Last week we held the HRINZ National Conference, themed ‘Workplace Culture in a Tiny Country’ and I’m not sure if it was the theme, the great speakers or the wonderful people at HRINZ, but I loved every minute of it from start to finish. When I put the concept together back in February, selected the speakers in March and started working on the logistics and all the side events with the team, I was pleasantly surprised to realise I was actually having fun. The staff at HRINZ who did the bulk of the logistics hadn’t worked together on our national conference before (we’ve had a lot of new staff this year), but we were very fortunate to have our Lysa manage the Expo from Christchurch with her usual eye for detail, professionalism and incredibly high standards so that freed the rest of us up to concentrate on the conference, with regular phone calls and visits from Lysa to ensure the two events dove-tailed into the slickest three days of HR information ever.

Looking back, it was a pretty ambitious undertaking really, given the circumstances. It was scheduled three weeks earlier than usual thanks to the 2012 Rugby World Cup that New Zealand is hosting, and on different days of the week than usual; we had a new conference team at HRINZ (I was the only one in the conference team who had worked on our previous national conferences); a new PCO (professional conference organiser), Amy (who had arrived from Scotland just a few weeks before we started our prep), and a new PCO company, Conferences and Events; a new MC, Ginette McDonald; a new National President at HRINZ, Catherine Taylor; and a new Platinum Sponsor, Mt Eliza Executive Education.

When we saw the branding Amanda (our external designer) had created for the conference everything seemed to instantly fall into place. Kelsi was quick to pick up on the ‘kiwiana’ flavour for our HRINZ expo stand and in the design of our ‘pohutukawa’ costumes, and had us all happily working away on regular ‘craft’ sessions when we weren’t foraging amongst our family and friends for props for our stand.

By the time we got to the actual conference we were very relaxed. The registration numbers were the best they’d been for years, some side-events had been fully subscribed within days of being offered (for example the Big Day Out, held at the Roxy Cinema where we learned a lot about Weta Digital was snapped up in record time, though that was hardly surprising), the expo stands had sold out months earlier, the conference and expo sponsors had all embraced the theme and worked really hard to support us, and even the weather Gods smiled down on us for the duration of the three days.

Only two things remained unknown – the sessions and the audience – though we’d done a lot of research on both but the chemistry between the two is always a variable ingredient and can go either way. If we’d had any doubts, within minutes of the conference opening they were allayed. The combination of excellent presentation skills and a depth of knowledge, intellect, wisdom and expertise were immediately apparent with our opening keynote speaker, Professor Ian Williamson, and continued with every subsequent keynote speaker throughout the three days (I didn’t have time to attend the concurrent workshop sessions unfortunately but I understand these were pretty well received too).

The audience was the best I’ve ever had the privilege of being part of. From the very beginning they embraced the humour, the kiwi ‘culture cringe’ we’d identified as unique, special and wonderful, and the diversity, tolerance and support we’ve come to accept as the norm in most of our workplaces. But best of all was the audience’s ability to shun the overdose of political correctness that so often gets in the way of us being honest, open and forthright. I think the grown-up ‘Lynne of Tawa’ set the expectation from the beginning which was followed at every opportunity by the very quick quips expertly delivered by our very polished MC, who relished being in her natural, down to earth state.

When you have your opening keynote speaker being described by the delegates as “hot” and “O for awesome” with his own instant fan club apparent from the moment he started talking; when you can have a tongue-in-cheek debate about a pretty serious topic where the winners should have been the losers (yes the ‘L’ word was used without repercussions or recriminations) and the debate moderator makes the rules without the usual constraints of consultation and the need to keep everyone happy; when the questions from the audience are authentic and well thought through rather than the ego-centric statements that have become the norm at many other conferences; when the audience is genuinely interested in engaging with the sponsors; and when complex concepts are broken down into bites that everyone can relate to and understand and discuss at every opportunity, you know you’ve made it.

Visitors to the expo who brushed shoulders with the delegates remarked about the atmosphere that was almost physical. The buzz was extraordinary – the laughter, the sharing and the overall mood for the three days was just amazing. Adding in all the social functions and networking opportunities that HRINZ conferences are famous for meant that this conference and expo was our best ever, but I think if there had been no social activities offered the atmosphere would have still been as good – the delegates were high on being part of something so much bigger than they’d ever been before at a HRINZ conference. I’ve never known such a participatory audience who thrived on contributing to the overall success in such a generous manner.

