AGENDA

• 8:15 AM

  Registration opens

• 8:45 AM

  Opening remarks from the Chairperson

  

  Ainsley Palairet

  Director
  FixHR

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  Ainsley Palairet

  Director
  FixHR

  After meeting close on 4,000 business owners and identifying that HR problems had a powerful way of taking the shine off life for small business owners, Ainsley decided to be part of the solution. In 2020 she launched a different HR consultancy company that makes excellent HR practices available to small businesses. FixHR guides their clients through employment issues with commercially savvy staff who appreciate the impact of HR solutions on relationships, and the bottom line. Clients often comment FixHR takes away the overwhelm, and makes great HR accessible. The horizon is big, bright and beautiful for FixHR in 2024!

• 8:55 AM

  Welcome remarks from the Event Partner

  

  Julie Cressey

  Chief Executive Officer New Zealand
  TELUS Health

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  Julie Cressey

  Chief Executive Officer New Zealand
  TELUS Health

  Julie Cressey has extensive experience in Human Resources, Organisational Development and Consulting Services. In her role as CEO of TELUS Health she works closely with a wide variety of organisation to support their Mental Health and Wellbeing initiatives.

• 9:00 AM

  KEYNOTE: Striving for potential – the recipe for high performance

  In this inspiring keynote, hear how Allan cultivates high-performing teams through building self-awareness and guiding individuals to find their true purpose. From the World Sevens Series Championships to Gold at the Olympics, hear how his experiences on and off the field have shaped his leadership approach to nurture the best and brightest in rugby.

   

  • How to guide, empower and unearth potential through leading with authenticity and trust
  • How critical simplicity brings out the best in individuals
  • Recruiting and connecting the right leaders to build high-performing teams

  

  Allan Bunting

  Black Ferns Director of Rugby
  

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  Allan Bunting

  Black Ferns Director of Rugby
  

  A seasoned rugby union and sevens coach from New Zealand, Allan has led the Black Ferns sevens and served as the inaugural head coach for the Chiefs Manawa in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. Allan is the current Director of Rugby for the World Champion Black Ferns. With a successful transition from a thriving professional player to a title-winning coach, Allan Bunting possesses the unique toolkit to cultivating cultures that yield Gold-medal performances. His competitive edge not only drives results but also fosters creative problem-solving during high-pressure moments. Apart from numerous accolades both on and off the rugby field, Allan takes pride in being a devoted father to his four incredible children.

• 9:50 AM

  PANEL: Strategic recruitment – how to attract and hire top employees

  As the talent shortage continues, how are HR teams ensuring they are securing the best employees in the market? Hear how top New Zealand companies are attracting and finding the best employees.

   

  • Examples of creative, targeted solutions for recruiting employees
  • Determining recruitment spend on a reduced budget
  • How to boost talent acquisition initiatives in a lean HR team
  • Leveraging automation, AI and other emerging technology to source the best candidates effectively

  Moderator

  

  Ainsley Palairet

  Director
  FixHR

  ×

  

  Ainsley Palairet

  Director
  FixHR

  After meeting close on 4,000 business owners and identifying that HR problems had a powerful way of taking the shine off life for small business owners, Ainsley decided to be part of the solution. In 2020 she launched a different HR consultancy company that makes excellent HR practices available to small businesses. FixHR guides their clients through employment issues with commercially savvy staff who appreciate the impact of HR solutions on relationships, and the bottom line. Clients often comment FixHR takes away the overwhelm, and makes great HR accessible. The horizon is big, bright and beautiful for FixHR in 2024!

  Panellists

  

  Sue Breeze

  Head of Talent Acquisition
  WSP NZ

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  Sue Breeze

  Head of Talent Acquisition
  WSP NZ

  Sue has over 15 years of recruitment experience and is currently the Head of Talent Acquisition at WSP in New Zealand, a leading global engineering and professional services company. Sue has been with WSP for over six years, and is responsible for leading a team and developing and implementing talent acquisition strategies that align with WSP’s vision and values, as well as achieving successful business outcomes. Sue is dedicated to finding, attracting and retaining the best talent for WSP, and creating a positive and inclusive candidate experience. Sue is passionate about innovating and challenging the status quo through market challenges. 

