More than 400 human resources professionals from Ireland and the rest of Europe will flock to Kilkenny next week for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) annual conference to hear how their organisations can best tackle competitive pressure and retain employees in a tight labour market.

The CIPD, which boasts 6,000 members in Ireland, will discuss "The New World of Work" at the Lyrath Estate Hotel on Monday and Tuesday. Speakers will include business guru René Carayol, who presents the BBC2 programme How to Pay Off Your Mortgage in Two Years, Neil Roden, group human resources (HR) director at Royal Bank of Scotland, Anne Heraty, chief executive of CPL Resources, and Joe Marci, director of Microsoft's Irish operations and chairman of the Government's Small Business Forum.

The conference will also hear early findings from a new study carried out by Boston Consulting on HR management practice in Ireland and 27 other countries.

CIPD Ireland, which holds the presidency of the European Association of Personnel Management, will publish early findings in advance of the study's official release in Vienna next month.

The conference will focus on the most pressing issues faced by HR professionals in Ireland, including how to deal with the evolving knowledge economy, strategic leadership in HR, organisational change and employee engagement, says the CIPD.

"Competitiveness in the market, driving productivity and managing change are on the agenda of every CEO out there," said Bríd O'Brien, chairwoman of the CIPD in Ireland and HR director of mobile phone operator Meteor. Delegates will discover how to integrate HR with business strategy and hear practical examples that are delivering results in industry, the CIPD said. They will also hear how effective leaders manage their roles and their people, and how to embed new leadership styles into their organisations.

The conference aims to help delegates start and implement significant changes in their organisations and keep employees engaged in Ireland's candidate-driven labour market.

Michael McDonnell, director of the CIPD, believes globalisation and the speed of technological innovation has made it increasingly difficult to predict where the next wave of competitive pressure will come from. The companies that succeed amid such change will be those that have put real thought into future global developments. "Today, when we compete for investment and talent, our rivals are just as likely to be in Bangalore as in Ballina," McDonnell said. "And because our years of competing solely on cost are long behind us, it is essential that we significantly increase productivity by providing higher-value goods and services.

"The winner in this new world of work will be the organisation, be it public or private, that has a clearly articulated vision of the future.

"Such an organisation requires people who are flexible, willing to change and can demonstrate the skills to make transformation a reality.

"Above all, it calls for inspirational leadership linked to innovative management structures."