Supporting today's workforce and preparing for the future is the focus of the Omaha Chamber of Commerce's new POWER Conference on Oct. 10.

Combining the best of two previous Chamber events - Conference on Opportunity, Diversity and Equity (CODE) and Human Resources Innovation Retention Employment (H.I.R.E.) - the POWER Conference offers an opportunity for local businesses to learn new workforce initiatives, as well as connect with others, said Dell Nared, the Chamber's chief workforce excellence officer.

H.I.R.E. focused on HR-related topics, while CODE centered on diversity and equity. The Trump administration's opposition to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs has forced organizations, including the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, to take a different approach to the subject, Nared said.

Organizers anticipate 800-1,000 people to attend the one-day conference at the CHI Health Center Omaha. H.I.R.E., which was about eight years old, and the CODE Conference, which ran for about five years, often attracted large contingents.

The Power Conference: People. Opportunity. Workforce. Excellence. Retention. focuses on ways to empower people, building a strong workforce through access and a strong culture, as well as continuous training opportunities and fostering strong work environments that encourage employee retention.

"When we came up with it and finalized it, it was about being able to present people with opportunities, making sure our future workforce and our current workforce are taken care of," Nared said. "And you do that through providing excellence, not just through your policies and practices, but also how you're supporting your staff on an individual basis." Ensuring leaders can manage properly helps to retain talent, not just in the job, but also in the community, he said.

"We keep hearing about 'brain drain' and we at the Chamber reposition it as 'brain gain' and being attentive about that," Nared said. "So that POWER framework is something that we use, not just for this conference, but through our program, as well through our employee coalition."

Identifying key ideas - gaining and expanding current strategies around how businesses are attracting talent, retaining talent, and growing talent while aligning that with their organizational goals - businesses can advance their professional development, Nared said. The POWER Conference features 15 breakout sessions and a vendor area with about 40 companies represented, he said.

"We have brought in a lot of different people from across the nation to speak on particular topics," Nared said. "Not only providing practical tools that they'll be able to take back and apply right away, but also that professional development opportunity that everybody's seeking out."

Rather than focus on a specific group of people, the POWER Conference targets a wide array of attendees, such as HR leaders, recruiters, business decision makers and culture builders, he said.

"I think you can gain something from every single person at the conference based off of their expertise, and then also just connect to peers," Nared said. "I think the most important thing, too, is if you're coming, regardless of where you sit within an organization or you own your own business, is the connection to peers around, 'How do we shape our future?'" Appealing to the area's larger businesses, smaller organizations, non-profits, and entrepreneurs, the POWER Conference's breakout sessions address a variety of topics, Nared said.

The POWER Conference features Adam "Smiley" Poswolsky as the keynote speaker. Internationally known, the author of three books, including "The Quarter-Life Breakthrough" and "Friendship in the Age of Loneliness," Poswolsky shares industry-shaping insights and practical tools to attract and retain top talent across generations, creating a culture of belonging and engaging high-performing teams.

He's worked with organizations such as Apple, Google, Verizon, JPMorgan Chase, and the U.S. Navy. Poslowsky's TED talk has been viewed 2 million times, and he has delivered 600 keynotes in front of 250,000 people in 25 countries.

The conference also features an "intentional" roundtable, where participants will discuss topics related to the five pillars of POWER - People, Opportunity, Workforce, Excellence, and Retention - Nared said.

Recognizing key players, the POWER Conference features an awards ceremony, with Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. headlining the program.

The POWER Conference should appeal to professionals of all local industries - executives focused on innovation and growth, HR professionals looking to improve talent pipelines and boost retention, entrepreneurs and small business owners seeking new growth and hiring strategies, as well as community leaders dedicated to equitable, thriving workforce development.

"It's rooted in challenging how we are recruiting, retaining talent, building culture, and then working for development and connecting that deeper to what we are doing here in Omaha," Nared said. "And how we want to be intentional about having these conversations to make sure our future is focused on these experiences, so we won't kind of fall behind the eight ball of not doing the things that we need to, because we're intentional about having those conversations."

Participants can register by Oct. 2 at omahachamber.org. However, the Chamber will do its best to work on post-deadline registrations, Nared said.

Tim Trudell is a freelance writer and online content creator. His work has appeared in Flatwater Free Press, Next Avenue, Indian Country Today, Nebraska Life, Nebraska Magazine, Council Bluffs Daily Non-Pareil and Douglas County Post Gazette, among others. He is a citizen of the Santee Dakota Nation.