The #MeToo movement, which spread virally almost a year ago now, brought to the fore the prevalent issue of sexual harassment and assault, particularly in the workplace.
While still not an easy conversation to be had, it’s vital that today’s employers ensure the issue is not taboo. Employees should feel able to raise any concerns or incidents within their organisations and trust that they will be appropriately investigated and dealt with.
Visitors to Employee Benefits Live, taking place at ExCeL London on 2-3 October, will hear how some of the UK’s leading advocates of gender equality are actively working to ensure that the spirit of #MeToo remains a social and political imperative.
Our esteemed panellists will comprise upskirting campaigner and writer Gina Martin, Elizabeth Prochaska, legal director at Equality and Human Rights Commission, and Andrew Armes, UK head of talent acquisition at Roche.
Of course, there are numerous other sessions you’d be wise not to miss at our 20th annual Employee Benefits Live.
Keith Williams, reimagine HR services director at Unilever, will be talking about his experiences in helping to develop an HR chatbot. No matter your views on artificial intelligence, the increasing role of technology in the world today can’t be ignored. Don’t miss Keith’s closing keynote talk on day one of our conference.
Along with the topics mentioned above, the recent winner of Hello magazine’s Star mum competition, Amie Capron, will discuss her tragic and very personal experience of mental health with me. This is an issue that has fairly recently risen to the fore: mental health and, importantly, what employers can do to support staff who need help in this area.
Meanwhile, overcoming silos to adopt a clear strategy for increasing employee attraction and retention will be on the agenda for our leadership panel of representatives from Diageo, Sony Europe and OVO Energy. This will delve into the key drivers for attracting and retaining top talent, how to engage the CEO to recognise and reward talent, and establishing an ongoing dialogue with employees to evaluate and improve performance. Again, this is another area with which we are finding our audience want help.
I’m also particularly excited about our panel discussion on what an inclusive workplace looks like. We have some great panellists taking part from a range of organisations, including Sky, Deloitte, King’s College London and The Cabinet Office. We’re also covering developing a clear strategy for driving financial wellbeing and flexing to meet the demands of the modern family; both sessions are really pertinent to today’s employers.
Finally, don’t miss keynotes from Google, eBay and Paralympic gold medallist Marc Woods. Yes, it means getting to the conference early and staying until the very end, but it’ll be well worth it.
Kavitha SivasubramaniamEditorTweet: @kavithasiva_EB
