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Only 1 in 10 organisations is truly future-ready – yet most are still investing heavily in transformation without closing the gap between strategy and execution. At the same time, 60% of workers are already pivoting careers, signalling a workforce that’s evolving faster than organisations can keep up with.

Execution is under pressure. Over half of CEOs say leadership teams can’t align on talent priorities fast enough, and just 1 in 4 leaders believe decision-making is truly effective. The strain is most visible in the middle, where managers are pulled into delivery at the expense of leadership, turning a critical layer into a bottleneck.

In this session, we’ll unpack what’s driving the gap between strategy and delivery — and what HR leaders can do to close it. You’ll gain practical ways to strengthen leadership impact, unlock internal mobility, and build a workforce that can adapt and perform as change accelerates.

You’ll leave with:

• A clear view of where execution is breaking down – and how to fix it
• A practical definition of what “future-ready” really means
• Proven ways to build more agile, effective leaders at scale
• Strategies to activate internal mobility as career pivots accelerate
• Practical actions to shift mindset, not just skillset

Every transformation plan is really two plans stacked on top of each other: the strategic one, and the behavioural one underneath it that decides whether the strategic one survives contact with the workforce. Most organisations invest heavily in the first and treat the second as a communications problem. It isn’t. It’s a psychology problem, and it’s usually the one quietly deciding whether the AI rollout, the restructure or the new operating model actually takes.

This session makes the case that recognition, done well, is one of the few levers that closes that gap, not as an engagement nicety but as a mechanism grounded in behavioural science. Using Achievers Workforce Institute 2026 State of Recognition APAC data and real examples from Achievers customers using recognition deliberately to drive AI adoption and structural change, we’ll unpack why the organisations getting transformation right are treating recognition as infrastructure their change program runs on, not a reward that shows up after the fact. Expect a sharper way to think about your next transformation, not a product pitch.

Claims are rising. Burnout isn’t improving. People continue to leave.

Despite significant investment in wellbeing, engagement and employee experience, many organisations are still struggling to move the needle on the outcomes that matter most.

Most leaders treat these as separate workforce issues. Our research suggests there is a very clear, very real, and very costly link.

Drawing on five years of data and insights from more than 11,000 employees across Australia and New Zealand, Gallagher will share findings from our region’s largest employee wellbeing study, revealing the hidden factors driving workforce risk and performance.

Combining exclusive wellbeing research, national claims insights and global expertise spanning people strategy, workplace risk and employee benefits, we’ll uncover the patterns many organisations are missing, the cost of getting them wrong, and the opportunities hiding in plain sight.

This practical session includes a guided wellbeing audit, helping HR leaders identify risks within their own workforce and prioritise the actions most likely to improve retention, performance and wellbeing outcomes.

Leave with evidence, not theory. And practical actions, not more wellbeing rhetoric.

Most organisations have a financial wellness program that works for 80% of their workforce. This session is about the other 20%, your executive cohort, and the invisible financial stress that makes them easier to poach than you think. Recent Federal Budget changes have made executive finances materially harder to manage. Your surveys cannot see it. Your EAPs cannot address it. And your competitors are starting to figure this out.

This session explores why executive financial complexity is now a burning talent issue, what it looks like when it goes wrong, and the one addition to your benefits package that keeps your best people. You will leave with three actions you can take this week.

The Real Story Behind AI, Payroll and the Future of Work

For decades, payroll teams have been built around processing, reconciliation and compliance. What happens when AI starts doing the work?

Join the Head of Global Payroll at CBA as she shares how one of Australia’s largest organisations is using AI to automate payroll activities, improve employee experiences and build the governance needed to operate safely at scale.

From AI chatbots to payroll close agents, this session will challenge traditional assumptions about payroll, workforce design and the future role of HR. The organisations that gain the most value from AI won’t simply automate processes. They’ll redesign work.

This session isn’t about technology. It’s about leadership.

Through real examples and practical insights, Belinda will share how CBA prioritises AI opportunities, manages risk and prepares payroll teams for a dramatically different future.

If you’re responsible for HR, payroll, workforce technology or transformation, expect to leave with a clearer view of what AI can realistically do today, and what HR leaders should be doing next.

Amid widespread restructuring, HR has a unique opportunity to cement its seat at the executive table. As technology and legislation reshape the workforce, HR leaders must confidently guide decisions and assert their influence at the executive level.

In this session, explore practical ways to use tools, link HR initiatives to business impact, and build the confidence to ensure HR’s influence is both heard at the executive table and understood by HR team members at all levels.

• Utilising data and people analytics to measure and demonstrate the value of HR initiatives and align to business goals
• Speaking the language of the boardroom — understanding how people strategy fits into wider organisational conversations

The concept of change management has existed for decades, but in a period of constant upheaval, it too must evolve.

