The role of HR is undergoing a profound transformation, and this session at the Engage Employee Summit made one thing clear: HR is no longer operating in the background. It is stepping forward as a strategic driver of culture, performance, and employee experience.
On the Organisational Culture & HR Leadership stage, Bekah Thompson, People Experience Leader, and Céline Renaud, Global Head of Employee Experience at Sanofi, explored how HR is evolving from a traditionally administrative function into a design-led, insight-driven partner to the business.
Bekah opened with a powerful reframing of HR’s purpose. Rather than focusing on policies and processes, she positioned HR as curators of employee experience. Describing the function as a “Spotify DJ of work,” she highlighted the need to tailor experiences to individuals at different career stages, recognising that a one-size-fits-all approach no longer meets employee expectations. She also challenged the idea that HR owns culture, emphasising instead that culture is co-created by leadership, enabled by HR, and brought to life by employees across the organisation.
Céline built on this by reinforcing the importance of viewing culture through the entire employee journey. She shared how Sanofi combines quantitative data with qualitative insights to understand how culture is truly experienced, enabling more targeted and meaningful interventions. Rather than driving top-down initiatives, her team acts as facilitators, partnering with the business to co-design solutions that reflect real employee needs.
A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the shift towards discovery-led HR. Bekah explained that teams are investing more time in listening and research before moving into implementation. She illustrated this with the redesign of performance processes, where engaging employees and leaders revealed a preference for more flexible, continuous reflection over traditional review cycles. Céline described this as an ongoing loop of design, testing, and refinement, ensuring that HR practices remain responsive and relevant.
The session also highlighted how innovation is reshaping HR delivery. Bekah shared how her team is using AI and no-code tools to rapidly build bespoke solutions when existing platforms fall short, enabling faster experimentation and more tailored outcomes. Céline offered a practical example from Sanofi, where a buddy system was introduced to better support new joiners, particularly those with managers in different locations, strengthening connection and cultural integration from the outset.
Crucially, both speakers stressed the importance of linking HR activity to business performance. Céline outlined how employee experience metrics are structured across experience, operational, and business indicators, creating a clear connection between people initiatives and organisational results. Bekah added that HR must increasingly speak the language of business, using measures such as employee return on investment and revenue per employee to demonstrate impact and influence strategic decisions.
The conversation concluded with a clear message for HR leaders: adopting design thinking and product management principles is no longer optional. From discovery and testing to continuous iteration, HR must build experiences with the same discipline as any customer-facing product, while remaining firmly anchored in employee needs and business priorities.
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