  

  Shannon Karaka

  Country Leader, A/NZ
  Deel

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  Shannon Karaka

  Country Leader, A/NZ
  Deel

  Shannon Karaka is the Country Leader and Head of Expansion for Australia and New Zealand at Deel. Deel makes it easier for businesses to hire anyone, anywhere in the world. Founded in 2019, Deel’s technology offers payroll, HR, compliance, and benefits needed to hire and manage a global team.  
   
  In his role, Shannon helps ANZ businesses use global hiring to address chronic talent shortages, to quicker expand into international markets and to retain key staff that want or need to move away from Australia and New Zealand, ensuring that key talent continues to work effectively for local companies. 
   
  Before joining Deel, Shannon worked in business development roles for WeWork, Salesforce and Google, witnessing first hand the power of platform and Saas based companies to achieve business transformation.   
   
  As a side hustle, Shannon was the founder of Get Happy Co, a happy clothing brand advocating for mental health. Shannon is also an investor in healthcare startup Smart Doctor, a virtual care platform in Latin America that connects doctors with patients who do not have health coverage or have limited access to medical services.  
   
  Shannon is a life-long advocate for medical and mental health care for all, and promotes flexibility and a healthy work-life balance as way to maintain a positive mindset. 

  

  Mark Lewis

  Head of People and Culture
  Connetics

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  Mark Lewis

  Head of People and Culture
  Connetics

  Mark Lewis became the Head of People and Culture at Connetics in May 2022, spearheading strategic HR initiatives amidst considerable challenges. His leadership facilitated winning the war for talent, increasing opportunities for women in the sector while also decreasing turnover, and increasing employee engagement. Mark’s data-driven approach helped identify valuable opportunities for the business, ultimately determining its growth strategy for the next decade.

  Mark is a truly visionary leader with an impressive ability to balance priorities for the long-term while supporting the immediate needs of the organisation. He garners deep respect from his colleagues for his brave and empathetic qualities.

  

  Candice Payne

  former Global Head of Talent – Customer
  Xero

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  Candice Payne

  former Global Head of Talent – Customer
  Xero

  Candice Payne is a global talent leader with over 10 years experience spanning multiple industries. She has spent the last 6 years of her career with Xero where she supported the business through its period of rapid scale from 1,500 – 5,000 employees and was responsible for designing and delivering an end-to-end global Talent Strategy. 

  
  Candice is passionate about creating beautiful hiring experiences that are efficient, effective and inclusive. She is known for exploring new ways to do things and taking measured risks that enable success or further learning. 

  
  With her deep human focus, Candice has a proven track record building highly engaged and psychologically safe teams and supports individuals to strengthen their craft and belief to make a meaningful impact.” 

• 10:35 AM

  Speed networking

  Expand your network, make connections, and meet fellow delegates in a structured networking session.

• 10:45 AM

  HRD Awards New Zealand 2024 announcement

  The winners of the following categories will be announced:

   

  • NZ HR Rising Star of the Year
  • NZ HR Manager of the Year

• 10:50 AM

  Morning tea and refreshments break

• 11:20 AM

  CASE STUDY: How to successfully retain employees

  With initiatives ranging from inclusive hybrid work arrangements to career development programs, companies are rethinking their retention strategies. In this session, Phillipa Gimmillaro will share how retains its employees in this competitive market.

   

  • Fostering a workplace culture of belonging and inclusivity
  • Designing learning and development programs to support career growth
  • Developing companywide programs to build community engagement
  • Implementing equal and fair pay initiatives through remuneration policies

  

  Phillipa Gimmillaro

  Chief People Officer
  Hind Management

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  Phillipa Gimmillaro

  Chief People Officer
  Hind Management

  Phillipa has over 12 years experience Human Resources, joining Hind Management in 2017 on return from the UK, responsible for developing and implementing the group’s People, Culture and Growth strategy as the group expanded the NZ footprint.

  Under her leadership, Hind Management has achieved several national and international awards and accolades for the ongoing work on accessibility and disability inclusion programmes, as well as gender and rainbow inclusion commitments aimed to enhance the employee experience, retention, community engagement, and well-being.

  Phillipa is passionate about building thriving culture, enhancing diversity and inclusion and strives to make Hind Management a role model for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, empowering people to thrive and deliver outstanding results.

  Phillipa is a Chartered Human Resources Institute of New Zealand (HRNZ) member. Holding a CIPD qualification in Human Resource Practice from the United Kingdom, an Advanced Diploma from the New Zealand School of Travel & Tourism and currently studying towards a Graduate Diploma in Applied Management.

