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Conference “Global Workplace is Here!”

03.10.2019

About

On 3 October 2019, a conference focusing on global mobility will be organised in Tallinn by EMN Estonia, Mainor AS and Work in Estonia.

The world of work has been changing rapidly, including the degree of internationalization of workplaces. Not only are more and more employers operating across national borders and both transferring and managing employees internationally, but workers themselves are becoming increasingly mobile and seeking out international opportunities. This is increasingly the reality also in Estonia as well as the rest of the Baltic Sea Region. The opportunities and challenges related to global mobility will be discussed in the Öpiku Conference Centre on 3 October.

The opening session will explore broader labour migration mobility trends and the measures taken by international companies in order to cope with these changes. There will be presentations by the representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Siemens Gamesa, a major player in the field of renewable energy. The second session maps the practices of public and private organisations in the EU Member States for involving foreign workers. Results of a pan-European study by the European Migration Network and best practices gathered by OECD and UNHCR for employing foreign nationals in European companies will be introduced. Practitioner lessons on talent attraction from the Northern Europe region will be shared by Work in Estonia & Talent Boost Finland

In the afternoon, participants are invited to divide into three practical workshops that focus on the recruitment of foreign workers, their onboarding and the structures in place to support their integration into the Estonian society.

Conference admission is free of charge, but registration is necessary!

The official language of the conference is English.

Agenda

09.30-10.00 Welcome coffee

SESSION I: WHAT IS HAPPENING? (10:00-11:20)

The opening session explores the trends in global labour mobility and what they mean to companies in Europe, but especially in the Baltic Sea Region. One keynote will focus on a major international company’s experience with global mobility and managing a global workplace. The other keynote will explore talent migration trends and destinations and the ways in which these might impact companies here.

10:00 – 10:20 Opening remarks, Margus Nõlvak, Mainor Ülemiste; Arto Aas, The Estonian Employers Confederation
10:20 – 10:50 Work in transition: how migration is impacting the economy, Zsoka Koczan, Principal Economist at the EBRD’s Office of the Chief Economist, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
10:50 – 11:20 Managing the global workplace: challenges and strategies, Deanna Teresa Rasmussen, Global Mobility Manager NEME, APAC & India, Siemens Gamesa

11:20-11:40 Coffee break

SESSION II: WHAT IS DONE TO ONBOARD FOREIGN EMPLOYEES? (11:40-12:50)

This session maps out good public and private initiatives to help companies and foreign employees with integration and onboarding.

11:40 – 12:00 How are governments in Europe helping to integrate foreign talents? Ave Lauren, EMN Estonia
12:00 – 12:20 Best practices of diversity measures at the work place from OECD-UNHCR, Jenny Beth Bistoyong UNHCR
12:20 – 12:50 What is being done in the region? Leonardo Ortega, Work in Estonia; Anna Kivinen, Talent Boost Finland

12:50-13:50 Lunch

WORKSHOPS (13:50-15:40)

There are three thematic strands running in parallel, focusing on foreign recruitment, onboarding and integration of foreign employees.

Workshop I: Looking to recruit?

Moderator: Kristiine Kukk
This strand is intended for sharing experiences of international recruitment in the Estonian context. It will bring together speakers from different recruitment agencies and companies.

Experiences are shared by Helmes AS, Fiizy OÜ and Topia OÜ

Workshop II: Looking to onboard?

Moderator: Siiri Sutt
This session focuses on the necessary conditions for foreign employees to thrive in the Estonian workplace. It will bring together speakers from different companies with international workforce.

Experiences are shared by Fiizy OÜ, ABB and Tele2

Workshop III: Looking to integrate?

Moderator: Annely Tank
The workshop will take place at the International House of Estonia, where companies will be introduced to services provided by the state which support foreigner’s adaptation to Estonia. The workshop will have participants discuss in small groups different and complicated cases of adaptation to Estonia. Every participant will then leave with practical tips and tricks that they can later implement in their jobs.

