Agenda - Informa Middle East

8 & 9 June 2015, The Address Hotel, Dubai Mall, UAE
FORUM Day ONE 8 June 2015
08.00 Registration and morning coffee
08.40 Opening remarks from the Chair
Robert Mosley, global remuneration expert and consultant, former SVP Human Resources, Emirates
Group
09.00 Ask the audience - live delegate polling
Setting the tone for the rest of the agenda, this session will help you put matters in perspective and
generate data and statistics to support your compensation and benefits practices. See real-time
statistics, generated by the audience.
09.10 Cut the waste and increase the value – rethinking your employee value proposition
 In today’s uncertain economy how do employers differentiate themselves?
 Is the cost of recognition programs and the value employees attach to them worth it?
 What value do high performers put on employee benefits
 What actually do employees want and how do they communicate this?
Anthony McFeely, HR Director, ABB
Michele Merati, EMEA Compensation & Benefits Leader, Boeing
Susan Cunning, Vice President - Reward, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
Nicos Nicolaides, Director, Compensation & Benefits, Intercontinental Hotels Group (UK)
FOCUS: EMPLOYEE VALUE PROPOSITION
09.50 Taking a global approach to benefits: from compliance to competitiveness
 Maximising cost efficiencies by adopting a global broker approach
 Optimising the delivery of benefits across countries
 Strategies for optimising benefits from a financial standpoint
Michele Merati, EMEA Compensation & Benefits Leader, Boeing
FOCUS: GLOBAL BENEFITS MANAGEMENT
10.20 Meeting accelerator - a structured networking session
This unique facilitated session will give you the opportunity to shake hands with your peers from
companies representing different sectors in the region. Bring a lot of business cards.
10.40 Morning coffee and networking break
11.10 Global macroeconomic trends and implications for employers in the Middle East
 Understand how global developments are shaping the nature of HR decisions in the Middle
East
 Changes in workforce demographics are the driving the focus towards new remuneration
approaches in the region
 Is the concept of total rewards finally reaching Middle East employers?
Nuno Gomes, Information Solutions Leader Middle East, Mercer
Chris Page, Talent Leader Middle East, Mercer
FOCUS: GLOBAL HR TRENDS
11.40 Developing a total rewards strategy that supports your long-term business and humancapital needs
 How should organisations revisit their total rewards to ensure they are aligned with criticalskill employees?
 Total rewards optimisation – how to apply robust techniques to make rigorous decisions about
where to invest and where to cut costs
 The total rewards statement role in employee attraction, engagement and retention
 How should a balanced portfolio of total rewards offerings be better communicated?
Smaël Auam, Head of Reward-Human Capital, DP World
FOCUS: TOTAL REWARDS STRATEGY
12.10 Medical Inflation – the hidden driver and what’s it costing you?
 Leading regional expert to highlight a hidden driver behind group medical inflation
 Uncover the extent of the problem – and the cost to your company
 Four practical, cost-saving measures you can implement immediately
 “Target 20% Savings” – a challenge for 2016!
Robin Wells, Head of Global Corporate, Medstar
FOCUS: MEDICAL INSURANCE COST CONTROL
12.40 Networking lunch
13.40 Flexible benefits for efficiency and retention – making them work in the Middle East
 How can you tailor a flexible benefits scheme to meet the needs of your organisation?
 Are you getting the most from your reward and benefit investment?
 What’s really important to your employees?
 What are the inhibitors to the adoption of flexible benefits in the region?
Sandrine Bardot, Managing Director, The Bardot Group
Paul Johnstone, Compensation & Benefits Leader, MENAT, GE
Mahesh Reddy, Senior Director - Total Rewards, Human Capital & Administration Du
FOCUS: FLEXIBLE BENEFITS
14.20 Using data and analytics: Creating your C&B dashboard
 How to select, analyse and present the wide variety of data available
 Making data backed decisions on compensation and benefits to objectively improve efficiency
and performance
 Designing your compensation and benefits dashboard
Luis Aguilar Cantarino, Compensation and Benefits Centre of Excellence Consultant, MENA Region,
Coca-Cola
FOCUS: REWARDS METRICS
14.50 Topic focussed interactive roundtables discussions
This interactive session divides the audience into 3-4 groups, each discussing one of the below hot
topics. Each roundtable is tasked to come up with three practical strategies related to their topic
and/or industry. Discussion will go on for 30 minutes and then each moderator will present his or her
table findings at the end of the day.