  Phillipa also is a member of the Excellent network for Employee Experience and human-centered design and a Global Transform Ambassador. She previously, served as a Hotel Industry advisory board member, bridging the gap between the education sector and the industry. In 2023, awarded the title of NZ HR Director of the Year Award by Human Resources Director Magazine.

• 11:50 AM

  Psychological safety and positive workplace culture: The other side of workplace wellbeing

  Workplaces across New Zealand and globally are increasingly focussing on workplace culture’s crucial role in staff engagement and organisational performance. Research on psychological safety, bullying and harassment prevention provides strong evidence that organisation-wide education and empowerment programmes can significantly impact staff wellbeing, retention and workplace collaboration.

   

  • Why positive organisational culture and psychological safety matters
  • What a strategic top-down approach to improving workplace culture looks like
  • Evidence-based workplace engagement, education and empowerment programmes that shift culture

  

  Gerard Hoffman

  Counsellor, Registered Clinical Social Worker, Facilitator, Organisational Wellbeing Consultant, Trainer
  

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  Gerard Hoffman

  Counsellor, Registered Clinical Social Worker, Facilitator, Organisational Wellbeing Consultant, Trainer
  

  Gerard Hoffman brings 40 years of experience in social work, counselling, service leadership and training across many New Zealand and Australia social services sectors. Gerard has worked extensively in the areas of restorative practice, suicide prevention, sexual violence prevention, psychological first aid, and individual and organisational mental health and wellbeing promotion. In addition to his work with TELUS Health New Zealand, He is registered with the New Zealand Social Workers Registration Board and Aotearoa New Zealand Social Workers Association.

• 12:20 PM

  HRD Awards New Zealand 2024 announcement

  The winners of the following categories will be announced:

   

  • NZ HR Director of the Year
  • HR Team of the Year

• 12:25 PM

  Networking lunch

• 1:35 PM

  PANEL: Effective wellbeing strategies for building resilient teams

  As teams and managers continue to face burnout and stress, what preventative measures can companies adopt by taking a proactive approach to finding solutions? In this session, hear how top New Zealand companies are supporting and motivating employees through successful wellbeing initiatives.

   

  • Tips for navigating managerial burnout
  • How to create a psychologically safe workplace
  • Addressing and managing psychosocial risks at work
  • How to avoid ‘wellbeing washing’
  • Identifying metrics to measure and track wellbeing

  Moderator

  

  Ainsley Palairet

  Director
  FixHR

  ×

  

  Ainsley Palairet

  Director
  FixHR

  After meeting close on 4,000 business owners and identifying that HR problems had a powerful way of taking the shine off life for small business owners, Ainsley decided to be part of the solution. In 2020 she launched a different HR consultancy company that makes excellent HR practices available to small businesses. FixHR guides their clients through employment issues with commercially savvy staff who appreciate the impact of HR solutions on relationships, and the bottom line. Clients often comment FixHR takes away the overwhelm, and makes great HR accessible. The horizon is big, bright and beautiful for FixHR in 2024!

  Panellists

  

  Nick Arnott

  ANZ Head
  HiBob

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  Nick Arnott

  ANZ Head
  HiBob

  Having spent the past decade in the SaaS tech industry, Nick has built high-performing teams across the world. In the past two years, Nick has been a driving force of HiBob’s rapid growth in the ANZ region and works closely with HR leaders to help solve their challenges. Nick’s passion lies in coaching and mentoring, and believes that an amazing customer and people experience is at the heart of every successful business and team.

  

  Philip Doak

  GM Safety & Wellbeing; Head of Culture & Leadership
  Port of Auckland

  ×

  

  Philip Doak

  GM Safety & Wellbeing; Head of Culture & Leadership
  Port of Auckland

  Phil is on the executive at Port of Auckland with accountability for development of organisational/Health & Safety culture as the basis for improving performance. He has a particular interest in improving organisational culture though inclusive workplace and union relations and improving performance by increased involvement of employees in decision-making and change – how we do things is just as important as what we do.  

   While the practice of many industrialised businesses has been to accommodate rather than collaborate with unions, and manage rather than collaborate with employees, the port through its “Regaining Our Mana” strategy has challenged the status quo and built more sustainable relationships through its High Performance, High Engagement program. HPHE ensures the people closest to the issues are involved in developing solutions, leveraging the collective knowledge of the workforce.  

