Work Changes Today: The Best Moments of Talent Connect United Kingdom 2024
On the 26th of March we were delighted to host more than 560 senior talent leaders in London. Bringing together key minds rarely seen in the same room, Talent Connect United Kingdom is a unique opportunity for leaders in the talent space to connect, exchange ideas, and learn from each other. With core thought leadership topics, a mix of high-calibre speakers from all corners of the talent landscape, and a jam-packed programme designed to energise, inspire, and celebrate leaders, the atmosphere at this year’s event was electric as our speakers and delegates unpacked the big questions facing our industry in this moment.??
In line with some of the amazing feedback we’ve had, here are some of our favourite moments from the day…?
Inspiring Change– our morning keynotes?
Introducing this year’s “Work Changes Today” theme ahead of the fascinating keynotes, LinkedIn Co-Founder, Allen Blue set the scene by outlining the scale of the challenges presented by the three big questions hanging over our industry and the wider world right now: climate change, the geopolitical landscape and, of course, artificial intelligence.??
A battle cry for human-first regulation?
Next, LinkedIn’s Vice President of Global Public Policy & Economic Graph, Sue Duke took to the stage with trained political scientist and President of the World Employment Federation, Bettina Schaller. The two discussed the fundamental changes and trends that have shaken the labour market over the past five years and the role that policy around skills and talent plays in making countries more competitive and successful on the global stage. As access to talent becomes more complicated, Bettina called for a skills-first approach to diversify and democratise the talent pool and reiterated that DEI frameworks should and must be at the centre of the skills discussion– no more excuses.?
Navigating the “Never Normal”?
“We’re used to fundamental changes, but what if they’re going to happen faster and faster?”? This was the question posed by author, media entrepreneur, and proprietor of the world’s only “Apple chapel”, tech evangelist Peter Hinssen.10 years ago, Peter wrote about the “New Normal”– a phrase we are all now more than familiar with in the wake of the pandemic. At Talent Connect, he spoke about why he is now leading with the idea of the “Never Normal”. In a 2024 defined by political unrest, climate change, and generative AI, he believes that we are now in an era where accelerating change IS what’s normal. And it doesn’t need to be scary. Distilling the key insights from his book The Phoenix and the Unicorn, he reminded us of the power of reinvention. The key takeaway? We can’t act with yesterday’s logic. As talent leaders, we now need to look beyond being the leading puzzle solvers in our organisations and work out what to do when we don’t have all the pieces in front of us.?
Human intelligence and sidestepping stress ?
In a fascinating and highly practical session, media veteran and expert futurist, Shivvy Jervis spoke on the exciting unchartered territory of augmented intelligence– a future where humans and AI enjoy a symbiotic relationship. According to Shivvy, there is much the human mind can do that technologies cannot. She spoke of the human brain of a supercomputer of sorts, with neurons that fire up to 6x faster than an F1 car. Painting a picture of enhanced human connection, she explained why she believes we have so much to look forward to in this new era of technology– but to make the most of it, we need to be in tune with our own minds and how they work best. Shivvy spoke of logic as an emotional state, and thus of there being many tips and tricks we can leverage to hack our way to productivity. We know that stress can be incredibly damaging on a physical level. She provided tips on box and body breathing, changing the way we consume media, and shifting how we think about motivation on the whole (hint– it’s not getting up at 4am and drinking kale smoothies) as a way of meeting this new age with hope and vigour, and tapping into the power of what these new technologies can do for us on a human level.??
Building a more human world of work in the age of AI?
Rounding off the morning, Vice President and workforce expert at LinkedIn, Aneesh Raman ruminated upon the role of humans in integrating the potential of AI into our working lives in an ethical way. Gathered from 1bn members globally (38m in the UK) Aneesh used LinkedIn data from the economic graph to illustrate the impact AI is already having in our industry. Global conversations on the topic spiked by +70% between 2022 and 2023, while conversations about ethical applications increased seven-fold. Job descriptions based around AI increased 21x in the same period. The lesson? We are no longer entering the age of AI– we are definitively in it. Now it’s up to us to manage the big changes and questions that come with this new era so that it is to our benefit, not to our detriment. What is the core competence of human beings? Aneesh believes that how we answer that question now matters more than anything. We can answer from a place of fear, or by imagining what is possible. Make that switch and you change everything.??
Victoria Short, CEO for Randstad UK says she found it particularly valuable having, “a morning session which had both recruiters and employers.”? It's always worthwhile sharing our ideas on these core industry topics.??
