DIRECTORS FORUM AGENDA

3 October 2006

9.00am - 10.20am Leveraging organisational talent
Melanie Laing, regional director human resources, Asia Pacific, Unisys, and a case study provided by Robert Dewar, managing partner financial services, Unisys Australia and New Zealand
Your company's wealth of talent is a significant source of competitive advantage, so you need to ensure you have a strategy and process in place to harness the potential of this lucrative asset. Find out how to build a strong talent management system within your organisation, by creating a talent management culture, developing competencies, organisational development strategies, a performance management framework and a succession plan.
· Define required organisational goals and identify required leadership capabilities
· Understand which roles are critical to your line managers and create the support they are looking for
· Attract and retain top performers in a highly competitive talent pool

10.20am - 10.40am MORNING TEA

10.40am - 12.00pm Strategic leadership development
Ian Hutchinson, CEO, Life by Design®
"Your performance was nothing short of outstanding" McDonalds
How is your leadership style influencing your workplace right now? Discover how you can align strategy with culture to deliver on strategic goals, and create a values based culture. Leadership that is based on a sound vision will not only stand the test of time, but will also keep an organisation together throughout challenging times.
· Improve your leadership skills to achieve greater performance in others
· Empower others to take on leadership responsibilities
· Increase productivity levels and your competitive standing in the marketplace

12.00pm - 1.00pm The role of HR in accelerating business performance
Sean Bowman, vice president human resources, Unilever
There is an ever-increasing pressure for HR directors to demonstrate their department's impact on the bottom line and they are now often judged on their success in meeting business targets. Find out how to improve operational and service quality and efficiency, generate additional revenue from HR strategies, and create a high performance culture within the organisation.
· Understand the latest trends to develop your HR evaluation techniques
· Define a vision containing practical principles and clear, realistic goals
· Become a strategic partner in the future of your organisation and influence other board members or executive managers

1.00pm - 1.00pm LUNCH

2.00pm - 3.10pm Using human capital to add value to your organisation
Lisa Ryan, HR director and Amanda McCluskey, manager sustainability, Portfolio Partners
Australian equities manager Portfolio Partners has developed a human capital survey to collect information from Australia's largest companies on three key areas - corporate culture, strategic people management and human resources activities. Hear some of the aggregated results from the latest survey, and how human capital risk ratings are affecting current investment trends. This is vital information for communicating the importance of HR to your fellow board members or CEO.
· What is the link between a company's people management practices and its long-term performance?
· How can non-financial company data be analysed?
· Be in a position to know the future of HR reporting and how it will impact you

3.10pm - 3.35pm AFTERNOON TEA

3.35pm - 5.00pm Workforce planning
Wendy Morison, senior consultant, The Infohrm Group
Workforce planning involves achieving sustained organisational performance and accountability through the development of a capable workforce. This session will enable you to make the critical decisions and identify the key strategies to ensure your organisation delivers successful business outcomes now and into the future.
· How will your organisation avoid a significant loss of knowledge and experience due to an ageing workforce?
· What is your succession management strategy?
· Are you aware of your workforce supply and demand gaps in the next two, five, or 10 years?

5.00pm - 6.00pm OFFICIAL HR SUMMIT 06 NETWORKING FUNCTION

6.00pm CLOSE

4 October 2006

9.00am - 10.30am Attracting and retaining Generation Y
Mark McCrindle, director, McCrindle Research
About Mark: "Mark was certainly a star. He is one of the best presenters I have seen in a long time" - Australia Post
There are 4.5 million Australians from Generation Y, who are the future ambassadors of your brand and reputation. But their needs, values and expectations are very different to those of any other generation. This session will discuss how to tailor your attraction and retention strategy towards this new wave of leaders.
· Where does Generation Y's loyalty, ambition and work ethic lie?
· Create strategies to further engage Generation Y into your business processes
· How should your Generation Y attraction and retention strategies differ from your existing one?

10.30am - 10.55am MORNING TEA

10.55 - 12.30pm Maximising the performance of your HR team
James Michael, leadership specialist, Global Speakers & Entertainers
About James: "Over 30 years' experience in corporate leadership development programs, both here and in the US - and this one beats them all!" - Jaguar Australia
The human resources department is arguably the area where group cohesion and teamwork is more important than ever - and most visible. An ongoing process of measurement and assessment ensures that the team is performing to the best of its ability, and promotes a culture of collaboration throughout the organisation. Find out how to make sure your team are all on the same page when it comes to organisational development, so that you project a unified strategy throughout the company.
· Revolutionise your decision-making skills, problem solving and motivation techniques
· Improve communication processes within your HR team and the company as a whole
· Transform your department into a focused, competitive team

12.30pm - 1.30pm LUNCH

1.20pm - 3.00pm Workplace law changes: reform or revolution?
Michael Harmer, chairman & senior team leader; Chris Molnar, partner & team leader; Katerina Kasmski, senior associate; Harmers Workplace Lawyers
Make sure you are fully updated now that the WorkChoices legislation has come into force. Hear from experts in industrial relations and employment law explain the changes that you need to make to your business.
· Find out how you can minimise your exposure to employee litigation
· Make sure you use your limited resources efficiently to make the transition to the new federal workplace relations system
· Find the right answers for those gruelling questions from your employees

3.00pm - 3.20pm AFTERNOON TEA

3.20pm - 4.10pm Communicating HR results to your shareholders
Elizabeth Prescott, director, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Released by the Australian Institute of Company Directors and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the new Shareholder Friendly Report is an illustrative, simplified and plain English performance report. Discover how to use this report as a guide to managing, monitoring and reporting on various 'people-based measures' and performance against HR strategy.
· Uncover the current trends and best practices used to align strategy, performance and remuneration in corporate reports
· Identify ways to incorporate HR results to the financial statistics in your annual report
· Learn how to demystify jargon to explain your HR success and strategies to stakeholders