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Business partnerships are on the rise, with 25% more organisations setting one up in 2014 than in 2013. This episode follows on from the December episode which looked at the key considerations that should be made when approaching business partnerships. In this episode we speak to representatives from Shell and Rolls Royce about their experiences of business partnerships. Sofiah Umar, VP for HR Strategy and Planning for Shell tells us about using business partnerships as a way to collaborate with competitors and the challenges HR face in  accepting the change of mindset required for success, while Charlotte Dearnley, Head of HR for Controls and Data Services at Rolls Royce, speaks about her role in building an individual culture and identity for her business unit, while remaining part of Rolls Royce, and the importance of fostering communication. Philippa Stokes, Head of Global Employment Relations at Rolls Royce echoes this point by describing why it is crucial to foster common understanding. We also hear from Paul Sparrow, Director of the Centre for Performance-led HR and Professor of International Human Resource Management at Lancaster University Management School on the role of HR in launching and sustaining successful business partnerships.

Podcast 98: HR's role in business partnerships - part 2

In this episode, Workplace Relations Commission Director General Audrey Cahill explains how the WRC supports people professionals in fostering fair and equitable workplaces. 

From advisory services and conciliation to mediation and adjudication, she highlights how people practitioners can proactively engage with the WRC as a resource – not just a last resort. 

Cahill also tackles common misconceptions about adjudication, the reality behind case reporting, and the high success rates of mediation. Plus, we highlight the WRC’s self-audit tools as a game-changer for compliance and best practice.

CIPD Ireland Podcast - How the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) supports people practitioners

Times are tough; is there an alternative to headcount reductions and hiring freezes? With redundancy intentions at their highest level in a decade, how can HR professionals manage the mental load of implementing redundancies and can there ever be a ‘best’ way to deliver news about job losses? Finally, is there such a thing as a ‘mini-retirement’?

In this episode CIPD Director of Profession David D’Souza is joined by Mel Steel, former HR director and interim people and transformation leader; and David Blackburn, Managing Director of David R. Blackburn Consulting.

Recorded: 21 February 2025

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CIPD HR30 Nominations

Time to recognise excellence in HR! The CIPD HR30 celebrates the top 30 HR leaders driving innovation, shaping workplace culture and making real impact. Do you know someone who’s making a difference, leading change and driving the profession forward? This is your chance to highlight their achievements and contribution. Visit cipdhr30.co.uk before 26 March to find out more and submit your nomination.

HR People Pod – Ep 18: Labour Market Outlook | Managing redundancy | Mini-retirement

HR professionals play a unique role within organisations but often find themselves in morally challenging or conflicting situations. These challenges may include balancing business needs—such as managing large-scale redundancies—while also supporting individuals through deeply personal difficulties and absorbing the emotional weight that entails. Over time, this toll can increase the risk of exhaustion, ultimately leading to burnout.

Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests—Amy McKeown, an award-winning health, mental health, and wellbeing strategist and consultant, and Rachel Suff, Senior Policy and Practice Adviser for Employee Relations at the CIPD—as we explore the often-hidden emotional burden of working in HR and why setting boundaries is essential for maintaining wellbeing in the profession.

Podcast 216: Selfish to be selfless - Why people professionals must prioritise their wellbeing

With plans to introduce a ‘right to switch off’ facing the axe in the UK, do we need formal legislation, or could boundaries be better managed by employers? What role should people professionals play in shifting the culture of toxic workplaces? How can we maintain that curiosity and hunger for learning? Finally, how big of an issue is ‘career catfishing’?

In this episode, CIPD People and Transformation Director Amanda Arrowsmith is joined by three recent CIPD People Management Outstanding Student award winners: Jamila Lecky, People Transformation and Change Manager at Group M; Victoria Keith, Global Talent, Learning and Development Manager at Total Marketing Support Limited; and Rose Watkins-Jones, People Partner at Impression Digital.

Recorded: 7 March 2025

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Keep up to date with latest amends to the Employment Rights Bill and developments to the government's Make Work Pay plan:

https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/employment-law/proposed-changes-under-labour-government/

HR People Pod – Ep 19: Curiosity to learn | Right to switch off | Toxic cultures | Career catfishing

In this episode, your host Meg Dunphy dives into neurodiversity in the workplace with guests Shane O'Brien Senior HRBP Mongo DB and Bronagh Eaton an Independent Neurodivergent Coach and Global Neuroinclusion Specialist with DHL Supply Chain, two people practitioners who are themselves neurodivergent. 

As part of Neurodiversity Awareness Week, we want to shine a light on what inclusion really looks like—bringing the conversation back to individuals and keeping it simple. Our guests share their lived experiences, offering valuable guidance on how employees can advocate for themselves and how managers can create a more inclusive environment. Whether you’re a people professional or a line manager, this episode is a great starting point to build awareness and gain actionable tips on making the workplace more conducive to neurodivergent talent. 

Join the conversation using #NeuroInclusionInWorkplace.

CIPD Ireland Podcast - Neurodiversity at Work: Celebrating Differences, Creating Inclusion

Five years after the first UK Covid-19 lockdown, many employers are still adapting to the knock-on effects of the pandemic but what has been the lasting impact on the HR profession? Meanwhile, how can you best manage the internal narrative in the face of public and media scrutiny? Can a ‘coachbot’ really offer mentorship? And what do our panel think of the concept of gentle leadership? 

