Training Forum: Managing change in a dynamic market

Training Forum: Managing change in a dynamic market

3:00pm - 5:00pm, 28 April 2026
(Europe/London)

Event Details

Training Forum

Tuesday 28th April

Registrations and refreshments: 2:30pm-3:00pm

Meeting: 3:00pm-5:00pm

Venue: London TBC

Networking drinks from 5:00pm

Key Takeaways

    • Understand why change efforts lose momentum and how to sustain traction beyond the initial push.
    • Clearly define the skills, knowledge and behaviours required for success in a changing environment.
    • Identify capability gaps and distinguish between will and skill issues.
    • Embed development, coaching and accountability into everyday leadership practice.

Meeting Agenda

 

Welcome, Introduction and APSCo update

Teri Etherington, Head of Talent Development, APSCo UK

 

As AI continues to transform recruitment, change is the new normal, and success will depend on how we adapt to and exploit new tech and incorporate it into business operations. 
At the same time, recruitment has always been about people - understanding them, advocating for them, and connecting them to opportunities where they can thrive.  
The need to balance innovation with humanity is essential  

 

 

Bringing people with you on the change journey

Joanna Oakley, Change & Transformation Consultant , Argylestone Consulting

 

In this session, Joanna will examine the human dynamics that determine whether change initiatives gain traction or quietly lose momentum. She will explore how leaders can navigate the emotional and behavioural impact of transformation, shifting teams from passive compliance to genuine commitment. 
Joanna will address the root causes of resistance and consider the role of visible sponsorship, aligned leadership behaviours and activated middle managers in driving adoption. She will also highlight the importance of psychological safety in enabling people to adapt, learn and sustain new ways of working. 

 

 

Building the skills, knowledge and behaviour that make change stick

James Gage, Director and Partner, NorthStar People

 

Building on the foundations of change leadership, James will focus on how organisations translate intent into sustained performance. He will explore the practical distinction between knowledge, skills, and behaviour, and why transformation succeeds only when all three are clearly defined, measured, and consistently reinforced. 
The session will examine how leaders can articulate what “good” looks like in a changing environment, assess current capability across their teams and pinpoint where skill or behavioural gaps are limiting performance. James will also consider how leaders embed accountability for development, ensuring that capability building becomes part of everyday management rather than a one-off training intervention. 

 

Leader Exchange 


Maximise your time at this meeting with our Leader Exchange session - this is designed to deliver tangible outcomes. Guided by experienced business professionals, this discussion will ensure you gain real value from your attendance. You’ll collaborate with sector peers to tackle key challenges and leave with clear, actionable strategies you can implement immediately. This session isn’t just a conversation; it’s designed to be a catalyst for measurable business impact. 

Speakers

Joanna Oakley
Joanna Oakley

Argylestone Consulting Ltd, Change & Transformation Consultant

Joanna is a change and transformation specialist who partners with recruitment agency leaders to resolve complexity, uncover efficiencies, and create the operational clarity needed for sustainable growth.

With over 20 years’ experience spanning the UK’s leading staffing brands – including ManpowerGroup, Randstad and RGF Staffing – Joanna brings a practitioner’s eye to operational performance. Through her consultancy, Argylestone Consulting, she helps agencies unpick years of entrenched processes, identify where spend is leaking, reduce manual inefficiencies, and ultimately streamline operations across front, middle, and back-office functions.

Her sweet spot? Making sense of operational chaos.

Whether it’s simplifying process across candidate delivery, client management, or support functions, Joanna is known for cutting through the noise and surfacing practical recommendations that reduce cost, mitigate compliance risk, and prepare businesses for the next stage – be that scale-up, a new system rollout, or expanding into MSP and RPO delivery models.

James Gage
James Gage

NorthStar, Director & Partner

James brings over 25 years of recruitment, sales and people management experience to the CMI programmes. 

He has led teams of people both as a fee-earning manager and at Board member level. He’s a qualified manager, trainer, coach, NLP practitioner and is Belbin accredited. 

Over recent years he has been supporting the recruitment industry to upskill their people across the UK, Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East, South Africa and Australasia.

Range of Training Expertise
  • Coaching
  • Management and leadership
  • Performance management
  • Team building

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