Strategic HR Forum: the changing face of the modern workforce – the part HR can play

14th September 2023

Blake Morgan has relaunched the Strategic HR Forum, free events which are aimed at HR Directors and senior HR professionals.

The next event will be at Fusion Arts in Oxford on 9 November 2023.

Hosted by Employment Partner at Blake Morgan Rajiv Joshi and Business Director at Michael Page, Michelle Church, the focus will be on the changing face of the modern workforce. Contact us to register your interest for the event here.

Potential discussion points:

Changing demographics

  • How do you meet the changing needs and expectations of an ever more diverse workforce, including:-
    • “Baby Boomers” who are continuing in employment beyond the former retirement age of 65
    • “Sandwich Generation” employees who require time off to meet other, often caring, commitments outside the workplace
    • “Millennial” and “Gen Z” employees (those born after 1980) who value greater flexibility and may have differing attitudes to loyalty – how do organisations need to adapt in order to attract and retain their future employees?
  • Have those needs and expectations been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and how can organisations adapt to this?
  • Is the demand for flexibility and hybrid working adding to the overall complexity of the situation or providing one of the means of addressing it?

Changing ways of working

  • Can the increasing use of virtual working and automation produce improvements to the bottom line without compromising staff engagement and cohesion?
  • How can you leverage globalisation to provide you with the necessary workforce?
  • Is out-sourcing on the increase in your organisation? If so, what are the challenges?
  • With an increasing reliance on IT systems how do you safeguard data, systems and people in the digital era, especially when employees are working from home?
  • How will a balance be struck between home and office working, and how can your organisation encourage a return to the office?

Personal Development and talent management

  • How do you balance individual expectations around personal development and remuneration with your business needs and resources?
  • Can your existing learning and development strategy evolve to meet the needs of your business?
  • As increasing numbers of skilled professionals emigrate how can talent be retained in the UK workforce?
  • How can UK employers address the issue of employability in school and university leavers?
  • What wider political and ethical issues are becoming more important to employees, and how can your organisation ensure you are meeting expectations?

Mental health in the workplace

  • Mental health issues and stress are increasing – 1 in 4 will suffer from anxiety or depression at some point.
  • How do you identify and manage absence owing to mental health issues?

What are the barriers to staff engagement and how can businesses overcome these barriers?

  • What do you regard as the single biggest hurdle at present to staff engagement?
  • What can you usefully do to address barriers to engagement in the current fiscal climate?

The role of HR in the future

  • How can HR best contribute to overall business effectiveness in a time of tight financial management?
  • How could collaborative or partnership working with other organisations help in driving forward the strategic HR agenda?
  • What should be the one “must have” for any organisation in their HR function?

Outcome from session

During our discussions we will explore the changing face of the modern workforce and how organisations can best, at a strategic level, meet and exceed the challenges that this presents.

In particular, we will consider some of the issues arising from workforce demographics, globalisation, the demand for flexibility, and the increasing emphasis on personal development.

Session Format

The format of the session will be round table discussions and we will focus on the topics that are of most interest to attendees.

The topics set out above are amongst those that we will debate at our forum. However, please note that we may not touch on all the areas listed.

After the session we will circulate to attendees a summary report of the topics discussed and the ideas put forward to address the issues.

RSVP Here