bfpeople at the HRNetwork Conference

When I first learned that the HRNetwork Conference was being held at Murrayfield Stadium, I couldn’t help but smile. After all, what better venue for a people consulting business to make its debut at the conference than the home of Scottish Rugby – a sport where teamwork, strategy, and getting the right people in the right positions can make all the difference between victory and defeat.

I knew we had to be part of it.

The conference and exhibition took place earlier this month and it marked our first foray into this particular corner of the Scottish HR community. We’d heard great things about HRNetwork’s events, and experiencing it first-hand was not disappointing.

From the moment Karen and I walked into the exhibition room it was clear this wasn’t going to be your typical corporate conference. Lee Turner and his team have created something special: a genuine community that felt more like a reunion of old friends than a formal business event. We were instantly made welcome and offered all the help we needed.

As we set up our exhibition stand, surrounded by fellow exhibitors who were equally enthusiastic about sharing their expertise, it struck us that we were in exactly the right place. The energy was palpable, and the sense of collaboration rather than competition was immediately apparent.

We were a very late entrant to the event, only deciding one week before to attend and exhibit, and we knew that we would be a relatively unknown company to many of the delegates. We weren’t sure whether other stands would be full of digital displays and interactive engagements, and we couldn’t compete with that at such short notice. So, knowing we had to make an impact, we decided to go with something a little more unconventional and, hopefully, memorable. Our bfpeople ceramic ducks that we displayed and gave away to delegates became the unexpected stars of the show.

It seems that everyone loves a duck. Perhaps it’s the childhood memories they evoke, or maybe it’s their complete lack of corporate pretension. Our little white ducks proved to be the perfect conversation starter.

Delegates would approach our stand with curiosity, often beginning with a question about the ducks, and before we knew it, we were deep in discussion about leadership challenges, team dynamics, and the art of finding the right people for the right roles.

By the end of the day, our duck population had significantly diminished as delegates claimed their un-feathered friends to take home. I like to think there are now ceramic ducks sitting on desks , or maybe bathtubs, across Scotland serving as useful reminders of the conversations we shared and the connections we made.

Karen and I found ourselves in discussions with HR Leaders that included the technical aspects of psychometric assessment, the challenges of leadership recruitment, board evaluation and development, and broader discussions about the future of work in Scotland. Delegates were senior practitioners who were genuinely interested in sharing knowledge and open to exploring collaboration opportunities. That’s not always been our experience at other events.

When we set out for Murrayfield that morning, our primary objective was simple: to broaden our network within the Scottish HR community and establish bfpeople as a credible consulting partner for these ambitious companies. We are very happy with the outcome.

We left the conference with several concrete opportunities to explore. More importantly, we established connections that we’re confident will develop into meaningful professional relationships over time.

Our debut at the Hr NETWORK Conference exceeded all expectations. We’re very keen to engage more deeply with the HRNetwork events and community throughout the year.

For any HR professionals who haven’t yet experienced an HRNetwork event, we can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s a genuine community where knowledge is shared freely, relationships are built authentically, and the focus remains firmly on what matters most: helping organisations get the best from their people.

And who knows? If you spot a ceramic duck on someone’s desk, there’s a good chance it made its way there via our stand at Murrayfield. Let me know that you’ve seen it. But if you’ve seen it in someone’s bathroom, I don’t want to know!