Category: Motivation

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, Employee well being, Gender pay gap, HR, Human Resources, Inspiration, International Women's Day, Love, Michelle Obama, Motivation, People Management, Uncategorized, women in business

International Women’s Day 2017

by Natalie EllisLeave a Comment on International Women’s Day 2017

Inspirational, motivational, encouraging, supportive, collaborative, united.

Today is International Women’s Day 2017 and the above words are what I think of when it comes to this day every year and after seeing the bundles of support throughout my social media channels,  I couldn’t be prouder to be a woman today.

“There is no limit to what we, as women can accomplish”

Michelle Obama

James Brown famously sang “this is a man’s world”, and I think he wasn’t far from the truth; however, we are starting to see the positive changes that so many have fought tirelessly to see. Equal rights, equal pay and more importantly support to make these changes happen. There are exciting times ahead but there is still much more to be done. We are starting to see changes in employment law with Gender Pay Gap Reporting and opportunities with the Apprentice Levy which will allow so many people the opportunity to start their journey to their dream career regardless of age or gender.

The Suffragettes marched through the streets of London in 1915 to campaign for equal pay and for the right to vote, it’s important that as women we do not take what they campaigned for as a given right, they were determined to make a change and they did, this couldn’t be any more prominent in this year’s IWD motto Be Bold For Change.

Today we are fortunate to be surrounded by strong and positive female influences ranging from athletes and entrepreneurs right through to business leaders and there is something we can learn from every one of them. So today take time to listen more and understand the direction that this could take future generations, today is so much more than wearing a t-shirt and saying things only to be forgotten about tomorrow; it’s a movement, it’s about actions and making the world a better place, one step at a time.

I wouldn’t be where I am in my career without the women in my life and those who have helped shape my career, these fantastic ladies all know who they are and I tell them all the time! Consider those who have helped you get to where you are, can you pass your support on to others? It’s easy to forget when you’re working the 9-5 but these small changes and support can make a huge difference. Be part of that change.

I’m very lucky to be from a family that have empowered and inspired me to be the best that I can be, I have a strong mum, supportive sister, a hard working brother and a very proud father and I just wanted to take a moment to say how truly grateful I am to have them. I wouldn’t be where I am now without their love, understanding and support.

However you’re celebrating IWD, enjoy it and have a fantastic day.