Pre-Conference Workshop 1

09:00 AM - 12:00 PM

From HR Operator to Strategic Partner: Step Into Your Power

Aspiring and mid-level HR leaders are often told to “be more strategic” — but what does that actually mean in the real world of business demands, executive relationships, and cross-functional
complexity?

This immersive half-day masterclass is designed to equip you with the tools, mindset and influence strategies needed to elevate your voice and impact as an HR professional. You’ll learn how to frame your ideas for business audiences, build trust with senior leaders, and make a clear case for HR-led initiatives that drive performance, engagement and culture change.

This session is ideal for HR professionals ready to shift from supporting the strategy to shaping it.

The Reality HR Professionals Face:

• Struggling to gain a seat at the table or have ideas taken seriously

• Feeling caught between transactional tasks and transformation goals

• Working hard but lacking visibility or influence with decision-makers

Your 5-Step Strategic Influence Framework:

• How to speak the language of commercial value in your HR initiatives

• Building executive relationships through trust, credibility, and alignment

• Structuring your strategic messages to get a “yes” from the C-suite

• Navigating resistance or competing agendas with grace and confidence

• Positioning yourself as a future HR leader and change enabler

Key Benefits of Attending:

• Learn to frame HR initiatives in strategic, business-first language

• Build your confidence and executive presence as a change leader

• Gain practical tools to map stakeholders and influence decision-making

• Understand what executives want from HR — and how to deliver it

• Walk away with a personal roadmap to elevate your impact in your role

Conference Day 1

9:00 AM:   Welcome to Country

9:05 AM:   Opening Remarks from Chair & TLI Introduction

SESSION 1
9:20 AM: Workforce Pressure Is Reshaping HR Leadership

Organisations are demanding more productivity, adaptability, accountability, and speed while employees are experiencing growing fatigue, uncertainty, and disengagement. This session explores how HR leaders are navigating the widening gap between executive expectations and workforce reality while protecting organisational resilience and performance.

10:10 AM: Networking Break

10:30 AM: Morning Tea

SESSION 2
11:00 AM: AI, Automation and Workforce Redesign

AI is changing workforce structures, capability requirements, and leadership expectations faster than many organisations are prepared for. This session explores how HR leaders can support workforce redesign, manage disruption responsibly, and prepare organisations for large scale capability shifts without losing workforce trust and engagement.

SESSION 3
11:50 AM:  Productivity Without Burnout

As pressure to deliver results intensifies, many organisations are seeing rising exhaustion, change fatigue, and declining engagement. This session examines practical approaches to improving performance, accountability, and productivity without creating unsustainable pressure on teams and leaders.

SESSION 4
1:50 PM: Psychosocial Safety Beyond Compliance

Psychosocial risk has become a major leadership and operational challenge across Australian workplaces. This session explores how organisations are moving beyond policy compliance to create safer, healthier, and more sustainable workplace environments during periods of pressure and uncertainty.

SESSION 5
2:40 PM: Rebuilding Trust During Organisational Change

Restructures, workforce change, hybrid work, and leadership instability are placing pressure on employee trust across many organisations. This session explores how HR leaders can strengthen communication, maintain workforce confidence, and support leaders through periods of significant organisational disruption.

3:30 PM Afternoon Tea

SESSION 6
3:50 PM:  The New Pressure on Middle Managers

Middle managers are increasingly responsible for performance, engagement, wellbeing, culture, and operational delivery, often without the capability or support required. This session explores how organisations can strengthen frontline leadership capability in high pressure environments.

4:50 PM END OF DAY ONE & NETWORKING DRINKS

Conference Day 2

9:00 AM: Opening Remarks from Chair & TLI Introduction

SESSION 1
9:10 AM: Strategic Workforce Planning in an Unstable Market

Workforce planning has become critical as organisations face skills shortages, capability gaps, retention pressure, and rapid workforce change. This session explores practical approaches to workforce forecasting, capability mapping, and future skills planning in uncertain conditions.

10:10 AM: Morning Tea

SESSION 2
10:30 AM: HR Credibility at Executive Level

HR leaders are now expected to influence organisational strategy, workforce performance, culture, and operational decision making. This session explores how senior HR leaders are building strategic influence and credibility with executive teams during periods of pressure and transformation.

SESSION 3
11:30 AM:  Culture Under Pressure

Culture becomes most visible during periods of organisational stress, workforce instability, and rapid change. This session examines how HR leaders are maintaining organisational culture, trust, accountability, and leadership consistency in increasingly complex environments.

12:20 PM LUNCH

SESSION 4
1:20 PM: Leading Performance Conversations in Tough Conditions

Many leaders are struggling to balance accountability, wellbeing, underperformance, and employee confidence in uncertain conditions. This session explores practical approaches to managing performance conversations while maintaining trust, clarity, and fairness.

SESSION 5
2:10 PM: Workforce Analytics That Actually Influence Decisions

Organisations have more workforce data than ever before, but many HR teams still struggle to turn data into executive action. This session explores how workforce analytics can support retention, workforce planning, productivity, and organisational performance decisions.

3:00 PM Afternoon Tea

SESSION 6
3:20 PM:  What High Performing Organisations Are Doing Differently in 2026

This closing executive panel explores the workforce strategies, leadership approaches, and organisational practices helping businesses maintain capability, resilience, trust, and performance during ongoing disruption and workforce pressure.

4:20 PM CLOSE OF CONFERENCE

Post-Conference Workshop 

9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Shifting from Reactive Hiring to Proactive Workforce Design

The workforce is changing — fast. New technologies, evolving expectations, and rapid disruption are making old HR plans obsolete. That’s why strategic workforce planning is no longer a “nice to have” — it’s essential. This full-day workshop gives HR professionals the practical tools to plan for future workforce
needs, map current capability, and align talent strategies with business growth. You’ll learn how to  create skills frameworks, identify gaps, and build future-focused plans that your executive team will  respect and use. If you want to future-proof your people strategy, this is the session for you.

The Reality HR Professionals Face:

• Constantly reacting to hiring needs instead of planning ahead
• No clear picture of the organisation’s future capability requirements
• Struggling to engage business leaders in proactive workforce conversations

Your Strategic Planning Toolkit:

• How to conduct a workforce planning needs analysis
• Identifying critical roles and future skill sets in your organisation
• Building a simple but effective capability framework
• Mapping internal talent potential and development needs
• Aligning people plans with business and technology strategy

Key Benefits of Attending:

• Learn practical workforce planning models and apply them live
• Understand how to build capability maps that guide investment decisions
• Gain confidence engaging leaders in strategic HR planning
• Identify workforce risks and future-proof your talent pipeline
• Walk away with a draft strategic workforce plan ready to refine