Member Article

Yorkshire Bank, Talk Talk, Pitman Training & Leeds City Council Support #YorkshireFlex

Yorkshire Bank, Leeds City Council, Talk Talk and Pitman Training are just a few of the organisations across the city who have got behind businesswoman Abbie Coleman and her mission to make Yorkshire more flexible, as the MMB Magazine founder and Director of recruitment company Harrington Norman, campaigns for more flexibility of working hours for parents and guardians.

Earlier this year Abbie created #YorkshireFlex, a campaign which is getting big businesses and SME’s from all sectors on board to talk about future of flexible working in Yorkshire - and the culmination of this is now to be the YorkshireFlex conference on 22nd June 2017.

Held at the offices of another great supporter of the campaign, Ernst & Young, the interactive event sponsored by Pitman Training will run from 1.30pm to 5pm and is to be hosted by Helen Gration – Founder of Yorkshire Montessori Nursery Ltd and previously the youngest television director of News & Current Affairs at the BBC.

The campaign has received wide ranging support on social media from Angela Williams (Assistant Chief Constable of the West Yorkshire Police) getting behind it, along with Yorkshire entrepreneur Claire Young, leading Yorkshire based blogger Honest Mum, and actress Adele Silva.

The #YorkshireFlex event will now bring together 150 businesses from all sectors to talk honestly and share knowledge around the hot topic. Some of the topics discussed will cover ‘What does flexible working in 2017 and beyond look like’? ‘Is flexibility the Holy Grail in business growth, employee attraction / retention and engagement or is it just the latest buzz word?’ ‘Why does flex flop, what are the pitfalls for business, and where do things go wrong and why?’

Abbie set up the #YorkshireFlex campaign after being fed up of so much female talent being side-lined due to the lack of flexibility and putting extra strain on families. She commented “There shouldn’t be so many difficulties combining being a good parent with having a successful and progressive career. I’ve seen it time and time again when people try to return to work after maternity or paternity and the opportunities are closed down. We have such talent in Yorkshire, so many hard working people who have climbed the career ladders - why should they start to slip back down it just because they have chosen to have children? I’ve spoken to many businesses who are trying to adapt HR processes but feel bogged down in red tape, so we hope YorkshireFlex will be a chance for knowledge sharing that can in turn lead to a co-ordinated effort towards change.”

She also added: “It’s imperative businesses are prepared and ready for the changing workforce dynamics in the next ten years so the event covers not just the working mothers and parents, but the older generation workforce, millennials and simply people choosing that work life balance at a certain point in their careers. We are facing a lot of change in our workforce in the coming years and Yorkshire needs to be ready.” This is one of a number of events run by MMB magazine, which has attracted high profile speakers in the industry. Panelists at #YorkshireFlex include:-

• Francis Lake – Head of Organisation Development at Clydesdale-Yorkshire Bank
• Jane Garnsey – People Operations Director at TalkTalk Business
• Helen Finney – HR Director at Eversheds
• Samantha Millar – at West Yorkshire Police
• Claire Lister – MD at Pitman Training
• Marie Walsh – Director at Consilia Legal
• Joss Ivory – Deputy Chief Officer HR at Leeds City Council
• Caitlin Hartley – Head of Family Network & leader for Diversity and Inclusiveness at EY

For more information or to book a place please see mmbmagazine.co.uk/yorkshire-flex. Due to the nature of the event tickets are only suitable for business owners and people directly responsible for implementing or rolling out flexible working within their business. Tickets are £15 + VAT.

As part of the #YorkshireFlex campaign MMB Magazine will be offering free standard job postings on MMB Magazine for all flexible working and part time roles, accessing over 2k current job seekers of all levels. To get your role listed simply email info@mmbmagazine.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chocolate PR .