Category: Conference and Exhibition

Administration, Blogging, Business, Career, Career Woman, CIPD, Conference and Exhibition, Employee well being, Gender pay gap, HR, Human Resources, Inspiration, Motivation, People Management, Uncategorized, Wellness, women in business

MAP Student Conference 2017 – T-minus 13 hours… and counting!

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on MAP Student Conference 2017 – T-minus 13 hours… and counting!

Aston University

We’re fast approaching the Midlands Area Partnership student conference at Aston University and the organisers cannot wait to meet, greet and network with everyone attending!

Ok so there is a heck of a lot to get through in just one day so what actually goes on prior to the event? This blog post is to fill in all the details to highlight exactly how much work goes into making these events a success.

First of all there is a lot of organising to do, budgeting, sourcing an appropriate venue, guest speakers to discuss relevant topics, catering (well of course! If you’re giving up a Saturday you need a vast amount of coffee, tea and food to keep those brains engaged!). Then there’s the task of confirming the attendees, any dietary requirements that they may have and any access requests to the venue so that everyone can enjoy the event.

The organisers will be at the venue very early on the morning of the event to conduct final checks and to ensure everything is set up in time for the delegates to arrive, they are of course our guests!

This is just a short burst of what happens behind the scenes, the day itself is much more fast paced, so this year there will be just half an hour to book in all 200 attendees between 9:00-9:30am and waiting to greet you will be Nic, Gill, Max and Janice so make sure this is your first point of contact.

As this event is completely sold out, we don’t want those who were unable to attend missing out so myself, Amy and Priya will be hosting a mini blog squad reunion so pop over and see us as we’ll be gathering the information from our speakers, talking to as many people as possible to gather your thoughts on the event but also you can ask us anything, we’re here to highlight the key topics at the event.

Finally we can then hand over to the speakers, this year we have a welcome address from David D’Souza and an opening keynote from Dr Richard MacKinnon before moving into the breakout sessions which consist of relevant topics in today’s HR world.

One thing I am really looking forward to is the HRD Panel at 14:20pm with Dr Richard MacKinnon, Simon Lewis and Carol Carson so make sure you don’t miss it!

Finally there’s the closing keynote from Tiffany Poeppelman, a really passionate organisational psychologist so this is something I’m particularly excited about attending for so I’ll be quoting from her a lot on Twitter.

In advance of the event, a huge thank you to the CIPD, Midlands Area Partnership, our fantastic speakers, organisers, volunteers, Aston University and personal thanks goes to Eleanor Lloyd-Jones for making this event happen.

I’m off to watch the rugby now and will see you all bright and early tomorrow. Don’t forget to pop over and see me at the Northamptonshire Branch stand after lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

Blogging, Business, Career, Career Woman, CIPD, Conference and Exhibition, HR, Human Resources, Love, Random Acts of Kindness, Uncategorized, Wellness, women in business

#HRActsofKindness David D’Souza; “Kindness is not a word we normally use…”

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on #HRActsofKindness David D’Souza; “Kindness is not a word we normally use…”

Over the past few days I have asked many different people what kindness means to them and how it can be applied during their work lives.

The first person I asked was David D’Souza on his thoughts on kindness at work;

“When people ask me about the most important traits in someone I’d like to work with integrity, intelligence and a desire to be helpful normally top the bill. Kindness isn’t a word I’d normally use – but maybe it should because organisations would rarely be worse off for an extra dose of it.

The average person works more hours than they’d ideally like – or, if unemployed, would like the opportunity to work more hours than they would ideally like. We live in a tough old world and there are certain things that always make it more palatable. Kindness – without expectation of reward – is a beautiful and scarce resource. It helps us not just get along but helps getting along to be worthwhile.

So if you can just be kinder. The cost may be minimal or the cost may be great – but the payback is a reward not measured in pounds and pence but in a life worth slightly more worth living. And that is priceless”.

 

Administration, Blogging, Business, Career, Career Woman, CIPD, Conference and Exhibition, Health, HR, Human Resources, Love, People Management, Random Acts of Kindness, Uncategorized, Wellness, women in business

#HRActsofKindness pushing the boundaries and what it means to me

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on #HRActsofKindness pushing the boundaries and what it means to me

At the recent CIPD ACE event, Peter Cheese highlighted that HR needs to think outside of the box by being adaptable to the ever changing environment and look beyond our organisations.

The conference was not just made up of HR professionals, there were teachers, coaches, volunteers and recruiters to name but a few and the same can be said for the Midland Area Partnership event in October. HR has become a focus point and whether we like it or not, the expectations upon us are far greater than we are possibly used to so it is up to us to raise the bar and get involved in areas that sit outside of our comfort zones.

HR Acts of Kindness is designed for us to push those boundaries and look at the bigger picture by taking smaller steps into the areas away from the security blankets known as our offices; the everyday activities and endless distractions. By taking ourselves back to our child-like ways and doing things we may not necessarily practice on a daily basis.

