HR Disrupted

In this episode of HR Disrupted, Lucy Adams is joined by Andy Doyle, Chief People and Agent Officer at Kantar. While much of the conversation around AI focuses on hype or fear, Andy shares a grounded, practical perspective on how Kantar has embedded AI agents into the heart of its HR operations. Lucy and Andy dig into why Kantar chose to take this path and how their ambitions evolved along the way...

n this episode, Lucy Adams is joined by Eva Murciano to explore one of the biggest challenges facing organisations today: how to keep careers moving in environments where people stay for a long time. Drawing on Eva’s experience at the European Central Bank, they unpack the tension between having a highly committed, purpose-driven workforce and the unintended consequences of low turnover; stagnatio...

In this episode, Lucy Adams and Karen Moran take stock of the people and work trends that are likely to shape 2026. Drawing on what they’re seeing across organisations right now, they focus on the changes that genuinely matter for HR and leaders, from shifting employee expectations to the growing pressure on organisations to operate with greater trust and transparency. They explore how ideas about...

HR doesn’t struggle with not having enough data - we’ve got tons of it. Engagement scores, churn and absenteeism rates, performance ratings, DEI metrics - the works. But can we honestly say we’re brilliant at using that data to drive our people strategies? The answer is probably, “not yet.” So, this episode explores how we can get better at turning data into real insight and how that insight can h...

Lucy and Karen get honest about one of HR’s toughest challenges: helping leaders and managers actually change how they behave. Drawing on their own “humiliations” as former HR Directors, they unpack why influencing senior leaders can feel so hard – from fear of getting it wrong, to loss of status, to simple overload – and introduce four familiar resistance types: the Defiant, the Intellectual, the...

One of the biggest challenges facing HR is the perennial challenge of leadership capability. Despite years of investment in programmes, frameworks, and workshops, many organisations still struggle to see real behavioural change. The world around us is moving faster, the expectations on leaders are higher, and yet our development approaches can still feel generic, theoretical, and removed from the...

As we know - AI isn’t something that’s coming in the future — it’s already here, and it’s already reshaping how we hire, develop and engage our people. The pace of change can feel daunting at times, but the big challenge for us in HR is how we shift from dabbling with new tools to really using AI as a strategic enabler. In this episode, Lucy explores the key opportunities and risks — from ethics a...

In HR we have always tended to prefer standardisation. The instinct to make everything and to treat everyone in the same way comes from a mixture of practicality, compliance, and tradition. Standardisation makes processes easier to administer at scale, creates the appearance of fairness, and reduces the risks of inconsistency. For HR teams under pressure to manage large workforces efficiently, the...

In this episode, Lucy digs into one of the big questions right now: if most organisations have landed on hybrid, why does it still feel so clunky? Ranya Nehmeh, senior HR strategist, lecturer and co-author of In Praise of the Office: The Limits to Hybrid and Remote Work - joins to unpack why many hybrid set-ups deliver the “messy middle”: full calendars, half-empty offices and confused norms. She...

Whilst we’re seeing tons of innovation in some of the key employee processes, reward and recognition can often be put in the ‘too difficult’ box. Recognition efforts often lack differentiation and are just vanilla or one-size-fits-all, and flexible benefits packages, meant to deliver choice, can too often feel overwhelming or unclear to employees. This week’s guest Rachel Richards, Reward and Peop...

Assessments have always played a crucial role in how we identify potential, develop talent, and shape future leaders. But with the rapid rise of AI and digital tools, we’re facing both incredible opportunities and real risks. In this episode we’re diving into a subject that sits right at the intersection of innovation and humanity and asking, how do we harness the power of technology - particularl...

Storytelling to support leadership communications has been around for a while now. And whilst it’s often seen as an effective way of getting our message across, what does it really mean to be a great storyteller - and how does it work on a practical level in a business? It could be that you are trying to help your leaders communicate the strategic priorities for the coming year or you want your ow...

In this episode of HR Disrupted, Lucy Adams is joined by Karen Moran to explore whether artificial intelligence can help leaders get better at the “people stuff” including giving feedback, recognising effort, and holding difficult conversations. Despite over $360 billion being spent annually on leadership development, most programmes fail to deliver meaningful change. Lucy and Karen ask: can AI of...

