The Coventry and Warwickshire Employability Group are a partnership working group composing of the Chamber of Commerce, Senior HR Professionals, local employers, LEP and Local Authority representatives. The Employability Group are hosting an event to raise awareness and alley SME fears of high-cost advice. The event will provide information and advice on different scenarios for managers and employees in the workplace. SMEs tend to worry more of the cost associated with advice than actually obtaining the professional advice that is needed when a situation arises in the workplace - this event will provide free advice and reduce fears of associated costs.
This event is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, including owners but also employees. All are welcome to attend but the event’s main focus is on benefiting SMEs and their attitude towards costs, issues in the workplace and SME opportunities.
Attendees will gain useful information and advice regarding the management and well-being of employees, possible employee-related issues that may occur in the workplace, and SME business support. Topics covered will include; the benefits of placement work and the funding available for businesses when taking on apprentices, employment law for SMEs, tackling employee well-being in SMEs, supporting parents and new parents at work, avoiding maternity discrimination, the impact of increasing involvement with local schools to promote careers, and the benefits of flexible working.
Attendees will have exposure to invaluable tools that can be adopted and implemented in their business in addition to support and advice from speakers in their fields of expertise, and real-life case study examples.
Naturally, there is also the opportunity to meet other local and like-minded SME businesses similar to yours.
The event will run as an exhibition like session whereby speakers will be set up around the venue room and attendees can circulate the room to visit the stands and speakers that they find most useful to their business or business issue. In this way, attendees can obtain only the information they want without having to stay for the whole event duration if it were scheduled as a lecture like presentation. Furthermore, this will allow attendees the opportunity to ask speakers questions that they may have regarding certain topics, without the worry of having to ask the question and receive the answer in a large crowd.
Speakers:
Still, TBC but possible speakers include:
Mike Woolnough, National Sales Director of Perks Direct, speaking of the Perks Direct Employee Benefits Platform.
Angela Roberts, Director of The HR Consultancy, speaking of HR procedures to aid SMEs.
Eva Harrison, speaking of the importance why employers need to understand the younger generation as they have a thirst for knowledge.
Navneet Rai speaking of the funding available to businesses when taking on apprentices, business benefits, the benefits of industry placement and work experience students, supported internships and school engagement.
David Lennox, speaking of how employers can increase/improve their involvement with the schools and colleges across Coventry and Warwickshire to promote careers in different sectors.
Mark Larner, speaking of health and wellbeing at work, including the implemented various strategies and offering experiences and examples of real-time efforts to reach a diverse workforce.
Other possible speakers include; Pauline Whiteman, Sarah Windurm, Deborah Unitt, Wendy Coy and Sally Dhillon.