And personally I’ve never had so much fun on any project or enjoyed a HRINZ event so much – I was actually sad to see it end but the good news is that I believe we’ve come of age when it comes to accepting all that’s good about our workplace culture in a tiny country, not to mention what’s possible at a HRINZ National Conference! I’m already plotting and scheming how we can present an even better one next year.

Beverley Main – HRINZ CEO

Check out the photos on our Conference Website

Starting at the top with the frenetically busy yet always high spirited Chief Executive Beverley Main who had this to say:

“This year’s Big Day Out for HR Business Leaders has been very popular with all the places being filled within hours of the invitation going out. We’re not sure if it’s the beautiful venue (Roxy Theatre), the insight that Kim Rickard from Weta Digital will give us on working inside the film industry, or the promise of listening to Eastern Suburbs expert, Roger Tweedy, waxing lyrical on the drive-by back to the city about how Miramar has been transformed from a tired working class suburb into the place of stars, dreams and jobs. Or maybe it’s the promise of a yummy lunch, nice wines and great networking on a national level…”

Kelsi Doscher, our Membership Manager, has been working hard on our theme for the HRINZ expo stand – which is very Kiwiana – and it should grab the attention of delegates and day visitors alike whether from New Zealand or from far off distant lands. Kelsi has been working on the Professional Members and Mentors Dinner, an invitation only event to recognise the work and dedication of HRINZ Mentors and Professional Members which will be held on the first evening of Conference.

Helping Kelsi is Jo Brown the Membership Administrator who has been keeping track of all our new members and making sure they are aware of the upcoming conference and that our database is kept up to date and current

Sheridan Rose, the HRINZ Professional Development and Event Manager has been sorting out the terribly fashionable conference T-Shirts, making decisions concerning the little things like signage, name-tags, ticket design and the design of the conference satchels. When not spending time on the aesthetics she has also been taking care of arranging the President’s Dinner venue and making sure you all have costumes available for hire on the night of the Gala Dinner. Finally, and much to the consternation of the rest of us, Sheridan spent half a day tasting food to make sure it was up to par for the rest of us!

The Executive Assistant, Michelle Tattersall, has been in touch with our 10 generous donor organisations that have gifted 7 recipients from a range of sectors to attend the HRINZ conference. The list as follows is:

Fragomen- Darline Ewing-Jarvie, Presbyterian Support Central
Integrity Works & Buckett Law (joint gifted place) – Francois Schoeman, Iris Limited
Transpower – Katie O’Brien, Wellington Free Ambulance
Zuri Consulting – Richard Maxwell, Well Health Trust & Newtown Union Health
Gough and Associates, Catalyst Pacific Ltd, Carroll Consulting (joint gifted place) – Christine Hanks , Mary Potter Hospice
SPARC – Kelly Newbold, Sport Wellington
HRINZ – Joanne Ring, Wellington Zoo Trust

Thanks to all our donors!

Jen Bailey, the Office Administrator who we couldn’t do without, has been spending her time collating and organising the pre-conference survey and doing some preparation for our speakers. While doing this she has also been sending and receiving registrations and conference confirmations not to mention making sure everyone knows where and when the session will be and who’ll be speaking.

Finally there’s myself, Mike Metcalfe Communications Manager and Brenda Tweedy, Research and Education Manager. We, as the two newest members of the HRINZ team have slightly less responsibility at this stage but for my part I am making sure you all know what’s coming up and Brenda has been helping design the HRINZ Gala costumes and tells me “All HR team building exercises should include a little wine which stimulates the creative side of the brain in many ways and dulls the pain”.

And I nearly forgot George Matthews, the HRINZ Accountant. When I asked him what he did in preparation for conference he stared at me for a second and said, deadpan as they come, “accounts” before moving off to do what I assume was, well, more accounts.

Competition

In preparation for the conference the HRINZ team has been putting together our costumes. From the 2 photos below what is it you think we are coming as? What could these strange….’things’ possibly be?

The correct answer will receive a delicious bottle of wine and, if no one can guess correctly, the most creative answer wins as judged by the HRINZ National Office. Entries close Friday 5^th August.

TO ENTER: Send your answer to Michael.metcalfe@hrinz.org.nz. Winner announced Monday 8 August