The future of work is already happening. So how should HR respond?

In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley speaks with Fiona Hewitt, Founder and Managing Partner of Unboxable, about how organisations and People & Culture teams can prepare for a future that cannot be neatly predicted.

For Fiona, the goal should not be “future-proofing”. There is no fixed playbook because nobody knows exactly where technology, workforce expectations and business conditions will take us. Instead, organisations need to become future-fluent, building their ability to adapt as conditions change.

That creates a significant challenge and opportunity for HR.

Fiona expects the makeup of HR teams to change as technology increasingly automates areas such as compliance, payroll and frontline support. At the same time, she sees greater demand for capability in workforce planning, workforce intelligence, leadership, organisational design and operating models.

The conversation challenges the familiar call for HR to earn “a seat at the table”. Fiona argues that HR needs to go further and actively help form the decisions that shape the organisation, including technology, strategy and how work itself is designed.

Lisa and Fiona also explore what an operating model really means. It is not simply an organisation chart or a restructure. It includes how value is delivered, how decisions are made, operating rhythms, capabilities and how work is organised.

From there, the conversation moves into the role of AI, change, culture, strategic influence and the increasing need for HR professionals to understand the business beyond their own functional expertise.

Fiona argues that credibility at senior levels comes not only from knowing HR, but from understanding the commercial context, sector and organisation well enough to contribute from an enterprise perspective.

The episode ultimately asks a bigger question: if work becomes more flexible and capability-based, could even the traditional concept of a “job” need to evolve?

Fiona closes with an idea that has shaped her own career in workforce transformation: building people, leaders and organisations that are “ready for anything.”

What You’ll Learn


What Fiona means by future fluency


Why future-proofing organisations may be the wrong goal


How technology could reshape the structure and capability of HR teams


Why workforce planning and organisational design need deeper HR capability


Why organisational design is much more than restructuring or moving boxes on an org chart


What an operating model actually means in practice


Why HR needs to move beyond simply asking for a “seat at the table”


How HR can become involved earlier in technology, strategy and business decisions


Why the future of work may be better understood as the evolution of work


Why organisations need to learn to lead with change, rather than through it


How language such as “clarity over certainty” can influence how people respond to change


How AI may reduce transactional HR work while increasing the need for strategic capability


Why HR business partnering is likely to become even more commercially focused


How Centres of Excellence may need to connect more closely with strategy and business operations


Why the future of work should not sit in a separate programme


How HR teams can “breadcrumb” future-focused thinking into work they are already doing


Why Fiona believes HR should become an architect rather than the “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff”


How commercial understanding strengthens HR influence


Why “next practice” can sometimes be more useful than relying solely on best practice


What CEOs should expect from their People leaders


Why culture will become even more important as organisations become increasingly adaptive


How organisations can balance current pressures with preparing for what comes next


Why AI capability inside HR itself matters


How strategy may need more flexibility as conditions change


Why the traditional concept of a job could eventually become less rigid


What changing jobs could mean for careers and transferable capability


Why Fiona sees potential in the rise of the generalist


What it means to build an organisation that is “ready for anything”

Key Takeaways


You cannot future-proof against a future you cannot predict. Fiona’s alternative is future fluency: building the ability to adapt as conditions shift.


HR capability needs to shift. Technology may reduce some transactional roles while increasing demand for workforce planning, organisational design and strategic capability.


Org design is not the same thing as restructuring. It is about how an organisation delivers value, makes decisions, structures work and operates.


HR needs to move beyond having a seat at the table. The opportunity is to actively shape business, technology and workforce decisions.


The future of work does not need to be another separate HR programme. Future-focused capability can be built into leadership, culture and other work already underway.


HR’s value is shifting from support towards architecture. Fiona argues that People functions can help design the organisation rather than only responding once problems appear.


Credibility requires business fluency as well as HR expertise. Understanding the organisation, industry and commercial context strengthens influence.


The traditional job may not remain as fixed as it is today. More fluid use of capability could change how organisations deploy people and think about careers.


Preparing for tomorrow needs to begin today. Organisations cannot wait until the change arrives before building capability.


Being “ready for anything” does not mean predicting everything. It means developing enough adaptability in people, leadership and the organisation to respond effectively when conditions change.

About Fiona Hewitt

Fiona Hewitt is the Founder and Managing Partner of Unboxable, a New Zealand-based workforce transformation consultancy working with boards, executive teams and organisations to build the leadership, workforce and organisational capability needed to respond to technology, changing workforce expectations and evolving business conditions.

She is also co-founder of Able, an AI consultancy focused on helping organisations build AI capability in their people.

Her work spans workforce transformation, organisational design, operating models, strategy, leadership and preparing organisations for the evolution of work.

Why This Episode Matters

A lot of discussion about the future of work focuses on technology.

This conversation goes deeper into the organisational questions underneath it.

If AI changes how work gets done, organisations will need to rethink how decisions are made, how capability is deployed, what leaders are responsible for and how People & Culture functions create value.

For HR professionals, the opportunity is significant.

The profession can remain primarily focused on administering and supporting the organisation, or it can develop the commercial, organisational and workforce design capabilities needed to help shape what the organisation becomes next.

As Fiona puts it, HR has the opportunity to move from being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff to the architect with the builder at the top.

Resources & Links

Unboxable:https://unboxable.co.nz/

Connect with Fiona Hewitt on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionahewitt/

Hr Unlocked: https://linktr.ee/hrunlocked

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Looking for actionable business insights all in one place? 
We're here to help you find a way with a curation of the &lsquo;best bits&rsquo; from top business podcasts. 
Save time searching; subscribe to the SME Stream where you can listen to relevant, timely, business-related content today.&nbsp;
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