Northumbria University expands support to businesses through ‘People Power’ innovation

A North East conference, which helps employers to develop their workforce and drive productivity and skills, has expanded its 2020 format in response to the coronavirus crisis.

The major People Power conference and exhibition, taking place at Northumbria University and attracting more than 300 business leaders and senior HR professionals, has been rescheduled to September 18, 2020.

Partner sponsor Northumbria University has also teamed up with event organiser The Projects Studio to offer free expert advice and support on the original conference date of June 17, in the form of an online webcast.

This free virtual conference will take place throughout the day via Zoom and will offer a series of 30-minute sessions from expert speakers designed to help leaders steer their organisations and their workforce through the current crisis, and emerge stronger and fitter for the ‘new normal’ business environment.

The sessions will offer advice and guidance on boosting employee engagement, staff wellbeing, emotional intelligence, organisational change, relationship building and employer branding.

As well as helping to curate the online conference, Northumbria University will also contribute expert advice from their business school.

Vince Robson, business development manager at Northumbria University, said “We are delighted to again be partnering with Project Studio on People Power 2020. As businesses look to the future, People Power emphasises the importance of equipping a workforce with the required blend of skills, knowledge and behaviours to drive innovation, embed new business models and capitalise upon new ways of working. From psychological safety to embedding digital communication technologies into routines, People Power provides us with an excellent platform to share research and experiences and contribute to new ways of thinking with like-minded businesses and delegates.”

The Projects Studio director Andrew Wilson added: “It is fantastic to be supported again by Northumbria University, so People Power can expand its offer to North East businesses on issues like employee engagement, skills and people management – key issues for all employers as we emerge from the lockdown. Our event is all about helping businesses develop their most important asset: people. We believe this will be more important than ever as they focus on recovery and growth after the current crisis.

“As well as providing support in the form of the webinar, we are really looking forward to bringing everyone together in September for the live conference. We expect it will be an excellent opportunity for business leaders and HR professionals in the region to reconnect and make new contacts to accelerate future growth.”