Interview: How Tesla’s former DEI director, Kristen Kavanaugh, chose courage over fear
Courageous leadership isn’t about saving the day. It’s about taking small steps to stand up for your beliefs, when retreating would be easier. In an interview with HRZone, Kristen Kavanaugh, former DEI director of Tesla, reveals her journey to resilience, her proudest moments at the automotive company, and how courageous leaders can respond to corporate pullbacks from DEI.
Beyond the strategy deck: How HR can turn sustainability promises into action
Your sustainability strategy looks impressive, but are your people systems actually delivering change? Professor Matthew Gitsham from Hult International Business School explores the critical disconnect between organisational promises and performance – and shows you exactly how HR can bridge that gap through culture, capability, and leadership transformation.
Return to office: How not to upset almost everyone
With return-to-office (RTO) mandates back in the news, Quentin Millington of Marble Brook explains why there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy for where to work. Here, he outlines eight questions HR leaders can pose to their organisations to encourage meaningful thinking, rapid decisions and practical action.
Three ways to boost workplace connection: No mandates required
Workplace leaders are discovering that forcing in-person social connection through mandates often destroys the very culture they’re trying to build. Here, Jacqueline Towers of Hubstar explores what to do instead.
From cricket fields to coaching wisdom: Roland Butcher on what makes great leaders
As the first Black cricketer to play for England, Roland Butcher has learned a thing or two about leadership, coaching, and personal growth. Translating these lessons from the pitch to the workplace, Debra Corey of Step It Up HR shares five standout tips from Roland’s inspirational journey.
Healthy CEOs, hurting workforces: What’s behind the 48% wellbeing gap?
New global research finds that CEOs report positive wellbeing at a rate nearly 48% higher than employees. In this piece, HRZone’s managing editor Becky Norman explores the stark imbalance, the barriers undermining employee wellbeing, and how HR can help remove them.
Pride amid DEI pushback: Why HR must show what allyship really means
Pride flags are flying this month, as they are every June. But in this period of anti-DEI rhetoric, your team is watching – now more than ever – how your organisation responds. Kerry Nicholson, Chief of Operations for Brand Champions, explores the feelings of exclusion and exhaustion felt by the LGBTQ+ community today, and how organisations can be genuine allies amid increasing DEI resistance.
Progress through transparency: A turning point for disability inclusion in the workplace
Following the publication of a landmark report on workplace disability inclusion, Gethin Nadin urges employers to move past quotas and give disabled people the opportunities they deserve.
Disability pay gap reporting: More harm than good?
Business Disability Forum’s new research shows mandatory disability pay gap reporting may not be the answer to workplace inclusion. It might even lead to damaging consequences for both employers and disabled employees.
The Meta whistleblower fallout: How companies can avoid the same fate
Could your organisation be next to make scandalous headlines? Here, Andrew Loveless of Pecan Partnership shares four preventative measures to help you steer clear of a PR crisis.
Expect the sticky stuff: How to overcome resistance to change
Struggling to get certain employees ‘on board’ with your change initiative? Ella Overshott, Co-director of Pecan Partnership, shares five steps to overcome resistance and make change stick.
Labour’s benefits crackdown: The DEI alarm bell HR can’t afford to ignore
With Labour’s benefits crackdown announced, HR leaders will soon face an influx of disabled and chronically ill jobseekers. In this moment of reckoning, culture strategist Deborah Hartung shares five critical actions to build truly inclusive workplaces before it’s too late.
EIDA launches new HR Charter against domestic abuse
The Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) yesterday launched its ‘HR Charter against Domestic Abuse‘, inviting HR professionals to take a stand against domestic abuse in the workplace. This initiative, developed in partnership with Working Futures and leading HR professional Bertie Tonks, encourages HR professionals to demonstrate their commitment to raising awareness of domestic abuse […]
International Women’s Day 2025: Five ways to #AccelerateAction on gender equity
Ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day (8th March 2025), HRZone shares five powerful messages from DEI advocates on how to #AccelerateAction with gender equity.
Domestic abuse is all our business: How can employers play their part?
NO MORE Week is an international campaign, taking place 3-9 March, aimed at raising awareness about domestic and sexual violence. To recognise this week, Susan Bright, CEO of EIDA (Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse) details the crucial role employers play in supporting victim-survivors.
Redundancies in the Higher Education sector: Layoffs ‘done well’
As more universities announce redundancies, we unpack how this difficult process can be led in a way that creates the best possible experience for everyone involved.
The business cost of DEI fatigue: Why leaders can’t afford to give up on workplace diversity
To mark Race Equality Week (3-9 February), Raj Tulsiani, CEO of Green Park, urges leaders not to use DEI fatigue as an excuse to pull back on inclusion efforts.
Lack of infertility policies jeopardise employee retention
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has warned that employers could risk staff quitting if infertility policies are not implemented. Here, we examine what a robust infertility policy includes.
Pushback against EDI is an opportunity, not a barrier
Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is facing backlash, with objections like cost, fairness and division dominating debates. Here, Atif Choudhury explores these concerns, debunks myths, and highlights the transformative potential of an ‘anticipatory welcome’.
Equal Pay Day: Gender pay gap widens for first time in over a decade
This year, women will work for an extra five weeks to earn the same as their male counterparts. To mark 2024’s Equal Pay Day, reward specialist Holly Coe looks at the macro and local level changes required to close this widening gap.