 Employee benefits for retention
 Optimising healthcare costs
 Linking pay with performance
 Engaging Nationals through rewards
15.30 Afternoon coffee and networking break
16.00 Dual case study: Simplifying compensation - exploring the pros and cons of moving
towards a single cash allowance
 Exploring the conflicting nature between simplifying pay structure and providing flexibility
 Effective methods for addressing the challenges of moving from one system to the other
 Understanding what is the best allowance strategy for retaining talent at your organisation
Agni Skafidas, Director Compensation & Benefits, Smith & Nephew
Panagiotis Sotiropoulos, Compensation & Benefits Senior Manager, Honeywell
FOCUS: REWARDS SIMPLIFICATION VS CHOICE
16.50 Utilising wellness programmes to reduce health insurance premiums
 Implementing health and wellbeing benefits that meet the needs of the business
 Engaging staff in health and wellbeing to ensure a high take up of benefits
 Proving the financial impact of health and wellbeing initiatives
 Continually innovating health and wellbeing programme to ensure sustained engagement
Aparna Navin, Compensation & Benefits Manager - GCC, LaFarge Group
FOCUS: EMPLOYEE WELLNESS
17.20 Closing remarks from the Chair
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FORUM Day TWO 9 June 2015
08.00 Registration and morning coffee
08.40 Opening remarks from the Chair
Robert Mosley, global remuneration expert and consultant, former
SVP Human Resources, Emirates Group
08.50 Nationalisation – attracting and retaining National talent
 Effective tactics for marketing your EVP to attract national talent
 Designing a total rewards strategy that attracts and retains top Emirati talent
 Other than pay and financial rewards, what motivates National talent?
Jocelyn Teoh, Group Head, Reward Management and Organisational Development, NBAD
Dr. Pon Mohaideen Pitchai, Director OD & Talent Management, Dubai Properties Group
Giovanni Everduin, Head of Strategic HR, Communications & Change, Tanfeeth
FOCUS: NATIONAL TALENT
09.30 Creating a pay for performance culture at an international hotels group
 A case study in hospitality that transformed incentive plans and aligned them to the key
business drivers
 What was the rationale behind this change and the objectives we sought to achieve?
 Creating a change in mindset, and what lessons have been learnt?
Nicos Nicolaides, Director, Compensation & Benefits, Intercontinental Hotels Group (UK)
FOCUS: LINKING PAY TO PERFORMANCE
10.00 Developing line managers to be ‘Compensation Ambassadors’
 Line managers play a key role in communicating compensation, yet research shows they are
not well-prepared for this critical task
 Examining the crucial role of line managers in communicating and instilling total rewards
based engagement
 Examining the role manager’s play in delivering compensation messages and developing
their skills as 'Compensation Ambassadors'
Vinod Nair, Head Performance and Reward, Human Resources, Emirates NBD
FOCUS: COMMUNICATING REWARDS
10.30 Morning coffee and networking break
11.00 Reviewing and optimising total rewards - where to invest and where to cut
 Making rigorous decisions about where to invest and where to cut costs
 Considering short term benefits vs. long term people & business impact
 The opportunities the current environment provides to revisit and re-emphasise your total
rewards strategy
Shawn Cramer, Head of Compensation, Benefits & HRIS, Maersk Oil Qatar
FOCUS: TOTAL REWARDS STRATEGY
11.30 Building a comprehensive employee wellness programme to fight chronic conditions
and increase employee engagement
 Why we started wellness initiatives in 2007? What planning was required? What were the
objectives?
 Making it happen; converting the vision into an action plan
 Governance strategies for corporate wellness programmes and defining areas of
responsibilities
 Leading by example: leveraging CEO commitment and support
 Key successes stories of the programme and how it creates employee value
Cedric Betis, Chairman of the Wellness Committee, Dubai Holding
FOCUS: EMPLOYEE WELLNESS
12.00

Developing a pay for performance culture through rewards strategy
What’s working and not working regarding differentiating and rewarding performance in your
organisation?
 How do we see rewarding performance evolving in the next two to three years in the region?
 What lessons have been learned in terms of change management and implementation
Janet M. Merrill, Total Rewards and Workforce Insight Lead, AsiaPac & MENAI, CH2M
FOCUS: PAY FOR PREFORMANCE
12.30 Networking lunch
13.30 Debating the latest trends in C&B and the future of compensation and benefit strategies
in the MENA region
 Compensation simplification vs employee choice. Where are we going? What are the benefits
and disadvantages of both strategies?
 How recent economic events have effected compensation and benefits in the region?
