Leading speakers announced

The conference line-up for Employee Benefits Live, which will be held 25-26 September at Olympia, London sees expert reward, benefits and HR specialists discussing the latest challenges in free-to-attend sessions.

Michelle Connolly, compensation and benefits director, UK region, at Oracle, will deliver the opening keynote address on Tuesday 25 September. She will look at the changing workforce, the impact of the generation shift and what this means for motivation and a new approach to benefits.

Debi O’Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits magazine, said: “Oracle has a huge, forward-thinking benefits and workplace strategy it will share publicly for the very first time. It sets a new way of thinking for other employers to learn from.”

On day two of Employee Benefits Live, David MacLeod, co-chair of the Employment Engagement Task Force, and Louise Beardmore, head of organisational development and HR operations at United Utilities, will discuss driving the engagement agenda.

“We are delighted that David MacLeod will be talking on the subject of his report so soon before it is published,” said O’Donovan. “The impact of employee engagement on UK businesses has changed significantly since his original MacLeod Review was released in 2009.”

Sessions follow both keynote sessions, covering topics such as auto-enrolment, flexible benefits, pensions strategy, HR strategy, employee wellbeing and more.

With auto-enrolment to take effect from 1 October, Employee Benefits is pleased that Asda, one of the first organisations to comply with the legislation, will be sharing its experiences on the first day of the conference.

New to the 2012 show, a dedicated HR strategy stream and HRdirector masterclasses will showcase how to use benefits to support HR initiatives.

Alongside the conference, visitors to the exhibition can meet with reward and benefits suppliers, providing an opportunity to review current solutions and benchmark against new ones.

Another new feature of Employee Benefts Live 2012 is the opportunity to Meet the Mentors. Visitors can book one-to-one sessions with some of the leading benefits and reward professionals in the UK to discuss specific challenges, and get tips and advice.

Visitors with specific queries around the tax and legal challenges affecting benefits will be able to drop in to the new Tax and Legal advice clinics for a quick, free chat.