As use of artificial intelligence moves beyond experimentation, are organisations starting to see real value – or struggling to turn promise into impact? As AI experimentation gives way to scaled adoption, the pressure is on to achieve tangible returns while managing new risks for people, jobs and organisational culture.

Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests – Graeme Burns, AI People and Communications Leader at Nationwide Building Society; Ben Redshaw, Director and Founder at Orchard Tree Consulting; and Hayfa Mohdzaini, Senior Policy and Practice Adviser - Technology at CIPD – as they explore what AI maturity looks like in practice, where organisations are getting stuck and the critical role people professionals play in embedding AI responsibly and effectively.

In this episode, we explore:

• What AI maturity means in practice and the common components of AI maturity
• How can organisations realistically and meaningfully assess their current level of AI maturity
• What role can people professionals play in helping build the culture, capabilities and organisational readiness needed to scale AI effectively.

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Explore content supported by the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme

Guide: How people professionals can develop, deploy and use AI in an ethical, legal and sustainable way

HR People Pod - Ep43: Inside Davos - AI, work and the future of identity - with Allyn Bailey

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Why are HR professionals still feeling forced to hide their disabilities just to get hired? Could an AI version of your CEO really replace human leadership — and what happens when technology starts delivering the messages people most need to hear from a real person? And when engagement is falling and productivity remains stubbornly low, are organisations solving the wrong problems altogether?

CIPD Director of Profession David D’Souza is joined by Clair Staines, Chief People Officer at POWWR, David Balls, Principal Consultant at Helix People Solutions, and Cheryl Samuels, People and Culture Director in the NHS and co-founder of #InclusiveHR.

Recorded: 17 April 2026

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CIPD announces Neil Carberry as new Chief Executive

Guide: Recruiting, managing and developing people with a disability or health condition

Resources: AI in the workplace

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How do you take culture from something leaders instinctively talk about to something they can genuinely understand, measure and act on? What can one of the largest behavioural studies of its kind tell us about the link between culture and business outcomes? And if traditional measures like engagement only tell part of the story where should people professionals look for a clearer view on what’s really driving performance?

CIPD Director of Profession David D’Souza is joined by Hani Nabeel, Chief Behavioural Scientist at iPsychTec and author of Culture Analytics: An evidence-based approach to company culture, to explore the evidence behind culture and performance.

Recorded: 20 February 2026

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Explore more from this episode:

Book: Culture Analytics: An evidence-based approach to company culture – Hani Nabeel

Your next listen:

CIPD Podcast 220: Do leaders establish culture, or are they a product of it?

HR People Pod – Ep39: Rewriting the rules on workplace conflict – with David Liddle

HR People Pod – Ep37: Leading under pressure – with Professor Kevin Fong

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Why are so many employers still hiding salary details when candidates increasingly expect pay transparency? While technical capability might win a promotion, are organisations doing enough to prepare managers for the pressure that comes with leadership? And when performance improvement plans (PIPs) are so often seen as a step towards the exit, can they still be a credible tool for improvement?

CIPD Director of Profession David D’Souza, is joined by Sally Hopper, Director of People at London Fire Brigade, and David Blackburn, Managing Director of David R. Blackburn Consulting.

Recorded: 20 March 2026

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Explore more from this episode:

CIPD – Tracking law changes: Employment Rights Act 2025

Your next listen:

HR People Pod – Ep37: Leading under pressure – with Professor Kevin Fong

CIPD Podcast – Episode 194: Is pay transparency good for business

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As organisations face mounting cost pressures and AI absorbs many entry-level responsibilities, there is a growing risk that entry-level pathways will disappear by default rather than by design. But what are the unintended consequences of hollowing out the roles where future capability, judgement and innovation are built?

Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests — Orianne Whiteman, Emerging Talent Director at Arm; Craig Pattison, Founder of Elevate Executive Coaching; and Lizzie Crowley, Senior Skills Policy Adviser at CIPD — as they examine how organisations must redesign work, opportunity and progression, before capability gaps begin to surface in talent pipelines, performance and long-term organisational resilience.

In this episode, we explore:

- Why shrinking entry-level opportunities – and the erosion of the first rungs of the career ladder – could become a critical organisational risk

- The consequences when organisations stop creating and developing talent and instead become net consumers of talent

- How organisations must redesign roles, routes into work and progression pathways to protect future capability and sustain healthy talent pipelines

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In a world of uncertainty and constant disruption, what does an effective and human response to crisis really look like? Are employee benefits creating real impact – or are too many organisations offering perks without a clear sense of what they’re for? And as technology promises ever-greater efficiency, are employees starting to resist the pressure to optimise everything in pursuit of something more meaningful?

CIPD Director of Profession David D’Souza is joined by Sasi Venables, HR Business Partner at the University of Worcester and founder of The HR Confidence Club and Rob Worrall, Chief People Officer.

Recorded: 06 March 2026

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HR People Pod – Ep 12: Crisis events | Supply chains | Politics at work | ‘Ghost jobs’

Report: Reward Survey: Focus on benefits 2026

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What really happens at the World Economic Forum in Davos? And what are global leaders saying about the future of work? Are organisations simply layering AI onto existing systems, or are they facing a fundamental re-engineering of work itself? If intelligence becomes infrastructure, what happens to how we define value and professional identity? And if entry-level roles decline, what does that mean for the strength of our future talent pipeline?

CIPD Director of Profession David D’Souza is joined by Allyn Bailey, Senior Director Corporate Narrative and Communications at SmartRecruiters.

Recorded: 20 February 2026

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Read more from Allyn Bailey at the World Economic Forum

Davos 2026: the key takeaways for HR on AI, skills and workforce reinvention

https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1946227/davos-2026-key-takeaways-hr-ai-skills-workforce-reinvention

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Does sustained performance depend less on the learning event itself and more on the environment in which it is applied? In modern workplaces – shaped by inbox overload, operational pressures and competing demands for attention – employees often return from training motivated and well-intentioned, yet without the time, permission or support to put new skills into practice. Without the right conditions, learning quickly fades and performance remains unchanged.

Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests — Aglaia Economou, HR Learning Development & Change Manager at Hertfordshire County Council; Fergal Connolly, Learning Transfer Specialist and Founder of Multiply Transfer; and Steve George, Head of Learning at CIPD — as they examine what it really takes to ensure learning translates into measurable performance.

In this episode, we explore:

- The organisational conditions required for learning to translate into sustained performance, beyond the design and delivery of formal training.

- The pivotal role of managers, accountability and workplace culture in giving people the permission and space to apply what they have learned.

- How to diagnose performance challenges effectively — and avoid defaulting to training when the root cause lies elsewhere.

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