Conference Day One
22 May 2019
Click here for Pre-Conference In-depth Learning Sessions
08:30 Registration and welcome coffee
08:50 Opening remarks from the Chair
Vanessa Vanderhoek, Chief Executive Officer, The FlexAgility Group
UNDERSTANDING FLEXIBLE & AGILE WORKING
09:00 Defining flexible and agile working in Australia through a regulatory eye
- Highlighting the differences between flexible and agile working
- Understanding the importance of flexible and agile working from a micro to macro level
- Identifying regulations and policy impacting employees and employers
- Discussing the role of the government in supporting flexible and agile working
Hon. Courtney Houssos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Cabinet,Temporary Chair of Committees Member of the NSW Legislative Council, Parliament of New South Wales
09:30 Keynote - Transforming to a digital organisation – implementing an organisational agile operating model
- Key environmental drivers for change
- Changing customer expectations
- Cultural & technological transformation required
- Highlighting the challenges and barriers to transforming
Andy Weir, Executive General Manager Bankwest Technology & Transformation (CIO), Bankwest
10:00 What if flexible and agile working was business-as-usual?
- Imagining a future where flexible and agile working are the norm not the exception
- Understanding how that changes the way we would think about flexible and agile work
- Acknowledging that today our response to flexible work is a response not a strategy
- Reflecting on how we got here and what might need to progress
Sally Dorsett & David Schmidtchen , Executive Director, People and Organisational Development, Synergy
10:20 Morning tea break
EMBRACING THE FUTURE OF WORK AND WORKPLACES
10:50 INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDY: Work less, get more - testing the 4-day work week in Perpetual Guardian
This trustee company from New Zealand reduced hours of work for the same pay in order to test if there was a connection between raising productivity and increasing employee engagement. The trial was an unmitigated success, with results increased productivity and employees less stressed, more committed and engaged. Learn how Perpetual Guardian implemented such change and discover the challenges and opportunities of the 4-day workweek.
Christine Brotherton, Head of People and Capability, Perpetual Guardian
11:20 EDUCATION SESSION - The future of high-performance work spaces
- Learn from research and findings conducted on open plan and activity-based working
- Understand the impact of these findings on workplace design and predictions for the future
- Gain insights into the importance of culture and employee engagement for business success - now and in the future
Facilitator:
Gregory Parsonson, Director, Cachet Group
Panellists:
Christhina Candido, Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney (pre-recorded)
Jessica Muldoon, Head of People and Culture, Cachet Group
Christian Pistauer, Director, Future Office Design
11:50 Shaping the workplaces of the future for more social and agile environments
- Describing the workplace of the future and future employees
- Understanding the danger behind certain workplace designs such as shared desks, hot desks and open spaces
- Discovering some of the most innovative workplaces in Australia
Donna Wheatley, Director – Strategy, WMK Architecture
12:20 Networking lunch
FLEXIBLE & AGILE WORKING - IN BETWEEN CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY
13:20 How flexible and agile working will create more diverse and inclusive workplaces
- Highlighting the relationship between flexible arrangements and workplace diversity and inclusion
- Building inclusive workplaces for a diverse workforce using flexible and agile working
- Understanding the role of the law in shaping the future of flexible and agile working
Fay Calderone, Partner - Employment & Workplace Relations, Hall & Wilcox
13:50 Reducing the gender pay gap through flexible working
- Understanding the relationship between gender pay gap and flexible working
- Improving economic security and workplace equality using flexible working arrangements
- Developing a strategic plan and identifying early actions to reduce the gender pay gap in organisations
Lisa Annese, Chief Executive Officer, Diversity Council of Australia
14:20 Increasing employees’ motivation, performance and creativity while cutting costs
- Discussing the financial benefits of flexible and agile working from a business perspective
- Understanding that flexible working is not scary but, on the contrary, beneficial for both employees and employers
- Why flexible and agile working increase employee morale, engagement and commitment to the organisation
Robert Hawkins, Author, Humans Are Not Robots: The Fundamentals of Work Flexibility
14:50 Afternoon tea break
15:20 Using a flexible and agile culture to boost employees’ attraction, selection and retention
- Understanding what candidates really want
- How flexible workplaces are changing the way we attract talent
- Identifying the relationship between flexible and agile arrangements and staff retention
Martin Cowie, People & Development Director, OMD
15:50 CASE STUDY – Generating new opportunities in co-working spaces
- Understanding co-working spaces from an occupier’s perspective
- Creating a culture of sharing, communication and innovation
- Discovering the power of cooperation and interaction between companies
Ian Aldridge, Principal, Progressive Legal
co-presentation:
Michael Mullins, Business Development Specialist, Automio
16:20 Closing remarks from the Chair
16:30 End of Day One and networking drinks
Discover the books that will help you to learn more about flexible and agile working during the networking drinks:
- Humans Are Not Robots: The Fundamentals of Work Flexibility from Robert Hawkins
- The Tracksuit Economy: How to work productively AND effectively from home from Emma Heuston