Workhuman Live Forum
London 2024

Finding Focus for the Future.   

Workhuman Live Forum returned to London for our second annual event on June 4. The day was filled with innovation, insight and inspiration. 

We took one day to focus – on where we are now and how we can build for the future. Guided by MC Holly Ransom, our journey took us from the new frontier of Artificial Intelligence to how we can work better together across cultures, with stops at recognition and resilience along the way.  

There’s a lot going on in the world right now, and one constant theme throughout the day was making human connections by simply listening. Whether it’s the blistering pace of changing technology, the invisible responsibilities people have outside of work or the complexities of wellbeing in the workplace, making meaningful time to connect with your humans is key.  

Read on for a recap of the sessions and to find out more about our upcoming events.  

It’s the End of Work As We Know It: With Workhuman’s CEO Eric Mosley line  

After an opening address from Holly Ransom, and a moment to meditate and energise with former Gladiator James Hunter Crossley, Workhuman CEO Eric Mosley took to the stage to address the topic of AI. What this new technology will do has been top of mind for many people for almost two years, with a lot of apprehension about where the human fits into this new equation.  

Eric addressed it head on with a vision of AI as a time machine, literally a way to get back more time. Taking on large scale automated tasks, crunching data and providing more room for what humans do best – creativity and application of power skills. Eric also shared how Workhuman is leveraging AI with a new tool that allows customers to access data efficiently with an easy-to-use interface. Learn more about the AI Assistant. 

Recognition for Resilience and Cultural Evolution: A Fireside Chat with Gallup 

Gallup’s Leslie Rowlands was joined by Dr. Meisha-ann Martin from Workhuman in a conversation moderated by Holly Ransom on the power of recognition in the workplace and how it impacts culture.  

One key message from Leslie was hope – it’s a challenging time in the world but each person has a role to play in lifting people up and supporting the culture they want to build. Rally people to the cause, lead by example and know that something that is hard alone becomes easier with every new person who helps. And Meisha-ann spoke on being clear about the values you want to have in your company and live them every day – don’t just leave them as a slogan on a wall.  

They also discussed the power of recognition to level up engagement, improve retention and help transform coworkers into a community.  

Spotlight Panel: Total Wellbeing 

Wellbeing was top of the agenda for Peter Newhouse, Max Hunter, Sarah Cunningham and Sarah Whitman.  

Sarah Cunningham from the World Wellbeing Movement dug into the research which proves that wellbeing is a science, and the findings that show the positive impacts from improving it. Happier employees are more productive and companies who focus on employee wellbeing perform well on the stock market too.  

Other insights – take a moment to think of the last Monday you enjoyed at work according to Chief Joy Office Max Hunter and always, always take time to listen to your people and hear what they say when it comes to how to support their wellbeing at work and in life.  

Innovation & Insight: Recognition Programs, on a Global Scale 

We were thrilled to welcome three Workhuman customers for a panel discussion on implementing recognition programs.  

Lindsay Brooks – Director of Total Rewards from Worley, Sarah Shepherd AVP HR Strategy and Transformation at Manulife and Keri Simms Head of Performance and Recognition Programs at Diageo each shared their experience with the rollout of employee recognition programs. We heard about the challenge of stakeholder engagement, and the hugely powerful impact of getting senior leadership engaged with recognition and sharing their stories to role model for the organisation.  

The panellists also were open about being on different stages of their journey and different levels of maturity. Developing and launching these kinds of programs is a complex task, so the main advice is to get started and iterate from there!