Conference Review - Eleri Oldman
The 2018 NZ HR Conference and Expo "The Future of Work", was a thought provoking and valuable learning experience. As expected, the conference had a big focus on where the future of work is heading and what that will look like. From a student perspective, it was interesting to attend and hear people's thoughts on what the future might look like. The Conference and Expo really bridged the gap between the theory learnt at University and the nature of the current job market and where it is heading.
The conference kicked off with welcome function. This was an awesome opportunity to meet other student ambassadors from around the country and chat to them. It was inspiring to hear what other student ambassadors where doing on their campuses and to hear how they have found the experience.
With Te Radar as the MC, the conference started with a bang. Lots of jokes and laughs were shared while we went through formalities before getting into the first day. The highlight of the first day for me was the talk given by Stephen Scheeler, centred around disruptive leadership. It was very interesting to hear from someone who had been in the centre of Silicon Valley amongst the rise of Facebook. The lessons learnt across his time put a focus on customer obsession versus customer centric, he also offered lessons for leaders on how to succeed.
One of the main lessons he offered is that 'everyone needs a vision'. As an aspiring HR professional, I think it is interesting to learn this lesson at take it into the workforce, defining my vision and then inspiring others to find their vision will form the basis of successful leadership. This message is something that was reinforced by Holly Ransom, although she had a focus on the intergenerational shift in the workforce with regards to millennials, she put across the message the everyone needs to find their 'why'. Our 'why' is what drives our motivation, connecting this to the workforce to empower people is something I learnt through the conference.
The Expo provided a great opportunity to network with stall holders and learn about what businesses are doing in the face of all these technological changes. I would like to give a special mention to Open Polytechnic, not only did I learn about what they do with digital learning platforms, but I also won a barista coffee machine from them. Upon leaving the conference I felt inspired and optimistic about the future of work and what this might hold for me and the other student ambassadors. One overall message was clear upon leaving the conference. This message was:
He aha te mea nui o te ao
What is the most important thing in the world?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people
I left with the message that while the future of work is changing, the most important thing within this change is people. The Conference and Expo was a valuable learning and networking experience and I look forward any future conferences and bumping into fellow HR student ambassadors again.
Eleri Oldman is the Wakato Region Student Ambassador. For more information about becoming a Student Ambassador please contact membership@hrinz.org.nz.
