The HR-IT Fusion: People, Tech & The Future of Work

On the 25^th of November, Livingston James was delighted to host an evening discussing The HR-IT Fusion: People, Tech & The Future of Work. Ali Shaw and Rachel Sim co-hosted the evening alongside Les Calder, CTO of Donaldson Group who shared his fascinating insights into the future of these functions and the opportunities and risks of change driven by AI and transformation. 

It was an evening filled with great conversation, fantastic food and even a live cookery demo courtesy of the talented team at Kitchen Torque, all set at the gorgeous Kitchens International Showroom in Edinburgh.

The event was born out of research from Nexthink which found “64% of senior IT decision makers at large companies expect their HR and IT functions to merge within five years”. As AI and digital transformation accelerate, the boundaries between technology and people functions are blurring. Recent moves by leading organisations suggest a future where HR and IT may operate as one, reshaping leadership, employee experience and working practices.

 

There are a number of key trends influencing IT & HR in Scotland that may drive change:

 

Digital Transformation and AI Integration

• Scotland’s IT sector is booming, with government-backed initiatives aiming to make it a UK tech hub
• HR teams are increasingly adopting AI tools for recruitment, onboarding and employee engagement, requiring closer collaboration with IT

 

Operational Efficiency and Lean Teams 

• Both HR and IT are under pressure to deliver more with fewer resources
• This has led to cross-functional roles and shared platforms, encouraging tighter collaboration between departments

 

Remote Work and Hybrid Models

• Flexible work arrangements remain popular, requiring IT support for secure infrastructure and HR oversight for compliance and culture enhancement
• This trend is reshaping how both departments collaborate and manage employee experience

 

Economic Pressure

• While inflation pressures have eased, businesses are still cautious
• HR and IT are jointly involved in workforce planning, digital upskilling and change management to navigate uncertainty

 

Against this backdrop of shifting trends, it felt timely to bring together a group of senior leaders to explore how these changes are already being experienced in practice.

We brought together leading CIOs & CPOs from across Scotland and discussions in the room were insightful and thought-provoking.

 

A few key takeaways stood out:

• HR professionals, with their empathy and people skills, can be powerful drivers of transformation, especially when paired with strong technical counterparts
• Success in the short term will hinge on closer collaboration, aligning cultures, strategies and transformation initiatives
• Some organisations are already experimenting with merging HR and IT roles, though this won’t be a one-size-fits-all solution
• Technology-led organisations may lean toward technical leadership, while other sectors could benefit from HR taking the helm
• AI continues to reshape the employee lifecycle, from onboarding to upskilling, but human oversight remains essential

 

We are already seeing the emergence of Chief People & Digital Technology roles (or similar) in leading organisations such as Moderna, ServiceNow, ISS and OceanaGold (to name a few), perhaps a sign of things to come. We were even fortunate to have a number of people in attendance who shared their personal experiences of leading blended functions locally. What may be worth noting is that the common theme was that these leaders all came from an HR background, rather than Tech.

It was inspiring to see so many perspectives come together in one room. The conversations reminded us that transformation is not just about technology, it’s about people, culture and leadership. Whilst the majority suggested we might not see a seismic shift in the next 5 years, it does feel like in the shorter term, collaboration will be key to success and within the next 10 years we could see more monumental changes in the structure of these two functions.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to the discussion and to the team at Livingston James, Rutherford Cross, Kitchens International and Donaldson Group for supporting.

If you are interested in hearing more about this conversation, please contact Rachel Sim and Ali Shaw at Livingston James: [email protected] / [email protected]