I don’t know about you, but for those who attended CIPD ACE 16, did you grab a selfie at the CIPD stand? As my selfie was being taken, the gentleman asked me who admire the most in business and what my superpower would be and as you can imagine I gave a typical HR answer of “I’d make change management in organisations instantaneous!”. Fantastic and definitely a vision from the dream world I’m sure you’ll agree, but upon reflection, I wouldn’t change the profession, not one part of it right now and the simple reason is that I am enjoying the journey. All of those people at the annual CIPD event and those sat reading this at your desks right now; we’re all on a journey and busy shaping not only the future of HR but shaping the future of work as a whole. The journey is where we learn, develop and grow but it’s also where we gain a sense of achievement and appreciation for the work that we do.

On a personal level; my great grandmother, gave me a strong piece of advice at a young age which carries me through every area of my life. She told me to “always do something you are good at” at the time I don’t think I really understood in all honesty but now it makes perfect sense. HR Acts of Kindness is a product of exactly that; I am kind to people, even when they are not to me, I always believe in second chances and I believe in supporting others not treading on them in order to be successful. All I wanted when I originally signed up for my HR career was to make my family proud and the profession proud, that’s the simple and only reason I do what I do when I get up at 5:30am every morning.

Over the coming days I will be bringing snippets from different people and what kindness means to them and the difference they think it brings. There are people from the HR profession, small business owners, teachers, and students alike so watch this space!

I consider myself incredibly fortunate that I can share HR Acts of Kindness, it’s amazing how many of you around the world are involved and promoting kindness in your organisations. Thank you for all of your messages telling me your stories, keep them coming and I’m really looking forward to crowning some kindness champions.

Blogging, Business, Career, Career Woman, CIPD, Conference and Exhibition, Employee well being, Health, HR, Human Resources, Love, People Management, Random Acts of Kindness, Uncategorized, Wellness, women in business

#HRActsofKindness is back!

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on #HRActsofKindness is back!

kindness

In June this year I launched a small idea called “HR Acts of Kindness” after witnessing the impact of the brexit result. The result not only divided opinion but also divided relationships and had a big impact on the way organisations conducted business.

I remember driving home after seeing the impact it had on my work environment and thinking that there must be a way to turn this divide into a positive and to unite people again and that’s when HR Acts of Kindness was born; in the driving seat of my Mini Cooper!

Little did I know the overwhelming response I would receive to those 5 challenges!

Due to the support and people asking me to bring it back; I wanted to re-launch HR Acts of Kindness with a festive twist in hope to keep the kindness going. You don’t have to be in HR, you just need to have a desire to make a difference. Thank you to all of you who have messaged me, told me your stories and encouraged the success of this small idea that escalated rather quickly!

Christmas can be a difficult time of the year for so many people and I’m asking the HR community to help me kick start a kindness movement which will help those who need it most at this time of year.

At the Annual Conference and Exhibition, Peter Cheese spoke of how HR needs to adapt and be relevant to the needs of not only businesses but our communities and by us working collaboratively we can inspire the future of our profession. By launching HR Acts of Kindness, I believe this provides the perfect opportunity for us to make that impact and not to let what we learnt at ACE become a distant memory as we return to our day jobs.

I gave an interview to Ady Howes at DPG during the CIPD ACE 16 event and if you’d like to see it, I have put the You Tube link here: https://youtu.be/cmeotrPzTS8

Unlike the original HR Acts of Kindness, this time around, I am providing a full list of challenges tomorrow morning which will run from now until Christmas and it covers a whole list of different ways we can utilise our skills to support our work environment, employees, families and communities.

What I’d like to do is to get as many people involved and I want to hear your stories, pictures and anything else you’d like to share with me as you undertake one or more of these challenges.

Most of the challenges are free and there’s bound to be something for everyone to get involved with. Get your teams, departments and anyone else you can think of involved, we need as may people as possible to spread the kindness and reach as many people as we can.

As a thank you; when I receive your stories and pictures I have a special gift to send you so make sure you get those success stories in. After all, it’s nice to say thank you for taking part.

Together we can make our communities a better place; one small act of kindness at a time.

 

 

 

Blogging, Career, Career Woman, CIPD, Conference and Exhibition, HR, Human Resources, Uncategorized, women in business

The #cipdACE16 Blogsquad Essentials

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on The #cipdACE16 Blogsquad Essentials

kitlist

Right so it’s nearly time for the conference and time to pack all the essentials for the trip!

So what exactly does a blogger need in their essentials kit? I have quite a few items that I need to take with me in order to bring the conference to life. Here is my essential ACE kit list:

  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • a long life battery pack (this is a must, no power = no blogging!)
  • a notebook (I don’t mind a bit of old school)
  • my trusted pen

My husband Mark kindly bought me a fantastic bag that I can fit everything in as well so that I don’t have my hands full all the time. He’s very proud that I made this year’s blogsquad and he will be following the event from home as it happens. Thank you Mark for all the support, I wouldn’t be here without you!