Contents
Foreword
Meet the panel
Methodology
Executive summary
Part 1 - New powers, new responsibilities Part 2 - Being human at work, for better and for worse Part 3 - Unlocking HR's value to the bottom line Part 4 - The challenges: people, data, and performance Part 5 - Is AI a solution or a problem? Part 6 - Summary and conclusions
As a new partner to Zellis, I’m pleased to have the opportunity to introduce this exciting, and timely new research.
Zellis is in the business of helping organisations provide exceptional employee experiences. That means helping navigate uncertainty and making the complex happen simply. The commitment to this mission is one of the many reasons Apax Partners are excited to partner with the leading UK and Ireland HR and payroll provider.
The last ten years — even the last five — have seen fundamental changes in how HR is viewed and treated. Certain HR tools became essential during the pandemic and have gone on to transform the world of work. HR’s responsibilities have become broader and more granular, so that even as our technological capabilities grow, our need to be human and authentic has grown with them. HR’s role was elevated when our connections to our people were stretched thin, and has remained so as we stabilise our new ways of working.
Talent management is one of the most pressing issues facing people leaders today. For most organisations, we are only as good as the talent we hire. How we retain them and help them fulfil their potential is crucial. As work continues to evolve, HR has a unique role to play in shaping it, harnessing ever-better data and analytics to support growth, while deploying empathy and experience to help people succeed. This is how we can make the whole of an organisation greater than the sum of its parts.
This report explores how industry peers and customers are navigating this new HR landscape and how widely this evolution is felt. Insights were gathered in conversations with ten influential HR leaders from a diverse group of large organisations across the UK and Ireland. Zellis has brought their thoughts together to form this report on where we are now… and where we may be heading.
I hope you’ll enjoy this research as much as I have. A new and exciting HR landscape has opened up for us all. If we are mindful of the opportunities and challenges ahead, we have the best possible chance to capture the kind of positive changes promised by new technologies and ways of working.
Michael EdwardsGlobal Head of PeopleAPAX PARTNERS
Samantha Brook, Group HR Director, Severfield plc
Andy Doyle, Chief People Officer, Kantar Group
Caroline Drake, Chief People Officer, Zellis
Tom Hoosen-Webber, Chief People and Procurement Officer, Bupa
Karen James, People Director, Mencap
Glenn G. Jones, Group Head of People Services, Inchcape plc
John Kennedy, Head of HR Organisational Development, Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail
Stuart Martin, Colleague Success Director & People Platform Lead, Lloyds Banking Group plc
Jacqui Summons, Chief People Officer, EMIS Health
Sam Westwood, Head of People, The White Company
Zellis spoke to ten HR leaders from large, UK and Ireland-based organisations, asking a series of questions about the role of HR in 2024: what employees and the C-suite expect from it, what challenges it has to navigate in the years to come, and what strategies and tools it can call on to deliver value to the business.
We’ve compiled the answers into this report: an intimate look into the state of modern HR in the UK and Ireland. Our findings include:
The rapid growth of responsibilities which HR has had to take on, in response to and inspired by both technology and societal change.
A look at the contribution HR makes to business performance.
The crucial question of talent: recruitment, planning, and the challenges presented by skills shortages.
A review of HR’s role in the AI era, both as an end user of new technology and as the custodians who will guide employees as they adapt to AI.
Our questions and analysis reveal the pivotal role HR has to play as the world navigates rapid technological change, for better and for worse. HR’s influence as a user of data and insight is hugely important but, alongside this, HR is also uniquely placed to support individuals and groups through the potential opportunities and disruptions.
