The Bermuda Human Resource Association (BHRA) is to host an annual conference for the first time in seven years.

Recruitment, Engagement and Retention will be the focus of the BHRA conference, which will take place on October 12, at the Fairmont Southampton.

The event will host two international speakers, Jacqueline Throop-Robinson and Sharlyn Lauby, as well as local speaker Vanessa Hardy Pickering, chief financial officer of Hamilton Re, who will be delivering the keynote address.

Organisers said: “This event will be beneficial for anyone involved with staff management including HR professionals, office managers, or managers at all levels of the organisation who are involved in the recruitment process, and/ or continued engagement and retention of staff.”

Ms Throop-Robinson, the chief executive officer of Spark Engagement, will present on “Engaging Millennials, Fact and Fiction”.

Her 30-year career has focused on strengthening leadership and engagement at all levels of an organisation through individual and teamwork, as well as organisation-wide initiatives. She strives to create cultures of passion, productivity and performance. One of her areas of expertise is employee engagement.

Ms Lauby is the author of HR Bartender and president of ITM Group, a South Florida-based training and human resources consulting firm focused on helping companies retain and engage talent.

Previously she was vice-president of human resources for Right Management Consultants, one of the world’s largest organisational consulting firms. She has designed and implemented highly successful programmes for employee retention, internal and external customer satisfaction, and leadership development.

Publications such as Reuters, The New York Times, ABC News, Today, Readers Digest, Men’s Health, Mashable and the Wall Street Journal have sought out her expertise on topics related to human resources and the workplace.

She recently released her second book, Manager Onboarding: 5 Steps for Setting New Leaders Up for Success, which will also be her presentation as our second speaker this year.

Vanessa Hardy Pickering is one of the original management team of Hamilton’s operations in Bermuda. She will address, “What it takes to recruit and retain talent in the digital age and how to build a corporate culture that supports innovation and creativity in today’s market”.

She was promoted from group controller of Hamilton Insurance Group to CFO of Hamilton Re in September 2015. She has over 15 years’ experience in the reinsurance industry, having previously worked at Ariel Re, Rosemont Reinsurance and Ernst & Young.

Ms Hardy Pickering is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), holds the Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) designation from the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters and is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Bermuda.

The BHRA was founded in 1969 and is an interest group advocating the advancement of the profession and the development of its members.

For more information please visit the events page on the website, www.BHRA.bm or contact Meredith McCreadie, conference chairwoman on 296-8663