Event to explore how to grow a talented team
NORTHUMBRIA University and the North East England Chamber of Commerce have joined forces to host a free event exploring the challenges of attracting and retaining talent in the region.
Grow Your Own: How to Attract and Retain a Talented Team, which is supported by Supply Chain North East, is open to all businesses and aims to provide a platform for professionals and senior leaders looking to explore strategies and best practice for recruiting, engaging and upskilling talent within their organisation.
The line-up of expert speakers and thought leaders includes Chamber chief executive John McCabe, Northumbria University HR and leadership academic Helen Charlton, Walker Filtration’s group HR director Alix Bolton and Newcastle Eagles’ managing director Paul Blake.
John McCabe will outline some of the skills and labour market barriers facing businesses currently and the importance of building leadership skills and capacity to maximise growth here in the region.
He said: “The region faces profound labour market issues, and employers are reluctant to create job vacancies due to economic uncertainty. Whilst this isn’t a challenge unique to the North East, it is arguably greater than in other parts of the UK. As a consequence, businesses need to be prepared to create their own future leaders. This underlines the importance of having a sustainable recruitment and retention strategy to ensure they can attract, develop and retain talent effectively.
“We hope this event will support the regional business community in facing the current labour market challenges head-on and provide insight, advice and strategies to help drive the continued growth and success of their organisations and the region as a whole.”
Dr Helen Charlton, senior lecturer in leadership and HR management and director of apprenticeships at Northumbria University, added: “Investing in leadership development is proven to improve company culture, competitive advantage, customer satisfaction and efficient business performance. But all too often, people come to management or leadership roles within a business by circumstance rather than design.
“Without the right skills or behaviours, it can be difficult to operate effectively and can have a profoundly negative impact on the wellbeing and motivation of both the individual concerned and the team around them. Ensuring that leaders, at all levels, have the necessary confidence, support, and skills is an important part of any retention strategy and ultimately the performance of the organisation.
“We’re thrilled to co-host this event and explore some of these challenges and opportunities for businesses and their future leaders.”
The event takes place on Tuesday, June 6, from 9.30am to 11.30am at Newcastle Eagles’ Vertu Motors Arena.