Day 1 | Conference Programme
FREE to attend conference sessions for professionals who focus on workplace and wellbeing, HR, mental health, and employee culture, from all sizes of organisation.
If you would like to print the programmes, please hit the buttons here to open the PDF.
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Mental & Physical WellbeingDay One
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Social & Inclusive WellbeingDay One
10.00 - 10.40
Keynote: Tackling Mental Health Challenges Head On
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- Why living authentically and being able to bring your whole self to work is critical for mental health
- A personal journey to wellness: highlighting obstacles faced and how they were overcome
- Diversity as a key strength that organisations and teams can harness to improve wellbeing and performance
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Chair
Mark Malcolmson CBE
Principal and Chief Executive, City Lit
keynote Speaker
Keegan Hirst
Former Professional Rugby Player
10.50 - 11.20
Flourishing & “in-Flow”? Making work great by design
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Explore the relationship between good mind health and good experiences at work
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The 5 factors that support both good mind health and productivity
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Sharing new UK data and insights from AXA’s Global Mind Health Study 2023
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Chair
Carole Spiers
Chair ISMA UK and CEO Carole Spiers Group
Speaker
Dr. Chris Tomkins
Head of Wellbeing
11.35 - 12.20
Panel: Supporting Women's Health in the Workplace
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- Developing a tailored approach to women’s health including menopause, fertility and other health conditions which disproportionately impact female employees
- Building a culture of openness to enable honest conversations the implementation of practical solutions
- Recognising how factors such as stress, anxiety and the impact of caring responsibilities may also impact women’s health and wellbeing
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Chair
Amy McKeown
Mental Health, Health & Wellbeing and Women’s Health Consultant
Speaker
Natalie Beresford
Retired Detective Inspector and Chair, Menopause Action Group, Thames Valley Police
Speaker
Dhavani Bishop
Group Head of Colleague Health and Wellbeing, Tesco
13.50 - 14.20
Case Study: A practical way to create a holistic wellbeing culture that helps people to be at their best
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- Delivering holistic wellbeing through dedicated centres which are uniquely designed to support all colleagues across all areas of the business
- Offering a broad range of programmes and entry points to support the key elements of wellbeing; mind, body and life and to enhance existing digital and clinic-based support
- Taking an evidence based, clinically led approach to demonstrate the improvement to the business with data and metrics
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Chair
Hayley Farrell
Global Wellbeing and Resilience Director, Arcadis
Speaker
Steve Iley
Chief Medical Officer and Global Head of Occupational Health and Safety, Jaguar Land Rover
14.35 - 15.05
Why Today's Multi-Generational Workforce Needs an Inclusive, Preventative Approach to Wellbeing
- Understanding how a preventative approach to wellbeing can positively impact your workforce and create a competitive advantage.
- Exploring the health and wellbeing needs of a multi-generational, hybrid workforce, who more than ever need personalised benefits rather than a one-size fits all approach.
- Demonstrating how regular health screening and data-led personalised testing plans can provide a positive return through increased productivity and staff retention.
