The 15th annual Spinnaker Maritime People & Culture Conference took place in London on the 11th and 12th May 2023 at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London.
The event, chaired by Spinnaker Chairman Phil Parry, featured fascinating talks, presentations and panel discussions covering the key issues facing the maritime industry and how HR and leadership teams can address them.
Parry says, “We are delighted that this year’s event has had a record turnout. Delegates have travelled from as far afield as Hong Kong, Singapore and North America and we are honoured that so many members of the maritime community have joined us. The sessions have been both informative and topical and tap into the key trends and priorities for HR teams in 2023.”
The event welcomed world-renowned international rugby player turned facilitator and performance coach, Rory Underwood MBE DL as a speaker on the topic of High Performing Teams. He also hosted a panel discussion alongside Catherine Logie (Ocean Technologies Group), Tim Browne (Professional Speaker & Performance Coach), Daniel Taylor (Principal Consultant, t-three) and Michael Sandaluk, Chief HR Officer (Anglo-Eastern)
Other topics on the agenda were Artificial Intelligence in HR from Heidi Watson, Partner at Clyde & Co. She told us that “Many employers rely on artificial intelligence to help with recruitment, management, and redundancy processes as AI can deliver huge efficiencies. However, a reliance on AI also exposes employers to discrimination and other legal risk.”
Her session aimed to help employers understand the risks associated with using AI and help them outline the steps that they can take to address those risks and mitigate the possibility of legal, reputational, and financial exposure.
Heidi also delivered a session on women’s health in the workplace which looked at the impact on female talent leaving the workplace due to menopause and fertility issues.
American Bureau of Shipping’s VP of Human Resources and Global DE&I Officer, Njsane Courtney delivered a walk through of ABS’s journey to establish a global DE&I program and shared personal stories that emphasised the need to address not only the cultural impacts of unconscious bias but also examined how our own personal biases impact the decisions we as leaders make every day that have on our employees’ everyday lives at work.
The Director of the 4 Day Week Campaign in the UK, Joe Ryle, also attended and spoke at the event and shared the findings from the recent pilot. This was then followed by a case study from Swedish maritime training organisation Seably who participated in the pilot last year and achieved a successful outcome.
NYK Europe also shared a case study of their recent hybrid working initiative and Lloyd’s Register delivered a session on the importance of Employer Branding.
Capt. Yasser Hashem from Bahri Shipmanagement said the event “The conference was of exceptional quality. It was an absolute pleasure to attend and be part of such a well-planned and insightful event. The sessions were engaging, the speakers were interesting, and the networking opportunities were invaluable. I returned with a wealth of knowledge and new connections that will undoubtedly benefit us.“
For more information on being part of the next event in May 2024 please contact the team via email. [email protected]
