The Learning and Development in Broadcasting Conference, 2009

Speaker: Claire McCartney
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Are organisations responding to today's difficult economic conditions by cutting back or even abandoning their talent management strategies? Has the 'war for talent' turned into a 'war on talent?'.

These were the key questions asked in a recent survey of CIPD members. The findings show that many businesses continue to see talent management as a key survival strategy to differentiate them from competitors and position them to benefit from the eventual upturn.

Many organisations are also responding to the downturn by adopting creative talent management practices. Claire McCartney from the CIPD will share the latest research findings in this area and provide an insight into how leading organisations are approaching talent management in a downturn.

This session will combine research inputs with opportunities for group discussion and participants will be encouraged to share the key challenges of managing talent in uncertain times within their own organisations and within the broadcasting and media industry more generally.

Facilitator: Lyn Burgess (WFTV)

Speakers: Francis Marshall, Oliver Hill, Laura Clarke, Jo Welch, Alice Dudley

Chaired by Maggie Philbin

With training budgets tight, development needs high and commitment being battered by competing demands, how do you develop, maximise and fund your training and development plans. The complex public funding landscape has itself been affected by the current economic downturn. With funds difficult to access and plot your way through, how can you find alternative sources of support to supplement under pressure training budgets? This workshop will highlight what options are still available for industry and public funding and support, and target potential future priorities for this limited funding.

Facilitator: Gary Townsend (Skillset)

Speakers: John Atkins & Alan Mackenzie
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John & Alan will draw on their three years of BTSR validation visits to UK broadcasters, as well as on global research into high performing companies, and discuss the key strategies common to world class businesses.

The workshop will discuss key propositions for high performance:

• as being a function of leadership and management ability, not product, services, or geography;
• as coming from people not things; and
• as only coming from higher level skills, knowledge and behaviours.
• Investing in people has the largest impact of any strategy on company profits - (next year).

There will be opportunities for participants to share good practice and explore future development needs as well as support mechanisms - including signposting to the BTR Guidebook - to be used as a good practice development guide and effective support tool.

Facilitator: Lyn Burgess (WFTV)

Speaker: Jane Massy
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This workshop is aimed at the most senior decision makers in the OD/L&D function; i.e. those who are held accountable for the function and its contribution to the business

Our experience is that many organisations (even very large global businesses) have poor alignment between people investments and the business and are generally unable to show measureable business impact and return from the investment to senior management and boards. Research shows that HR/L&D budgets are among the first to be subject to cost cuts in any difficult trading situation not least because the business perceive them as costs not investments critical to the business.

This workshop aims to challenge the perceptions of senior learning and development and organisational development professionals about their function's contribution to the business and capability to deliver business benefits and their ability to communicate their business contribution.

In advance of the workshop, participants are invited to complete a short questionnaire (available on LinkedIn through either the BAFTA or abdi groups) about one of their major L&Dinvestments. abdi will select 2 of these and work with two people that have completed the questionnaire to create a model template for the investment which can be used to plan outcomes. The aim is to build the business case for an investment together with information which will enable data collection so that the investment can be measured and reported efficiently and credibly.

These two modelled up plans will be shared at the workshop and participants will be asked a series of questions which will not only enable them to benchmark their own practice but will also provide feedback on the two examples. Tips to take away will be provided for all participants.

Participants will be invited to continue their participation and learning through LinkedIn discussion as a follow up to the workshop.

This workshop aims to address the following challenges in today's economic climate:

• Reduce cost
• Increase productivity
• Increase efficiency

It also focuses on:

"Developing our people
The first and over-riding theme is about developing people, especially those people who develop people, in these challenging economic times."

Above all, this workshop will demonstrate how failure to evaluate the impact of Training and Development is above all influenced by poor planning and alignment from the start of any investment. This addresses the weakest area for both TV and radio companies described in the BTSR Training and Skills Report 2008 and "the only strand (7) where None and Base provision is greater than Medium or High from respondents."

The workshop will be delivered by Jane Massy, CEO of abdi ltd, globally recognised as a lead expert in planning, measurement and reporting of people investments and the head of the ROI Institute practice in the UK.

If you are interested in this workshop please also join us on the abdi ROI BTSR Linkedin group. The group contains a questionnaire that all participants should fill in. If you don't wish to join the group but want to attend the workshop and would like the questionnaire in advance please contact us.

Facilitator: Gary Townsend

Speaker: Colin Ramsay
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Last year, according to the CIPD the average training per head was £300, now its £220 and on average totals about five days training. With falling spend and tightening of the purse strings it's more important than ever that we get the ROI and witness results from each training day. How much of that hard cash results in actual learning that sticks?

Surely, as L&D professionals the biggest challenge we face is ensuring that every training session results in change, investment is returned and individuals apply the learning. Moving beyond the 'happy sheets' we know and love, supporting the individual beyond any intervention is the key that unlocks the door to personal development.

Getting back to basics, this workshop explores a simple model to follow for behaviour change. The L&D professional can take away something that's flexible, relevant and a benchmark for any training intervention.

Facilitator Lisa Kerr (RadioCentre)