 Looking at solutions for the challenges of housing, school and
 health insurance cost inflation in the region
Shawn Cramer, Head of Compensation, Benefits & HRIS, Maersk Oil Qatar
Paul Johnstone, Compensation & Benefits Leader, MENAT, GE
Nicos Nicolaides, Director, Compensation & Benefits, Intercontinental Hotels Group (UK)
Susan Cunning, Vice President, Reward, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
FOCUS: FUTURE TRENDS IN REWARDS
14.20 Using data and analytics: How you can talk to your CFO like a CFO
 Proposing new rewards initiatives such as: medical plans, wellness initiatives etc to your CFO
 How to utilise data and analytics to get your CFO's attention and, more importantly, how to
gain your CFO's support
 How to demonstrate how your proposed initiative will positive impact the bottom line
Communicating to the rest of the board
Sandrine Bardot, Managing Director, The Bardot Group
FOCUS: COMPENSATION & BENEFITS METRICS
14.50 Afternoon coffee and networking break
15.20 Executive compensation - using LTIs to motivate and retain key talent in the Middle East
 Communicating the differences between ‘home country’ and regional LTI benefit schemes to
top international talent
 Creating an ownership mentality with LTIs, without issuing real company shares
 Ensuring your LTI programmes are aligned, competitive and motivational
 How long-term incentive plans sustain long-term growth in shareholder value
 Managing risks associated with LTI based reward programmes in regard to future business
sustainability
Aroop Misra, former VP, Performance & Reward, Mubadala
FOCUS: EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
15.50 Compensation modelling: alternative scenario planning techniques
 How you can identify and use rewards metrics and data visualisations to drive business
impact
 What are the methods available for modelling of different compensation scenarios?
 How to build and use data to cost different salary and incentive scenarios
FOCUS: COMPENSATION & BENEFITS METRICS
Michal Kusak, MEA Compensation & Benefits Leader, IBM
16 20 Topic focused interactive roundtables discussions
This interactive session divides the audience into 3-4 groups, each discussing one of the below hot
topics. Each roundtable is tasked to come up with three practical strategies related to their topic
and/or industry. Discussion will go on for 30 minutes and then each moderator will present his or her
table findings.
 Non-cash recognition programmes
 Executive compensation
 Communication of total rewards
 Retirement planning
17 00 Closing remarks from the Chair
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PRE-FORUM AND POST-FORUM Masterclasses
Pre-Forum Masterclass A – Sunday 7 June 2015
The Advanced Compensation Benchmarking Masterclass (0800 – 1430hrs)
An essential refresher on key C&B skills, a highly practical and interactive session. One-day bootcamp on advanced compensation benchmarking
Introduction.
With many markets in the region gearing up for business growth, many employers are facing a
challenge of aligning compensation and benefits practices with business strategies, and employers
will need to be practical in benchmarking their overall remuneration packages to ensure they remain
competitive in the market, which puts greater pressure on benchmarking. This masterclass will enable
you to re-equip yourself with key C&B skills and get a better understanding of the latest best practice
approaches for conducting a detailed pay benchmarking analysis on your “total remuneration
package” in a GCC context, with specific tools and spreadsheets being used in a highly hands-on and
practical boot-camp.
Who is this masterclass for?
This one-day masterclass is suitable for both HR generalists and Rewards specialists. It covers best
practice and essential C&B skills which makes it ideal for all levels of professionals from Associate to
Director/VP level.
Post-Forum Masterclass B – Wednesday 10 June 2015
The Performance Management & Performance Appraisal Masterclass (0800 – 1430hrs)
This masterclass will enable you to get a better understanding of the latest techniques for
performance management (PM) and performance appraisals (PA), which are essential cornerstones
in building a performance culture and implementing pay-for-performance.
Masterclass Outline
 The fundamentals of performance management and performance appraisal
 The three critical pillars of performance management
 The four critical design choices for performance appraisals
 Managing performance ratings and performance distribution curves
Who is this masterclass for?
This one-day masterclass is suitable for both HR generalists and Rewards specialists. It covers best
practice and essential C&B skills which makes it ideal for all levels of professionals from Associate to
Director/VP level
Post-Forum Masterclass C – Thursday 11 June 2015
The Pay-For-Performance Masterclass (0800 – 1430hrs)
This masterclass will enable you to re-equip yourself with key C&B skills and get a better
understanding of the latest best practice approaches for reward strategy geared towards pay- forperformance.
Masterclass Outline
 What motivates and retains an employee?
 Managing performance ratings and performance distribution curves
 Managing the annual merit-pay review process and linking pay reviews with performance
 Managing the annual short-term bonus process and linking bonuses with performance
 Managing retention programmes to retain top performers
Who is this masterclass for?
This one-day masterclass is suitable for both HR generalists and Rewards specialists. It covers best
practice and essential C&B skills which makes it ideal for all levels of professionals from Associate to
Director/VP level.