Welcome to your December News
Chairman's Note
It's been a busy month for the User Group as we draw to the end of an eventful 2020! The last events of the year included the Digital Insights Symposium which provided a wide range of topics, breakout sessions and the launch of our Skills Whitepaper. If you have not had the chance to download this piece of research it's well worth a read, to understand some of the trends and difficulties people are seeing in both retention and talent acquisition.
I am pleased to report that UKISUG has finished the year on solid financial ground, we have also seen an improvement in the number of members attending events and the member survey indicated that we have increased the value of your membership. Thank you for your continued support.
Above all, we are your independent SAP community, without your support and participation we would not be able to run hundreds of events and opportunities to learn and network… let us hope that 2021 allows us to start to add the opportunity to get face to face networking back into our calendar! Over the next few weeks, as you reflect on 2020, we would love to hear from you if you have a story to tell. A User Group needs user stories, our SIG Chairs would love to hear from you and remember they can easily add a 5, 10, 15 minute slot - it does not have to be a long presentation!
We have planned a great kick-off event for 2021… Mandy Hickson one of the first female fighter pilots in the RAF will be delivering a motivational boost to the dark days of January – ‘Change Your Flight Path with Mandy Hickson’. You may remember Mandy delivered a very well-received keynote speech at our 25th Anniversary conference back in 2013!
On behalf of the Board of the User Group, I would like to say a massive thank you to our excellent full-time team in Teesside and our dedicated volunteer community... it's been a tough year – thanks for your commitment to the continued success of UKISUG.
I hope you manage to get some form of family time and celebrations over Christmas and New Year and here's hoping in 2021 we start to see some return to a more normal life.
Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2021 – stay safe everyone and keep washing your hands!
Paul Cooper Chairman
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We are delighted to share with you that we have won another award! We were shortlisted for and won the Best Physical Conference Award for UKISUG Connect 2019 at the Association Awards 2020. A huge thank you to everyone involved in the event from speakers and exhibitors to delegates. Without you, we couldn't have delivered such a special three days!
Kickstart your Networking in 2021 with all new Coffee Sessions With all that's gone on in the world in 2020 and especially with face-to-face events still cancelled, it is easy to feel disconnected from your peers and the entire SAP community.
Our SIG Coffee Sessions allow you to reconnect with your peers with similar SAP interests. These short sessions are the ideal chance for members to get together and discuss anything you’d like, with no set agenda. You’ll also have the opportunity to catch up with your SIG Chairs.
Sessions already in the calendar:
Coming Soon to Your Favourite Listening App - SUGTalks! We are beginning 2021 with the release of our brand new podcast, SUGTalks! Together with our special guests, we will take a deep dive into the topics, challenges and opportunities facing SAP users today.
We will be discussing subjects such as the move to S/4HANA, remote delivery and working from home. Listen in January and you'll be sure to hear some familiar voices talk about things that matter to you.
More information coming soon!
Flying a multi-million pound fighter jet in hostile territory is not an everyday career, and comes with a high degree of pressure and responsibility. It’s a dream job that takes years of ambition, training and commitment but, for Mandy Hickson, it was a dream that became reality.
Kick Start 2021 by joining us for this exciting keynote and hear from Mandy drawing on her experience of calculated risk-taking, decision-making under pressure, teamwork and leadership, she transfers vivid lessons from the cockpit to other management and leadership contexts. Invited to share her insights with some of the most successful organisations across the world Mandy describes the Strategies, Tactics & Behaviours that she adopted when the stakes were at their highest.
Recently an author of ‘An Officer, not a Gentleman’, find out about Mandy’s incredible and inspirational journey to become one of the UK’s first female, fast-jet pilots and how she overcame many obstacles to develop the skills to succeed in such a demanding career.
As an added bonus, the first 50 members to sign up (and attend) this exclusive Kick Off event, will receive a free, signed copy of Mandy's book. So don't delay - register your place today!
Your 2021 Events Calendar is now launched! Thank you for taking part in our 2020 influencing activities As the year draws to a close, we wanted to thank all of our members who have participated in the influencing programmes throughout 2020.
If you aren't already involved, please take a look at the many influencing opportunities available to you and your organisation and get involved in the new year.
The Customer Engagement cycle dates for 2021 are as follows:
For further information please visit our website or email Vicky.lane@sapusers.org
Do you have a story to share?
It is really important to us that we include customer experiences in our events, both online and in person. Please get involved and let us know if you are interested. You will be invited to attend a speaker training workshop as a thank you and you will also receive a complimentary pass to our annual conference, UKISUG Connect 2021.
"I find that there is always at least one User Group member with an experience or an interest in new technology that resonates with the work going on in my company. The benefit of sharing is always two-way." - Michael Lochrin, Open Hydro
Email kirsten.boucher@sapusers.org to get started.
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