CLOSING REMARKS (15:40-17:00)
15:40-16:00 Closing remarks
16:00-17:00 Networking

Arto Aas is working as the managing director at Estonian Employer’s Confederation. Before that he was gaining experience in the public sector. He has been a member of the Parliament for three terms (2011-2015 and 2016-2019) and in 2015 he was appointed as Minister of Public Administration. Arto has chaired the Committee of European Union Affairs and served as the Chairman of the Committee of the Economic Affairs in the Parliament. He has also worked for the Tallinn City Council and Tallinn City Government.

Deanna Rasmussen brings 24 years of Global Mobility experience in various industries. Deanna has worked in various roles from Global Mobility Manager EMEA to Head of Global Mobility DHL Supply chain. In May 2017 Deanna Joined Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy as Global Mobility Expert.Deanna holds many years of experience with managing GM teams globally and has a broad understanding of the difference compliance matters that arise when you’re re sending employees on assignments worldwide. Furthermore, she has great experience in managing a global workforce in complex industries as well as developing and implementing new Global Mobility policies in the complex world of merger and acquisitions.

Zsoka Koczan is a Principal Economist at the EBRD Office of the Chief Economist. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Cambridge. Prior to joining the EBRD Zsoka worked as an economist at the International Monetary Fund in the European Department (on Belarus, Montenegro and a cross-country project on macroeconomic developments in the Western Balkans) and in the Research Department (on the World Economic Outlook). Her current research focuses on within-country income disparities, migration and inequality.

Ave Lauren is currently the National Coordinator for Estonia at the European Migration Network (EMN), managing the Estonian Contact Point as well as coordinating EMN’s communication and dissemination activities across Europe. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Cambridge, where her research focused on highly-skilled migration to Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, analysing the role of corporations in shaping mobility and migratory flows and the impact this has had on policy-making and migrant communities. As part of her research, she collaborated closely with a range of technology companies in the region, including Intel, Apple, Google, Huawei and Tencent. Prior to joining the EMN, Ave held a fellowship at the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress to address the limitations of U.S. highly-skilled immigration policy, carrying out policy analysis on skilled migration pathways and collaborating with high-level congressional staff on the matter.

Jenny Bistoyong is a Livelihoods Officer in UNHCR. She has worked in livelihoods programming for more than 10 years, in various contexts including in post-disaster economic recovery and in rural and urban livelihoods. She joined UNHCR in 2013 and supported livelihoods and economic inclusion of refugees in Kenya. Jenny has a Masters Degree in Business Administration.

Leonardo Ortega is working in the Work in Estonia program, which aims to attract ICT talents from around the world and support their arrival and adaptation to Estonia. Leonardo, who has moved from Mexico to Estonia 7 years ago, has helped to further develop talent policy in Estonia with the help of collaboration with different stakeholders and best practices from around the world.

Anna Kivinen, currently working as Liaison Manager for the city of Turku in Finland, is an enthusiast of people and communications. Her mission is to spread creativity and facilitate open-minded business development as well as talent attraction and competence management.

Kristiine Kukk is a passionate recruiter who loves the adrenalin of a growing startup. She is currently building up the fastest growing startup Veriff and has done it before in Pipedrive. She’s also one of the people behind the recruitment community Recruitment Thursday.

Siiri Sutt is Intercultural Consultant and Trainer with over 20 years of international experience as expat support professional, cross-cultural trainer, language instructor, and executive search and talent management consultant. Siiri has extensive experience in designing and leading expat programs and intercultural training workshops in the USA, Luxembourg and Estonia.

Annely Tank, Manager of the International House of Estonia (Work in Estonia) is passionate about creating spaces, that support both staff and clients, aiming that all organisations could offer a top-notch service package. She is an adult educator by profession and has worked in several governmental organisations. Annely finds important that we stand for saving both natural and economic resources as much as possible, by creating and designing smart services and products.

After work she enjoys opera, pilates and hiking.