  He has previously worked with the Ministry of Health and the DHBs on strategic workforce issues. And for 17 years prior to that, Phil led workplace relations and the employment law function at Air New Zealand. Over that period Air New Zealand transformed its relationships and engagement, as well as increasing its business efficiencies.  

  Phil is a qualified lawyer and in 2009 was an employer representative in the Ministerial Advisory Group on the Holidays Act 2004. Prior to joining Air New Zealand, Phil had a career as an international corporate transactions lawyer in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the Middle East. It was there that he developed interest based negotiation skills. 

   

  

  Katrina Hau

  Director People Experience
  Auror

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  Katrina Hau

  Director People Experience
  Auror

  As Director of People Experience at Auror, Katrina’s mission is to build the best place for people to do great work. Born and raised in the UK, she spent much of her career there designing and launching national leadership development programmes for the UK social sector before moving to Aotearoa with her family. Forever learning about how to help others (and herself!) do better when it comes to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, Katrina believes in using equitable design principles to produce better outcomes for everyone. She is an experienced facilitator and coach, and also a proud parent of a wonderful 4 year old human.

  

  Ceri Rowland

  Chief People Officer
  Douglas Pharmaceuticals

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  Ceri Rowland

  Chief People Officer
  Douglas Pharmaceuticals

  Ceri’s passion is people and performance! She believes that ‘happy healthy people deliver sustained high performance’. This means that she puts people and their engagement at the core of what she does, every time! Ceri understands the need to focus on the culture, capability, and capacity of our people, to drive sustainable business performance.

  She is a strategic leader with over 15 years of experience in leadership and consulting roles working for and with a variety of high-profile New Zealand organisations. In her role on the executive leadership team, she has had the pleasure of leading the group’s strategic People and Culture function to ensure Douglas is a highly engaged and high-performing organisation.

• 2:20 PM

  ChatGPT in HR – practical workshop

  How can HR professionals harness the benefits of AI tools to improve efficiency? This practical workshop will cover a step-by-step guide to using ChatGPT to support the HR function.

   

  • Understanding the basics – how to write effective ChatGPT commands
  • Overview of ethical issues in the use of AI (and how to overcome them)
  • How to use ChatGPT in training, onboarding and policy compliance

  

  Annie Johnson

  Partner- Advisory
  Contented AI

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  Annie Johnson

  Partner- Advisory
  Contented AI

  Annie is a seasoned HR practitioner and executive leader with twenty years of local and international industry experience. She also comes from running her own successful HR consultancy, The Honest Human. Driven by her passion for resolving the challenges of enablement faced by businesses, she has now partnered with Contented Co-founders Hannah and Lucy to help companies adopt customised AI solutions. What makes Annie ‘fizz’ is the current work she is doing: actively guiding clients in integrating AI into HR teams and seeing the hugely successful results.

• 2:50 PM

  HRD Awards New Zealand 2024 announcement

  The winners of the following categories will be announced:

   

  • Employer of Choice (<200 Staff)
  • Employer of Choice (>200 Staff)

   

• 2:55 PM

  Afternoon tea and refreshments break

• 3:20 PM

  Grand Prize Draws

  Expo Passport Grand Prize

  Collect all exhibitors’ stamps on the Expo Passport for the chance to win a $300 gift card to Amano!

   

  Sponsor Prize Giveaways

  Visit the sponsor’s booth to know how to join

   

• 3:25 PM

  WORKSHOP: How to manage workplace conflict

  In this practical workshop, hear strategies for managing team conflict effectively to avoid further escalation and minimise risks.

   

  • Practical strategies for resolving conflict between employees
  • How to recognise and prevent emerging conflict before it escalates
  • Learn several approaches to conflict resolution

  

  Nikki Bould

  Mediation Practitioner, People and Culture Specialist
  The Helpful Human

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  Nikki Bould

  Mediation Practitioner, People and Culture Specialist
  The Helpful Human

  Nikki Bould, a dynamic Human Resources Consultant, specializes in Alternative Dispute Resolution, training, and management. As an accredited mediator and co-founder of DSCINZ, Nikki is passionate about conflict management in the workplace and beyond. Understanding the challenges HR professionals encounter in managing employee conflicts, Nikki provides practical strategies for recognising and preventing emerging conflict, and multiple approaches to resolving disputes. Utilizing solution-focused techniques, she facilitates sustainable agreements and restores significant relationships.