This session will explore practical ways to modernise change management by integrating it into delivery, leveraging digital tools, and drawing on cross-disciplinary expertise to support sustainable transformation.

• Resetting expectations around change and transformation
• Centralising and championing change management, ensuring it gets the attention it deserves
• Normalising change: encouraging curiosity, interest and personal wellness over resilience
• Exploring how digital tools and cross-functional expertise can modernise change management

Psychosocial safety legislation has driven organisations to focus on risk, checklists and compliance, but time has come to move beyond a compliance mindset and take a more holistic, unified approach.

As the legislative landscape continues to evolve and the lines between HR and safety get blurred, it can be easy to get lost, but this session will explore practical ways to operationalise psychosocial safety across teams and leadership.

• Moving beyond surveys, checklists, and compliance controls to create actionable outcomes that stick
• Integrate HR and safety for a unified, organisation-wide approach
• Exploring practical strategies to leverage psychological safety for stronger team performance, productivity and engagement

Are your people doing the best work of their lives? Are they equipped with the skills they need to thrive as roles and responsibilities evolve? Join this session to learn how organisations are transforming growth and development pathways and preparing their people for an as-yet undefined future:

• Encouraging a skills evolution – mapping skills and integrating key gaps into learning and development opportunities to ensure your workforce evolves effectively
• Understanding necessary skills and roles across your entire ecosystem to enable increased internal exposure and encourage mobility
• Understanding where automation and offshore opportunities can help the development of new, attractive roles

Gari Yala is truthtelling in action – a platform for first nations peoples to share their experience of work, centring indigenous voices.

The truth of workplaces are concerning – racism has remained concerningly high at work – with 60% of Indigenous people facing racism sometimes, often or very often. Indigenous people are also privy to significant unpaid workplace demands, placed by the employer for no pay – as well as significant pay gaps.

In this presentation, we look at better solutions for those issues, as well as case studies around those who are experiencing some tension in balancing their role as representatives for their organisation in a professional context, with their roles in their local community and how First Nations-led support can help them navigate this tension and cultural load.

Hear from Randstad EMEA’s Head of Advisory, in an interview with Beamible’s Co-Founder to discover how an evidence-based work redesign methodology was successfully applied to transform a critical function of a global professional services firm.

This session will unpack the project’s innovative approach: utilising a task-level work design study with Beamible to map work against employee energy levels, AI potential, and offshoring suitability. Crucially, the project also upskilled the client team to collaboratively redesign their own work and operating model.

The project revealed critical insights:

• Trapped Capacity: Identified process bottlenecks tying up nearly 20% of capacity, costing approximately £2.5m annually
• Fragmentation: Exposed severe role fragmentation within middle management
• Efficiency opportunities: Revealed that 42% of total time was ripe for automation or offshoring

Amid widespread restructuring, HR has a unique opportunity to cement its seat at the executive table. As technology and legislation reshape the workforce, HR leaders must confidently guide decisions and assert their influence at the executive level.

In this session, explore practical ways to use tools, link HR initiatives to business impact, and build the confidence to ensure HR’s influence is both heard at the executive table and understood by HR team members at all levels.

• Utilising data and people analytics to measure and demonstrate the value of HR initiatives and align to business goals
• Speaking the language of the boardroom — understanding how people strategy fits into wider organisational conversations

The concept of change management has existed for decades, but in a period of constant upheaval, it too must evolve.

This session will explore practical ways to modernise change management by integrating it into delivery, leveraging AI and digital tools, and drawing on cross-disciplinary expertise to support sustainable transformation.

• Resetting expectations around change and transformation
• Centralising and championing change management, ensuring it gets the attention it deserves
• Normalising change: encouraging curiosity, interest and personal wellness over resilience
• Exploring how digital tools and cross-functional expertise can modernise change management

Today’s workforce is more complex than ever — spanning generations, employment types, and working models from hybrid to fully remote. With employees bringing increasingly diverse expectations and priorities, organisations need better ways to stay connected to their people.

The challenge for organisations is shifting from measuring engagement to acting on the insights that meaningfully improve culture, productivity, and performance.

• Exploring engagement offerings for more diverse and distributed workforces
• Meeting growing expectations for feedback to drive visible change
• Understanding the factors that truly drive engagement for your workforce, such as career growth, recognition and sustainable workloads
• Utilising AI to speed up your team’s ability to change based on feedback

HR leaders are uniquely positioned to structure work, empower teams, and embed tools and practices that create engaged, productive and fulfilled workforces.

Join this session to learn how organisations are transforming growth and development pathways and preparing their people for an as-yet undefined future.

• Optimising work patterns and embedding AI to increase employee performance sustainably
• Empowering teams — boundary-setting and self-directed work
• Managing workload and overwhelm to keep employees on track
• Measuring success — tracking engagement, performance and wellbeing