The 2024 Programme

REGISTRATION & NETWORKING

Chair's welcome and opening comments

Darren Sanderson-Williams, General Manager, Specsavers

Retail Keynote Fireside Chat: How to tackle the ageism problem plaguing retail workforces

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 speakers 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.

• 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

Fiona Lambert, President, The Twenty Club; Board Advisor, Matalan
Helena Feltham, Non-Executive Director, Hostmore (TGI Friday)

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

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.

Shelly Nash, Group People and Culture Director, London Marathon Events
 

 
How to identify the right issues to address in different workplaces, with their own unique culture, purpose and strategy. This session will feature a varied line-up of retail DE&I professionals to share their experiences.

• 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

Chris Shearer-Wright, Senior Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Manager, Oliver Bonas
Abigail Wilmore, former Chief People Officer, Tom Ford; Founder, People Flow
Luke Ward, People & Culture Manager, Evolutions
Antonia Tony-Fadipe, former Inclusive Hiring Lead, Diversity Inclusion & Belonging – UK & Global Functions, The Body Shop
Tanya Hamilton, UK&IE Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Manager, IKEA

NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK

Retail Strategy Spotlight: The continued transformation and evolution of the role of HR - using technology to become to an agile organisation

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.

• Joining the dots between business and people strategy
• The role of organisation design - rewiring your people to a new, more agile business
• Evolving role and future skillsets of HR professionals
• Commercial strategic alignment - HR and IT collaboration

Liz Jewitt-Cross, Founder, Future HR
David Suddock, Program Director, John Lewis & Partners
Melanie Steel, Founder, People Change Expertise
Paul Ridings, Global Director of Growth for People, OneAdvanced

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 excites employees, so they can further engage customers. Today’s retailers are competing with the gig economy for talent as employees increasingly seek perks such as flexible scheduling, instant salary access, and other modern tools. With a special introduction to the session from Sanish Mondkar, Founder & CEO, Legion - illustrating how AI-driven workforce management an empower and engage employees - our panel will 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.

• Benefits to attract and retain talent while maintaining workforce efficiency
• Ensuring workplace culture is at the fabric of retail strategy
• People centred workplaces - cultivating culture and engagement
• Enabling employees and managers to focus on the human side of work to deliver superior CX
• Change and transformation initiatives impacting culture and people
• What does the future of flexible work look like across the retail sector

David Dagger, Director of Communications & Corporate Affairs, The Institute of Customer Service
Emy Rumble-Mettle, Chief People Officer, Tails.com
Faye Ryder-Humphries, Head of People, Wingstop UK

LUNCH & NETWORKING

Retail Inspiration Panel: 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

Ken Denny, Client Relationship Manager, Murray Uniforms
Alana Inness, Global Head of Talent & Resourcing, Specsavers
Suresh Banarse, former Human Resources Director, Caprice Holdings & The Ivy Collection; Founder, Surety Commercial HR

Retail Inspiration Deep Dive: Navigating political change - the implications for employment law

As we approach the milestone of the first 100 days of a new government, this session will explore some of the proposed reforms to employment law that will impact businesses and their employees. Hosted by Elaine Huttley, Partner & National Head of Employment at Irwin Mitchell - the Retail Bulletin’s Official Legal Partner - this panel session will delve into the details and provide insights into these reforms, their practical implications and how businesses need to adapt. Joining Elaine is our panel of esteemed HR leaders from across retail and hospitality:

 
Sam Westwood, People Experience Director, KFC
Niki Coppard, Group HR Director, Huws Gray Group

NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK

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

Peter Collyer, former Chief People Officer, Ted Baker
Alison Payne, People Director, COOK
Thomas Merrigan, Head of L&D, URBN
Sara Duxbury, Global Head of Learning & Engagement, AllSaints

Retail Fireside Chat: Effective workplace mental health and physical 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?

Dhruvin Patel, Optometrist & Founder, Ocushield
Chris Brook-Carter, Chief Executive, Retail Trust

Chair's summary and closing remarks