Program and speakers
We have planned 2 fully-packed days for you with some amazing sessions. A long list of international speakers and experts will present the latest research as well as practical tools from some of the world’s happiest workplaces. All talks and workshops are in English. Here’s the full schedule.
Thursday May 18: Conference
9:00 Doors open
Come early – there will be coffee and croissants for the early risers.
9:30 Conference starts
Mikael Kamber: Conference Moderator
We have picked the best possible moderator for a conference on happiness at work. Mikael is a news anchor on the TV2 evening news and is also the author of the book “We’re at our best when we’re happy” and has a deep knowledge of happiness at work.
Mikael will guide us through the day and keep us on schedule. He says “I believe in spreading happiness and passion everywhere” and that’s exactly what he’s promised to do as our conference moderator.
Alexander Kjerulf: Opening Address
What are the most important current trends in workplace happiness? What are businesses and employees focusing on and how can we best address these issues?
Alex travels all over the world to help organizations become happier and he will kick us off by sharing his perspective on the current state of happiness at work.
Helle Hein: With Great Talent Comes Great Responsibility
More and more workplaces want to measure everything. KPIs, scorecards and performance goals are supposed to motivate employees and help increase their productivity. But is that really a good way to motivate employees and makes them happy?
Helle Hein has a ph.d. in management and has done research on motivation for the past 20 years.
Her work shows that many people are not motivated by metrics and bonuses but by something more meaningful – a professional calling or a cause that matters deeply to them. Leading these people based only on performance measures and financial rewards leads to frustration and a huge loss of talent and motivation.
She will show you how your organization can get the most out of its most talented employees, what really motivates people (no, it’s not bonuses) and how to make sure that people feel that their work really matters to them.
Rowan Manahan: How To Have A Happy Career
Time and again, we see a bell-curve response to surveys on workplace happiness – 20% engaged and happy, 20% disengaged, 60% in the ‘so-so’ zone.
Why don’t people pay a little more attention (and a whole lot more respect!) to their own happiness – and what happens when they do?
Irish career expert Rowan Manahan will show you how to use happiness at work as a career advantage. Because the science is clear: While success is no guarantee of happiness, people who love their jobs are more productive, innovative and motivated and ultimately more successful in their careers and in life.
10:45 Morning Break
Refresh yourself, engage with the speakers and meet your fellow conference attendees.
Thomas Vibe Hansen: How to be a Chief Happiness Officer
Thomas works at the IT company Ageras as their happiness manager. His job is quite simply to make sure that the employees are happy.
And he’s been very creative. He’s used a DJ booth, video screens, laughter circles, walks in the rain and many other tips. He even brought a donkey into the office once.
Thomas’ will share his best tips and ideas, he will reveal what mistakes he made along the way and what he learned from them and also share how his work boosted employee happiness and sales at Ageras.
Mette Hybschmann: How McDonald’s Denmark Makes Young Employees Happy At Work
The Gen Z’ers and millennials coming into workplaces now have very different expectations, ambitions and wishes compared to previous generations. Some managers complain about them for that reason, calling them spoiled and unreasonable but that is hardly a productive attitude.
McDonald’s Denmark was named as Denmark’s best workplace in 2011, 2012 and 2013 in large part because of their ability to attract, engage and develop their many young employees.
Mette Hybschmann is the HR director of McDonald’s Denmark and in her talk she will show you some concrete ways to make young employees happy at work, and help them realize their immense potential.
Arlette Bentzen: Leading With Happiness
Studies clearly show that a manager’s behavior has a huge influence on happiness at work. Good leaders motivate and energize their employees and create a level of happiness that make employees go the extra mile for the workplace and the customers. Bad managers on the other hand spread frustration and stress all around them.
Arlette Bentzen is an internationally recognized speaker on happiness at work.
She will show exactly how managers can make their people happy at work. And it doesn’t take much. Happiness at work is not about raises, bonuses, perks and promotions – it comes from simple, effective actions that any leader ought to know and do.
She will also show how leaders can be happy at work themselves. Unhappy managers make their employees miserable, have a harder time reaching their goals and are more prone to stress and illness.
12:30 Lunch
Enjoy a delicious lunch, engage with the conference speakers and share ideas and experiences with other attendees.
Alexander Kjerulf: The Science Of Happiness At Work
Happy workplaces are more profitable and innovative, attract the best employees and have lower absenteeism and employee turnover rates. Simply put, happy companies make more money. But how do you create a happy workplace? Some of the best answers are found in the happiness science – a fascinating field with research going on all over the world.
Alexander Kjerulf is the author of 4 books on happiness at work and has spoken on the topic in over 40 countries in the last 13 years.
In his talk, he will share the 5 most important findings from the happiness research that are relevant in organizations and some of the best ways to apply them to create happier workplaces.
Luis Gallardo: Boosting your branding with happiness
Happiness at work is not just good for a company’s productivity and bottom line – it also massively strengthens a company’s brand. When employees love their job, they will live and breathe the company brand and communicate it clearly and positively through their work. Customers will see that and turn from just satisfied clients to raving fans.Michael Lindgaard Hedemann: Learn From Denmark’s Happiest Workplace
Many studies show that Danish workers are the happiest in the world, so being the happiest workplace in Denmark is quite a feat.
