IS HR HOLDING BACK BRITISH BUSINESS?

Private, in-person event – by invitation only
Knightsbridge, London
Tickets £55

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HR is under fire – and we need to talk about why.

If we agree that people are an organisation’s greatest asset, why are UK productivity, capability and performance so stubbornly low?

Is HR empowering leaders to build high-performing teams, or has it become a risk-management bureaucracy that slows decisions, stifles innovation and confuses culture with compliance?

Are legal fears, ideological trends or managerial skill gaps the real blockers? And what should HR be in 2026: strategic partner, behavioural architect, or something else entirely?

Join us for an evening of frank discussion and clear-eyed analysis with senior business professionals from across the private sector, including a panel of special guests:

• Neil Morrison HR Director, Severn Trent
• Octavius Black CBE Founder, MindGym
• Akua Reindorf KC Employment and discrimination barrister
• Steve Harrison Author of Adland’s Progressive Gaze: How UK Advertising Lost Sight Of The People And Things That Matter Most

You’ll leave with fresh insight — and practical, actionable ideas — to help you navigate the fast-evolving workplace, sharpen your people strategy, and avoid the legal and cultural missteps that are tripping up so many UK employers.

Hosted by Tanya de Grunwald, founder of the hit podcast This Isn’t Working, the evening will run as follows:

PART 1: Does HR deserve the kicking it’s getting?

Our panel will explore the forces shaping today’s organisations:

• Why HR processes have ballooned while productivity has flatlined
• Where legal risk is misunderstood or exaggerated — and how to right-size it
• How ideological drift in creative and corporate cultures can disconnect companies from their customers and employees
• What leaders actually need from HR if they want to build capability, confidence and high performance

PART 2: Where do we go from here?

Building on the panel’s perspectives, we’ll open the floor to questions, reflections, scrutiny and debate from our audience of senior business professionals.

Together, we’ll explore how to rebuild trust in HR, restore managerial confidence, create legally robust cultures, and ensure people functions enable — rather than inhibit — business success.

Expect sharp insights, competing views and a welcome dose of reality.

(This event is not for wallflowers!)

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TIMINGS
Doors open: 6.30pm
Discussion starts: 7pm
Event ends: 9.30pm

TICKETS
Tickets cost £55, including drinks and nibbles. Should your plans change, refunds are available up to two days before the event.

LOCATION
This event will be held at a lovely venue in Knightsbridge, London. The exact location will be detailed in your ticket confirmation email.

REFRESHMENTS
Drinks and nibbles will be provided throughout the evening. There will be time for networking before and after the main discussion, and during the break.

EXCLUSIVITY
To maximise the quality of discussion, we are ring-fencing this event for senior business professionals – meaning business owners, leaders, decision makers and ‘doers’ with relevant expertise (eg. risk, lawyers, or search consultants). We will not be able to include other external consultants or suppliers on this occasion.

If you are a senior business professional who would like to attend, please contact Tanya via Linkedin or through this contact form and she’ll share the password for the Eventbrite page where you can buy your ticket.

Thank you for understanding our reasons for limiting attendance for this event, which we expect to be very popular!

KEEN TO CATCH UP?
The output from our previous event Was There Ever A Business Case For DEI? is available to buy here.