DisruptHR is coming to Nottingham: here’s everything you need to know

To further the discussion, we thought what better way to get like-minded people together than to host our very own DisruptHR event in Nottingham, which we are thrilled to announce will take place on Thursday 11th April.

What is DisruptHR?

Embracing the rebellious future of HR, DisruptHR is an information exchange designed to energise, inform and empower people in the HR field.

As of last year, DisruptHR has held 295 events in 137 licensed cities across 31 countries, with a total of 3,242 talks being given! After watching the success overseas, we thought it was about time the East Midlands, UK saw a piece of the action.

Where is DisruptHR Nottingham?

A conference centre? A hotel? A lecture hall? None of those would cut it for a DisruptHR event.

Instead, we’ve decided on the highly unique and lively Canalhouse, owned by the local Castle Rock Brewery, as the venue for the evening. Famous for the canal that extends into the grade II listed building, complete with resident narrow boats, the Canalhouse offers over 250 beers from around the world – a no brainer really!

Who can attend DisruptHR?

If you’re an HR professional, a CEO, a technologist, a community leader – and you’ve got something to say about talent, culture or technology – Disrupt provides the perfect stage for you.

But you don’t have to be an HR professional to attend; business leaders, people managers and everyone concerned with the world of work are more than welcome.

DisruptHR Nottingham’s Key Speakers

Short, bite-sized chunks of disruption. Teach us something but make it quick.

The evening will consist of 14 key speakers, each speaking for a total of 5 minutes. To keep things snappy, each presentation will be accompanied by a deck of slides, with each slide automatically changing every 15 seconds.

The first wave of confirmed speakers is listed below…

1. Mark Williams

As CMO at People First, Mark is dedicating to re-humanising the workplace; feeding his passion for technology and R&D to not only improve the world of work, but to fix it. Mark has spoken at many events on topics spanning Artificial Intelligence, Robots, Chatbots and the future of work, and despite being very tech-savvy, he’s quick to point out that he’s is far from being a tech-utopian. At DisruptHR Nottingham, Mark will discuss his key takeaways around the recent Netflix documentary series, All or Nothing, and what we in the HR profession can learn about micro-learning, leadership and the sports team mentality when growing teams in the future of work. 

2. Heather DeLand

Executive creative director at talent solutions business TMP Worldwide, Heather leads the Communications Solutions team. She has headed up creative teams in London and New York, and leads on innovation and new product development. For 15 years she has managed and nurtured creative talent, supporting teams to do great work, win awards and progress in their careers. She’s also a mentor for Who’s Your Momma, a programme that helps women to progress in the creative industries. At DisruptHR Nottingham, Heather will be asking “how do you create an environment where innovation can thrive?” and “can you find practical ways to be more creative at work?” This talk is somewhere between a ‘top-tips presentation’ and a ‘you-can-do-it pep talk’, encouraging you to use what you already know intuitively to make space for big thinking. Shake off the cobwebs, line up your marker pens and get ready to see your tasks from a different angle.

3 Jeff Weigh

Facilitator, coach, keynote speaker and managing director of Ignite Performance Coaching, Jeff can also be found hosting the Perfect Imbalance podcast and weekly #WellbeingChat Twitter chat. At DisruptHR Nottingham, Jeff will be presenting on Well-being through Well-Doing, and you can read his blog of the same name on our website.

4. Katrin Kircheis

Learning performance consultant Katrin is a huge advocate for social and collaborative learning. From a very young age, Katrin's dream was to become a teacher. However, she soon found out that by being one, kids and teenagers can be quite exhausting and changed course. She started travelling and stayed in places like Iceland and Australia. This gave her the opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds and get to know their outlook in life. Seven years ago, she moved from Germany to London where she settled down and found her new passion – teaching adults.

Through her company, KiKa Training Limited, she offers global learning programmes and solutions for all levels of staff, clients and stakeholders. Her key focus lies in creating a culture of learning and engagement, as well as building an excellent rapport within all levels of an organisation to ensure success and return on investment of all learning journeys. By facilitating a blended learning approach she ensures that everyone gets the most out of the solutions she offers. 

Katrin has written several guest blogs for People First, and in her presentation "Developing performance through collaborative learning" Katrin will encourage you to “Share it like a polaroid picture;" sharing her thoughts on collaborative learning in the workplace, and sharing tips on how to motivate people to take learning into their own hands and collaborate closer with others to share information, develop skills and retain autonomy over how they do so.

5. Andy Davies

As a HR expert and member of the CIPD, Andy is now responsible for developing the implementation strategy for People First partners. Passionate about the future of HR, employee engagement and performance management, Andy often writes and offers best practice advice on the need for archaic HR practices to evolve, to stay relevant within the ever-changing world of work. In his talk, Andy will be asking ‘when was the last time you did something for the first time?’

6. Tessa Cooper

Tess is a People Consultant who empowers diverse teams to create an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. Tess previously spent many years working in product development teams at the Guardian, Comic Relief, and FutureLearn, where she eventually became Director of People and Culture due to her passion for building great teams and supporting them to be the best they can be! She also runs Collaborative Future, a venture that combines her people and product experience with the aim of bringing diverse groups together to collaborate on ideas and solutions for creating a more equitable society. At DisruptHR Nottingham, Tess will be sharing her experiences of putting inclusion at the centre of a team, and discussing why it is so important that HR and business leaders listen to the minority.

