Has HR moved on at all since 1995?

HR is stuck in a loop of recycled ideas and fear-based decision making. How can we break this cycle?

If HR is serious about the future of work, it needs a total reset, said Jessy Warn, director and managing partner at no-nonsense consultancy firm HR Gurus.

“HR spends more time writing policies than solving problems. We talk about bold ideas but run performance reviews like it’s 1995,” Warn said.

Warn will speak at Bold Ideas in HR on 19 June in Sydney, in an event that will challenge assumptions and shake up strategies for people leaders, from CHROs to CEOs.

She argued that while issues like flexibility, AI, and burnout dominate discussions, the real problem is deeper.

“We’re still debating remote work when the real question is: why do people hate the office? We push ‘culture’ but expect staff to build it in their spare time,” she said.

“We add AI to hiring but still ghost candidates after three interviews and a psych test.”

Playing it safe

Warn said that, in fact, HR’s biggest challenge is fear – of getting it wrong, breaking rules, or doing something radically different.

“The companies that win in the next decade will be the ones that stop playing defence. HR has been built around minimising risk, but that mindset is why we’re constantly behind,” Warn said.

“The future isn’t about being slightly better – it’s about being so good that people actually want to work for us.”

One example, Warn said, is questioning why HR is still holding annual engagement surveys instead of fixing obvious problems in real time, or performance reviews that stress people out instead of helping them improve.

“If your best talent is quitting quietly, your problem isn’t just flexibility, Gen Z, or hybrid work; it’s that your workplace isn’t worth staying for,” she said.

HR needs action. “We’re full of smart people, yet we wait for permission to do things differently. The real question isn’t what’s next for HR. It’s whether HR has enough bold leaders to lead the way,” Warn said.

Jessy Warn and Emily Jaksch will be your fearless hosts at Bold Ideas in HR on 19 June 2025, leading discussions with their inimitable no-BS strategies and insights. They are joined by a meticulously curated line-up of HR trailblazers, visionaries, futurists and out-of-industry disruptors for the most powerful, inspirational HR event you’ll attend all year.

Click here to read more and secure your ticket.