Mercer 2011 Global Benefits Outsourcing Conference
Keynote address

Jill Shedden. Group HR Director, Centrica plc

View BiographyJill joined Centrica as a graduate in British Gas marketing, soon realising that her real passion was for people. Following a number of generalist HR roles, she was appointed HR Director in British Gas Business, and soon after in the wider company, British Gas Energy (BGE).

After two years at BGE, Jill was appointed HR Director at Centrica Energy, an exploration, production, power generation and trading business. Her focus has always been on building a high-performance environment and a great place to work. She has achieved operational and commercial success, as well as helped her company earn “Best Companies” and “Great Places to Work” awards, throughout her career.

In July 2011, Jill was appointed to the role of Group HR Director for Centrica plc.
Client Speaker

John Bell. Group Advisor, Human Capital Planning, Rio Tinto

View BiographyJohn is the Group Advisor, Human Capital Planning (HCP) and his main areas of accountability include, developing and executing Rio Tinto’s HCP strategy, and also maximising the contribution of people through enhanced Employee Engagement. John uses a range of data and analysis techniques to demonstrate the impact on the organisation and to help shape the actions required to drive success. John also has responsibility for designing, positioning and implementing the Group’s Employee Commitment. More ...
Client Speaker

Andy Doyle. Group HR Director, ITV plc

View BiographyAndy became Group HR Director in 2009, having joined ITV as HR Operations Director in 2007. Prior to joining ITV, Andy was HR Director of Morrison plc and has held a series of HR and general management roles in organisations experiencing significant change, including UNITE Group and Tricon Restaurants International.

Andy is a Governor of Middlesex University and he is a Chartered Director and a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.
Contact Mercer

If you have any questions, please contact Mercer Global Events Team at:
Event programme

Tuesday, 20 September 2011
8:30 – 9:00am Registration
09:00am Welcome and introduction from your hosts for the forum
09.10am Opening keynote from Jill Shedden, Group Director, HR at Centrica plc
Jill has recently (July 2011) taken up her new role as Group HR Director for Centrica, having developed her career with the firm over the last 20 years, which has seen her progress from the most junior HR role in the business to the most senior. Jill will share her experiences in managing her career to date and the expectations of her CEO in her new role. She will also help us to set the scene for the Forum by discussing the key themes in the context of Centrica.
09.40am Creating the Global Leader

As global markets become an increasingly important source of growth and profitability for organisations, many are realising that they do not have enough global leaders to take advantage of expanding opportunities. Creating a global leader who can effectively manage across multiple countries or regions, whether based in country or abroad, is one of the key challenges in leadership development.

This session will highlight new research sponsored by Mercer and conducted by Jay Conger at Claremont McKenna University and the London Business School, which identifies the distinct capabilities needed by a global leader and explains why companies need to approach leadership development for global leaders differently. The session will also highlight the key enablers of global leader development and best practices.
10:15am Break
10.35am Employee Engagement – What Works (and What Doesn’t)

Mercer's recent What's Working research, among nearly 30,000 workers in 17 countries (including more than 2,400 in the UK), shows stark contrasts in employee engagement pre and post recession.

As the economy improves and new job opportunities emerge, employers risk losing valued talent and are likely to face performance and morale issues among the remaining workers – all at a time when growth and productivity gains dominate the corporate agenda.

This session looks at the drivers for engagement, how these compare by generation and by geography, and importantly, what this means for employers.

In the second part of the session, Andy Doyle, Group HR Director, ITV will share ITV's approach to driving up engagement levels, which is integral to ITV's corporate strategy.

The session will move on to a facilitated discussion on what employers can do to re-engage UK employees.

  • Andy Doyle, Group HR Director, ITV plc
  • Milan Taylor, UK & Ireland leader Information Product Solutions, Mercer
11.35am Getting the CEO's ear

Bring new insights about markets to the CEO and the board and you will have their ear.

But how well do they understand their internal labour market – arguably the most important market of all? Get this market wrong, or ignore it, and the chances of your being a winner in your other markets are quite remote. Take this market seriously and you will be able to assess the impact of your workforce on key performance indicators such as profit, customer retention and quality. It is the one market you can control and influence to ensure successful outcomes from your business strategy and where HR leaders will have the biggest influence.

This session will help you apply a new lens to people management. Using case examples from work done with some of the leading companies around the globe, we will show how modern workforce analytics can de-mystify the operation of internal labour markets and be sure to get the CEO's ear.
12.15pm Accelerate Business Performance – Get Talent to Work - Key Takeaways

To close the forum your hosts will reflect on the key insights from the sessions and invite comment from the floor.
12:30pm Lunch
Over lunch you will have the opportunity to participate in an informal wine and cheese tasting.

This will also be an ideal time to visit Mercer’s Resource Centre where we will be demonstrating some of our tools and technologies relevant to the topics being discussed on the day.

Note: The programme and timings are subject to change.