Get your name badges and grab a cuppa before the day commences.

WorkBuzz's CEO, Steven Frost opens the day - setting the scene for what's ahead, sharing his perspective on the state of employee listening, and giving attendees a first look at the brand-new Future of Work Report.

Be among the very first to hear the findings from WorkBuzz's Future of Work research. Ryan Tahmassebi, WorkBuzz's VP People Science and a real expert on listening and engagement, takes a deeper dive into the data - unpacking what this year's research reveals about listening maturity, manager effectiveness, and the drivers of employee engagement. This isn't just a presentation, you'll then take the findings to your table, identifying the insights that matter most for your organisation and the one key takeaway you're going to act on.

As well as networking with your peers, our dedicated product area will be open throughout the day. Get hands-on with Perspectives, the new upgrade to ACT, and Dialogue - and speak directly with our product and people science teams about how each tool can accelerate your listening strategy.

Most HR leaders know listening matters. The problem is keeping it alive - getting leaders to truly own it, not just tolerate it, and moving beyond the annual survey to build a genuine capability that drives performance.

In this interactive peer session, you'll use the WorkBuzz maturity model as a shared diagnostic tool - drawing on the experience of senior HR and People leaders from across the room to pinpoint barriers, and leaving with specific actions to take in the next 30 days.

As well as networking with your peers, our dedicated product area will be open throughout the day. Get hands-on with Perspectives, the new upgrade to ACT, and Dialogue - and speak directly with our product and people science teams about how each tool can accelerate your listening strategy.

From Machines to Intelligence – The Next Wave of Workplace Transformation

As technology continues to reshape the workplace, many organisations are focusing on the wrong question. The real challenge is not how quickly technology is advancing, but how effectively organisations can adapt, learn and respond.

In this thought-provoking keynote, David Fairhurst explores the next wave of workplace transformation and the evolving relationship between technology, leadership, culture and human judgement. Drawing on decades of experience working with leaders and organisations around the world, he challenges conventional thinking about change and offers a compelling perspective on what will distinguish successful organisations in the years ahead.

Rather than focusing on technology alone, David examines the organisational capabilities that enable people and businesses to navigate complexity, accelerate learning and sustain performance in an increasingly uncertain world.

The session leaves audiences with a powerful insight: in an age of unprecedented access to information, the greatest competitive advantage may belong to those organisations that can learn faster than everyone else.

Managers are the biggest single lever in any engagement programme, and the most common point of failure. This session tackles the action planning trap head-on: why template answers, lack of authority, and misaligned incentives turn well-designed systems into tick-box exercises - and what to actually do about it.

You'll leave with an honest picture of where manager capability sits in your organisation, the root cause of action planning failure, and a blueprint for changes you can make.

As well as networking with your peers, our dedicated product area will be open throughout the day. Get hands-on with Perspectives, the new upgrade to ACT, and Dialogue - and speak directly with our product and people science teams about how each tool can accelerate your listening strategy.

The People Plan is not an island and listening is not a one-off exercise: Orbit’s path to listening and building insight-led people interventions that align with business strategy.

HR practitioners are skilled at building people strategies to support the business. But too often, we treat the plan itself as the finish line. A people plan was never meant to stand alone - the real challenge is threading colleague engagement through customer experience and business strategy to build an organisation that's fit for the future.

In this candid session, Catrinel Stanila explores how Orbit Group has put employee listening at the heart of its people plan, turning it from a one-off survey exercise into a continuous, strategic capability. Drawing on real examples from Orbit's own journey, she reveals how engagement data is used not just to validate existing priorities, but to challenge them - testing whether the organisation's core themes still hold, or whether it's time to pivot.

Cat goes beyond the people function itself, showing how Orbit is building a genuinely future-fit organisation by threading colleague engagement directly through customer experience and business strategy.

The session leaves delegates with a clear message: a people plan is not an island - it must connect with business strategy, and the organisations that listen continuously - and act on what they hear - are the ones best placed to adapt and thrive.

WorkBuzz's CEO Steven Frost returns to close out the day, reflecting on the themes and conversations that have emerged throughout, before turning the lens to what's next for WorkBuzz. Expect a look ahead at the product roadmap, upcoming innovations, and the direction of travel for employee listening, giving you a glimpse of what's coming and how it will shape your organisation's listening strategy in the year ahead.

If you don’t need to get away immediately, join Steve, Ryan, Mel and the WorkBuzz team in the bar to reflect on the day or just take a breath before your journey home.