HR Strategy Summit NSW 2025: Key Insights for Future-Ready HR Leaders

The HR Strategy Summit NSW 2025 brought together top HR leaders to unpack the trends shaping the future.

With shifting workforce expectations, AI advancements, and increasing complexity in employee relations, HR leaders must think differently. Let’s dive into the biggest insights from the summit and how you can apply them in your own organisation.

Employee Engagement: From Survive to Thrive

To build a thriving workplace in 2025, businesses must embrace adaptive leadership, AI-driven technology, and a holistic total rewards approach. Summit research revealed that 46% of Australian employees feel overwhelmed and undervalued, reinforcing the need to rethink engagement strategies. A meaningful total rewards approach goes beyond pay—it includes career growth, flexibility, and skill-building, showing employees they are valued. Providing opportunities for development fosters loyalty, while flexibility builds trust.

Key takeaway: Shifting from survival mode to a growth mindset enhances both employee wellbeing and long-term business success.

Rethinking Productivity: Beyond the Flexibility Debate

The debate over flexibility versus productivity isn’t going away. Hybrid work offers autonomy, but some leaders remain sceptical about its impact on performance. With a multigenerational workforce and AI reshaping roles, the need for new productivity measures is clear.

Instead of reverting to rigid models, businesses must redefine high performance beyond physical presence. Clear expectations, outcome-based metrics, and trust in employees are essential to making hybrid work successful.

Psychosocial Safety: Where HR, ER, and HSE Intersect

The rise of psychosocial safety claims is changing HR’s role in workplace health and safety. Some organisations are merging ER/IR and WHS functions, while others, like ANSTO, are driving reforms through OD.

The challenge? Embedding psychosocial safety into culture rather than reacting to claims. HR must balance proactive safety strategies with equipping leaders to manage performance effectively—without fear of legal repercussions.

Key takeaway: HR must be bold, strategic, and proactive in managing these evolving risks.

HR Transformation in Action

Keynote speaker Scott Dalby (CPO, Sydney Swans) and panellists Erika Takahashi (CPO, The Iconic) and Rowena Carter (HRD, Four Seasons Hotels) shared how they’re evolving people strategies.

The Iconic streamlined its approach to focus on culture, leadership, and operational excellence. Four Seasons reinforced the alignment between employee and guest experience—ensuring that the same level of care extends to their workforce. The Sydney Swans, meanwhile, reframed their people strategy as a ‘game plan,’ focusing on alignment, trust, and clarity. Instead of rigid objectives, they prioritised ‘mission clarity,’ ensuring every team member understands their role and contribution.

Key takeaway: Culture is the foundation of high performance, and great teams aren’t just built on star players—they’re made up of individuals who elevate those around them.

AI in HR: Adapt or Be Left Behind

HR leaders across industries—from manufacturing to law and media—agreed that AI is transforming work. Research presented at the summit predicted that AI will drive more change in the next five years than in the last decade. The real risk isn’t AI itself—it’s failing to leverage it effectively.

Key takeaway: AI isn’t a threat—it’s an enabler. Like spell check, it’s a tool that enhances talent acquisition, learning, and performance analytics. The HR leaders who integrate AI into their strategy will drive the future of work.

Leadership Development: Fostering Adaptability and Resilience

Organisations that thrive in uncertainty have one thing in common: strong leadership. Summit discussions highlighted the need to equip leaders with the skills to navigate ambiguity, break down silos, and build high-performing teams. Michelle Theophilou, Head of HR at Amazon, shared how their leadership principles drive accountability and encourage debate. Michelle Fichmann, Director of OD & LD at Ramsay Health Care, reinforced the importance of embedding leadership learning into daily work, rather than relying on one-off programs.

Key takeaway: Continuous learning and leadership accountability must come from the top down. For HR, this means shifting from delivering leadership programs to integrating development into business-as-usual practices.

Final Thoughts: Leading the Change

The key themes from the summit—balancing flexibility and productivity, prioritising psychosocial safety, embracing AI, rethinking engagement, and strengthening leadership—are redefining HR. These shifts bring complexity but also expand HR’s strategic influence.

The real opportunity? HR leaders aren’t just adapting to change—they’re driving it.

As Ali Hancock, CPO of Domain Group, emphasised, the key is listening. Understanding your CEO and executives at a deeper level allows HR to leverage its unique enterprise-wide perspective. By focusing on business outcomes, using data-driven insights, and aligning people strategies with organisational goals, HR can be the catalyst for transformation.

How We Can Help

With HR evolving rapidly, partnering with The Next Step can provide a competitive edge. Whether it’s finding leaders to drive cultural transformation, embedding AI into HR functions, or navigating psychosocial safety requirements, the right talent makes all the difference.

We understand today’s HR challenges and are passionate about connecting you with professionals who are shaping the future of work.