Chief People Officer Series: Turning Technology Investment into Workforce Productivity
This roundtable will discuss how CPOs can translate technology and AI investment into meaningful productivity gains across their organisations.
As organisations across the UK navigate economic uncertainty, constrained resources and rising expectations for performance, technology and AI continue to be positioned as key drivers of productivity and transformation. Yet many leaders are still grappling with a fundamental question: how can organisations ensure that technology investment delivers measurable workforce and organisational outcomes?
For Chief People Officers and HR Directors, the challenge extends beyond technology implementation. Success depends on workforce adoption, capability development, leadership alignment and organisational culture. HR leaders are increasingly expected to play a central role in bridging the gap between technology investment and productivity gains, ensuring that people strategies enable transformation rather than impede it.
The session will feature insights from Mark Adam, Chief People Officer at the Ministry of Justice, who will share his perspective on the intersection of technology, workforce capability and organisational performance, alongside facilitated discussion among peers from across sectors.
Chaired by Fiona Ryland, this roundtable will bring together senior HR leaders for a candid discussion on how organisations can translate technology investment into sustainable productivity improvements. Participants will explore the role of the people function in driving adoption, building future-ready skills and creating the conditions for digital transformation to succeed.
The discussion will consider:
- Where technology-enabled productivity gains have genuinely materialised — and where anticipated benefits have yet to be realised.
- How organisations measure workforce productivity and demonstrate return on investment from technology and AI.
- The opportunities and challenges of benchmarking productivity outcomes across sectors.
- The evolving role of the CPO in leading technology adoption and partnering effectively with digital, transformation and technology teams.
- How HR leaders can build the technological fluency, skills and commercial understanding needed to influence technology investment decisions and outcomes.
Speakers
Fiona Ryland was the Government Chief People Officer from September 2022 to November 2025.
Fiona joined the Civil Service from University College London (UCL) where she was Vice-President of Operations.
Before that, Fiona led the HR, Communications, Corporate Responsibility and Business Excellence teams for Compass Group UK and Ireland. She also has extensive experience of HR management and operations at retailers including Comet, Dixons and Asda - in particular, establishing new apprenticeship and graduate programmes to benefit young people and colleagues at early stages of their career.
Fiona graduated in Chemical Engineering from Bath University and also has a BSc in Psychology from the Open University.
Outside of work, Fiona is married and lives in the Chilterns. She is an avid Leyton Orient supporter.
Mark was appointed MOJ’s Director General People & Capability in August 2025. Mark joined the MOJ in 2016 and previously held several senior roles including MOJ’s Chief People Officer and HR Director for HMPPS. Whilst within the department he has driven many of the department’s HR led programmes from restructuring to service improvement, including driving recruitment to fulfil our ministerial commitments to effectively staff prisons and increase officer numbers.
Human Resources, Organisational Transformation and Project Delivery have been anchors in Mark’s career for over 20 years, spanning both public and private sector. This has included starting his career in the Cabinet Office working on workforce efficiencies, private consultancy on innovation and change, and most recently voted into CIPD’s list of Top 30 HR professionals. Prior to joining the MOJ, Mark spent 4 years working as a Transformation Director for the Northern Ireland Strategic Investment Board working on post-Good Friday Justice reforms across Courts, Prisons, Probation, and Policing.
This roundtable forms part of the wider CPO and HR Director series, providing a trusted space for senior leaders to exchange experiences, challenge assumptions and explore how people leadership can drive measurable value in an increasingly technology-enabled world.
Please note all attendees must register in advance to attend WIG events.
By attending our events, delegates agree to adhere to our terms of engagement. All data collected will adhere to our Privacy Policy.
Event places are non-transferable, but colleagues are welcome to register via our website or email us at [email protected].