UHR22: Conference Pathways

With just two weeks to go before UHR22: Everyone Onboard!, now is the time for delegates to start making detailed plans about the sessions and plenaries they’d like to attend and to book out the diary time to make that happen. Below we have four suggested ‘Conference Pathways’ – grouped ideas of what we think you might get best value from at our 2022 Conference. Of course you’ll make your own choices and find your own routes through a packed set of options. But time spent now in planning your attendance at conference can only pay off later. The full programme is available for you to view, with detailed tabs for Tuesday 10 May, Wednesday 11 May and Thursday 12 May.

Conference pathways – newcomers & beginners

Whether you are new to HR or HE, or just have never attended a UHR conference before – don’t despair as we are here to help you find your way!     

The plenaries are a must, so why not start a jam-packed 3 days with “Preventing Burnout in the new Future of Work” with Jennifer Moss and learn how to build “A Compassionate University” later that day with Professor Simone Buitendijk. Tally Kandola & Samantha Goober will explain “The value of Values” and why HR professionals have such an important role to play, whilst a session from Browne Jacobson on “Safeguarding well-being and mental health in the post COVID world” will surely provide some insight as well as case studies to learn from. 

On day 2, enjoy your morning cuppa whilst listening to Prof. Eddie Obeng discuss “post-hybrid” engagement & collaboration in his plenary which promises to give you the tools to make change work for you.  Follow up with UHR’s own Emma Brookes who will give you the lowdown on Employee Value Proposition, including how to tackle the recent recruitment & retention challenges in our sector. Before lunch, get some food for thought from SUMS consulting & Tracy Hibbert of Bangor to explore “Co-created staff and student approaches to develop a mentally healthy university community”. The end of day 2 is time to catch the UHR awards, see if your team is in with a chance of a prize, or find out what you need to do to be considered for next year’s! There’s always something to learn from others in the sector.

Thursday is our final day and starts with Special Interest Topic Discussions, led by our partners. There is so much to choose from so you are sure to find something of interest. After the break, join Sophie from UHR for a discussion of how to hit the “Sweet Spot” with HR data – whether you love Excel or hate it with a passion, everyone needs to know their stats to make informed decisions so come along no matter what your background is. Later in the afternoon learn how to create an inclusive workplace culture with colleagues from Shakespeare Martineau. You really must finish up with David Olusoga’s closing plenary on the history of race and the struggle for equality which promises to be a powerful way to close the 2022 conference.

Conference pathways – specialists and functions

We know that as a specialist, finding the most appropriate session to attend can be a tricky job – especially as we are giving you so many high-quality options! We know that our suggestions can never be more than that, and in practice you’ll be dotting in and out of our full programme, fitting as much in and around your diary as you can. Remember that the vast majority of sessions will be recorded and available to delegates from Monday 16 May, but in the meantime why not take particular note of the following?

There are great sessions on age inclusion (session WA3: Tuesday 11.30am), trans inclusion (session BA2: Tuesday 12.45pm), managing the employment tribunal process (session LA2: Tuesday 4pm), inclusive recruitment (session BB2: Wednesday 11.45am), workplace sexual harassment (session LB2: Wednesday 2pm), special interest topic discussions on everything from the menopause, the Race Equality Charter to retirement planning (make your choice of sessions at 9.30am on Thursday 12 May), supporting staff to support students (session WC6: Thursday 11am) and more. And yet more. We can’t guess exactly what combination of workshops will be useful to you but take a look at the programme for each day and we know there will be something there for you.

No matter your specialism, we are sure that listening to our plenaries will offer something for everyone. As specialists we recognise that can be a lonely position, so our final suggestion is to make the most of the networking opportunities that UHR22 brings. If someone is in the same session as you, with a similar job title, that’s a future member of your peer support network, so say Hello and arrange a follow-up. Why not join in the Networking Carousel – Wednesday at 12.30pm – and similar sessions throughout?

Conference pathways – Deputy HRDs

As an experienced HR practitioner, this might not be your first UHR conference but it’s sure to be one of the best with the line-up we have put together. You won’t do better than bookending your days with our excellent and diverse range of plenary speakers but on top of that, why not try the following….

Get up to speed with a topic that is still as hot as it was a year ago – hybrid working – by joining WA4: Hybrid Working – Thinking Differently with colleagues from the University of Manchester. In the afternoon, join our partners Workday to consider the 4 key areas of HR innovation in 2022 and beyond. On Wednesday, learn about Transforming the Academic “deal” from your peers at the University of Birmingham in session WB1 and reflect on your own practices. The partner hour (Wednesday, 1pm-2pm) gives you the opportunity to virtually mingle with our valued event partners from the comfort of your own home! Thursday is our final day so why not start the morning with Special Interest Group 6: Workforce Planning – foundation for the future, and give some thought to how workforce planning & modelling is done in your teams. Follow this with WC4 which deals with Culture Change – a hard nut to crack! Colleagues from Staffordshire University and Elementa Leadership will talk you through how they tackled it. Before our closing plenary, you’ll have time to squeeze in what promises to be an enlightening legal session on serial or vexatious complainers, presented jointly by Farrer & Co LLP and Ann Kelly from Imperial.

After a packed 3 days, make sure you have scheduled some time on Friday to decompress, reflect on the sessions you’ve attended and plan how you’ll put into action what you have learned. And of course, the UHR team would love to hear your feedback!

Conference pathways – HR Directors

Your time is at a premium and you may not be able to attend all three days of the conference live, but these are a few sessions you might diarise to make the most of live participation. All the plenary sessions should be top-notch, bookended by Jennifer Moss preventing burnout and David Olusoga struggling for equality.

On Tuesday, HR leads will be challenged to change their whole team approach by WA1: #InclusiveHR – 5 Step Challenge to Change from Cheryl Samuels, Deputy Director of NHS Workforce Transformation, and lead for #InclusiveHR (don’t forget the UHR AGM at 5.05pm). As well as Eddie Obeng and Mohsin Zaidi inspiring and challenging us on Wednesday, hear from one of your peers – Will Davies (Surrey) and Mercer Marsh will be looking at BB1: How to develop a strategy to create a unique EVP. Don't miss the UHR awards at 4.30pm, whether or not your team is shortlisted. There’s always something to learn, or someone to schedule a conversation with. Last but not least, Thursday’s picks might be SIG5: Academic Freedom, The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill and what your institution needs to be aware of with the proposed changes to the law, led by Shakespeare Martineau, followed by BC3: Searching for HR with Jayne Billam our former UHR Treasurer and NTU HRD, now with Gatenby Sanderson, challenging HR to take a hard look at itself.  Why not schedule time with your team ahead of the conference, to make sure everyone is making the most of the vast choice, and to plan how to capture, share, reflect collectively and act on what you learn?

Delegates might also want to find time now to get used to our Hopin platform for the event with a short explainer video ‘Getting the most out of the event’, or to check out our much-appreciated partner organisations for UHR22 – they are the best suppliers to the sector and we are very grateful for their support. We look forward very much to seeing you at conference – we start for registration from 9am on Tuesday 10 May.