Show Notes
The future of work is already happening. So how should HR respond? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley speaks with Fiona Hewitt, Founder and Managing Partner of Unboxable, about how organisations and People & Culture teams can prepare for a future that cannot be neatly predicted. For Fiona, the goal should not be “future-proofing”. There is no fixed playbook because nobody knows exactly where technology, workforce expectations and business conditions will take us. Instead, organisations need to become future-fluent, building their ability to adapt as conditions change. That creates a significant challenge and opportunity for HR. Fiona expects the makeup of HR teams to change as technology increasingly automates areas such as compliance, payroll and frontline support. At the same time, she sees greater demand for capability in workforce planning, workforce intelligence, leadership, organisational design and operating models. The conversation challenges the familiar call for HR to earn “a seat at the table”. Fiona argues that HR needs to go further and actively help form the decisions that shape the organisation, including technology, strategy and how work itself is designed. Lisa and Fiona also explore what an operating model really means. It is not simply an organisation chart or a restructure. It includes how value is delivered, how decisions are made, operating rhythms, capabilities and how work is organised. From there, the conversation moves into the role of AI, change, culture, strategic influence and the increasing need for HR professionals to understand the business beyond their own functional expertise. Fiona argues that credibility at senior levels comes not only from knowing HR, but from understanding the commercial context, sector and organisation well enough to contribute from an enterprise perspective. The episode ultimately asks a bigger question: if work becomes more flexible and capability-based, could even the traditional concept of a “job” need to evolve? Fiona closes with an idea that has shaped her own career in workforce transformation: building people, leaders and organisations that are “ready for anything.” What You’ll Learn What Fiona means by future fluency
Why future-proofing organisations may be the wrong goal
How technology could reshape the structure and capability of HR teams
Why workforce planning and organisational design need deeper HR capability
Why organisational design is much more than restructuring or moving boxes on an org chart
What an operating model actually means in practice
Why HR needs to move beyond simply asking for a “seat at the table”
How HR can become involved earlier in technology, strategy and business decisions
Why the future of work may be better understood as the evolution of work
Why organisations need to learn to lead with change, rather than through it
How language such as “clarity over certainty” can influence how people respond to change
How AI may reduce transactional HR work while increasing the need for strategic capability
Why HR business partnering is likely to become even more commercially focused
How Centres of Excellence may need to connect more closely with strategy and business operations
Why the future of work should not sit in a separate programme
How HR teams can “breadcrumb” future-focused thinking into work they are already doing
Why Fiona believes HR should become an architect rather than the “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff”
How commercial understanding strengthens HR influence
Why “next practice” can sometimes be more useful than relying solely on best practice
What CEOs should expect from their People leaders
Why culture will become even more important as organisations become increasingly adaptive
How organisations can balance current pressures with preparing for what comes next
Why AI capability inside HR itself matters
How strategy may need more flexibility as conditions chang
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