Local Government Workplace Solutions would like to remind clients of the upcoming Human Resource Seminar in August and National Local Government Human Resources Conference in November.

National Local Government Human Resources Conference: 7-9 November 2011

The 2011 conference, which is a joint initiative of all the state and territory Local Government Associations, will be held on the Gold Coast and is coordinated by NSW Local Government Learning Solutions.

The conference starts at noon on Monday 7 November, and concludes at 12.30 on Wednesday 9 November.

Invited keynote speakers and topics include:

• How to make local government more attractive – Carolyn Miller – advertising, brand and business leader
• Looking ahead – HR issues of the future – Hon Michael Kirby
• Work, Health and Safety Laws – Professor Ron McCallum, 2011 Senior Australian of the Year
• The future of Leadership in Local Government – Professor Graham Sansom, ACELG
•  The Future of Learning and Development – Les Pickett, Partner McBassi and Co and former President of the Australian Institute Training and Development
• The use and abuse of social media from a HR and training perspective – Pete Williams, Deloitte Digital
• Pulling it all together - Todd Sampson from ABC TV’s The Gruen Transfer, and CEO Leo Burnett Advertising

There will also be a panel session of a HR Managers and Crisis Counsellor from Queensland who will explore their roles in the recent Cyclone Yasi, the floods and summer fires.

Participants will have a choice of four out of twelve MasterClass workshops on Day Two of the conference.  These will include topics on where is recruitment heading, a workplace health and safety harmonisation update (previously OH & S), counselling skills for HR Managers, and council case studies on organisational culture inventories and managing chronic illness in the workplace.

This conference is a great opportunity to network with your peers from other states as well as keep up with the latest trends and learn new skills.

This is the premier human resource professional development activity for local government. It is aimed at HR staff, training and OH & S officers, General Managers, Directors and consultants to the industry. The conference theme is “HR’s World of Tomorrow”.

Any leader who is interested in staffing issues, and needs to be updated about the latest in employment trends, is encouraged to attend.

Human Resources Seminar: 4 August 2011

Local Government Workplace Solutions will once again be holding its annual Human Resource Seminar as part of Local Government Week. All Local Government employees involved in HR are encouraged to attend.  The special guest speaker in 2011 will be the eminent Professor Andrew Stewart from the University of Adelaide. 

This full day seminar will update HR Officers on the current ‘state of play’ in the several changes facing Local Governments across the State. These will include where we might be heading with the “Lost” Jurisdictional dilemma for Local Government in WA.

We will also examine the advent of a harmonized National OH&S system. This has not been without its challenges, whether political, industrial or logistical so this session will put the System into a WA context, and analyse how it might impact on Local Governments.

The HR & Change Management Working Group will be represented in a session designed to allow attendees to review the work undertaken and in providing a ‘hands on’ guide to implementing structural reform which affects Local Government employees.

This will be followed by a Workshop around the interaction between workers compensation, rehabilitation and performance management.  The complexities of trying to manage or even exit poor performing employees is never more obvious than when that person also has an active workers’ compensation claim. This session will enlighten attendees on the legal pitfalls to be aware of, and the importance of “process, process’ process”!

Effectively using HR resources during Emergencies: Australia has been the unfortunate focus of what seems to be an interminable series of both natural and man made disasters of late, and with Councils generally at the forefront of these emergencies, we will scrutinize lessons learned and consider how best to mobilise Council employees to service, support and sustain affected communities.