http://emea.forum-expat-management.com/registerI shall be looking forward to beginning the final day of our FEM EMEA Summit with a networking breakfast where I very much hope to hear from delegates about the topics that they are most interested in and what they have found most useful so far.

We’ll start the day’s discussions where I will be chairing a bracing session from Damian McAlonan. I say ‘bracing’ because I know Damian is a lively speaker who is very skilled at using humour and imaginative ways to energise the audience and get people to engage.

In this the keynote address, Damian will be asking: Is global mobility ready for meaningful change that leads to progress? As Damian acknowledges, there’s an increasing expectation for GM professionals to act as business advisors and partners. This role can enable global mobility professionals to deliver competitive advantage and be instrumental in helping organisations achieve key objectives, but GM professionals often feel that they face invisible barriers. With his experience of working with top multinational corporations, Damian will offer advice on how to move closer to the boardroom and strategies for improving the position of GM within an organisation.

Find the Track that suits you best

Then we will move on to our Track system, where delegates can choose from three Tracks with panels that will be exploring: Track A: Emerging markets, Track B: Strategy and alignment and Track C: Data and cost management. Don't forget that you don’t have to follow the same track all the way through, so you can mix and match according to your interests and needs.

Our first sessions will look at ways of Managing risk and compliance and preparing for audits, Integrating mobility and talent management: Whose role is it and how far do you go? and Managing costs in a challenging economic environment.

In Track B, Jessica Cousins, Deputy Leader of Global Mobility at Arup will be chairing a session looking at: Integrating mobility and talent management: Whose role is it and how far do you go? Panellists Mark Derksen, Head of International Mobility at Arup, Sue Filmer, Talent Strategy Principal at Mercer, Ellen Jansma, Head of International Mobility at Royal Philips and Donna Martin, Director – Compensation & Benefits EMEA at American Express Global Business Travel will be looking at how global mobility is becoming key to business success and asking What are the important considerations to align with HR and business strategies?

Cost containment is a perennial challenge for GM professionals and in Track C, Wendy Maynard, Director, International Mobility at InterContinental Hotel Group will be chairing a session looking at ways of Managing costs in a challenging economic environment. Chris Fogarty, Group Sales Director of Sterling, Scott Radford, Group Head of Global Mobility at SBM Offshore and Louise Worbey, Head of International Mobility at Deloitte LLP will be examining a number of ways in which GM teams can manage costs more efficiently, including:

• How can you obtain appropriate (cost effective) packages without impacting global alignment?
• What role does technology play in reducing costs? Is the initial outset worth the reduction in man-hours and process?
• Strategies for keeping vendor fees down
• In-house vs outsourcing
• Expat programmes vs local hubs: Best practice
• strategies to develop local talent while keeping mobility costs to a minimum

Gain Expert Insight and examine a Case Study

Then after a short break, we’ll continue with Expert Insight sessions in each track followed by relevant Case Studies. There'll be a discussion of ways to Future-proof mobility, with a Case Study from Generali in Track B and in Track C, an exploration of cost containment with a Case Study from Stephanie Perks, Head of Global Mobility at Serco Group. I’ll be chairing Track A and I’m certainly looking forward to the session at 11.10 where we will follow on from our recent London Chapter Meeting which focused on business travellers. Here, Asma Bashir of Newland Chase and Frederique Montalti will be on the panel and this will be complemented by a Case Study from Jessica Smart of FIS (who shared her valuable experience of creating an in-house traveller programme at our London Chapter meeting at KPMG).

Choose from 13 Roundtables

After an early, networking lunch, and some time to explore the Exhibition, corporate delegates will be able to join any one of 13 Roundtables where they can work through these topics:

• Reviewing the corporate housing survey: Policy provisions in practice
• Strategy vs operation: What to outsource and when
• Costing of international assignments
• How well communicated are the benefits provided to your mobile employees?
• Managing expatriate risk: Mitigating risks to assignment success
• 10 golden rules of running a mobility RFP
• Resolving business issues through global mobility technology
• Guaranteeing robust compliance in tax, immigration and payroll
• Challenges in managing your assignees in the Middle East
• Intercultural experiences: Shaping our competencies to manage other cultures
• Mobility and talent strategy alignment
• Duty of care standards for employee safety overseas
• Agility: What’s Next For Cultural Training

Each Roundtable will be led by a distinguished industry figure of group of experts and as moderator, I’m in the fortunate position of gathering the key points from each one.

Special session for suppliers and service providers

We haven’t left out our suppliers and service providers though, at the same time as the Roundtable session for corporates, we’ll be running a Supplier Workshop where Mark Derksen, Head of International Mobility at Arup will be giving attendees the Inside track on procurement and the supplier selection process. This session will explore a corporate perspective on managing the RFP process for relocation service and provide valuable insight into procurement including timelines, processes and criteria.

Topics will include:

• Understanding the importance of having clear objectives for your RFP and what you can do to stand out from the competition
• Establishing relationships with key stakeholders in the process to maximize efficiency and continuity
• Maintaining clear communication with key staff and managing expectations during the review process
• What should go into a RFP to ensure that it uncovers supplier capabilities and aligns with stakeholders’ needs?

Widening the topics

More Workshops for corporates will follow at 14.20, where we’ll follow the Track system again, but this time, the topics follow more diverse strands and will include:

• Utilising technology to implement a flexible policy design for project- based organisations
• Promoting diversity: Best practices in female talent management
• Strategic mobility planning – the art of supplier selection
• Update on European immigration law and the ICT directive
• Creating the culturally competent organisation in the 21st century
• Do you need help managing your short- term business visitors?

As I mentioned in my previous article about the highlights from Day One, I think the issue of female talent management is becoming more pressing. We have a second female Prime Minister in the UK afterall, and may see Hilary Clinton join Theresa May and Angela Merkel as one of the world’s most influential leaders, so why do ‘ordinary’ but talented women still appear to lag behind their male counterparts in the business world? I hope that the Workshop on Promoting diversity: Best practices in female talent management led by Miranda Arya, Director of NetExpat UK & Ireland, Thatiana Levorato, Global HR Director at Reckitt Benckiser Ltd and Alain Verstandig, President at NetExpat will provide some positive ways in which organisations can create a company culture that empowers, enriches and advances female talent now and for the generations to come.

Summing up our Summit

So by the time we regroup for our Closing Keynote Panel, I think delegates should have gained some really valuable insights. Anne-Marie Bailey, Global Mobility Manager of GE Healthcare, Annemarie Bunschoten-Schraven, Head of International Mobility at Philips Lighting, Susan Gregory, Head of Talent Mobility at Grant Thornton UK LLP, Nick Jackson, Group Head of Reward at Lloyd’s Register and Tanya Thouw, Head of Global Mobility at SAP SE will round off our two-day Summit with an exploration of The evolution from global mobility to talent mobility: Successes, challenges and obstacles, where we will be able to summarise the keys issues and practical actions that we can all take away from the conference.

Finally, it will be time for our Event Director Sally Martin to give her Closing Remarks on a what I am confident will have been a very busy but value-packed Summit. Then of course, for those coming to our prestigious EMMAs night, it will be a quick change before we meet again to celebrate the best of innovation and enterprise in our industry.

Having been fortunate enough to be part of the menu-tasting session at our brand-new venue at the InterContinental O2, I can tell guests that they have a wonderful dinner to look forward to, some fabulous entertainment and most importantly, a whole host of glittering awards. Good luck to all those in the running!

If you missed my pick of the Highlights for Day One, you can find it here

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For more details of all the Speakers, Panels, Roundtables and Tracks, see the Agenda