In an age where a single tweet can spark a crisis, reputation management is no longer the preserve of PR teams. In this episode, Lucy is joined by Lis Anderson, founder of the award-winning PR agency Ambitious, to explore how HR can (and must) play a bigger role in shaping, protecting and enhancing an organisation’s reputation. They delve into the shifting dynamics of trust, the power of employee...

In this episode, Lucy is joined by Dave Reynolds, founder of Ruminate Group and author of Radicle Growth: Transform into an Unstoppable Leader Through Mastering the Art of Questions. Dave shares his journey from sales leadership to global coaching, and why he believes the key to exceptional leadership lies in asking better, deeper questions. Drawing on the concept of “radicle” growth—the unseen bu...

Handing out a rating at the end of the annual performance review is a sure fire way to demotivate at least 80% of your workforce. But when we try to get rid of them, we’re often met with a number of concerns about what will happen when they’re gone. In this episode, Lucy is joined by her Disruptive HR co-founder Karen Moran to unpack some of the common misconceptions around the value of ratings an...

In this episode Lucy is joined by Matt Brady, Head of People of Tesco Bank talks through his refreshing HR philosophy, which is grounded in insight, commercial savviness, pragmatism, and innovation. Matt shares candid stories from his career at HSBC, Sky and Tesco Bank and shows how a mix of data, empathy, and experimentation can drive meaningful change in the employee experience. Matt’s take on H...

Every year many managers and employees have to go through an ordeal that costs time, money and effort but which delivers little value - actually, it’s worse than that, it decreases employees’ motivation and can occasionally make them leave the company. Yes you guessed it! It’s performance appraisal time! It’s amazing that so many of us are unwilling to let go of a system that costs so much and yet...

Many of our talent and career development models stem from another age - when we joined a company, got a number of promotions and stayed as long as the company allowed us to. Of course, nowadays, the reality for many of us is very different. Flatter structures offer fewer promotional opportunities. Volatile markets mean that the longevity of companies has declined. And whilst there is some debate...

HR communications too often fall flat; drowning in a sea of data, facts, and formal language that fails to connect. In this episode, Disruptive HR co-founders Lucy Adams and Karen Moran explore why traditional HR comms so often miss the mark — and more importantly, how you can make yours truly stand out. Lucy and Karen share practical insights on how to transform dry, fact-heavy messaging into com...

The social and political landscape is getting more complicated and divided—things like Trump, Gaza, climate change, and so-called wokeism are just a few examples. And all that tension is spilling into the workplace. With misinformation spreading fast, people stuck in their own online bubbles, and fading trust in traditional institutions, employees are showing up with all kinds of different—and oft...

Tired of the same old leadership development strategies? Join Lucy Adams and Karen Moran as they challenge the status quo. Promoting top performers into leadership roles without considering their people skills is a recipe for disaster. Discover why the "superhero" leader model is outdated and doesn't work for modern organizations. Revitalize your leadership training with insights from industry lea...

It seems as though there’s a news article every day about how the younger generation lack the resilience or work ethic of their parents. There’s even a nickname to sum up this apparent lack of discipline and disregard for the demands of the workplace - the so-called Snowflake generation. Do younger people present problems for employers in terms of laziness or being too fragile? Or is it just a myt...

There doesn’t seem to be any area of HR that isn’t impacted by AI. Whether it’s personalised learning experiences or employee benefits, accessible employee survey tools, enhanced data and analytics or simply the automation of transactions, most HR teams are having to get to grips with the potential of AI.  In this episode, we’re joined by Andy Headworth, Deputy Director of Talent Acquisition at HM...

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - or DEI as it’s known - has had a rough ride lately. Legal challenges, political pressure, and polarized public opinion have resulted in many big brand names stepping back from their DEI commitments. Does this mean the end for DEI? To discuss this and to offer a more optimistic view, Lucy is joined by her co-founder at Disruptive HR, Karen Moran. They debate whethe...