HR as a business driver in focus at HR Summit and Expo Africa 2015

The four-day summit and expo, presented by Informa in partnership with Oracle and the Gordon Institute of Business Science, will be staged from 28 September to 1 October at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Johannesburg.

Featuring insights from key international and regional thought leaders, the HR Summit and Expo Africa will examine the global environment, business trends impacting HR, and winning practices to attract, engage and retain talent in Africa.

An important theme this year is the strategic role of HR in supporting business growth in an uncertain environment. This focus is in line with the findings of research conducted by Informa and The HR Observer, which found that HR experts in Africa feel that the labour market is largely reactive with an HR function that is mainly focused on administrative issues, but that human capital management is becoming more strategic. When asked about some of the top priorities in the field, 47% of survey respondents voted for making HR more strategic to the overall business, 42% of respondents cited developing future leaders and succession planning strategies for the sustainable growth and development of the business and 44% highlighted talent retention strategies.

Informa notes that now more than ever, HR has a crucial role to play as a strategic partner in overall organisational strategy and future business sustainability and growth. With a focus both on South Africa and pan-Africa, experts speaking at the event will address the continent's unique business and HR challenges. Among the high-level speakers travelling to South Africa to participate in the event are Bill Hutchinson - Head of Customer Experience at eBay UK, Ajit Nambiar - Head of International Compensation at Google Singapore, Adedeji Ogunnubi - HR Studies Specialist at Total France, Charles Gbandi - GM HR at Shell Nigeria, David Ssegawa - Chief HR Officer at Airtel Kenya and Patience Akyianu - MD of Barclays Bank Ghana. Local experts presenting at the event include Tebogo Maenetja - HR Director at BP Southern Africa, Elanie Kruger - Regional HR Director at G4S Africa, Malcolm Pannell - MD of Hay Group, Marius Mayer - CEO of the South African Board of People Practices, Lebo Tseladimitlwa - VP for HR sub-Saharan Africa at DHL and Samantha Crous - Regional Director, Africa at the Top Employers Institute.

Among the high-level panel discussions and presentations at the conference will be:

• A glimpse into the future: The role of HR in managing and thriving amidst uncertainty
  
• Aligning HR with organisational strategy to drive business growth
  
• Leveraging and selecting metrics to justify HR value to the C-suite
  
• Unleashing the power of talent analytics
  
• Becoming a talent magnet: developing and implementing a compelling employee value proposition
  
• Retaining critical top talent in Africa

A number of case studies will be presented, illustrating key topics such as diversity and inclusion, building a pipeline of female leaders and blended learning.

Day one and four of the event will also feature in-depth workshops including:

• HR evolution - from administrator to business partner
  
• Designing an effective performance management framework
  
• HR Metrics and analytics: a roadmap to transformation
  
• The compensation and benefits mastery bootcamp

Running alongside the summit, a free expo will showcase the latest products and solutions available to support HR, as well as providing an opportunity for face to face consultations with industry experts and extensive networking with over 600 industry players.

The HR Summit and Expo Africa 2015 is Africa's premier event for professionals working in HR, talent management, career planning, performance management, succession planning, compensation and benefits, learning, recruitment and organisational development.

For more information and to register, go to http://www.hrsummitexpoafrica.com/