Middelfart Sparekasse has been named Denmark’s best workplace many times. They are a bank with a 20-year history of creating a culture of participation, recognition, responsibility, service and professionalism. They’ve been named Denmark’s best workplace and Europe’s best financial workplace several times. They also have the most satisfied customers of any bank in Denmark and consistently great financial results.
Michael Lindgaard Hedemann, HR Consultant, will share exactly how they’ve achieved this level of happiness and success.
3 pm Afternoon break
There will be cake.
Camilla Kring: Work-Life Balance and Flexibility
Our work has moved from cow to computer, but workplaces still favour early risers and an industrial-age view of productivity.
Camilla has a PhD in Work-Life Balance and as owner of Super Navigators, makes workplaces happier by increasing the Work-Life Balance of their employees. She is specialized in creating flexible work cultures that support our differences in family forms, work forms and biological rhythms.
Flexibility is among the keys to well-being, and management must have the courage to address the flexibility of their company’s work culture because culture determines whether employees have the courage to make use of flexibility.
The first step is to set people free from 9-5 and that work is something that only can take place at the office. Work is not a place – it’s an ongoing activity. Second, focus more on results and less on visibility. Third, give people the tools to improve their individual Work-Life Balance.
Tim Dorsett: How We Make Innocent Drinks A Happy Workplace
Innocent Drinks are know all over the world for their amazing smoothies and juices. Part of their culture is this extraordinary statement: “When we’re all old and grey and sitting in our rocking chairs, we want to be able to look back and be really proud of the business we all helped to create.”
Tim Dorsett’s job as Innocent’s Culture Ambassador is to make this happen – or as he puts it: “To help people work hard and go home happy.”
Learn from Tim exactly how they’ve achieved this, and how it’s helped them win accolades as one of the happiest workplaces, made them so successful as a company and strengthened their brand.
4:30 pm The Conference Ends
Friday May 19: Workshops
Join this optional day of in-depth workshops to get even more value out of your visit. There are 4 half-day workshops to choose from and you can attend two – one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
8:30 Doors open
Come early – there will be coffee and croissants for the early risers.
9am-noon: Morning workshops
Alexander Kjerulf: The Science Of Happiness At Work
Alex will further build on his talk at the conference and give a much more in-depth tour of the science of happiness at work. There is so much fascinating research being conducted in the field, much of which has direct implications on how we can create happier workplaces.
Content includes:
- The latest research into happiness at work
- Kahneman’s hybrid model of happiness – the best model we’ve found so far.
- What makes people happy at work and why raises, bonuses, perks and promotions have a very limited effect
- Why happy workplaces are more profitable
- How to measure happiness at work
- Examples of happy workplaces and how they apply the theory in practice
Gea Peper: Create A Great Employee Experience
Many companies focus strongly on creating a great customer experience. But very few have taken the next logical step and focused on consciously creating a great employee experience.
The employee experience is the sum of all the interactions between that employee and your company. It starts with the first social media post they see, the first job listing or the first headhunting email, and ends with keeping in touch even after they leave.
It’s about creating a place where people want to show up and are happy at work. Creating a positive employee experience is not about stock options or foosball in the break room. It’s about respecting the role your people play in representing your brand and building your business. When you give talented people the space to achieve and thrive, they’ll give your customers an experience your competitors can’t duplicate.
Gea Peper has more than 25 years of experience and has worked as an international change management consultant for Accenture and Deloitte. She also worked in HR for the Dutch Central Bank and the Central Bank of Curaçao and Saint Maarten. In 2015, Gea founded her own company the HappinessBureau that supports organizations to become (more) successful by increasing their employees’ happiness. She is also a guest lecturer at the The Hague University of Applied Sciences. In February 2018 her book on How to Create the Best Employee Experience will come out.
In this workshop you will learn:
- What is Employee Experience?
- Why is it important?
- How to create the best employee experience
Noon: Lunch
1pm-4pm: Afternoon Workshops
Arlette Bentzen: Leading With Happiness
Arlette will further build on her talk at the conference and go much more in-depth with the crucial role leaders at all levels play in creating a happy workplace. This session is about creating a happier and more productive organization starting with making good leaders great leaders.
Content:
- How to select leaders for happiness
- How to measure good leadership
- How leaders stay happy at work themselves
- How to recognize and stop bad managers
- Simple, effective techniques leaders can use to promote happiness
Arnaud Collery: Storytelling and improvisation
In this workshop Arnaud will show how we can find even more happiness in our careers, by understanding, owning and reframing our own stories. He will help you to build stronger, deeper and more relaxed relationships with your team and all those around you.
This workshop will be fun and fast-paced and based on techniques from storytelling and improvisational theatre.
Arnaud is an award winning Comedian and filmmaker (NBC’s last comic standing, MTV, Fuji TV, Comedy store, Little Klaus Big World – Best comedy film Monaco Film Festival 2012). He is a Global Chief Happiness Officer and run Standupforpassion.com. He has coached numerous CEOs in myriad industries. He’s worked with clients like Cartier, Chanel, United Nations, Novartis, Axa, L’Oreal, BMW and Renault Trucks.
4pm-5pm: Friday Bar
Stick around for networking and beer
