With the Festival of Work fast approaching, have you thought about which sessions you’re going to attend, and which vendors you want to talk to? A bit of pre-planning never hurt, and with so much on offer across the two days, it’s good to have at least a rough idea of a schedule. From experience, these events go by in a flash!

While our team of product experts will be on stand D68 running demos of our HRIS software and handing out free ice cream, I’ll be making the most of the free-to-attend learning sessions to hear about the latest thinking in the HR and L&D world.

Some of the CIPD’s sessions in particular have caught my eye. Here’s a few that stood out:

The robots are coming, are you ready?

13:45-14:15 – HR Technology Stage
AI and its impact on the future of HR has been barely out the headlines recently. In some cases, automation is already having an impact on the profession. This session will look at what the future holds for HR and AI, and how it can be used in practice.

What are the core capabilities we will all need in a digital future?

15:45-16:15 – Talent, Skills and Capabilities Stage
With the world of work becoming increasingly digital, which skills do you think will be essential for practitioners in the future? In this interactive session, you will have the opportunity to share your thoughts, and learn more about what you should brush up on to future proof your career.

Did you have a good day at work today?

12:45-13:15 – Talent, Skills and Capabilities Stage
It’s not surprising there are so many sessions on employee wellbeing across both days. Like AI, it’s been a hot industry topic this year. With all the research pointing the same way – that happy employees are more engaged and productive – this session gives advice on how managers can create more good days at work for staff, and how HR can support them.

Here’s a full list of the sessions they’ll be running, and where and when you can find them:

The sessions on the CIPD stand are all 20 minutes long and will be running across both days of the festival. A word of warning – these talks are very popular, so you’ll want to get there early to secure your seat!

I hope you find this useful, and, if you are coming to the event to look for a new HR system, why not download and print off this Essential questions to ask at the Festival of Work checklist?

Chris Wells author image

Chris Wells