MORE than 100 delegates from local businesses attended Hewett Recruitment’s 2016 HR Conference at the Bank House Hotel, Bransford.

Held in association with Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, the event saw speakers from both the local and national stage discuss where HR and recruitment is heading. Sally Morris, head of employment law at mfg Solicitors,highlighted some of the recent changes in legislation and how they can impact upon businesses.

The discussion then turned to “disruptive HR” as Alison Garvey, HR business partner at local tech company PCA Predict, discussed the importance of HR professionals’ role in developing a business. The keynote speech came from Kevin Green, chief executive of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, who spoke at length about the challenges facing “UK plc” in the wake of Brexit and a burgeoning skills shortage. He said there was cause for optimism as the UK’s flexible approach to work meant that we have a labour market which is the envy of many countries, but there are interesting times ahead.

Louise Hewett said: "This was the fourth HR Conference we have organised and our biggest yet. It is important to give HR professionals the chance to network and share best practice, well as the opportunity to listen to such well informed and engaging speakers.”