People mean business: CIPD annual conference

Ten delegates attended the National Conference and Exhibition in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, UK, organised by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development from October 22 to 24, as part of the FHRD delegation.

Thousands of practitioners return to the CIPD's annual conference each year because there is no better opportunity to gain new ideas, inspiration and space for reflection. The Malta delegation was composed of executives from Bank of Valletta plc, the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, the Malta Maritime Authority, Malta Freeport, the Malta Tourism Authority and the FHRD.

The theme of this year's conference was 'People mean business'. The pace of change is somehow faster, the frequency and magnitude of restructuring significantly greater and the way forward less predictable than it ever was before. For today's leaders, it is no longer a question of creating order but of improvising, adapting and recreating their vision in a vastly changing environment.

Over a hundred speakers from the world's top business schools and leading organisations took part in the conference, including Costas Markides, Leonard Greenhalgh, Jeffrey Pfeffer and Susan Greenfield. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, gave the opening keynote address on why some companies make the leap (from good to great) and others don't.

The conference programme was divided into a number of streams: Creativity and innovation; Managing change; Legal updates; Recruitment, retention and motivation; The people dimension; Strategy; and Making it happen.

Participants had the opportunity to visit the exhibition, featuring over 350 leading providers of HR and training products, services and information. There was also the opportunity to access fringe events: a variety of sessions covering a wide selection of management and HR issues.