Flexibility is the key as Conference Aston welcomes the Co-Op

Birmingham’s leading management training centre has received the stamp of approval from the UK’s 5th largest food retailer The Co-operative Food, after hosting its annual HR conference.

The team at Conference Aston welcomed more than 170 delegates from across the UK to the conference, which took place over two days in January.

It was a key event for The Co-operative Food HR team and proved to be the best conference they had ever hosted, according to Head of HR Change and Programme Management Steve Walker.

“The conference is an essential part of our HR communications calendar as it is one of the few times in the year we can bring all our HR colleagues together, who collectively provide a comprehensive HR service to over 80,000 colleagues in our 3,000 stores,” he said.

“It’s a time to communicate our Vision for the future, share best practice and to network and with such a packed schedule of seminars, break out groups and meetings it is essential everything runs smoothly.

“I can’t praise the team at Conference Aston enough for the level of service they provided from the very first contact we had with them.

“Throughout the planning stages they were flexible and proactively made suggestions which helped the event run well and to budget.

“When we arrived for the event the general manager immediately instilled us with a sense of confidence and this followed through the whole conference, which ran like clockwork.
“Whatever we required, from changes in syndicate rooms and photo copying to a lunch for managers at the last minute, the team were available and on hand to make it happen.

“It was a great conference for us in terms of the outcomes, which saw 97 per cent of delegates ready to embrace our vision for 2012.

“But it was also a great event from a venue perspective, with nearly 70 per cent of delegates rated the conference facilities as great with a further 65 per cent rating the hotel equally highly.”

The two day event encompassed a seminar programme with breakout sessions as well as evening entertainment, which was hosted onsite in the restaurant and at the Lakeside Centre.

Conference Aston head of sales and marketing Christine Page said the event was one of a number the venue had hosted for HR professionals and for national high street retailers.
“We are seeing a substantial increase in big brands who are looking for a centrally located conference and training centre, with flexible facilities and most importantly a responsive team,” she said.

“Conference Aston is uniquely positioned to be adaptable and to understand the needs of clients from the outset.
“This fantastic feedback clearly demonstrates that and is a tribute to the entire staff who worked so hard to make the event a success.”

Conference Aston welcomes more than 54,000 people a year to Birmingham for training, residential conferences, for weddings and to stay in its high quality hotel facilities and on site campus accommodation.

It sits at the heart of Aston University, which is a long established research-led university known for its world-class teaching quality and strong links to industry, government and commerce.

For more information about Conference Aston visit www.cceonline.co.uk or call 0845 230 1414.