CIPD Director of Profession David D’Souza is joined by Group People and Culture Director at KYN, Emma Jayne, and Head of HR at Crimson Hotels Limited, Gareth Neale.

Recorded: 21 March 2025

HR People Pod – Ep 20:  Lockdown: five years on | Media scrutiny | ‘Coachbots’ | Gentle leadership

People with past criminal convictions are a proven source of loyal, capable employees. Yet despite clear benefits, stigma – within business and society – continues to prevent many from finding meaningful work. Our research shows only 17% of prison leavers can secure a job within a year of release.  So, what can employers do to offer a second chance and bring more prison leavers safely into our workplaces?

Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests—Jacob Hill, Managing Director and Founder of Offploy; Alison Bell, People and Communications Director at Project Leaders Ltd; and Sally Eley, Head of CIPD Trust—as we explore how employers can rethink recruitment, reduce bias, and focus on skills and potential over past mistakes. 

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Download the CIPD Trust guide to hiring people with convictions:
cipdtrust.org/recruiting-employing-and-retaining-people-with-convictions/

Asses your organisation's current readiness to employ individuals with criminal convictions with Offploy's quiz for employers:
www.offploy.org/employ


Podcast 217: Willing and able: Unlocking opportunities for prison leavers

Change and uncertainty seem inevitable. As organisations navigate global tariffs imposed by the US president, what other priorities should the C-suite address? How might an overreliance on AI affect career progression? Is it time to rethink effective workplace communication? And should we consider adopting body doubling to boost productivity?

CIPD Director of Profession David D’Souza is joined by Chief People Officer at One Advanced, Katie Obi, and Head of People and Culture at Hastings Hotels Group, Rob Rees.

Recorded: 04 April 2025


HR People Pod – Ep 21: Juggling core priorities | AI and progression | Communication | Body doubling

In this month’s CIPD in Ireland podcast, we spotlight artificial intelligence (AI) – a key theme at our upcoming Annual Conference on 15 May at the RDS. We revisit a standout moment from our Employment Law Conference with Ruth Kennedy, one of Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners, who shares a compelling case study on how AI is already delivering value in the public sector. Ruth explores the practical application of AI within Revenue – from driving efficiencies to enhancing the quality of service delivered to the public. She challenges listeners to rethink their approach to transformation, leaving us with a powerful takeaway: transformation isn’t about doing things faster, it’s about doing them better. So, how would you design what you do now if AI was there to support you?

Explore this year's CIPD Annual conference in Ireland 2025 programme and secure your place: 
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/cipd-annual-conference-in-ireland-2025-tickets-1095257818619

CIPD Ireland Podcast - AI in Action: A Case Study from the Revenue Commissioners

As we look ahead to some of the key themes for International HR Day 2025, this episode — recorded at the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition 2024 — explores what organisations need to be doing in practical terms to ensure AI becomes a force for good. How are skill requirements expected to evolve over the medium to long term? What role should the profession play in helping organisations navigate change? And finally, is ‘pleasanteeism’ really a thing?

CIPD Director of Profession David D’Souza is joined by Roisin Walsh, Head of Workforce Capability and Inclusion at Civil Service in Ireland, Radha Barj, Co-Founder and CEO at Rythmik, David Ducheyne, Vice President of European Association for People Management (EAPM).

Recorded: CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition, 7 November 2024

HR People Pod – Ep 22: Ethical AI | Future skill requirements | Supporting change | ‘Pleasenteeism’

As the world of work changes at an ever increasing pace this podcast explores the role HR professionals should play in planning and landing change programmes in their organisation.

Podcast 107: Landing transformational change

In today’s business landscape HR professionals are seeking greater business credibility, greater influence and greater impact in their organisations. But what role does HR play in promoting and/or enforcing ethical responsibility in business?

Recent high-profile scandals at Volkswagen, Tesco and Amazon have highlighted the importance of organisational culture and leadership, not to mention the risks of ignoring them. In this roundtable discussion Philippa Foster Back CBE, Director of the Institute of Business Ethics, David Jackson, Associate Director of HR at Manchester Metropolitan University and Laura Harrison, Director of People and Strategy at CIPD, discuss the changing role of HR and how ethical responsibility and business credibility can be balanced and incorporated into that role. 


Podcast 108: HR and Business Ethics

Welcome to our first podcast episode of 2016! In this episode we ask three leading thinkers to share their predictions for what the next 12 months will hold for HR and L&D.

Sharing their insight and foresight Professor Sir Cary Cooper, 50th anniversary professor of organisational psychology and health, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Dave Coplin, Author and Chief Envisioning Officer, Microsoft UK and Inji Duducu, Group HR Director, Benenden Group discuss the key issues facing HR and L&D in the changing world of work including automation, wellbeing, performance management, the leadership of the future, the ongoing debate around email and the concept of finding the right balance in the emerging phenomenon of “work-life integration”.


Podcast 109:  Looking ahead to 2016

Podcast 110: Resilience

Aileen Randhawa, HR Director MBDA, talks about how they have developed their highly sought-after apprenticeship scheme.  Aaron Saxton, Director of Training at UK Fast along with three of his apprentices gives a view of their vibrant apprenticeship scheme from the inside out.

Podcast 111: Apprentices

We’re the CIPD — the professional body for HR and people development. We are the voice of a worldwide community of more than 150,000 members committed to championing better work and working lives.

Podcast 98: HR's role in business partnerships - part 2

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