Insights From CIPD’s Annual Conference 2019

Last week (6-7 November), the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) held its annual conference and exhibition in Manchester. While we couldn’t attend it this year, we have keenly devoured updates from the event and, once again, we’re truly in awe of the steps the organisation takes to better the state of work in the UK. Read on to find out what the CIPD has done this time!

For those not too familiar with the CIPD, let us give you a quick 101 (be sure to also check out our article on CIPD qualifications). CIPD is a not-for-profit professional body, committed fully to driving positive change in the world of work. It does so mainly by recognising the crucial ‘people’ element behind every organisation’s success. For this reason, the CIPD continually goes to great lengths in advocating for things like employee support, good work-life balance, inclusion in the workplace and, all in all, healthy working lives for all.

In order to make sure their advocacy reaches all the right people, the institute also specialises in HR and learning & development qualifications. And that’s yet another thing they seem to be acing. Today, CIPD certification is considered one of the most important and prestigious (though, don’t let the word put you off) qualifications for HR and L&D professionals; with the CIPD’s member reach extending to multiple countries across the world, and both the private and public sectors.

The CIPD’s success is great news for us all, as there are few organisations as devoted to flagging and offering solutions to problems arising in the world of work as them. With the number of people pursuing CIPD qualifications soaring, we can rest assured that our CIPD-certified HR and L&D departments across the country are working hard behind the scenes to make sure work isn’t just bearable.

As you can imagine, the CoursesOnline team was pretty gutted not to have been able to attend this event. However, we have gone through the programme in depth and we liked what we saw.

The event was divided into five different streams, with each stream relating to a different area of interest. The five streams were:

The first talk in this pack related to the question of stress and mental health issues at work. In an age where stress and work-related anxiety continue to plague workers up and down the country, this issue undoubtedly needs addressing. The results of the Labour Report Survey 2019 agree, estimating that 12.8 million working days were lost to work-related stress in 2018/19.

The speakers leading this talk were Andrea Vogel of War Child UK and Andrew Spells, Head of Well-being at the British Council. Focusing on holistic well-being programmes at work, the two speakers discussed the importance of such programmes in increasing engagement and retention; raising awareness and dispelling the aura of taboo still surrounding mental health issues.

The second talk was delivered by Wendy Tubi of Business Stream and Francisca Burtenshaw of Prahs, and it related to the question of flexible working, a hot topic in the UK at the moment. The two speakers articulated the benefits of flexible and remote working arrangements in terms of both employee well-being and productivity and overall team engagement.

According to a 2019 report by the CIPD, increasing numbers of employees view flexible working options as essential to a healthier work-life balance, the reduction in work-related stress – in addition to helping them stay with an employer longer. It’s no wonder, then, that the CIPD took yet another opportunity to stress the significance of flexible working, and we’ve got to say, it makes us like them even more.

The following talk consisted of a panel discussion and explored the issue of workplace inclusion, particularly relating to age, ethnicity, religion and neurodiversity.

Some of the things covered included:

While workplace diversity may often seem a buzz phrase that everyone likes to throw around, but few really know how to implement, every business, no matter the size, stands to gain a lot from committing to it full-steam ahead. According to a McKinsey report, companies with diverse workforces outperform their competitors by 35%. In a similar vein, a Glassdoor report found that 67% of job seekers view company diversity as a priority when considering job offers.

These are just some of countless topics covered during the annual CIPD conference. However, even these give you a glimpse into the type of work that the CIPD is doing and, hopefully, why it’s so important. And if that sounds like something you’d like to get involved in, the best place to start is by checking out their courses and getting certified (here).