HR Benchmarking Conference Program 2008

Registration

Networking Lunch

HR Workforce Planning Workshop 1A –
Workforce Planning – understanding the difference between strategic and operational workforce planning

This session will describe the emergence of workforce planning as a new discipline in Australia and globally. It will highlight the different roles and responsibilities around strategic and operational workforce planning for executive and boards, senior and middle managers and for those designated responsibility for operational workforce planning.  It will address the common barriers and opportunities for successfully integrating workforce planning into normal business practice.

This session is ideal for HR practitioners at introdcutory level.

HR Workforce Planning Workshop 1B –
Future directions & communication of the Universities’ HR Benchmarking Program

1. Key findings
2. Discussion on future direction of the program

Afternoon Tea

HR Workforce Planning Workshop 2A –
An overview of introductory and advanced workforce planning

This session will address tools and techniques in workforce planning based on the 2008 Standards Australia ‘Workforce Planning Guidelines’. It will include templates for producing evidence based workforce planning: supply gap calculations, risk assessment and mitigation against supply analysis, understanding and identifying supply source options and key considerations in workforce development strategies.

This session is ideal for Senior HR practitioners at intermediate level.

HR Workforce Planning Workshop 2B –
Future directions & communication of the Universities’ HR Benchmarking Program

1. Key findings
2. Discussion on future direction of the program

HR Workforce Planning Workshop 3A –
Enhance strategic HRM using HR metrics: So you think you know what you’re doing with workforce planning……..

This session will address the following interesting questions:

1. Can you demonstrate the productivity costs of not doing workforce planning in your organisation?
2. Have you secured executive level ‘buy in’ for workforce planning?
3. Can you produce supply gap calculations and nominate supply source options for your critical and hard to fill job groups?
4. Have you developed workforce planning capabilities within your organization?
5. Have you integrated workforce planning into normal business processes?

This session is ideal for Senior HR practitioners.

(Note: This session is highly recommended for HR Directors)

Networking Dinner

Venue: HCA Harrison Room, Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

Registration and Trade Display

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Keynote Address –
Global initiatives in Workforce Planning – it’s too late for Australia to be ‘thought leaders’.  We all have a role and responsibility in regional governance and leadership in workforce planning.

Morning Tea

HR Best Practice Session 2 –
Enhancing decision making using intuition and data: Getting the balance right

For 10 years, Simon has collected over 1500 scientific discoveries that challenge common assumptions about recruitment, assessment, retention, development, and other HR issues. For example, research indicates that recruiters are more inclined to choose appropriate candidates if they delay their decisions, but rely on their intuition, provided they feel relaxed. During this presentation, Simon will answer questions such as

• How can you encourage candidates to be honest?
• Can you predict the future behaviours of job applicants—such as their loyalty and productivity?
• How can you integrate diverse information about a person—their personality profile, skills, and physical characteristics—to predict their future behaviour?

HR Best Practice Session 3 –
A New Zealand Journey: Academic Workforce Planning

From a New Zealand University Sector perspective, Aaron will serve up the case study Academic Workforce Planning: Kiwifruit or Chinese Gooseberry (with a Wellington flavour) covering:

• Strategic change imperatives – changing the watering system and remixing the fertiliser;
• Change management – cultivation, pruning and replacing the vines;
• Performance management – preparation and consumption, re-branding (Zespri);
• Metrics - better crop yield; and
• Toward 2020 - Gold Kiwifruit.

Lunch

Venue: Trilogy Room & Gardens

HR Best Practice Session 4 –
Seek.com Employee Satisfaction and Motivation Survey 2008

As Australia and New Zealand's leading employment website, SEEK regularly researches employment trends and jobseeker sentiment and conducts quantitative and qualitative research of these audiences. SEEK Intelligence is the reporting of these results.   SEEK Intelligence provides advertisers with information to help recruit and retain staff as well as employment market information for media and analysts.

The 2008 SEEK Intelligence 'Survey of Employee Satisfaction and Motivation in Australia' will collect responses from employed Australian participants about how they view their work.  As in past years, our aim was to understand the attitudes employees have towards their jobs, what their prime motivations are, and what employees love and hate about their current jobs.   In this session, Meahan will discuss:

• The Top 10 Insights
• Employment in Australia - Security and Happiness
• Satisfaction and Motivation – Loves and Hates
• Seeking the Ideal Job
• Employee Retention

Concurrent Session 5A –
Universities’ HR Benchmarking Program: Innovation in Workforce Planning Award 2007 Outcomes – Bond University

• Outcome based workforce planning model: an illustrated example

Workforce Productivity Programme: National Advisory Standards for Australian University HR activities

• Introduction (Project aims, structure and timelines).
• Differences between national advisory standards and organisational standards.
• Progress report – including the most interesting issues encountered so far…

Concurrent Session 5B –
Inaugural University Executive HR Director’s Forum 2008

Objectives:

• Future direction for HR Benchmarking Program in Australian and New Zealand.
• Consider outcomes of workforce planning workshop from Day 1.

Concurrent Session 5C –
Academics’ perceptions of Australia and New Zealand

A number of surveys have been carried out recently discussing pay parity particularly in Commonwealth countries. Recently, ASI carried out a survey of a significant number of randomly selected academics from around the world to see how they perceive Australia and New Zealand. This workshop explores the outcomes of this survey and what universities in Australia and New Zealand can do to improve their success-rate in attracting academics.

Afternoon Tea

HR Best Practice Session 6 –
The Warehouse:  Building an Employer Brand Campaign that Delivers

Jane is responsible for the hugely successful and internationally recognised employer branding campaign for iconic NZ retail giant, The Warehouse. They are one year into the implementation of an employer branding strategy which has exceeded expectation on all metrics, including quality of hire, time and cost.  Jane's presentation will cover:

• The success of Warehouse’s branding campaign based on the theme “Start Here, Go Anywhere”
• Segmenting target groups and tailoring messages to their needs
• Attracting diverse candidates through targeted communication
• Building support for the brand among existing employees
• Developing an innovative careers website to encourage online applications

Plenary Close and Evaluation