The Recruitment and Retention in the Workplace Conference 2025
Past and Present Supporters include:
Overview
According to the institute of for employment studies, there are 800,000 fewer people in or looking for work compared to pre-covid. This represents a challenge for hiring managers who are having to deal with a reduced pool of candidates, with 62% of businesses suffering from skills shortages according to the Business Barometer survey 2024. While this is down from 73% last year, clearly work is needed to bridge this gap.
This is complicated further by the shifting expectations of the workforce. Whether that is Generation Z wishing to redefine work life balance or individuals wanting to embrace flexible work to fit around other responsibilities, there has never been so much variation in ways to engage the workforce.
Join us at the Recruitment and Retention 2025 event to hear from leaders in the private, public, and third sectors on strategies to attract new employees, retain and upskill existing employees, and unlock new streams of talent.
Get in Touch
Agenda
Registration
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Keynote: The Employment Rights Bill, updates from the new government
- Hear the latest developments on the bill and the plans to extend worker’s rights further
- Understanding how this will affect the hiring process and wider HR function at your organisation
- Learn what new rights are conferred upon workers from day one in your organisation and how remain compliant
Keynote: Re-engaging the labour force & ‘Keeping Britain Working’
- Since Covid there has been a 1.5% fall in the share of people aged 16 or over in work or looking for work
- Hear strategies on how to reach a greater number of prospective employees by engaging with local services and agencies
- One in three who are sick repot they want to work (633,000). Expect specific focus upon how adapting work offers to better assist those with mental health issues can unlock a new talent pool
- Understand how keeping those who do go off long term sick connected in some meaningful way to their workplace and role enables easier re-integration
Rebecca Florisson, Principal Analyst, The Work Foundation (CONFIRMED)
Engaging Generation Z – Recruitment and Retention of the New Work Force
- Appreciate the unique set of challenges which have formed Gen Z’s introduction into the workforce
- Understand what makes the youngest workers tick, with values of organisations being more important than ever
- Learn how being vocal about work-life balance can bring young workers into your organisation
Questions & Answers
Comfort Break
Panel: Happiness, Productivity, and an Engaged Workforce
- Hear discussions on the evolving preferences of the modern work force, ensuring that your organisation attracts and develops talent
- Less is more? Understand the debates surrounding the 4 day working week and whether your organisation is suitable
- Strategies for engaging work from home and in office employees equally, ensuring productivity and wellbeing
Lunch Break
Improving Attraction and Retention with Supportive Flexible Work Policies
- Hear just how much flexible work can increase the talent pool you are working with for your roles
- Copy matters. Learn how simple adjustments to your language in job postings can communicate clearly to prospective employees the benefits of working at your organisation.
- Understand your responsibilities as an employer to accommodate requests for flexible working under the new government proposals
Maturing DEI – Moving beyond the Feel-good Factor
- Move beyond awareness and ‘feel-good’ initiatives by implementing robust measurable targets
- Improve employee buy-in by better collecting data and reporting internally & externally on tangible improvement thanks to DEI
- Hear how expanding beyond traditional focuses of race & gender can lead to greater attraction & retention of those with neurodiversity
Pepi Sappal, Head of Communication, MyGWorks (CONFIRMED)
Taking a Skills-based Approach to Recruitment
- Hear from leaders on how hiring for potential helps ensure retention by ensuring the workforce is able to adapt as demands change
- Learn just how much the talent pool expands once, ultimately unnecessary, prohibitive non-skill-based requirements are dropped
- Discover how utilization of internal training can lead to not only up-skilling of your own work force, but also contribute to longer term retention
Questions & Answers
Comfort Break
Re-engaging & Retaining your Work Force – Effective Strategies for Re-entry
- Address career breaks and transitions by exploring how to support individuals who have taken breaks for reasons like raising children, care for the family members, or managing health-related issues and their re-entry into the workforce
- Tackle challenges faced by re-enterers by examining the unique challenges encountered by people with convictions or veterans, such as skill gaps, stigma, and lack of modern work experience
- Highlight ‘returnship’ programs by discussing initiatives that offer temporary, flexible work placement, training, and mentoring to help individuals regain confidence, update their skills, reintegrate into the workforce.
Kerry Kirk, D&I Lead, ENEI (CONFIRMED)
Case Study: Flexible Working and Supporting & Retaining Disabled Workers
- Hear examples of successful implementation has lead to greater productivity and satisfaction from disabled employees
- Learn best practice and policies to ensure their voices are not lost when working from home
- Everyone’s needs are different, hear strategies on how to best personalise work arrangements, in and out of the office
A Second Chance: Engaging Ex-offenders for Suitable Roles
- With only 17% of ex-offenders being in work after 12 months, this pool of people represents a huge untapped resource for many organisations to take advantage of
- Hear how ex-offenders are 10% more likely to remain in post when compared to over workers
- Contribute to societal good, hear how employment reduces re-offending rates drastically & prevents other societal ills such as homelessness
Questions & Answers
Chair’s Closing remarks
Conference Close
Previous Speakers
Romain Muhammad
Founder
Diversify
Sukhy Carey
Talent Acquisition Manager
CIPD
Andrew Wells
Career and Professional Development Lead
ELHT
Gerardo Faratro
Talent and Recruitment Officer
Lincolnshire Housing Partnership
Helen Wickes
Education and Workplace Relationship Manager
AbilityNet
Louise Triance
Director
Assured Connect
Testimonials
Great speakers with really informative sessions. A fantastic, interactive platform with great networking opportunities!
Well organized and excellent, well versed and experience human resources and talent acquisition professionals.
I felt the conference has been really insightful, it’s great to understand other organizations, what’s happening in the market, different systems, tools, AI, what’s worked and what hasn’t, ways to grow and move forward.
The event has been really insightful and provided me with plenty to think about, discuss with colleagues and implement into practice moving forward.
There was some interesting and good work presented from people – nice to see what other sectors and other institutions are doing and that they are taking the same approaches to us.
Informative event with good insights from other not-for-profit organisations.
Why You Should Attend?
Who Should Attend?
| Job Title Examples | Organisation Type Examples |
| Head of Student Wellbeing | Universities |
| Head of Safeguarding | NHS Foundation Trusts |
| Head of Governance and Compliance | Further Education Colleges |
| Director of Student Services | HE Funding Councils |
| Director of Student Engagement | Specialist Colleges |
| Head of Programme Development | |
| Widening Access and Inclusion Managers |
Pricing Options
PRIVATE SECTOR
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
PUBLIC SECTOR
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
Sponsorship
Raise your Profile, Showcase Your Solutions, Generate New Business
If your products, services, and solutions can support our audiences in their roles, and you want to make connections and generate new business with key stakeholders, decision makers, and influencers, then please contact us HERE
IMPORTANT: There are only a small number of sponsorship opportunities available to ensure maximum exposure and ROI – contact us today to secure your place.
Virtual vs F2F
Whilst F2F provide better options for networking, there are many distinct advantages of sponsoring our online conferences including:
- Wider geographical reach of delegates and a different audience who prefer online to f2f
- Lower sponsorship package costs
- No travel/accommodation
- Less time out of the office
- No stand materials required (lower costs)
- 1 of only 2 sponsors involved – less competition on the day
- Prime speaking slot in the morning of the conference including Q&A – less distractions and easier for delegates to hear/absorb information
- Receive all delegate data after the conference to follow-up directly with those who attend and don’t attend (small % but still key stakeholders)
- Ongoing exposure via OnDemand access (coming soon)
To find out more and discuss your specific objectives, please contact us below:
