If you’re skeptical about the skills-based organization model—you’re not alone. This session strips away the buzzwords and gets real about what it actually takes to build skills into HR Shared Services. You’ll hear how organizations are capturing skills (with mixed results), what they’re doing with that data (when they can), and how it’s playing out in day-to-day HRSS workflows. 

We’ll explore: 

• Why getting employees to input skills is harder than it looks 
• What to do with skills data once you have it (beyond a nice dashboard) 
• Where HRSS can apply a skills-based lens—routing, career pathing, upskilling—and where it falls flat 

Self-service is supposed to make life easier—for employees and HRSS teams alike. But when you’re stuck with outdated portals, poor search, and no budget for fancy upgrades, it can feel like a lost cause. This workshop flips that narrative. You’ll learn how to diagnose what’s actually killing your self-service usage (hint: it’s not always the tech), and uncover practical, low-cost improvements that can make your tools work harder. We’ll walk through how to fix bad search UX without buying a new system, how to make content more contextual and findable, and how to drive adoption even if your portal is clunky. 

• Diagnose common issues that cause self-service tools to underperform—without blaming the platform 
• Learn no-cost fixes to improve search relevance, content structure, and usability in legacy systems 
• Discover creative tactics to promote self-service adoption using internal channels like Slack, email, or kiosks 

Behind every smooth employee experience is a shared services process that someone fought hard to fix. In this showcase-style session, you’ll hear how leading organizations have reimagined high-impact HR processes—not through massive overhauls, but through smart design, targeted automation, and human-first thinking. 

We’ll break down the “before and after” of one core process (e.g., onboarding, payroll, case triage, mobility), showing how changes in workflow, ownership, technology, or service delivery model drove measurable improvements in speed, satisfaction, and service quality. 

What We’ll Cover: 

• What triggered the change (and what didn’t work the first time) 
• How success was measured—beyond just speed or cost 
• What the redesign unlocked: fewer handoffs, better self-service, or higher NPS 
• Lessons you can apply to your own team—no matter your tools or budget 

In a world of political division, social uncertainty, and top-down mandates, employees don’t just want to feel safe—they need to. For many employees, everyday stressors—from return-to-office mandates to fear around personal identity—create barriers to doing their best work. And while HR Shared Services may not set policy, we do shape the employee experience. Psychological safety means employees believe they can speak up, ask for help, and bring their full selves to work without fear of retaliation or dismissal. This session explores what psychological safety really looks like in HR Shared Services, why it matters now more than ever, and how we can uphold it—even if we don’t control the C-suite. From inclusive case handling to empathetic escalation processes and responsive feedback channels, you’ll leave with practical tools to reduce harm, build trust, and ensure your HRSS function isn’t adding more stress—but relieving it. 

What We’ll Cover: 

• Key psychological triggers that HRSS teams should recognize in employee interactions 
• Real examples of inclusive case resolution, escalation design, and process rewording 
• Cross-generational and identity-aware perspectives on what “safety” means at work 
• Actionable tools to reduce harm and build trust through service delivery 

Looking for engaging conversations and networking opportunities? Participate in our Interactive Discussion Groups (IDGs)! These are dynamic, 40-minute sessions designed to foster in-depth discussions on key topics. You'll have the chance to join two different IDGs, choosing your preferred topics when you arrive. Each group, with 10-20 participants, will be led by a moderator who will kick off the conversation with several prepared questions, encouraging everyone to share their insights and perspectives.

Get ready for 20 minutes of fast-moving, opinion-sparking fun. In this mini version of our signature session, we’ll throw out bold statements about HR trends, tech, and workplace culture—and you’ll vote with your feet. Agree? Disagree? Somewhere in between? Move to your spot and join a rapid-fire group chat to hear where your peers stand (and maybe rethink where you do). 

No slides. No pressure. Just energy, insights, and a few great hot takes to carry into the rest of your day. 

HR Shared Services leaders are continuously striving to optimize workflows and improve service delivery. However, measuring the true impact of the tools used for optimization can be a challenge. This session flips the script. We'll use a real-world case study as a springboard for deep-diving into effective measurement strategies for HRSS tools.  

• See how AI chatbots and automation can expedite resolution times.  
• Get equipped with a transferable framework for measuring the impact of any new tool implemented within your HRSS environment. 
• Learn how to select the most impactful metrics to track based on the specific tool and its functionalities.  
• Gain insights on data collection methods and best practices for analyzing results to quantify the ROI of new tools. 

Reporting lines shape everything—from your budget and influence to how fast you can get things done. So where should HR Shared Services live? Should it stay close to HR to champion the employee experience? Sit under Finance or the COO for discipline and process alignment? Or be fully embedded in GBS for cross-functional scale? 

In this lively end-of-day debate, leaders from organizations with very different structures will make the case for where HRSS belongs—and how that choice impacts culture, strategy, and results. Expect passionate arguments, real-world examples, and honest takes on what works (and what drives teams nuts). 

What We’ll Explore: 

• How reporting to HR, Finance, GBS, or other functions impacts service delivery 
• Why structure isn’t just operational—it’s political, cultural, and strategic 
• How to influence structure when you can’t control it—and navigate it when you must