The edges are alive: imagining what HR could be in 2030

In 2030, the energy in organisations doesn’t live in policies, processes, or performance frameworks. It lives in WhatsApp groups, in lunchtime projects, in people swapping ideas in between the work. If HR wants to help lead transformation, it needs to stop polishing the centre — and start growing the edges.

By the way, we’re starting to do some of this ourselves — which you can see here and there!

🌍 HR in 2030: A day at the edges

1. Belonging is built at breakfast

In one NHS Trust, staff networks no longer sit in the margins. The “Migrant Voices Café” — started informally in 2025 by a junior nurse and a porter — is now a core space where policies are tested, training ideas are prototyped, and trust is built. HR doesn’t run it. They show up, they listen, they act.

🔎 What changed?

HR moved from being owners of inclusion to responders to belonging. They fund food, create space, and let the network shape what matters.

2. Induction begins on TikTok

When 17-year-old Zahra joins a local authority’s apprenticeship programme, she doesn’t get a 50-page PDF. She gets a TikTok-style welcome series filmed by last year’s cohort. They show her where to eat, how to get IT set up, and the names of the people who’ll really help her thrive.

🔎 What changed?

HR stopped trying to “own the brand” and instead handed the mic to the people who live it. Now, every induction is fresh, human, and hyper-local.

3. Annual reviews are over. Energy reviews are in.

At a community housing organisation, performance management now happens in “energy reviews.” Every quarter, teams reflect on three questions:

• What’s giving you energy?
• What’s draining it?
• What’s one shift we could make?

Managers are coached to respond with curiosity, not control. The result? Less burnout, more momentum.

🔎 What changed?

HR stopped chasing KPIs and started chasing vitality. Reviews became relational, not bureaucratic.

4. Policies are open source

At a national charity, every HR policy lives on an internal wiki. Anyone can suggest changes. Every six months, frontline staff and people leads hold a “Policy Assembly” — where they debate edits, add clarity, and crowdsource better ways of working.

It’s not chaos. It’s collaborative governance.

🔎 What changed?

HR gave up perfection and embraced participation. Now, people own the policies they helped shape.

5. Line managers are taught like designers

In 2030, the best line managers aren’t just compliance checkers — they’re facilitators of thriving. That’s why one social enterprise runs “Design Sprints for Managers.” They learn to prototype flexible rotas, redesign team rituals, and test new 1:1 formats.

🔎 What changed?

HR started training managers not just to manage, but to design — creating the conditions for teams to work well.

6. Leave planning is joyful, not bureaucratic

At a tech startup, parental leave isn’t a quiet goodbye and a confusing return. It’s a milestone moment. Teams co-design “handover ceremonies.” Returning parents get a “reboarding coach.” HR provides playful templates, space, and community — not checklists.

🔎 What changed?

HR embraced the messiness of life transitions. They moved from leave management to life design.

7. Micro-pilots beat mega-strategies

In a large council, a team of refuse collectors started swapping shifts through a Google Form to support school pickups. Instead of shutting it down, HR joined in. They helped formalise the idea and scaled it across services. Now the council has 30+ live “micro-pilots” — all started at the edges.

🔎 What changed?

HR became curious about informal workarounds, not threatened by them. Transformation now starts small, grows sideways, and sticks.

✨ What if this was normal?

Imagine if this wasn’t the future — but just how things worked.

• People design their own support.
• Policy is a conversation.
• Learning happens in the flow of work.
• The messy, human bits of life are seen, not side-lined.
• HR is a host, not a gatekeeper.

This is possible. And in some places, it’s already real. The edges are alive. The question is: will we keep trying to fix what’s broken in the middle — or will we start building what’s already growing at the edge?

Want to make it happen?

Start with one step:

• Join the staff group you normally just sponsor.
• Ask someone what they’re already doing to make work better — and back it.
• Turn the most inspiring Slack thread into a pilot.
• Run a mini hack with your new joiners.
• Stop writing the strategy. Start hosting the stories.

Let’s build HR that follows the energy.