More than 350 HR managers and employers met for one day to discuss employee engagement and ways to achieve it effectively. Employee expectations have changed considerably over the past 10 years and one must be aware of such expectations.

This year’s annual HR conference by the Foundation for Human Resources Development was themed ‘Employee engagement – the road to excellence’.

VacancyCentre has once again participated as one of the event’s exhibitors, after being present for a number of consecutive years.

Employee engagement has become a business priority for senior executives. In this rapid cycle economy, leaders know that having a high-performing workforce is essential for growth and survival. They recognise that a highly-engaged workforce can increase innovation, productivity and bottom-line performance while reducing costs related to hiring and retention in highly-competitive talent markets.

This year also saw a selection of exhibitors, including recruitment agencies, training and development specialist organisations and IT solutions for HR management. Being one of the more interactive exhibitors from the recruitment agencies present, recruiters from VacancyCentre have not only developed further knowledge on employee engagement but have also managed to interact with important stakeholders participating in this year’s conference.

Senior recruitment officer Sarah Miceli said the agenda was a very interesting one and added that this was a fruitful event where like-minded professionals get a chance to meet under one roof.

An interesting line-up of speakers focused upon the importance of engaging employees in today’s ever-changing competitive environments. Being one of the best-attended FHRD conferences, this year’s event also brought together established leaders and upcoming talent in the HR arena, where the focus was on understanding the dynamics needed to engage employees.

Local and international experts addressed participants and shared their experience and insights on this year’s running theme. One of the workshops by Alistair Schofield, founder of MyBrain International – looked at the implications of recent discoveries in neuroscience on work – from employee engagement to the effectiveness of teams. The event’s keynote speaker was Gallup’s managing director Peter Flade, who said that in spite employee engagement racing up the priority list of CEOs, research revealed a sorry state of affairs.

For more information, e-mail recruitment@vacancycentre.com.