We are delighted to have as our guest speaker Rachel Calder, Assistant Director of Learning and Development at Samaritans.

Every six seconds Samaritans answer a call for help from individuals but not everyone knows the organisation also provides bespoke training for hundreds of UK companies through courses such as Conversations with Vulnerable People, Managing Suicidal Conversations and Building Resilience and Wellbeing. In 2019 alone, Samaritans trained 7,262 external delegates.

After a year where we have seen increased anxiety, depression and loneliness among many employees, Rachel’s expert advice will help HR and L&D professionals to spot the danger signs and build resilience and wellbeing in the workplace.

Delivering news about organisational change and redundancy is stressful. Unfortunately, high-stakes situations can lead to unethical behaviour. Under pressure, organisations put their project plans first and fail to engage with their workers who are most impacted. This in turn can have a severe detrimental effect on those left behind – the redundancy survivors – and ultimately lead to a drop in productivity across the whole business. Join our experts Zita Lourdes and Joseph Grech for the latest advice on how your organisation can manage change and restructure effectively and ethically.

Now that the government has started to ease lockdown restrictions, businesses are encouraging their employees to return to work. However, re-opening presents a whole raft of new problems which if not managed properly can cause further risk and disruption to your business.

At this extremely turbulent time, it is imperative that HR and business leaders keep abreast of government guidance evolving on a very frequent basis. To keep you informed, we have invited back our employment law expert Dr Amanda Harris to discuss the latest developments as businesses return to work after lockdown.

For many home workers, out of sight, out of mind can cause real problems particularly if they are unfamiliar with the online tools available to ease communication. What can HR professionals and business leaders do to ensure their people remain motivated and productive rather than being left out in the cold?

This 30 minute discussion features Watson Martin Director Heather Watson in conversation with L&D Career Coach Joseph Grech. With many years’ of experience of both successful flexible working and online delivery, don’t miss this opportunity to hear their top tips on how to work from home the right way!

From the health and safety issues caused by the coronavirus to the employment law changes being introduced in April, Dr. Amanda Harris will keep you informed of the latest developments.

Topics under discussion include:

Furlough leave
Sick pay and holiday pay whilst furloughed
Lay-offs and short time working
Health and safety issues
Terminations of contract: potentially fair reasons
The employment law changes coming in April
Staff motivation and retention.

Join Ian Nicholas, Group Chief HR Officer with REED and Joseph Grech, Leadership Development Expert and Coach to hear about Ian's guide to career success. Having reached the pinnacle of his profession after 26 years, Ian has some useful and thought provoking advice on how to be an HR influencer and get ahead in your career.

In this webinar we are delighted to welcome Dr Duncan Brown, Head of Consulting at the Institute for Employment Studies and a leading commentator on reward strategy. Don’t miss the opportunity to listen to Duncan discuss the influence of pay on performance and employee engagement in conversation with Melanie Martin, Director of Watson Martin, and L&D expert Joseph Grech.

In the hot seat answering all your questions is our Apprenticeships expert Sharon White who will be leading the discussion on how work-based learning can generate the skills your organisation needs in the future. Sharon has over 20 years’ experience in senior roles in the learning and development sector with extensive knowledge of developing Apprenticeship programmes for a whole range of organisations.

The webinar event, based on James Reed’s new book of the same name, provided lots of useful nuggets of advice on what employers want to see in the CVs they receive along with some insights on the current labour market. Hear from one of the most renowned leaders in the industry!

Do you want to become CIPD qualified but are worried that you won’t have time to study in an already busy life?

Never fear, you are not alone! Many of our candidates feel overwhelmed by the thought of juggling work, family and life with the extra pressure of studying for a qualification which is why we have chosen How to Study Around a Busy Life as the theme for our second Learning Bites session in the 2019 series.

The webinar will provide lots of practical advice and techniques to support your learning journey from managing your time efficiently to devising an achievable study plan.

Understand that your life doesn’t need to stop just because you have enrolled on a course! Develop a holistic approach to studying to maintain a good work life balance.

Learn how to read for purpose so you can retain the information you need to pass that assessment.