Sep. 29—HENDERSON — Vance-Granville Community College will host a regional conference to give employers and business leaders an opportunity to learn about the latest techniques for bringing innovation and creativity to their organizations.

Titled "Business/Industry Connect 2022: Imagine the Future of Work," the conference will take place on Thursday, Oct. 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the VGCC Civic Center on the college's main campus in Vance County.

The event is free and includes lunch.

The conference is designed to help businesses understand the neuroscience behind successful hiring so they will be better able to create innovative programs to attract talent. It will show employers how to institute "onboarding" programs to help new employees understand their roles and responsibilities and adjust to the company environment.

Attendees will learn techniques for developing the kinds of workplace cultures that energize workers and unlock their potential, leading to higher employee retention rates.

VGCC Grants Administrator Ken Wilson is coordinating the conference.

"We look forward to this opportunity for the local business and economic development community to gather, learn and collaborate on ways to not only find new team members, but also to develop and engage the employees they already have," he said in a news release announcing the conference. "VGCC and our partners in education and workforce development are here to help local organizations successfully hire and train their talent."

To register, visit BIC2022.eventbrite.com. For more information, contact Wilson at wilsonk@vgcc.edu.

The conference will be facilitated by Phil Dixon and Bryan W. Mattimore.

Dixon is founder and CEO of Oxford Brain Institute, based in Granville County. He earned a bachelor's degree in computer science at Warwick University and a master's degree in consulting and coaching for change in a program run jointly by HEC Paris and Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford (England).

A resident of Oxford (North Carolina), Dixon has published several articles and books about the brain, and is a frequent speaker on the topic of brain-based leadership.

Mattimore is cofounder of the Growth Engine Co., an innovation agency based in Norwalk, Connecticut. Earlier in his career, he founded and served as president of the Mattimore Group, a company that helped organizations facilitate creativity among their employees and managers. He has made numerous keynote addresses and led many brainstorming sessions in addition to managing 200 successful innovation projects. He is also a senior fellow with The Conference Board, an instructor for Caltech in their Executive Education Department, and the author of several books, including the forthcoming "Islands of Invention, How to Create Extraordinary Innovation Centers," which he co-authored with Claus Raasted.