Session overview

Drawing on long-running research into workplace trends, Dr Nicola Millard, Principal Innovation Partner at BT, will explore the forces reshaping work from hybrid working and demographic change to the rapid rise of AI.

Rather than focusing narrowly on office attendance or location, this session will look at the bigger picture: how organisations can redesign work to improve productivity, employee experience and sustainability.

Nicola will explore how technology is changing roles, expectations and ways of working, while also considering where human judgement, collaboration and connection remain essential.

The session will help leaders think more practically about what the workplace of the future could look like, and what organisations should be preparing for now.

Key takeaways

By attending this session, participants will:

• Explore the major trends shaping the future of work, including hybrid working, demographic change and AI
• Understand why the future of work is about work design, not simply office attendance
• Consider how organisations can redesign work to improve productivity and employee experience
• Explore where AI and automation can support people, and where human skills remain essential
• Reflect on how workplace strategy can better support sustainability and long-term organisational performance
• Identify the questions leaders should be asking now as work continues to evolve

About our speaker

Dr Nicola Millard

Once described as “human caffeine” on social media, Dr Nicola Millard injects a people-centred expresso shot to innovation and future strategy. In her long and varied career Nicola has done many jobs, including futurology, research, usability, customer service, marketing, and business consulting. She was involved with some innovation firsts, including the first application of artificial intelligence into BT’s call centres, BT’s experiments with home working, and helping to develop BT’s “net easy” customer score.

Nicola got her PhD on motivation & technology acceptance from Lancaster University in 2005, has authored over 50 publications – including 1 book and numerous book chapters – and is a mentor on Cambridge Judge Business School’s Masters programme on innovation & entrepreneurship.

She is an award-winning presenter, with 2 TEDx talks and hundreds of conference panel, chair, and keynote sessions under her belt. She occasionally pops up on radio and TV around the world, including appearances on ‘Woman’s Hour’, ‘Tech Tent’, ‘The Media Show’, ‘The Genius of Invention’ and ‘Back in Time for the Weekend’ for the BBC.

Who should attend?

This session will be particularly useful for:

• Strategy leaders
• Heads of customer service and contact centres
• Operational and frontline leaders
• Property managers
• HR and people leaders
• Transformation and innovation teams
• Digital and technology leaders
• Anyone responsible for shaping the future of customer contact and service delivery

Joining information

Your joining link will be sent via Eventbrite 7 days before the session, and you will also receive a reminder from events@dinetwork.co.uk approximately 2 hours before the session.

Sessions are recorded where possible; however, slides and presentation materials are not guaranteed to be shared afterwards.

If you have any questions about the event or your booking, please contact events@dinetwork.co.uk.