Global Research Reveals the Key Elements of a Future-Ready People and Culture function

People and Culture: A Practical Guide for HR Professionals and Leaders
By David Liddle, published 3 January (Kogan Page)


Interviews with 30 senior global people leaders - featured in a new book by workplace transformation expert David Liddle - capture what a powerful, future-ready People and Culture function should look like.

In People and Culture: A Practical Guide for HR Professionals and Leaders, Liddle also shares his People and Culture Operating Model – a blueprint to help organisations make the shift, built around five integrated domains: People, Culture, Strategy, Justice, and Value.

David Liddle spoke to 30 influential people leaders to find out how companies are making a decisive move away from transactional, compliance-driven HR towards models rooted in trust, voice, inclusion and shared leadership.

In the new book, he challenges the traditional HR model as no longer fit for purpose in a complex, fast-moving environment, and champions a dynamic new operating model where People and Culture becomes the driving force of organisational life.

Reviewer David D’Souza, Director of Profession, CIPD, says: "People and Culture manages to pull off the rare trick of being practical and provocative. A tightly written and accessible reflection on what we know about the present and future of work and what a joined up intelligent response to the challenges and opportunities facing us might be. Full of real-world examples and practical frameworks, it's an invaluable guide to rich thinking in this space and a challenge to build better and more productive work for all."

Key elements of a People and Culture function

Common themes emerge from interviews with 30 senior people professionals, which point to the key elements of a People and Culture function:

1. The Chief People Officer as a Strategic Culture Architect – CPOs must sit at the executive heart of the organisation, working in partnership with the CEO to shape direction, performance and transformation.
2. Listening as Strategic Infrastructure – Employee voice should become governance, not feedback, through listening loops, “stay” rather than exit interviews, and co-creation forums.
3. The End of Punitive HR – Blame-based grievance systems must give way to mediation, early resolution and restorative justice.
4. Psychological Safety as a Performance Requirement – Trust, openness and constructive challenge are essential for innovation, retention and resilience.
5. Values Lived, Not Laminated – Values must move off the wall and into everyday behaviour, leadership decisions and performance practices.
6. Distributed Power and Leadership – Rigid hierarchies should give way to shared leadership, collaboration and participatory decision-making.
7. Continuous, Human-Centred Performance – Annual appraisals should be replaced by ongoing, relationship-based performance conversations focused on growth and purpose.
8. Ethical Technology and AI – In a People and Culture function, CPOs emerge as ethical stewards of digital transformation, ensuring technology enhances dignity and trust rather than eroding it.

HR must step out of a bygone era

Through detailed practical guidance, case studies, tools and actionable insights, People and Culture equips HR practitioners and leaders to become true culture catalysts, capable of transforming their organisations from within.

David Liddle argues that HR must step out of a bygone era and evolve into something more authentically human to meet the demands of today’s world of work.

He also advocates for the transition from HR Business Partner to People Partner, affirming unequivocally that employees can no longer be thought of as resources, assets, utilities or contributors to the business – they are fundamentally the business itself.

HR reimagined as the Chief Architect

David Liddle said:
“Change is in the air. As our world shifts, HR can no longer stand at the edge or hide behind legacy systems and inherited processes. It must enter the arena – redesigning systems, recalibrating leadership, and enabling cultures to flourish. As the People and Culture agenda gathers strategic momentum, HR is being reimagined as the Chief Architect and co-creator of transformation.

“This is not aspirational. The global leaders I interviewed have already made that critical shift to a true People and Culture function – and their organisations are feeling the benefits. They spoke openly to me about moving away from transactional, compliance-driven management towards strategic, inclusive and transformational approaches. In these organisations, retribution is being replaced by restoration, compliance by trust, and control by collaboration.

“This isn’t about rejecting HR’s legacy or denying the value it has delivered. It’s about responding to a rapidly changing world with something more courageous, more connected and more authentically human. Above all, it recognises that people’s wellbeing, engagement, contribution and potential are the primary drivers of sustained business excellence.”

ENDS

For more information contact Judith Hunt on jh@griffithshuntpr.com or Rebecca Griffiths on rg@griffithshuntpr.com, 07792568421.

NOTE TO EDITORS
What the reviewers said:
'A thoughtful blueprint' Dave Ulrich

'Incredibly compelling' Dan Pontefract

'A powerful contribution' Enrique Rubio (he/him)

'A catalyst for meaningful change' Sara Andrews

'Challenges the HR profession to be better and do better' Shakil Butt

'Genuinely inspiring' Margaret Ayres

'A work of true genius' Perry Timms

About the author

David Liddle is the CEO of the TCM Group, founding editor of The People Leader Magazine and president of the People and Culture Association. For over twenty years, David Liddle and his team have been delivering award winning people, culture and leadership programmes for organizations across the globe.

Based in London, UK, in 2025 he was recognised as the Most Influential HR Thinker by HR Magazine, and he is a member of the Thinkers50 Radar. He is a proud Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and the RSA. In 2025, he was also awarded the prestigious Consultant of the Year Award at the Consultancy Awards. He is author of Managing Conflict and Transformational culture, both of which are published by Kogan Page.