Event preview: Employee Benefits Exhibition & Conference 2006 – Sally Gunnell to give keynote address

This year, Employee Benefits is delighted to announce that former Olympic champion Sally Gunnell will be delivering a keynote address on how employee wellbeing can affect workforce productivity at the Employee Benefits Exhibition and Conference 2006 on 3 October.

Delegates will also have the first chance to hear the results of research conducted exclusively for Employee Benefits into what benefits are actually wanted by staff.

Well-known broadcaster and analyst, James Bellini, will open the conference by unveiling the results of research to be conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres. Around 1,000 employees will be surveyed across the country to find the most popular benefits. Those attending day two of the conference will also have an opportunity to hear about the research.

James has presented The Money Programme, Tonight and Panorama and is currently a regular on CNN World Business Today and Radio Five Live.

In the closing keynote speech of day one, Sally will deliver an outline on how using wellbeing strategies can have a healthy impact on workforce productivity and motivation.

Since her retirement from athletics in 1997, Sally has become one of the country’s leading spokeswomen on health and wellbeing. She has spearheaded the national weight loss programme “Lighten Up”, and has produced a series of publications focusing on wellbeing.

Day two of the conference will be kicked off by Phil Mullan, economist and author of The Imaginary time bomb: why an ageing population is not a social problem. He will tackle the topical issue of pensions and ask whether there is a crisis, given demographic and economic changes. He will also look at whether HR and benefits strategies need to be amended to take on board the government’s plans to reform pensions.

The show will be closed on day two by Professor Ivan Robertson, emeritus professor of work and organisational psychology at the University of Manchester. His address will demonstrate how managers can use psychology to generate motivation and wellbeing. He will also draw on examples from some of his latest research into organisational psychology, in particular, the effect of non-monetary reward on employee motivation and productivity.

For full details of the conference programme go to www.employeebenefits-confex.co.uk