The 2024 Programme

REGISTRATION & NETWORKING

Chair's welcome and opening comments

Retail Keynote Address: How to tackle the ageism problem plaguing retail workforce

Age is not just a number, it’s a gift. The older retail employee demographic are beginning to realise what they can bring to their organisation. And employers can too. But as a sector - retail needs to stop looking at the date of birth and start looking at the opportunities - to reap the benefits older workers can bring.

Our opening speaker will share their thoughts on what older workers really think of the retail industry as an employer of choice and why there is a lean to retention of older workers in retail support functions, is this due to lack of progression.

• Why age inclusivity is crucial in today's diverse workplace
• Breaking age barriers in leadership and retail culture
• Challenges over-50s face in recruitment and career development
• How to ensure your organisation is age-inclusive

Retail Perspectives Panel: Building and achieving a diverse and inclusive workplace – refocusing on purpose and values for engagement

How to identify the right issues to address in different workplaces, with their own unique culture, purpose and strategy. This session will feature a special introduction featuring research from the British Retail Consortium on how they plan to help and support to the retail industry on DE&I.

• The importance of culture - considering the principles of productive and inclusive workplace
• How a diverse workforce can help enterprises boost business performance and reduce succession risks
• DE&I - networks and how to develop them
• Attraction, retention - realistic goals and actions around DE&I
• How do you support inclusivity through engagement?
• Why purposefulness is vital to employee happiness

Spotlight on Neurodiversity in the Workplace:

Neurodivergent people make up a substantial proportion of both retailers’ workforces and customer bases - yet career support can be minimal and often overlooked. Here how and why more and more retailers are setting up employee forums and networks, focussed on supporting those neurodivergent employees, to increase awareness and specific employee training on the topic.

NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK

Retail Strategy Spotlight: Using technology to become to an agile organisation – joining the dots between business, people and organisation strategy

Streamlined workforce planning, prediction and management are just a few benefits that can be unlocked by clever strategic tools and technology, enabling HR to have the agility to quickly realign as priorities change.

• Viewing HR and IT collaboration as a ‘business and culture’ project
• The role of organisation design - rewiring your people to a new, more agile business needs
• The evolving role and relationship with people tech and data
• Discover the common pitfalls hindering HR system integration - the real-world impact of HR technology
• People analytics in organisation design
• Culture shift to a group mentality of shared services - utilising tech implementation
• How to get directors/board members to truly engage and get behind the changes

Retail Expert Insights: Positively disrupting the workforce to ignite and motivate your employees

Retail needs to truly step change and deliver a people experience that excited employees so they can further excite customers and right now the sector has been squeezed beyond measure. Our speakers share the importance of bringing the culture of the organisation to the forefront of their people strategy, to ensure retail has thriving employees and happy customers.

• Ensuring workplace culture is at the fabric of retail strategy
• People centred workplaces - cultivating culture and engagement
• The important link between employee engagement and customer experience
• Change and transformation initiatives impacting culture and people
• What does the future of flexible work look like acrcoss the retail sector

LUNCH & NETWORKING

Retail Inspiration Panel:

Part 1: Finding the right candidate - recruitment strategies for developing and retaining great talent

The current employment space and how the retail world is changing constantly, means the war on talent has become increasingly competitive. Our panel of experts will share tips for recalibrating your recruitment strategy to attract new talent, whilst assessing your culture and policies to retain and motivate.

• Innovating recruitment strategies - connecting the right capabilities and skills
• How to address the scarcity of talent in the market
• Recruitment of store staff – retention of managers and brand awareness
• People development and growing talent
• The role of store staff - creating a career-focused opportunities to tackle high-turnover and lack of expertise
• How to attract and retain Gen Z in new and re-thought roles
• Apprenticeships and lifetime learning - cultivating emerging talent; invigorating existing team members, attracting brand new talent into the industry

Part 2: How can using AI help employees transform and futureproof your workforce?

• How AI can help with finding and onboarding new talent
• The impact of AI on the candidate journey
• The use of technology to support HR and employees
• How AI can improve employee engagement and drive staff retention
• Mastering AI to close your skill gaps

Retail Revelations: Upskilling / reskilling the ‘magic middle’ management - how to stimulate and re-energise employees through effective L&D

• Upskilling capabilities of colleagues through business transformation - developing all internal talent to be leaders
• Measuring management competencies and the impact of your training programme - is it working?
• Re-training managers for the inevitable challenges of the new world of work
• How to keep line managers engaged - self-empowering line managers to take decisions without HR permission
• Benefits of L&D - new initiatives to support your workforce through their employee lifecycle
• Innovative and scalable strategies that will redefine the role of L&D now and in the future

NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK

Retail Mega Panel: Effective workplace mental health and wellbeing support - creating a culture of connection and engagement

Your staff are your superpower, looking after their mental health and wellbeing is paramount for them and your organisation to thrive - learn how retail HR leaders are proactively addressing employees’ wellbeing needs now and in the future.

• Providing a framework for your organisation to create a wellbeing and mental health engagement strategy
• How to nurture employee buy-in for health and wellbeing
• Building long-term resilience in the workforce - the link to wellbeing and mental health
• The rise of retail colleague physical and mental abuse
• Are current mental health interventions getting to the crux of the problem?
• How can employers support employee wellbeing without becoming responsible for it?

Chair's summary and closing remarks