Manchester Central Convention Complex
The PHSO All Colleague Event is a dedicated organisation-wide event, centred on the theme Our Vision, Our Future, which brings colleagues together to align on their shared direction, celebrate their people, and explore the future of PHSO.
The event provides an opportunity to reflect on collective achievements, reinforce shared values, and engage with the organisation’s vision and priorities as it continues to evolve and strengthen the impact of its work for the public.
With over 550 colleagues attending from the organisation’s investigative,corporate, strategic and clinical advice teams, the event marked a key moment for them to reflect on their progress so far and discuss what their future focus and priorities would be in the development of the organisation’s Corporate Strategy.
The aim of the PHSO All Colleague Event was to design and deliver a seamless and engaging internal conference experience that supported colleagues before, during and after the event. Our brief focused on providing robust pre-event planning, clear and consistent internal communications and confident on the day delivery to ensure the event ran smoothly and achieved its objectives. Our initial steps were to implement a secure online registration system for delegate management, which was then complemented by our pre-event support services, including venue and supplier liaison with Manchester Central and the AV team to ensure all logistical requirements were met.
We also provided dedicated content and speaker support, managing AV requirements and briefings, agenda development, and slide design to ensureconsistency and a professional finish throughout the programme.
Prior to the event, we supported in the development of an internal marketing and communications plan, creating a suite of delegate communications including invitation emails to register attendance, updates and countdown reminders to drive engagement and attendance.
On the day of the event, our team were on site to deliver full event management, including set-up, staffing, supplier co-ordination and most importantly overseeing the attendee experience.
For the interactive element of the day, we incorporated Slido into the session content, enabling colleagues respond to questions in real time. This meant that every voice could be heard and helped shape the conversation.
Opening the event with refreshments, allowed attendees time to network with colleagues. The welcome session began with an ice-breaker; networking bingo. This lively activity set an open tone and encouraged attendees to interact with others.
The Ombudsman’s keynote set out the future direction for the organisation and used live Q&A to engage directly with attendees and open meaningful conversations. The following sessions included table discussions focused on working towards the PHSO vision for the future, with Slido capturing live feedback, questions and reflections to support open dialogue and shared ownership of the strategic journey ahead.
The programme featured two external guest speakers: Dr Penny Dash, Chair of NHS England, and Reverend Clive Foster, Windrush Commissioner, both of whom shared powerful insights that resonated strongly with the organisation’s values and public service mission, with colleagues able to submit questions and reflections live via Slido. The day concluded with a panel discussion. The event successfully united the organisation around a clear vision for the future.
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