Chair
Hayley Farrell
Global Wellbeing and Resilience Director, Arcadis
Speaker
Alex Templeton
CEO
15.15 - 16.00
Panel: How to Increase Engagement with Your Wellbeing Initiatives
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- Identifying the factors that can increase engagement with wellbeing initiatives and encourage employees to take ownership of their wellbeing with the support of the organisation
- Designing wellbeing interventions that meet the needs of individuals and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach
- Ensuring organisational culture supports the wellbeing strategy and that line managers are promoting and delivering the wellbeing practices that are in place
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Chair
Clare Dare
Head of Health, Risk & Technology, PIB Employee Benefits
Speaker
Ruth Pott
Head of Workplace Wellbeing, BAM Nuttall
Speaker
Nasrin Oskui
Global Wellbeing Lead, Deutsche Bank
Speaker
Louise Boston
Strategic Health and Wellbeing Manager, E.ON
10.00 - 10.40
Keynote Panel: Building Inclusive Organisational Cultures of Care
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- How leaders and wellbeing champions can nurture workplace cultures of resilience and trust where employees can thrive
- Understanding the critical drivers of organisational culture to ensure that all employees can contribute and feel valued, whatever their role in the organisation
- Harnessing wellbeing and organisational culture to attract, develop and retain pipelines of diverse talent to ensure future business success
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Chair
Ngozi Weller
Director, Aurora
keynote Speaker
Emma Birchall
Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Ericsson
keynote Speaker
Arti Kashyap-Aynsley
Global Head of Wellbeing & Inclusion, Ocado
keynote Speaker
Devi Virdi
Group Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Centrica
10.50 - 11.20
Why Line Managers are the Wrong People to Manage Employee Health and Wellbeing
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- The barriers arising from the employee/manager relationship that impact on the effectiveness of wellbeing support being offered
- How the expectation on managers to be frontline clinician, counsellor or therapist – while managing admin too – impacts on their own wellbeing
- The advantages of alternative approaches, including how they actually strengthen employee/manager relationships
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Chair
Ngozi Weller
Director, Aurora
Alun Baker
CEO, Goodshape
11.35 - 12.20
Panel: Creating a Neurodiversity Smart Workplace
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How can organisations create awareness, build their understanding and ensure that their recruitment and management practices attract and support neurodivergent candidates and employees?
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Creating a positive working environment which enables neurodivergent employees to work at their best.
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Understanding the factors that most often prevent neurodivergent employees from finding work and thriving in their roles
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Chair
Ngozi Weller
Director, Aurora
Speaker
Sean Gilroy
Head of Cognitive Design and Neurodiversity Program Lead, BBC CAPE
Speaker
Tori Roberts
UK&I Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence Leader, EY
Speaker
Leena Haque
Senior UX Designer and Neurodiversity Program Lead, BBC
13.50 - 14.20
Case Study: Wellbeing as a fundamental driver of individual and organisational performance
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Shifting the perception of wellbeing as a 'nice to have' to an essential element of performance success and a critical part of everyone's role.
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Designing a strategy which recognises and supports wellbeing as a fundamental driver of individual and organisational performance
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Building measurement and tangible accountability into the wellbeing strategy to understand the impact of the new approach
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Chair
Ngozi Weller
Director, Aurora
Speaker
Toni Graves
Global Head of Reward and Wellbeing, Allen & Overy
14.35 - 15.05
Author Spotlight: Burnout Prevention: starting with you and creating a ripple effect of culture change
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- Who helps the helper? How noticing the signs of burnout yourself can begin a ripple effect of change
- What is a culture that prevents burnout and how to get started
- Internal activism and evolving our workplaces for the future
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Chair
Ngozi Weller
Director, Aurora
Speaker
Petra Velzeboer
CEO and Founder, PVL and Author of Begin With You: Invest In Your Mental Wellbeing and Satisfaction at Work
15.15 - 16.00
Panel: Creating a Culture of Psychological Safety
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Building a high-trust working environment that supports collaboration and social wellbeing and fuels high-performance, innovation and collaboration.
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The key elements which support a psychologically safe workplace and the critical role of line managers and leaders
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Establishing and encouraging the practices and behaviours that create a psychology safe culture
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Chair
Hayley Farrell
Global Wellbeing and Resilience Manager, Arcadis
Speaker
Mark Lomas
Head of Culture, Lloyd’s of London
Speaker
Lucy Vallis
Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing, Save the Children
Speaker
Daniel Chan
Global Workplace and Wellbeing Lead, dentsu International
10.00 - 10.40
Keynote: Thriving in the New World of Work
Understanding the benefits and challenges of hybrid working from an employee and organisational perspective and the role of wellbeing in this new world of work
Exploring the impact of the work environment and how organisations can create workplaces which are conducive to employee health and wellbeing
Developing an inclusive, flexible approach which enables employees to thrive wherever they work
Chair
Amy McKeown
Mental Health, Health & Wellbeing and Women’s Health Consultant
keynote Speaker
Dr Monika Misra
Global Head of Employee Health and Wellbeing, GSK
10.50 - 11.30
Digital Balance: Disconnecting in a connected world
What is the biggest cause of stress in the workplace and why?