   

• 4:10 PM

  PANEL: Learning and development to engage remote workers

  How can companies deliver effective learning experiences for their hybrid workforces? This session will discuss strategies for enabling employees to capture learning opportunities both in and out of the workplace.

   

  • What learning initiatives are best delivered face-to-face versus virtually?
  • Encouraging a learning culture for time-poor and burnt-out employees
  • Tips for delivering L&D programs on a budget
  • How to secure buy-in for L&D initiatives
  • Measuring the ROI of L&D investments

  Moderator

  

  Ainsley Palairet

  Director
  FixHR

  ×

  

  Ainsley Palairet

  Director
  FixHR

  After meeting close on 4,000 business owners and identifying that HR problems had a powerful way of taking the shine off life for small business owners, Ainsley decided to be part of the solution. In 2020 she launched a different HR consultancy company that makes excellent HR practices available to small businesses. FixHR guides their clients through employment issues with commercially savvy staff who appreciate the impact of HR solutions on relationships, and the bottom line. Clients often comment FixHR takes away the overwhelm, and makes great HR accessible. The horizon is big, bright and beautiful for FixHR in 2024!

  Panellists

  

  Sonya Bloomfield

  Chief Culture Officer
  Electric Kiwi

  ×

  

  Sonya Bloomfield

  Chief Culture Officer
  Electric Kiwi

  Sonya Bloomfield is a visionary and commercial leader who is passionate about shaping and nurturing organisational culture and creating inclusive workplaces where people can thrive.  

  With a track record of success in multiple industries, she’s found a home for her sense of fun, cheekiness and creativity and is having the time of her life collaborating with the team to create a culture in which high-performing global teams are motivated and invested in making it better for customers and our world. 

  

  Nish Pai

  Head of Capability and Organisational Development
  Mitre 10

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  Nish Pai

  Head of Capability and Organisational Development
  Mitre 10

  An accredited coach, facilitator, instructional designer, learning and culture strategist, Nish has been in the learning space for 23 years. Failing at her first career as a broadcast journalist set Nish up for success for her future endeavours- personal and professional. As the Head of Capability and Organisational Development at Mitre 10, she balances fun and function, creates safe spaces for growth and brings people along on growth journeys that add value to individuals and teams. She is a learning tech geek and is always trying a different app to be that 1% better every day.

  Her personal time is equally divided between long walks with her young son and puppy, cooking up the next Air Fryer miracle and serving on the board of the Migrant Careers Support Trust.

  

  Michelle Russell

  GM Talent & Culture, NZ & Pacific
  ANZ

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  Michelle Russell

  GM Talent & Culture, NZ & Pacific
  ANZ

  Michelle has been ANZ’s General Manager Talent & Culture for New Zealand and Pacific since August 2018.

  In this role, Michelle is responsible for leading the development and implementation of innovative people strategies, programmes and policies to support the employee experience for ANZ’s 8,000 employees in New Zealand, and 1000 employees in the Pacific. She is also responsible for ensuring the company has the right people and capabilities to support the organisation’s business strategy and performance, and contributes to ANZ’s global talent and culture strategy.

  Previously, Michelle was General Manager Business Optimisation and Relationship Services in the New Zealand Commercial & Agri business. She has also held various human resources roles in New Zealand Institutional, Commercial & Agri, Wealth, Corporate Centre and Operations.

  Michelle has a BA (Hons) in Human Geography from the University of Otago, a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Policy from Victoria University of Wellington and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors

  

  Shyamini Szeko

  Head of Learning & Capability
  Tegel Foods

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  Shyamini Szeko

  Head of Learning & Capability
  Tegel Foods

  Shyamini Szeko, Head of Learning & Capability at Tegel Foods, brings over two decades of diverse industry experience. Recognized as a change agent, she designs impactful learning solutions aligned with business objectives, emphasizing diversity and inclusion.

  Currently pursuing her third master’s degree in Change and Organizational Resilience through academyEX, Shyamini remains dedicated to staying at the forefront of industry trends and enhancing her expertise for meaningful contributions to her field and the broader professional community.

  Beyond her professional role, Shyamini serves on the board at Albany Senior High School, contributing her expertise to education. In her leisure time, she enjoys crafting delicious meals and baking special occasion cakes for loved ones. Traveling, both within New Zealand and globally, brings her immense joy.

• 4:55 PM

  ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS

  In this interactive session, delegates will discuss key HR challenges covered at the conference and develop action points to implement change.

• 5:05 PM

  Event concludes