At the CIPD Annual Conference, Matthew Maynell from the UK Cabinet Office shared the story of how the Civil Service built a learning and development (L&D) strategy and professional standards for line management. His presentation offered both a case study and a broader reflection on one of the most persistent challenges in organisational life: how to engage line managers and equip them to succeed. The Persistent Problem: Promoting Without Preparing Across sectors, the same pattern repeats itself. Individuals who perform well in technical or specialist roles are promoted into management — often without any formal preparation or training. Mayo began by asking the audience how many had become line managers without prior training; most hands went up. The consequences are familiar. Line managers find themselves improvising leadership, teams experience inconsistency, and organisations lose coherence between their strategic intent and day-to-day practice. The Civil Service, with more than 100,

Reflections on Peter Cheese’s Opening Keynote at the CIPD Annual Conference 2025 The 2025 CIPD Annual Conference has always been more than a gathering — it’s a pulse check on the profession. This year, in Manchester Central, Peter Cheese, CEO of the CIPD, opened the 76th edition with a call that resonated deeply: “Champion people, transform work.” His message was both reflective and forward-looking — a synthesis of gratitude for the profession’s progress and urgency about what lies ahead. A Time of Profound Change Peter began by reminding delegates that never before have so many forces converged on the world of work: political uncertainty, economic instability, social change, rapid technological progress, shifting legal frameworks, and intensifying environmental pressure. The old PESTLE model has never felt more alive. In his words, “In over 40 years in business, I’ve never seen so much going on in all of these dimensions.” Globalization has given way to protectionism, supply chains ar

Lessons from Ben Redshaw (Orchard Tree Consulting) HRPro is member of the EAPM, the European Association of People Management. CIPD extended an invitation to hrpro members to attend the conference in Manchester. One of the standout sessions of this year's conference explored how artificial intelligence is transforming the HR function — and what comes next. The session, chaired by Haifa Modi, Senior Policy and Practice Advisor for Technology at CIPD, featured Ben Redshaw, founder and director of Orchard Tree Consulting, Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, and member of the CIPD AI Advisory Group. This was his core message: AI in HR has reached an inflection point — and now it’s our time as a profession. Here"s an impression of that session. From IT-led to HR-owned For much of the past decade, the introduction of AI in organisations has been led by IT teams. Their focus was necessarily technical: ensuring systems were secure, compliant, and stable. But as AI tools increasingly shape the work i

A significant shift is coming for employers across Europe with the impending transposition of the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Monica De Jonghe from the Federation of Belgian Enterprises (VBO-FEB) provided an in-depth, though challenging, analysis of the directive, highlighting key obligations, risks, and the path forward for businesses, particularly in Belgium. This article is an overview of what she said during the Hrpro conference on October 17, 2025. The Directive: A Complex New System While the VBO-FEB fully supports the directive's objective—equal pay for equal work to address the gender pay gap and combat discrimination—the implementation presents a complex challenge. The directive, published in May 2023, must be transposed into national law by June, 2026. A major point of contention is the detail and lack of flexibility in the directive, leaving "little leeway for negotiation during transposition," making it feel more like a regulation than a directive. This issue is compound

Reflections from the HRPro Conference — October 17, 2025 Speaker: David D’Souza, CIPD Director of Profession Report by HRPro.be. On October 17, 2025, leaders and practitioners from across Belgium and beyond gathered in Brussels for the HRPro Conference, a moment to reflect not only on what is changing in the world of work, but also on what this means for the HR profession itself. Among the voices on stage was David D’Souza, Director of Profession at the CIPD, who offered a provocative and generous exploration of where HR stands today — and where it must go next. What follows is a reflection on the ideas he shared. How do we respond to change? The HR profession stands at a critical point. For years, we’ve talked about the future of work, the impact of technology, the evolving expectations of employees, and the pressure on organizations to adapt. Today, that future is no longer something distant. It is arriving — unevenly, unpredictably, and sometimes uncomfortably — but it is here. The

Hrpro.be welcomed the delegates of the European Association of People Management (EAPM) the day before the conference. They attended the conference together with members of the HR community in Belgium. During the international conference, many speakers were stressing the need for balance and courage. “Hold the line and be prepared”, Berna Oztinaz (picture), the president of the European Association of People Management (EAPM), told the international audience. “As a profession, we need to stand for both values and business outcomes”, said David D’Souza, Director of profession at the CIPD. “We should focus on more than only productivity when dealing with people”, said Shuming Fan, PhD Researcher at Ghent University, when discussing the disappointment people have concerning meritocracy. She also presented an alternative model for capability development that goed beyond productivity. Chris Engels (Claeys & Engels) warned the HR community about the pipeline of regulations the EU is developi