CIPD HRD conference and exhibition, London, UK, 14-17 April 2008

Citation

Winkler, V. (2008), "CIPD HRD conference and exhibition, London, UK, 14-17 April 2008", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 7 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2008.37207eac.001

CIPD HRD conference and exhibition, London, UK, 14-17 April 2008

Article Type: Resources From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 7, Issue 5

Event review

There were many reasons to suggest that this year’s HRD event, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s annual conference and exhibition for learning and development professionals, was the best ever. Not only did it mark the launch of the tenth annual learning and development survey – an insight into the latest developments in the industry – but also the CIPD was honored to host the 12th WFPMA (World Federation of Personnel Management Associations) World HR Congress, adding to the international flavor of the event.

Taking place on 14-17 April in Excel in London, an outstanding range of speakers and presentations – including business gurus, thought leaders and stimulating case studies from around the globe – came together in more than 40 seminars and workshops to tackle the key learning and development and people management challenges that will shape the 21st century.

Focusing on the future of HR

The first day marked the opening of the World Congress. There was an opening address from Florent Francoeur, the president of WFPMA, and Geoff Armstrong, the director general of CIPD, which was followed by a panel discussion around one of the most ambitious HR research projects ever conducted on the future of global HR by the Boston Consulting Group and WFPMA, a study giving an insight on what challenges the profession faces in the next ten years (see research and results pages for more information).

The momentum did not slow down throughout the day with rousing presentations from Charles Handy, one of the world’s most influential management thinkers, and Rob Goffee, professor of organizational behavior, London Business School, and Gareth Jones, fellow of the centre for management development at London Business School, who covered the always challenging topic of leading clever people, basing their observations on more than 100 interviews with leaders from major organizations such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cisco Systems and Novartis. The focus on the future of HR continued throughout the day until the closing presentation from leading HR commentator John Boudreau, professor at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, whose presentation focused on the new science of human capital management.

Lively debates and discussions

The three days of HRD (15-17 April) continued on the same theme of industry-leading figures presenting new insights into the profession and dynamic and forward-thinking observations. Key speakers included Debashis Chatterjee, who opened the conference with his theories on transformational leadership and leaders being the masters of change within organizations; Tim Smit, chief executive and co-founder of the Eden Project; Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe, professor of leadership at the University of Bradford, who spoke about a culture of good leadership being key to an engaged and more productive workforce; and Daniel Pink, international best-selling author of A Whole New Mind.

Alongside these showcase seminars, the CIPD presented its new research released to coincide with HRD. In addition to the Learning and Development 2008 survey, the findings of research into coaching – “Developing coaching capability in organizations” – and a new CIPD research project into developments in international resource management were also explained at seminars on 15 April and 17 April, respectively.

Underpinning the innovative seminars and presentations was the exhibition, also held at Excel. Here delegates found hundreds of innovative products and services to help meet their learning and development challenges. The exhibition also gave delegates an opportunity to discuss their needs with suppliers, as well as network with fellow professionals to share views and experiences.

Victoria WinklerVictoria Winkler is based at CIPD.