Freeformers Unplugged

HR is not the problem. But the old HR paradigm might be. Every few months, an article appears declaring that HR has become bloated, bureaucratic, overreaching or bad for business. The latest version asks whether HR’s expansion has strangled British business. It draws a line between the growth of the people profession and the UK’s […]

Does L&D need to leave HR? There is a familiar conversation doing the rounds. L&D would have more impact if it left HR. It is a tempting argument. Especially for learning teams who feel underused, misunderstood, underfunded or trapped inside a function with a reputation problem. HR is often seen as reactive. Process-heavy. Compliance-led. Too

Accessibility is not an add-on. It is how better work gets designed For too long, accessibility at work has been treated as a problem to solve after the fact. Someone joins the organisation.Someone asks for an adjustment.Someone checks the policy.Someone worries about cost, precedent, legality, wording, risk. Then, eventually, a decision is made. But by

Do companies need L&D, or do they need better systems for growth? There is a question people in workplace learning do not ask often enough. Do companies actually need L&D? Not learning. Not development. Not growth. Those things matter. Deeply. But the function as we know it? The courses, platforms, pathways, mandatory modules, competency frameworks

Induction is not onboarding. And onboarding is not a checklist. There is a moment in almost every new job when the gloss starts to fade. The welcome email has been sent. The branded bottle has been handed over. The values deck has been clicked through. Someone has explained where the fire exits are, how to

Redundancy is a business decision. How you do it is a cultural one When organisations are under pressure, their values stop being words on a wall. They become a system of choices. Who gets told what.How much time people are given.Whether leaders own the story.Whether the people leaving are treated as a cost to remove,

Employee listening platforms aren’t listening Employee listening has become one of those phrases that sounds hard to argue with. Of course organisations should listen to employees.Of course people should have a voice.Of course leaders should understand what is happening inside the business before making decisions about culture, performance or change. The problem is not the

Most employer brands are a comforting lie Most employer brands sound the same. You know the lines. “Shape the future.”“Bring your whole self to work.”“Unlock your potential.”“Join us on a mission.”“Enjoy unbelievable perks.” They are polished. Positive. Search-friendly. Often beautifully designed. And, too often, completely forgettable. The problem is not that employer branding exists. It

Too many organisations treat accessibility as a nice-to-have, when in reality, it’s fundamental to creating truly diverse and inclusive workplaces. In this episode of Freeformers Unplugged, Emilie and I explore why accessibility needs to be baked into workplace design from the outset—not as an afterthought, but as a critical foundation. The problem with treating accessibility

HR keeps telling businesses they need to become skills-based—but here’s the thing: HR hasn’t done it themselves. This week on Freeformers Unplugged, I was joined by Calli Adamson Bakken to challenge whether HR and L&D teams are actually practising what they preach. If we’re going to push organisations towards a skills-based future, we need to