Now is the best time to review skills
In an on-stage conversation with the CIPD’s chief executive, Peter Cheese, Chloe Smith, president of the CIPD, stated: “Now is the best of all times to be reviewing the strategic nature of your supply of skills and talent, and what you're doing with your workforce in the face of technology as well as other pressures.”
Smith’s words echoed sentiments expressed earlier in the day by Alison McGovern MP, minister of state for employment, who detailed the government’s plans to work more closely with employers on skills provision. “We want to build skills programmes with a guaranteed interview [at the end] that's a partnership with either one employer or a group of employers, so that we can say: Okay, employers, tell us: what skills [do] you really value?” explained McGovern.
After detailing how exactly the Sector-based Work Academy Programme (Swap) – an initiative to help unemployed people on benefits find work – works, McGovern said: “We're finding that it’s a much more successful way to help employers recruit.”
She added: “We will work with business to make sure that we get this right.”
Leaders, not managers, drive employees away
It’s a myth that employees leave companies because of managers. Rather, they leave because of leaders, which is why it is important to support leaders to drive employee experience, said Stephanie Kukoyi, senior people scientist, EMEA at Culture Amp, an employee experience platform.
To support leaders, companies should include leadership-specific questions in employee surveys, give leaders relevant data, offer tailored training and development, provide tools to scale development and elevate the voices of women leaders, explained Kukoyi.
Kukoyi encouraged companies to use surveys to gather employee feedback on leadership, emphasising that without insight into employees’ confidence in their leaders, organisations lack the data needed to assess leadership impact. Without this data, leaders cannot identify or address key issues.
As employees’ expectations and needs evolve, leaders must adapt accordingly. That’s why tailored training is essential – it helps leaders refine their skills to meet the demands of a constantly changing workplace, explained Kukoyi.
Kukoyi also identified the importance of “diversity of thought” in leadership development and encouraged companies to elevate the voices of women leaders. Research indicates that women in leadership are often more attuned to the realities of the employee experience, making it essential to prioritise their perspectives. By doing so, organisations can uncover challenges and opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Six essential traits to build a thriving company culture
To create a strong company culture, organisations should foster the following six traits: vision or purpose; a set of values; personality and communication; appropriate behaviour; collaboration; and innovation, said Colin Ellis, international speaker, culture change facilitator and author.
Building psychological safety proactively within your culture fosters a thriving workforce that can manage conflict effectively and prevent toxicity from taking hold, explained Ellis.
Great workplaces build a culture that minimises toxicity risk. “You get the culture you choose to build,” Ellis emphasised, highlighting that culture develops from the bottom up. Trying to impose culture change from the top down only leads to disengagement, he argued. Culture is a constant, evolving force, he continued, that requires incremental care to thrive.
Emotional intelligence combined with high engagement is the combination that workforces need to create a vibrant culture. “Empathy is the glue that holds cultures together,” Ellis reminded the audience.
Read more: CIPD Festival of Work 2025: Day-one round-up
When in doubt about AI strategy, bring in the experts
“All HR professionals are feeling the pressure [to adopt or respond to AI innovations], but not everybody has nailed [their strategy],” explained Andreea Macoveschi, managing director, Europe for talent services firm Hudson RPO, in a panel discussion focussed on AI’s impact on the labour market. If you need advice, bring in specialised experts, Macoveschi advised.
Macoveschi went on to explain that organisations are generally in one of three phases: most are in the first stage, of talking, playing and exploring. Phase two includes organisations that have started using AI in practice. Phase three is where disruptor organisations “go full tech stack” and fully embed and innovate with AI. “Whether those organisations [in phase three] will see the benefit [of that full implementation] is yet to be seen,” said Macoveschi.
Another panellist, Netflix UK’s head of talent acquisition, Jess Bamtefa, added: “Leverage what is happening today and use that to position yourself rightly [with regard to AI strategy]. Learn as much skills as you can, [and] not necessarily [skills] related to your discipline.” She reminded the audience that soft skills are just as important as technical skills to building the kind of agility mindset needed to benefit from AI innovations.
Support struggling managers to connect the dots
In an engaging and solutions-focused panel, Shane Ashby-Roche, head of organisational development and culture for retailer The White Company, explained how HR professionals can help emotionally disconnected technical managers realise the negative impact they may be having on their direct reports.
Responding to a question from the audience, Ashby-Roche highlighted that the voices of the people impacted by their manager’s behaviour or inactivity should be amplified. “Bring those people into the room,” he advised. “Have them explain: ‘When you operate like this, this is the impact it has on me.’”
Leadership adviser Andy Ayim, who was also on the panel, added that feedback could be facilitated using a method where the person providing the feedback doesn’t have to directly face their manager while in the room. Gamefied experiences can also help manager connect the dots and buy into the learning journey, Ayim explained.
Claire Angliss head of organisational development and capability for energy organisation Rolls-Royce SMR, reminded the audience to “help [technically skilled managers] understand what’s in it for them,” with regards to getting effective line management right. In science-based environments it might be helpful to remind technical experts that leadership is a technical and scientifically backed discipline, which has credibility in its own right.
Angliss also said: “Kindness is clarity, support, [and] guidance. Clarity is kind.” When managers don’t offer clarity, even in difficult situations, the person being managed will feel that something is wrong, and it erodes trust.
How to be a better ally for disabled people
Open up conversations, and don’t be afraid to get the language wrong, advised actress and disability consultant Samantha Renke. “Not everybody likes the term ‘disability community’,” she said, and she prefers to use the word ‘unseen’ instead of ‘hidden’ when talking about less visible disabilities. “But instead of being fearful of language, embrace it.”
Renke added: “The barriers we face don’t just happen when someone like me comes into work.” To be an effective ally, she advised people to look out for, and complain about, barriers that could impact disabled people, for example where a push button that wheelchair user might need to open a door is blocked.
“Leave your ego at the door,” Renke added. “We’re all guilty of unconscious bias, but remember that you’re here to learn and unlearn. Swallow your pride. Ask me how you can assist.
“Understand the difference between ablism and disablism. Don’t make an assumption that our needs are the same. We are not here to be your information dictionary. Come as partners, and find that middle ground.”
She also called for employers to acknowledge that a disabled person might have a ‘workplace passport’, explaining their needs. When asked what the one change was that employers could do right now, to be a better ally, Renke advised employers to change their email signature to explain that asking for reasonable adjustments is okay and encouraged, and that the organisation complies with the Equality Act.
