardroom issues, ensuring HR policy and business vision always work hand in hand. Her specialties include Strategic Business Leadership, Change Management, Senior Stakeholder Management, M&A Assessment, Acquisition Integration, Executive Performance Management, Cultural Assessment & Development, Executive Compensation, Total Rewards Programmes, Organisational Design, Global Talent Acquisition, Succession Planning, HRIS Evaluation & Implementation, Diversity Equality & Inclusion, Coaching, Executive Coaching, Employee Training, Leadership, Team Management, Programme Management, Employee Relations, and Union Relationship Management.

Date: Wednesday 14th August 2024
Time: 8:30am – 10:00am
Topic: From Pessimism to Participation: Cultivating a Culture of Involvement

HR Director Boardroom Session - August 2024

Key topics in this session:

  1. Unified Branding as a Catalyst for Engagement: You will learn about the pivotal role of a cohesive brand, exemplified by the “Employee Voice” emblem, in reinforcing the company’s dedication to hearing and acting upon employee input. You will understand how this emblematic identity unites varied employee contributions and feedback, promoting collective goals and camaraderie.
  2. Tailored Strategies for Varied Teams: The session will cover the formation of EV committees, illustrating that while certain approaches are universally beneficial, genuine engagement is achieved by honouring and catering to the distinct characteristics and needs of each team at the local level.
  3. Fostering Participation through Recognition: The forum will showcase the triumphs of bi-annual events that boost participation through team initiatives. This method inspires active engagement, with teams eager to earn recognition rather than comply with directives.
  4. Cultivating Engagement by Granting Autonomy: The discussion will demonstrate that true cultural integration of engagement cannot be micromanaged by HR. It necessitates empowering teams with self-governance, encouraging them to assume responsibility and demonstrate initiative, thereby nurturing a more invested and proactive workforce.

Nichola-Jayne Thomas

Nichola-Jayne Thomas is a distinguished HR Senior Executive, committed to HR excellence. With a rich background in talent management and development, including internationally, Nichola-Jayne has been instrumental in fostering a culture of service and quality at ELIS, where she currently leads as a key executive.
A graduate in English Literature and Performing Arts, Nichola-Jayne’s academic pursuits reflect her passion for communication and the arts. Her professional journey is marked by her ability to integrate and empathise with diverse teams across various countries.
In addition to her ability to connect with people at a variety of levels, Nichola-Jayne is an inspiring leader. She is lauded for her strategic solutions that align with business objectives while remaining pragmatic and accessible to all employees. Her efforts in promoting gender diversity and employee appreciation demonstrate her belief that employees are the greatest asset of any organisation.
As a forward-thinking leader, Nichola-Jayne continues to advocate for employee engagement and organisational capability improvement. Her contributions to the field have earned her respect from her peers but also the heartfelt recommendations of those who have worked alongside her.

Date: Thursday 12th September 2024
Time: 8:30am – 10:00am
Topic: Burn Bright, Not Out

HR Director Boardroom - 12th September

What you will get from the session:

  • The science behind burnout
  • The causes and consequences of burnout
  • The strategies and practices to prevent and cope with burnout
  • The benefits of implementing behavioural science into training to change mindsets

Sally Isaacs

Sally is a Partner in our Employment Group. She has considerable experience of employment tribunal litigation and specialises in discrimination law, with particular emphasis on equal pay. Sally has been responsible for a number of high profile equal pay cases over the last 15 years including defending mass equal pay litigation. Sally’s contentious work also includes unfair dismissal, industrial relations issues and breach of contract claims.

Sally qualified in 2000, and has specialised in employment law her whole career. In addition to her contentious practice, Sally also gives advice in relation to non-contentious matters such as proposals to change terms and conditions of employment, strategic management of industrial relations issues, implementing new pay and grading structures, gender pay gap reporting and equal pay audits.

Sally has particular knowledge of the public sector (particularly local government and education) and has been recognised by the Legal 500.

Wendy Macartney

Wendy is a burnout and sleep expert in the UK, as well as a Senior HR Professional at Nedbank Private Wealth International. Wendy has had a successful HR career in large corporations like Accenture, Cisco, and Barclays before retraining as a psychologist to improve her HR and change management skills. Wendy has been conducting research on sleep, nutrition, and anxiety (all key elements of burnout) for over 5 years and understands what causes it and how to prevent it. Despite having high levels of grit and resilience, people have tried to bully or play psychological games with Wendy, and she has found a way to prevent this. Wendy has sometimes played along with the psychological games that people play to learn every element of the game so she can show you how to prevent burnout and burn bright.

Date: Thursday 28th November 2024
Time: 8:30am – 10:00am
Topic: Cultivating Success – for you and your business

Suzanne Caveney & Caroline Beardall

What you will get from the session:

  • How to foster and sustain a success culture that promotes collaboration, innovation, and excellence within your organisation.
  • How to adapt and respond to changing circumstances and challenges that may affect your success.
  • How to grow only what serves you and your team – and ‘weed out’ all that is not clear, confident or competent.
  • Know how to tackle cultural toxicity better, faster, and more sustainably.

Suzanne Caveney

Suzanne is a Legal Director in the Eversheds Sutherland Employment, Labor and Pensions group specialising in employment law with a particular focus on discrimination, equal pay and DEI policy and strategy. Suzanne has represented employers in tribunal claims since 2011 and has a particular expertise in managing complex discrimination claims. Suzanne’s particular experience includes advising and guiding employers through complex grievances from existing employees, disciplinary investigations and dismissals and dealing with capability issues arising from both poor performance and medical capability. Suzanne also spends a significant amount of her time supporting employers with their strategy to create a diverse and inclusive workforce, including general DEI strategy and pay issues comprising gender and ethnicity pay gaps and equal pay.

Caroline Beardall

Caroline started her professional career as a nurse, and then reasonably quickly moved into HR and Organisational Development. She has worked for the Department of Health, Ministry of Defence, Scottish Executive Health Department and in a range of NHS providers, implementing new services and developing service improvements. Prior to her roles, as Director for Organisational Effectiveness for the NHS regulator for providers of care and improvement agency and Executive / Senior Manager Coach, she was a Board Director for HR and OD, leading strategies focussed on staff engagement, inclusion, leadership development and wellbeing. She also has gone on to be Regional Director of Workforce (Chief People Officer) for the South East of England NHS (250 000 workforce, 9 million population) and was then invited to be a Partner at a global consultancy. The breadth and depth of her skill and experience allow her to work across the public sector, with third-sector organisations and corporate settings. Her goal are always to ‘cultivate success’ to ensure that by working together the outcome is achieved. Delivery is all. As she says, ‘the phrase ‘dig for victory’ has a different meaning today from its original but it’s still the goal!’

Upcoming Events

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HR Director Boardroom Speakers

Our HR Director Boardroom events have always been popular we have been fortunate enough to work with some great speakers, a big thank you goes to all our speakers for their time.

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HR Director Boardroom Notes

We appreciate it is not always possible for all our HR leaders to attend our popular Boardroom events and therefore after each debate notes are collated and shared with the HR Community to help inspire thought leadership and conversation with likeminded people.

 

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