This year we entered into a new venture with our events app, which has been marked a huge success with take -up being 61% against an average of 48% for first time app users with unique hits over the 2 days reaching 19.2k! With 63.46% of you rating the use of the app as excellent or very good. – “Really loving the new app – it’s bossy and fun!”

The app doesn’t end with conference, so please keep hold of it as we will be using it to promote our latest blog posts and keep you informed with up coming event information. It will also be used during the Northern Forum in October so stay tuned!

We have received such positive feedback when it comes to Conference this year Excellent and Fantastic are just a few words quoted with 63.79% of you rating #PPMAHR18 as excellent or very good and it really means a lot to us that our members and colleagues get the most out of the event and find it valuable and enjoyable…

“Fantastic event thoroughly enjoyed it! The pre-conference event worked really well as allowed introductions to be done on an informal basis which paved the way for the rest of conference”

“This was my first event and I’ve really enjoyed it and found everyone so welcoming. T have found some of the speakers really engaging and inspiring and I feel more motivated to move forward with my career.”

We look forward to taking on board your comments of improvement including experimenting with session formats and including more information about the shortlisted award entries in the lead up to the gala dinner awards evening to ensure next year’s conference is even better and really hope we see you all there.

You can find the full pack of the survey results here.

Hello PPMA members and friends

We’ve had a busy time in June supporting a range of events and we thought it would be good to share the highlights from these key events with you.

Firstly, our V.P. Karen Grave, attended an HR open day for colleagues in HM Prisons and Probations and this was a great opportunity for her to talk about the excellent work PPMA does with potential new members. This is part of our overall strategy to further cement the work Caroline Nugent is doing in building relationships with Civil Service. To add to this, Karen also has an opportunity to go and meet with HMP Business Partners in September for further discussions, and with Caroline, is looking forward to meeting Cabinet Office colleagues in September…all exciting stuff and we will of course keep you updated on the outcomes of these meetings.

On the 27th June, Caroline attended the Public Sector Show (PSS) with other PPMA colleagues. She was part of the main Workforce Panel, who talked about the implications of Brexit for public sector workforces. After the event, Adam Bergin, Head of Programmes with organisers GovNet said the Brexit panel was a great highlight of the day, and Caroline’s words on workforce played a huge part in making this such a popular session.

In addition to the Workforce Panel, Karen chaired 3 Open Theatres along with colleagues who had won PPMA awards. Jan Douglas, Deputy Director of HR&OD at oneSource talked about Productivity, Wellbeing and the role of HR & OD.  Jan said the event was really engaging – the session had a great buzz about it and it also showed that we all share the same issues regardless of organisation or sector.

Next, Neil Keeler, Group People and OD Manager at Southend on Sea Borough Council, who won two PPMA awards, spoke on Workforce Transformation. He told the audience that organisational culture is critical, ideas, thoughts and innovations can be quashed before they have even been vocalised and no organisation can afford that.

And finally, Sue Dunkley, Director of Human Resources at the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council and winner of the PPMA Public Sector HRD of the year, spoke about Leadership. Sue and Bradford (and all of our award winners) certainly have a great story to share. Sue felt that the session further emphasised the need for greater collaborative working, as we are all facing more or less the same workforce issues.

All 3 of the PPMA Open Theatres were packed and it was fantastic to see that there was standing room only. The vast majority of the audiences weren’t HR&OD professionals, so it was encouraging that we were able to attract such a broad range of people. Both Caroline and Karen were delighted with how well our award winners supported the day and as always, felt privileged to represent PPMA.

These events are part of our overall marketing strategy to ensure that we have a much more visible presence across the whole of public sector. We are delighted to say that we will be supporting the PSS event in Manchester in November. Additionally, participation of PPMA Award winners will benefit them and their organisations. We hope activity like this will inspire you and other organisations to enter in the 2018 PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards, so keep your eye on our website, because we’ll be announcing those in the not too distant future.

Hello All,

It’s just that far into a dreary and very cold January to congratulate those whose resolutions hold and reassuring the dry January brigade that they are nearly there. I always feel that, once we get through January the year is truly settled and we can all focus on what needs doing. Our thoughts turn to Spring. There are some very brave little snowdrops in my garden which are a joy to behold – and some foolhardy Magnolia Buds – the rest looks very dull and in need of some serious work.

The same goes for the world of Local Government HR. There are signs of new things to come – mainly cock-eyed legislation, more pressure on the budgets and of course IR35 and the Apprenticeships Levy to keep us entertained. In the longer term the proposed referendum in Surrey and the deepening concerns over funding for Social Care will make for some difficult decisions and serious work.

Like the garden, our teams need nurturing and encouraging so that they can grow and flourish. We need to be mindful – literally and metaphorically – of the importance of good leadership and good engagement with staff during difficult times. We have led and supported so much change already, transforming services and reshaping the workforce.

This has been hard work and will continue to be so let’s recognise that effort and do what we can to support our staff and each other through the next round of challenges. Spring cleaning, streamlining and refreshing will help us to renew our focus and keep on delivering well across the sector. Keep learning, keep growing and keep flourishing.

Alongside this there is the PPMA Seminar 2017 in Bristol on 27th and 28th April. This promises to be the best yet with Peter Cheese and other great speakers, fantastic workshops and of course the Awards Dinner.  Have you booked yet? Don’t miss the early bird discount on offer. Have you got your awards entries ready? It would be great to see a record showcase of excellence this year. There is so much brilliant work out there, we need to see it and share it. Let’s have a great show of blooming marvellous effort to celebrate.

The Seminar dates co-incide with my last 2 working days in Local Government – how lovely for me to spend my last 2 days with such a fabulous assembly. I am looking forward to seeing everyone – it won’t be the least you see of me by the way – and handing over to Caroline will mark a change and a refocusing of PPMA. Caroline will blossom beautifully as our new President and, supported ably by Karen, will take us through the coming seasons with confidence and colour.

Sue Evans

PPMA President

We’re delighted to announce the launch of of our 2017 Excellence in People Management Awards and this video featuring Caroline Nugent, PPMA VP, Andrew Blake-Herbery CX at Havering Council and Stacey-Rebekka Karlsson Head of Government and Public Services at Guardian News and Media, explains more about the awards and this year’s judging event.

It’s really important to recognise and celebrate the great work we all do, so please do put forward your entries.  The closing date is Friday the 10th March and to find out more about the awards and how to enter click here.