7. David Hall

Head of customer support at online app builder AppInstitute, David has over 10 years experience in team management and a passion for ensuring all staff members are treated equally. In his presentation “Office Smirks, Quirks and Perks”, David will cover people management across the lifespan of a job, from identifying the right candidate, integrating the new employee, building a team environment and achieving KPIs. The talk is designed to question the normal mundane procedures used in most modern office environments and some forms of leadership. 

8. Caroline Mabon

As client engagement director at Tribe, and business coach and consultant at Treasure, Caroline has built 20 years of experience in customer-facing and leadership roles, and she now helps new leaders to thrive. Caroline will be bringing this experience to DisruptHR and starting a discussion around the benefits of a ‘portfolio career’ for both the individual and the business.

9. James Blake

James Blake is people director at Talk Staff and an experienced business coach and speaker. Having sculpted his trade in various sectors, he has proven experience in improving business performance and driving bottom-line success. He now works with SMEs to improve business performance by focusing on people, and he is proud to be leading the people agenda! At DisruptHR Nottingham, James will share “A Story About Successful People” and take us on a journey through two short stories about the power of people.

10. Rhiannon Stafford

Director at Blue Grape Talent, Rhiannon notes that in HR we always complain that we're not heard, listened to, or valued; that our contributions are overlooked or underplayed. She explains that this is because we’re speaking the wrong language. She believes customer experience has never been so important, and as a result HR needs to shift its ideas away from engagement surveys for the sake of surveys and towards the holy grail of customer experience. In her presentation "Why HR should be talking about the customer experience", Rhiannon will urge people to look beyond the survey, and for HR to get a grip and move away from processes and towards outcomes that really matters for the business.

11. Matt Davies

Matt is a solo consultant, helping business leadership teams to unite to create positive change which helps them stand out and be more meaningful. Since beginning his career 18 years ago in graphic design, Matt soon moved from execution into strategy and branding and has since held various creative leadership positions both in-house and agency-side. Last year he wrote 'Storyategy - how to create a story based branding strategy’. At DisruptHR Nottingham, Matt will be presenting on "Branding inside out", opening the conversation around why being average is no longer good enough. You need to stand out - not in a font, logo and colours kind of way - but in a genuine authentic way. Not just for customers - but for attracting and retaining talent. Learn how brand stoguerytelling could help you unlock meaning and help you stand for something more than just making money. 

12. Natalie Ellis

Natalie is an experienced and professional HR generalist focused on streamlining for optimal team performance. With solid experience of most HR disciplines including Employee Relations, project management and line management coaching, Natalie is skilled in quickly building great working relationships with individuals at all levels using empathy, tact and diplomacy.

As a member of the Northamptonshire CIPD committee and an ambassador for the CIPD Steps Ahead programme, Natalie also writes a successful HR blog providing practical advice and inspiring others into the profession. We can’t wait to hear the wisdom Natalie will share with us all on the evening. 

13. Adam Harris

Adam Harris is a serial business leader, owner and innovator, with a keen understanding of the value of strategic connections. He has an equally ardent aversion to clutter, noise, fluff and drudgery that gets in the way of our success. 

As co-author of the Check in Strategy Journal – a unique business tool to help owners, managers and team leaders plan and deliver with accountability, Adam often speaks on subjects such as mindset, leadership, reflection and accountability. At DisruptHR Nottingham, Adam will be talking about how remote working, co-location and distributed business are shaping the way we work, and the benefits that can be realised by not shying away from these changes. 

14. Emma Maraio

Emma is a Psychologist with over 14 years of Talent and Development experience in the public, charity and corporate sectors. Her experience covers all aspects of learning and development from learning needs analysis through to design, delivery and evaluation. Emma has years of experience undertaking 1-to-1 coaching and group sessions, and is an engaging and experienced key note speaker, specializing in the topic of Happiness at Work. At DisruptHR, Emma will be explaining why the trick to making people happier at work is to make them care less!

Registration on the evening will open from 6pm, with the first key speaker beginning at 7pm. The event will close at 9pm, but the venue (and more importantly the bar) will be open after – so do feel free to stick around for a drink!

How do I attend?

This is a ticketed event, and tickets are now live! You can get your hands on one (or more for your wider team) here.

All profits from ticket sales go to the local Groundwork Greater Nottingham charity, a great local cause committed to improving the lives of people in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Their work includes supporting individuals into meaningful employment and equipping them with the skills needed for work.

We do have limited space due to the size of the venue, so make sure you get in quick. If you do purchase a ticket and later realise you can no longer make the event, please let us know so we can reallocate your seats.

Get your DisruptHR Nottingham ticket.

In the meantime, you can keep up to date with all news about the event, as well as receive real-time updates on the night, on our dedicated social channels and through the event hashtag #DisruptHRNotts.

• DisruptHR Twitter
• DisruptHR Facebook

Hope to see you there!