
The cHeRries Conference
Thursday 8th June, 2023
08:45 – 16:00
P&J Live, Aberdeen
Conference, Networking and Exhibition for those in the fields of HR, Training, Recruitment and Organisational effectiveness in Scotland
The Press and Journal and The Courier are delighted to bring you the cHeRries Conference in association with Mattioli Woods on Thursday, 8th June at P&J Live, Aberdeen. The format of the day will focus on the 3 sessions, outlined below and we are delighted to welcome our guest speaker, Samantha Jayne Nelson who will open the conference for us and share her story of her extraordinary journey, transitioning in the male-dominated workplace of oil platforms. She will provide insights and advice regarding the power of empathy and the life saving impact of allies.
SESSION 1 – SPONSORED BY MATTIOLI WOODS
Harmony from Complexity
This session will explore the opportunity to rationalise, integrate and harmonise employee benefits in times of change. Acquisitions often lead to different schemes and categories of entitlement across various benefits. Such complexity can be cumbersome and inefficient. We explore the options available to deliver great outcomes for employers while keeping or creating a happy workforce.
SESSION 2 – SPONSORED BY HUNTER ADAMS
Navigating Tomorrow’s World
Today’s external environment is constantly changing with new ways of working and evolving behaviours. Some businesses, however, are struggling to keep up with this breakneck pace of change. We will explore how the power of flexibility and harnessing the right behaviours can help companies compete in tomorrow’s workplace whilst increasing bottom line profitability.
SESSION 3 – SPONSORED BY BURNESS PAULL
Managing Conflicting Characteristics
Conflicts concerning employees with differing protected characteristics (age, sex, disability, religion or belief, race, or sexual orientation, among others) can lead to workforce engagement and retention issues as well as potentially a risk of employment tribunal claims. In a highly interactive way, this session will provide employers with practical guidance to address these challenges in a way that best restores workforce harmony and avoids claims.
The annual cHeRries Awards will follow the conference and be held on the same evening as the conference. To find out more about the awards, please visit www.cherriesawards.co.uk
For all event enquiries please contact Sharon Methven (Senior Event Manager) on smethven@dcthomson.co.uk
For all sponsorship and exhibition enquiries please contact Carole Bruce (Head of Event Partnerships) on carole.bruce@ajl.co.uk
Key Dates
8 Jun 2023 | The cHeRries Conference and Award Ceremony |
Itinerary
08:45: | Arrival, registration, networking & exhibition |
09:15: | Welcome |
09:30: | Guest speaker - Samantha Jayne Nelson |
10:30: | Comfort break |
10:45: | Sessions - Round 1 |
11:40: | Sessions - Round 2 |
12:25: | Lunch, exhibition and networking |
13:30: | Sessions - Round 3 |
14:25: | Closing remarks |
14:45: | Exhibition and networking |
16:00: | Conference closes |
Guest Speaker
Samantha Jayne Nelson
By openly and honestly sharing the story of her extraordinary journey, transitioning in the male-dominated workplace of oil platforms, she is committed to helping people understand the value of authenticity, inclusivity and the impact of allies, leaders and HR professionals.
In her prior role as Vice President of Risk Engineering in the Global Energy Practice of Marsh & McLennan Companies she gained international recognition for her commitment to engage, educate, involve and bring together diverse community groups and allies leading to positive business results.
Event Sponsors
Mattioli Woods plc is one of the UK’s leading providers of wealth management and employee benefit services, advising over 10,000 clients with assets under management, administration and advice of over £12 billion. The Mattioli Woods employee benefits team delivers benefit solutions to help clients increase productivity and profitability through improved employee engagement, retention and motivation. These include:
- flexible benefits – our portals allow for all sizes of business, covering employee engagement, total reward statements and employee discounts
- pensions and workplace savings – pensions and group SIPPs
- employee health and wellbeing – financial education, executive financial counselling, healthcare and risk benefits
- specialist services – covering mergers and acquisitions and international
Our wealth management clients, meanwhile, come from many walks of life – from the young entrepreneur in the early stages of their career to the retired property developer couple with a combined wealth of more than £20 million.
Whoever they are, Mattioli Woods is here to help and support our clients in protecting and growing their finances to meet their aims and ambitions.
Visit Mattioli Woods website- flexible benefits – our portals allow for all sizes of business, covering employee engagement, total reward statements and employee discounts
- pensions and workplace savings – pensions and group SIPPs
- employee health and wellbeing – financial education, executive financial counselling, healthcare and risk benefits
- specialist services – covering mergers and acquisitions and international

Mattioli Woods plc is one of the UK’s leading providers of wealth management and employee benefit services, advising over 10,000 clients with assets under management, administration and advice of over £12 billion. The Mattioli Woods employee benefits team delivers benefit solutions to help clients increase productivity and profitability through improved employee engagement, retention and motivation. These include:
Our wealth management clients, meanwhile, come from many walks of life – from the young entrepreneur in the early stages of their career to the retired property developer couple with a combined wealth of more than £20 million.
Whoever they are, Mattioli Woods is here to help and support our clients in protecting and growing their finances to meet their aims and ambitions.
Visit Mattioli Woods website
Proudly based in Scotland, Burness Paull is a full-service, independent law firm working with clients across the UK and internationally.
Working with organisations across all sectors of the economy, Burness Paull’s market leading employment law team advises clients on the full life cycle of employment and people matters. The team is also well versed at handling trade union matters and industrial relations law, and provides bespoke, tailored training on a range of topics that matter. The team was recognised as Employment Team of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2022.
Burness Paull is the exclusive UK-headquartered member of Lex Mundi – the world’s leading network of independent law firms. In 2022, Burness Paull topped the corporate legal deals table in Scotland for the sixth year running.
Visit Burness Paull website
Hunter Adams is a UK HR consultancy and recruitment business. We offer commercial solutions with a focus on bottom-line profitability, and are experts in workplace culture and employee engagement.
On the HR side, we provide all HR services under one roof. We consult in all areas of HR, provide HR interims for assignments and projects of any duration, and we offer HR call-off support to SMEs and charities – essentially acting as their HR department.
On the recruitment side, our talented team of HR recruiters work with their signature speed and efficiency to meet and exceed our clients’ needs – whether that’s for a single hire or for a multiple-role recruitment campaign. Quite simply, we are HR people hiring HR people.
Visit Hunter Adams website
Building a solid foundation that endures takes time, and cultivating positive culture at work is no different. It requires commitment, challenge, honesty and careful attention to detail — and that’s where Lang & Co come in. A People & Culture Consultancy, we offer engagement, training and consultancy services that help to unlock these traits and optimise your teams across every aspect of their working lives — leading to improved performance and profitability.
Visit Lang&Co website