As boundaries between work and home have simply disappeared, does it mean the end of work life balance and what can be done about it?
With progressive legislation being introduced such as the right to disconnect in France, Belgium and Portugal, and a growing appetite for 4 day working weeks, what do these changes mean for organisations?
Technology is the issue but also the solution, how can individuals, teams and organisations define digital boundaries to better support wellbeing?
Chair
Amy McKeown
Mental Health, Health & Wellbeing and Women’s Health Consultant
Speaker
Ryan Hopkins
Future of Wellbeing Lead, Deloitte
11.35 - 12.20
Panel: The Critical Role of Financial Wellbeing in Supporting Employees’ Mental Health and All Round Wellbeing
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Understanding the impact of the cost of living crisis and in-work poverty on employees’ physical and mental health, and how to identify and help those most at risk
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Using financial wellbeing interventions to support employees in the current financial climate and beyond
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Developing a sustainable approach to financial wellbeing to reduce the long-term risks and support employees as their needs change.
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Chair
Josephina Smith
People Director and Thought Leader
Speaker
Janet Leighton
Director of Happiness, Timpson Group Limited
Speaker
Rebecca Eaton
Head of Occupational Health & Wellbeing, Cadent Gas
Speaker
Kris Ambler
Workforce Lead, BACP
13.35 - 14.20
Panel: The Role of Employers in Enhancing and Levelling up the Health of the Nation
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- Understanding the growing role of business in preventative health to reduce demand on the NHS, address the growing problem of workforce inactivity and bring down levels of long-term sickness absence
- Exploring what good business-led health interventions look like, the benefits to both workforce health and business growth and the next phase of the Business Framework for Health
- Identifying future solutions in workplace health, how employers can contribute to reduce health and wellbeing inequalities and how this supports ESG goals
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Chair
Professor Dame Carol Black
Chair, Centre for Ageing Better
Speaker
Lord James Bethell
Former Health Minister
Speaker
John Godfrey
Levelling Up Director, Legal & General, Chair, Business for Health
Speaker
Pamela Gellatly
CEO, Healthcare RM
Speaker
Tina Woods
CEO, Business for Health
Speaker
Sandra Dyball
Director, Health, Wellbeing and Benefits, Centrica
14.35 - 15.05
Putting the wellbeing of employees into the ‘S’ of your ESG Strategy
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- Exploring how employee mental health and wellbeing is becoming a core part of responsible business as employers, stakeholders and regulators place greater focus on how it links to business profitability and sustainability
- Understanding how employee health and wellbeing fits into an organisation's Environment, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) strategy
- Considering wellbeing as an overarching output from a range of important inputs, not as a subset of health and safety inputs, where many businesses currently place it
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Chair
Amy McKeown
Mental Health, Health & Wellbeing and Women’s Health Consultant
Speaker
Henrietta Jowitt
Advisor to MindForward Alliance, Non-Executive Director Portfolio and Board Level Commercial Leader
15.15 - 16.00
Panel: Navigating the Provider Landscape to Find the Right Wellbeing Solutions
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- Identifying the suppliers that can effectively support the delivery of your wellbeing strategy, and how to ensure an aligned approach
- Evaluating the solutions that are right for your organisation’s current and future needs to maximise the impact of your investment and minimise risk
- Understanding the key questions to ask in order to effectively evaluate potential providers and identify the benefits and potential challenges of each solution
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Chair
Amy McKeown
Mental Health, Health & Wellbeing and Women’s Health Consultant
Speaker
Fiona McAslan
Head of Health and Wellbeing, Royal Mail Group
Speaker
Nick Pahl
CEO, SOM
Speaker
Rebecca Ormond
EMEA Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
16:15 - 17:00
Make a Difference Awards
Make a Difference New will reveal the winners of this year's awards at The Watercooler on the Social and Wellbeing stage on day one. The Make A Difference Awards, held in association with the London Evening Standard and The Watercooler Event, are an opportunity for us to stop, think and thank the colleagues and employers who have really made a difference over the past year to workplace culture, mental health and wellbeing. Those who are leading the way and inspiring others to follow their example.