UNLEASH World Day 1: Top 7 highlights from Josh Bersin to rugby legends Jonny Wilkinson and Serge Betsen

And that’s a wrap! Day 1 of UNLEASH World has come to a close.

With thousands of people on-site, we’re proud to say that this is set to be the biggest and best UNLEASH World event yet – and Day Two is still to come!

But don’t worry, if you feel you missed out some sessions on-site today.

Our dedicated Editorial team attended the biggest keynotes, most innovative sessions, our €50,000 Startup Competition Award and more – and reported on them – to ensure you can catch up at your leisure.

Josh Bersin on the age of AI in HR

We’re living in one of the most interesting but disruptive periods for the world of technology – and Josh Bersin, Founder & CEO, of The Josh Bersin Company, kick-started Day 1 by telling us why now is the time is to take advantage of this acceleration in HR Tech.

Beginning his keynote, Bersin discusses how the economic size of the working population in many developed countries is flattening – or at least, is beginning to.

Consequently, CEOs will no longer be able to hire whoever, whenever, encouraging them to instead develop the skills of those currently employed.

Bersin supports this by quoting recent PwC research that found that most CEOs have found that their problem is not execution, but rather the transformation of their current employees.

“This is a very, very important time for us, as while all of this is going on, employees are saying that they, too, have had enough,” Bersin says.

“They’re saying that they’re going to work from home whether their employer likes it or not. They’re going to quiet quit and they not going to say anything about it. And, in some countries, they’re even going to strike.

“Why? Because they’re realizing they have the authority to demand what they want.

Now, CEOs and other managers are having to find ways of convincing employees to participate in this growth – AI has become a big part of this.”

Over the course of the rest of Bersin’s fascinating 25-minute keynote, he discusses how CEOs and businesses can overcome this issue, as well as highlighting some of the big applications that are assisting with this transformation.

Closing his session, Bersin shares a number of businesses that he defines as ‘trailblazers’, pioneering new ideas and innovative ways of thinking.

Barbara Lavernos, Eric Olsen and Jérémie Lecha share insights on ‘HR’s mission’

UNLEASH World brought together three visionary CEOs from diverse industries, to discuss the thought-provoking concept of “Reinventing the Social Contract,” as well as its impact mission, skills, and talent.

Throughout the discussion, Barbara Lavernos, deputy CEO at L’Oréal, highlights how diversity is not tolerated at L’Oréal, but celebrated, sharing that the company is proud to have 57% of women in management and leadership positions.

On a similar note, Eric Olsen, CEO at Aliaxis, discusses how many companies are facing a scarcity of talent, causing businesses to run at 30% less production, while highlighting that Aliaxis also has a focus on increasing the levels of women in leadership roles.

Additionally, Jérémie Lecha, CEO of Roullier Group, calls for the need for absolute transparency with employees, explaining how and why this is a priority for Roullier Group as a family-led company.

‘How to chart the decade ahead’ with Muriel Pénicaud

“We need to prepare for a huge tsunami of work,” Muriel Pénicaus, board director and senior advisor, Bain Capital declared.

“If we are prepared, there is nothing to be afraid of. If not then, we should be afraid.”

Pénicaud continued to state that workplaces will face four waves:

• AI – ChatGPT is just the beginning.
• The ‘Green transition’.
• In developing countries, more people are retiring, and the birth rate is very low and decreasing, therefore tension in the market is visible across all sectors and companies, meaning the talent search will be huge.
• Challenges in relation to work. People want to work for a purpose-driven company, while also having a purpose-driven job

All four of these together will change at least 1 billion jobs by 2030.

Pénicaud continues to explain that the role of HR Business Partners is a job that’s in the past.

“You will be required to really be a leader,” she states. “You will need to first create an engine for the upskilling machine. It is clear that need to focus on choosing flexibility, republishing purpose, and innovating.”

L’Oréal CHRO Jean-Claude Le Grand on ‘bullet-proofing HR’ and ‘leading with humility

Trust cannot be bought – you must build it to form people-centric companies – that was one of the key take homes from CHRO at L’Oréal Jean-Claude Le Grand’s insightful session.

Joining him on stage was Jess Von Bank, global leader, solution provider services, Mercer.

During the 20-minute fireside discussion, Le Grand advised those who want to build a large, growing company to start by engaging their people early on – sharing that that has been key to L’Oréal’s strategy.

“What’s the secret to success?” He asks.

“Your people. To drive their success is not easy for HR – it takes work. Leading with humility is essential – we grow bigger because of the people and their engagement.”

Yvette Cameron discusses HR agility

Employee engagement reached an all-time high in 2022 – hitting 22%.

Yvette Cameron, senior vice president, global HCM product strategy at Oracle explains how this figure desperately needs to be improved upon and can be done so when organizations leverage technology correctly.

While echoing the importance of connection and culture, Cameron states that tech can help employee engagement in four key ways, including:

• Supporting a culture of appreciation with recognition and rewards
• Create trusted employee-manager touchpoints, such as daily or weekly check-ins
• AI-driven recommendations for connections, mentors and experts
• Personalized communication journeys and growth opportunities

LIDL: A data-driven approach to employer branding with Catherine Gouw

For Catherine Gouw, head of employer branding international, Lidl, there’s always been one key question: What makes an attractive employer? This is the very question that drove her to pioneer LIDL’s employer branding at the start of 2020.

While sharing the journey in her session today, Gouw outlines LIDL’s four-pillar approach to employer branding: design, survey, candidate experience and messages.

“My personal aim is for everyone in the organization to someday understands what employer branding is,” Gouw says, “as well as why it’s important and how it impacts everyone.

“From my perspective, every employee has a big impact on employer branding – they just don’t always realize how.”

Unleash resilience and reinvention with Jonny Wilkinson and Serge Betsen

Two rugby legends closed out Day 1 for us, and wow, what an incredible atmosphere they helped to conjure up with the help of our moderator –  Executive Director at Insight222, David Green.

England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson, joined 63 caps French Rugby star Serge Betsen from The French National Rugby Team.

Wilkinson and Betsen unleashed the power of resilience and reinvention, while sharing how they both overcame challenges, found inner strength and achieved success.

“Do you really care about who you’re working with?,” Jonny says.

“You don’t have to like everybody, but, on a human level, you have to love everyone.”

They both spoke about the power of seeing rivals with respect, as well as self-kindness when it come to having audacious ambitious goals  – in life as well as work.

A beautiful message to round off a packed day of inspiration, networking and passion here at UNLEASH World.

Stay with us for Day 2’s roundup tomorrow at UNLEASH.