For many years, if you wanted to build a career in any aspect of the people profession, you’d probably pick a speciality – reward, performance management, employee relations, L&D, internal comms—and you’d hone your expertise over time. The best practitioners were the deep subject matter experts, the go-to people when a challenge arose. Or maybe you’d become a generalist or a business partner. But even then you’d be expected to have some level of expertise and be accredited in some way.
But things are shifting. AI is changing the game.
If AI can analyse compensation data, draft performance reviews, generate HR policies, and write comms plans, what’s left for us? How can we ensure we stay relevant and valued today and in the future?
The answer isn’t just what we do—it’s how we do it.
The new differentiator: Human-centred design
For years, we’ve dedicated effort to become the go-to specialist in our field. But the game is changing.
AI can outmatch us on process, efficiency, and even subject matter expertise.
But… and here is the important bit – AI will never be human-centred. It can write a best-practice hybrid working policy, but it won’t pick up on the nuances of what makes some employees thrive remotely while others feel isolated and disengaged. It can optimise processes, but it won’t create experiences that drive connection, engagement, and belonging. It can analyse employee sentiment, but it can’t build trust, lead with empathy, or foster a culture where people feel valued, safe, and heard.
That’s why I truly believe human-centred design is the future of the people profession.
Rather than competing with AI, we need to develop the skills that complement and enhance it – design thinking, service design, and experience strategy. These skills will define the next generation of people professionals.
We are at a critical moment. The way we design work itself is about to change permanently, and we can either react or lead the charge.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 highlights that by 2030, 170 million new jobs are expected to be created, with around 92 million current jobs may becoming obsolete. And 39% of workers’ core skills are expected to change by 2030, emphasising the need for continuous learning and adaptation.
According to the WEF among the most in-demand skills include curiosity, analytical thinking, empathy, creativity, and design/user experience. And guess what? These competencies are integral to human-centred design and are becoming increasingly essential in our field.
Moreover, the report emphasizes the continued importance of human-centred skills in an age of Generative AI (GenAI). The potential is for GenAI to augment human work through collaboration rather than replacement. The in-demand skills are those rooted in human interaction; they involve nuanced understanding and complex problem-solving that AI cannot replicate. In short, the skills you develop and build when you become an EX Designer.
We are at a critical moment. The way we design work itself is about to change permanently, and we can either react or lead the charge. EX is still where UX was 20 years ago—undervalued, misunderstood, but quietly becoming a business-critical discipline.
This is why people practitioners of the future won’t just be experts in HR—they’ll be experts in Design Thinking, Service Design, and Human-Centred Problem-Solving.
The people who build these skills now will be the ones shaping the future.
A new model for expertise
Becoming an EX design expert in the people profession doesn’t mean limiting yourself, it means expanding your impact. When you master human-centred design, you aren’t boxed into one specialism, you get to work across traditional disciplines, designing better onboarding, better engagement strategies, better career paths, better workplaces.
And that’s why at The EX Space, we’re going all in to help you future-proof your career, not just with insights, but with practical, in-demand skills that will make you indispensable in an AI-driven world.
Future proof your career with our certified, accredited courses
To support your journey, we offer certified, accredited courses designed to build your expertise in human-centred design and experience strategy. These programmes are tailored to equip you with the skills that are becoming increasingly essential in our field.
If you’re already an EX Essentials member, stay tuned — exciting things are coming your way.
And if you haven’t signed up yet, this is your moment to get ahead and enjoy access to:
- Exclusive webinars on Design Thinking for people professionals
- Hands-on tools to help you apply these skills right away
- Access to a growing community who are leading the future of the people profession
Let’s build the future of EX together.
