Join us at one of our Circle of Peers events
~ Winter Series dates ~
2024 Theme: Tackling Turbulence
At the end of 2023 we introduced the concept of Shifting Tides, with the theme being Leaders and Managers and our role as People professionals in helping them to be more effective. During the Autumn Series we will be opening discussion to assess how the year has been for you – across all sectors and jurisdictions – while identifying our common challenges and opportunities for 2025.
Tackling Turbulence is our overall theme for 2024 and we will be discussing how we can we drive the performance of our people via the use of a strong evidence base. The pressure we face is to how to make the case to the C-Suite and convince them that the performance of leaders and managers has a direct impact on the performance of people.
Our Previous Guest Speaker
Alison Carter
Principal Research Fellow, Institute for Employment Studies (IES)
As guest speaker, we were delighted to host Alison Carter, Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES). Her current research includes mindfulness and organisation readiness for change, but it is her evaluation of training and development programmes at work (especially coaching) for which she is recognised as an international expert.
Maureen Scholefield on the vision for the Circle of Peers…
What is the Circle of Peers?
Circle of Peers was launched in 2007. We recognised that People Professionals valued opportunities to meet and exchange experiences. These events also provide a support mechanism for our candidates.
Circle of Peers events are good for People Professionals who give so much to others and yet do not take care of themselves.
If you’re thinking about getting a qualification with us, these events are also ideal to meet us, get to know us and ask us questions in depth.
During Covid, we moved to offering the events on Zoom, which now provides the main focus in addition to our face to face events. This has proved to be very popular especially as our audience now has a global reach. Why not come along on a date that suits you?
Our Virtual Format
The Circle of Peers: Virtual is designed to provide the chance to participate in stimulating and topical discussions and presentations using Zoom. We keep group sizes small enough to be personal, but large enough to provide diverse opinions and perspectives. We meet under Chatham House Rules to share, support, and where appropriate learn from each other.
The aims of these meetings are to:
- Enjoy presentations from industry leading People Professionals
- Bounce around ideas
- Discuss problems and share solutions
- Share successes and pitfalls in different approaches
Tickets to our Circle of Peers events are offered on a complimentary basis, but we do offer the limited places on a first come, first served basis, so please reserve your place as soon as you can.
Upcoming Dates
2025: Circle of Peers, Winter Series
All times are GMT/UTC.
Timeslot #1: Thurs 23rd Jan, 10:30
Timeslot #2: Wed 29th Jan, 15:00
Timeslot #3: Thurs 6th Feb, 10:30
Timeslot #4: Thurs 13th Feb, 15:00
Timeslot #5: Tues 18th Feb, 15:00
We run our sessions remotely via Zoom unless stated otherwise.
Photos from some of our past events
Click to view full screen…
Attendees describe what they gained from the Circle of Peers…
Wilson Wong, Head of Futures and Insight, CIPD
Amanda Humphrey, Director of Support Services, Roffey Park
Maureen is not only passionate about pushing the boundaries of HR thinking but also very knowledgeable. I have always admired her advocacy of and contribution to the CIPD qualification standards and this shines through in all of her presentations.
Maureen continues to encourage HR professionals to challenge our working practices, providing us with insights gleaned from her reading and research. We all really appreciate your time and giving us space for ourselves at the Circle of Peers meetings.
Maureen runs excellent sessions at Circle of Peers where highly relevant and current topics are discussed that are important to HR professionals. The sessions usually bring some interesting people and I find this forum and the exchange of ideas very useful.
Maureen is an excellent facilitator and has the knack of getting people to think more widely deeply about their work.
Our Face to Face Formats
Casual
Share, inform, update.
Our concept of Circle of Peers works in formal and less formal situations, so the aims of Circle of Peers Casual meetings are to:
- Share ideas, concepts and experiences
- Formulate approaches, formulate models of good practice
- Inform and update each other
Network and extend personal contacts in similar and different sectors. This is just what Circle of Peers Casual is designed to do!
Venues include:
- The Wine Bar at the Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, London
- Bar George, Douglas, Isle of Man
- Bianca’s Restaurant, Gibraltar
- The Sheraton Grand Hotel, Dubai, UAE
It is casual so we will be happy to see you for a quick or lengthy drink!
Collaboration
It’s good to talk…
With up to the minute presentations from industry professionals and group discussions, we meet under the ‘Chatham House Rule’ to share, support, and where appropriate, learn from each other.
We all know that bouncing ideas, discussing problems and sharing solutions in a safe environment helps us to hone the ultimate plan. Finding that someone else has tried that particular approach and can share the successes and the pitfalls is of incalculable value, saving time, money and that all important stress factor.
Venues:
We partner with our past and current clients in the People industry, offering insights into a wide range of interesting businesses.
Confidential
There are times when it’s lonely at the top.
It is difficult to know who you can talk to inside an organisation. Scholefield are well placed to offer objective and sound advice in a safe and confidential environment. In the over 35 years we have been working with managers and HR professionals we have always listened to and supported our clients.
So we can…
- Listen
- Act as sounding boards
- Reflect back
- Offer advice
- Generate ideas
- Provide interim support
- Work on short projects
- Facilitate that “interesting” session
- Connect you to others
If this is how we can help you, please email in strict confidence to:
As an HR executive in South Africa, you were very much part of the subsidiary board, strategic development of key values and key drivers for the company. HR is an integral part of that. It’s not a grudge purchase.
Networking from an HR perspective is very important. I’ve never been one that only focused on HR. I’ve always believed in cross-functionality, so that’s why I like meeting new people. As an HR person, you need that holistic view.
Maureen always has an interesting collection of people that come along and it’s a very useful networking opportunity. Perhaps there’s an opportunity to exchange ideas.
We have a seasonal workforce, and trying to make sure they get supported with the resources that we have can sometimes be tricky. A lot will come back year after year. We’ve had people for 20+ years!