As noted by Carlo José, Global Head of Leadership and Learning at GSK: “Everyone is thinking about how AI will impact their business and the skills people will need. But there is still room for humans in the equation, and I’m excited about that.?I love the energy and opportunity to talk about the problems we must solve and new innovations.” ?
Our “Solutions Rooms”??
After lunch, our leaders gathered together again– this time for a series of challenges led by some of their peers. Forming mini think tanks or task forces, delegates worked together to come up with solutions to three key challenges: Making skills-first practices truly equitable, led by DEI expert, Hannah Awonuga; How to empower employees to create career paths that align with your business’ future skills needs, led by AI and future skills specialist, Erica Farmer; and How to build an employer brand that truly resonates with your prospect and current talent by Hung Lee and LinkedIn’s Searlait Brennan.?
Having the time to pick each other’s brains like this is so important. As noted by Senior Director of People Experience, Ola Fadipe: “Creating a space focused on the latest HR trends and challenges helps us acknowledge our shared experiences, whilst also benefiting from hearing fresh perspectives. It’s hard to walk away from events like this without feeling a renewed sense of inspiration and focus.”?
It was such a special and unique experience to see our clients from various organisations and sectors put their heads together to tackle these challenges, and it confirmed what we have long known– that we have singularly brilliant thinkers and problem solvers in the talent space. We’re sure that a lot of the conversations sparked in these rooms will be built upon in our clients’ organisations in the months and years to come.?
These sessions turned out to be extremely popular, and even ended up being slightly oversubscribed– giving us some real food for thought for next year.?
Our Big Ideas sessions??
Alongside our Solutions Rooms were our Big Ideas sessions. With twelve sessions tailored to individual audiences, our attendees broke off into groups for a series of presentations, fireside chats, and panel discussions with pre-eminent industry thought leaders.?
Sessions for corporate clients included Tapping into Multigenerational Talent to Secure Critical AI Skills with Lyndsey Simpson, a session of intentional learning culture with Stephanie Conway, Carlo Jose, and John Gregg, and Talent Acquisition’s ‘Missing Metric’: Unlocking the power of ‘Quality of Hire’ with Ben Murphy-Ryan, Dominic Joyce and Nolan Dodgson. Other speakers featured were Derval Blehein, Asi DeGani, Pieter-Jan Passchier and Ola Fadipe; Lindsey Shintani and Aarathi Vidyvasagar; and Lisa Molan, Carrie Bloch and Dan Brodnitz, who spoke about the role tools like LinkedIn Learning could play in helping leaders navigate their most pressing challenges. You can see exactly what those sessions looked like here.?
Over in staffing, sessions included Shaping the future of the workplace with automation and AI with Adam Hawkins and Laurie Padua; Untapped Talent Pools: Maximising commercial benefits, green opportunities and enhancing diversity through a skills-first approach with Cara O’Leary, Joanna Bonnett and Vicky Short; and Evolution of Recruiters: How to become a talent strategist in an intelligence era with Audrey Lartey, Jenna Alexander and Indy Lachhar. Other speakers included Sue Duke, Aarathi Vidyvasagar and Lindsey Shintani, as well as a session on the hiring trends of tomorrow with Adam Hawkins. You can catch up on all the staffing sessions here.?
Reflecting on the day, Senior Global Vice President of Internal Talent Acquisition and Global Talent Centre of Excellence Leader at Randstad, Jenna Alexander said: “We’re certainly a progressive bunch! I’m always filled with excitement when I walk out of TCUK. Not only have I learned or been reminded of best practices, but I’ve also grown my network with more highly successful professionals, all keen to play their part in leading the world of work into the future.”??
Reflecting on the day?
For us, our highlight is being able to bring people together. Feedback from the event has been overwhelmingly positive, with delegates sharing their experience on social media throughout the day. We were so pleased to hear that virtually every leader who attended was glad they did and considered the day a valuable use of their time. Head of Learning and Development at Alzheimer’s Research UK, John Gregg praised the planning that had gone into the event: “LinkedIn and the team run a very well organised and slick event. I would highly recommend.” Indy Lachhar, Chief People Officer at Robert Walters Group agreed enthusiastically, saying: “Expertly organised, loved the format of the sessions, keynotes at start were great!”??
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If you were there, we’d love to hear what you enjoyed most, and what you’d like to see more of. We look forward to seeing all of you at Talent Connect United Kingdom 2025! ?