HR takes responsibility for what really shapes culture—Insights from CIPD Future of Work

The conversations at the CIPD Festival of Work pointed to a simple shift. HR teams are no longer being asked to support company strategy—they’re now expected to help define it.

From digital infrastructure to feedback systems, cultural ownership to data literacy, HR leaders across sectors are moving into roles where their decisions have visible consequences for engagement, retention and long-term planning.

Where internal platforms sit, culture follows

Gary Bennion, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Haiilo, addressed a common mismatch in organisations: employee experience platforms are still often managed by IT teams. These platforms are typically built for system performance, not for communication or trust-building across a hybrid workforce.

Bennion argued that these tools function more like infrastructure than engagement channels—and that’s the problem. When internal systems are difficult to use, employees lose interest. That results in low adoption, limited cultural visibility, and a disconnect between people and business priorities.

HR leaders, he said, are best placed to manage the EX platform because they understand the communication gaps, the friction in workflows, and the points of disconnection across teams. With ownership comes alignment—between internal tech and cultural goals, between what’s measured and what matters.

Managers aren’t the main driver behind departures

Culture Amp’s Stephanie Kukoyi challenged one of HR’s most repeated claims: that people leave because of their managers. According to data gathered from over 3 million employees and 4,700 companies, the most frequently discussed themes in employee feedback are indeed about managers and development—but these are not the strongest indicators of retention.

Instead, the research shows that confidence in company leadership, belief in business direction, and access to development opportunities have a stronger statistical link with long-term commitment (Culture Amp Engagement Trends Report). Managers often appear in feedback, but they don’t consistently predict whether someone stays.

Kukoyi also noted a missed opportunity: companies are asking fewer questions about leadership in engagement surveys, partly due to fear of criticism. That decision cuts off a key source of insight. HR teams need to be the ones pushing leadership evaluation back into the data cycle and turning the results into clear areas for support.

The operational role of AI must include accessibility

Steve Elcock, AI and HCM Product Director at Zellis, reframed the discussion around AI from productivity to inclusion. Drawing on his neuroscience background, Elcock explained that machine learning models mirror the way the human brain stores and recalls information. That framework, he said, should guide how companies integrate AI tools.

Chris English from McDonald’s UK & Ireland shared how this has worked in practice. With over 60,000 staff—many of them under the age of 20—McDonald’s had to rethink how employees report issues. Traditional speak-up processes were outdated and too formal for younger employees. They worked with Zellis to build Red Flag Chat, an AI-supported tool embedded into an existing app that allows staff to raise concerns 24/7, in multiple languages, without needing to speak to a manager directly.

The tool doesn’t replace personal feedback—it introduces a channel that’s more likely to be used. Since launch, the company has seen an increase in reporting volume and improved visibility into the issues affecting different groups across the workforce. It’s an example of AI being used not to streamline processes, but to address unmet needs that weren’t previously visible.

Strategic thinking, delivered in the language of business

HR’s changing role at the executive table was another recurring theme, particularly in the session led by Shea Steacker of Rippling, with input from people leads at Flawless and SurrealDB. The group discussed how they’ve adopted product design methods—including agile sprints and user testing—to structure HR projects around measurable outcomes.

Laura Fink, People & Culture Director at HiBob, extended this thinking further. In her session, she addressed how HR must also lead the data conversation, not just support it. Rather than reporting metrics in isolation, Fink advised HR teams to become strategic interpreters—translating people data into business language that reflects growth, speed and profitability. She noted that executives don’t just want to see numbers—they want to understand what those numbers mean for the next quarter, or the next customer decision.

Fink shared frameworks HR teams can use to reframe their insights, such as the “so that” model and four-question narrative tools that connect people initiatives directly to business outcomes. She also made the case for using AI to surface patterns from qualitative data, such as employee comments, but stressed that analysis alone won’t shift decisions—it’s the narrative and emotional context that earns buy-in.

In this approach, internal influence doesn’t come from holding seniority—it comes from identifying friction points, predicting cultural risks, and articulating a business case that senior leaders can act on.

Bekah Thompson and Selina Purdie shared examples of how this product-led mindset helped them prioritise high-impact work and deprioritise reactive admin. By thinking strategically and speaking in commercial terms, HR leaders are carving out influence that reaches far beyond traditional people metrics.

For executive alignment, the message was clear: reporting needs to be shaped around decision-making. Long updates are being replaced with short, tailored briefings that reflect how different leaders consume information. In this approach, internal influence doesn’t come from holding seniority—it comes from presenting problems in terms that affect P&L, growth, or operational risk.

Bekah Thompson and Selina Purdie shared examples of how this product-led approach helped them prioritise high-impact work and deprioritise reactive admin. They also noted that this mindset shift helped them move from being seen as support functions to being involved in organisational planning.

Organisations are still at risk of backtracking on trust

The panel from IRIS Software Group took on one of the more uncomfortable topics of the event: how easily employee trust, built during the pandemic, can be lost. Chief People Officer Stephanie Kelly warned that as some organisations roll back ED&I efforts and wellbeing policies, they risk sending a signal that care was only situational.

The panel stressed that any shift away from these areas—particularly if it’s not explained—can lead to disengagement and reputational damage. Transparency and regular communication are essential in maintaining belief in the organisation’s values.

Deni Williams described how IRIS has used data to better predict change fatigue and guide how initiatives are rolled out. This includes analysing feedback across departments, tracking digital sentiment scores, and tailoring interventions for specific groups based on their engagement patterns. The team positioned HR not as an advisory function, but as an operating partner across business units.

Employees expect more than a pay slip

Annabel Jones from ADP closed the loop on many of these themes by presenting findings from their People at Work 2025 survey, which gathered data from 38,000 workers across 34 countries.

The UK data revealed that 85% of respondents had one main job and generally expressed satisfaction—but fewer than 20% felt fully engaged. When asked what they needed more of, respondents pointed to skills development, transparency around pay and career growth, and clear guidance on how AI was being introduced into workflows.

Jones also drew attention to the impact of monitoring. Workers who believed they were being closely monitored reported higher levels of stress and lower perceived productivity. She argued that if monitoring tools are in place, companies must clearly explain what’s being tracked and why.

Where this leaves HR leaders

The sessions pointed to a series of structural choices that HR needs to take responsibility for:

• Owning internal systems that influence engagement
• Repositioning leadership as a key variable in retention
• Applying AI in ways that support accessibility and trust
• Communicating with executives through the lens of strategic relevance
• Acting as the consistency layer for company values

The profession has the insight and proximity to lead in all of these areas. And increasingly, it’s expected to.

HRD Connect Curators of the New Business Landscape. HRD Connect produces industry-recognized content for senior HR leaders. Through articles, case studies, Q&As, podcasts, events, and more, we offer truly progressive and cutting-edge insights designed to help people leaders address core HR challenges and add greater value to their business.

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