The conference theme was Effective Collaboration in a Competitive World. The aims were to:

•             share good practice

•             explore practical solutions

•             encourage open exchange of experience

•             bring together speakers, case studies and opinion from the HE/FE and other sectors

Peter Cheese joined us for a pre-conference networking evening on 31 October. Peter became Chief Executive of the CIPD in 2012, and shared insights on the changing landscape for HR, drawn from his extensive experience in many different sectors.

On the conference day itself our first guest speaker was Mike Boxall of PA Consulting. With many years’ experience in the HE sector Mike was well placed to outline some of the new challenges and opportunities facing us all: internationalisation, technology and new forms of collaboration.

Martin Rayson, Director of HR and OD at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, and current President of the PPMA (Public Sector People Managers’ Association), presented the perspective of local authorities who are having to find new ways of meeting ever-tighter budget constraints.

The conference also heard from Juli Oliver-Smith who is Head of HR at the East Kent Partnership. She has 16 years’ experience in shared services HR with Motorola, RBS in the UK and in Asia, and described the lessons learned from setting up a new shared services function in Kent.

For information on the events, a full report has been written up on both days.

If you have any questions regarding the report please contact the ECC Office via email at contactus@ecc.ac.uk or via telephone on 0207 430 8368

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