In episode 194, Coffey talks with Lucy Adams about transforming people practices to meet modern business needs. They discuss how traditional HR processes focus on conformity rather than flexibility; the tendency to design policies around the lowest common denominator rather than individual needs; regulation burdens in the UK versus the US; opportunities to reframe DEI initiatives to be more effective and inclusive; the challenges of the hybrid workplace model; the importance of carefully selecting managers who actually want to lead people; the impact of AI on HR functions and employee roles.

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Lucy Adams

Lucy Adams was the BBC’s HR Director during one of its most turbulent periods. Responsible for all aspects of employee relations, reward, training and development, she reduced the BBC management by over 30%, saving the organisation £25m a year. In her five year tenure Lucy saw four Directors General come and go, oversaw the move to Manchester site and coped with numerous, very public crises including executive pay-offs and the Savile scandal. This alongside the everyday work of talent retention, development and remuneration, HR policy, and the challenges of delivering multiple changes in a publicly-funded organisation working in a highly commercial, fast-moving sector with over 20,000 employees. Prior to working at the BBC, Lucy was Group HR Director at Serco, the government services business, and at the law firm Eversheds. For the last 10 years Lucy has been the CEO of Disruptive HR with the mission of ‘changing people practices for good’. Lucy challenges business leaders and HR professionals to reappraise their approaches and to consider how relevant and productive they are in a disrupted world. She offers new ideas and practical innovative approaches that the more progressive companies are already adopting. Combining her strategic HR expertise with practical implementation, she advocates for an innovative yet grounded approach which aims to put the “human” back into Human Resources.
 Lucy is not just a business leader and hugely popular keynote speaker, but also a well-known author of the bestseller “HR Disrupted” a book packed with practical ways to innovate your approach to leading people in a disrupted world. Her latest book bestseller “The HR ChangeToolkit” provides the complete guide to making it happen.

Contact

Lucy Adams can be reached at https://disruptivehr.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucykadams https://www.facebook.com/hrdisruptive https://www.instagram.com/disruptive_hr