Bird & Bird contributes to CRF's report on The HR Function and Risk Management: Navigating Complexity with Resilience

International Employment Partner Furat Ashraf recently shared her expert insights in the Corporate Research Forum’s comprehensive report on The HR Function and Risk Management: Navigating Complexity with Resilience. This report outlines how the enterprise risk landscape is changing and highlights the essential role HR plays in managing risk. Providing insight into how and where people‑related risk is building, with particular focus on employee relations, cyber exposure and talent challenges. It also explains how HR can detect early signals and influence risk before it escalates, offering practical frameworks and real‑world examples that support organisational readiness and effective decision‑making under pressure.

Furat’s contributions focus on the fact that HR is increasingly operating at the centre of a fast‑shifting legal and regulatory environment. As technology accelerates, geopolitical tensions rise and employee expectations evolve, people‑related risks are becoming more complex, and organisations need HR to act as a strategic risk partner rather than a purely operational function.

A major theme is cross‑border compliance, where diverging regulations across the UK, EU and US are making it harder for global organisations to apply uniform policies. HR teams are being pushed to build more sophisticated, coordinated compliance capabilities to avoid costly mistakes.
Data security is another growing pressure point, heightened by hybrid working. HR now plays a crucial role not only in preventative measures—through training, policy enforcement and collaboration with IT—but also in responding to internal breaches, including those caused deliberately by employees.

The rise of employee activism is reshaping organisational culture and risk exposure. As social and political debates spill into the workplace, HR must craft proactive frameworks that support open dialogue, maintain cohesion and reduce the risk of inconsistent or legally problematic responses.
At the same time, a more litigious employment landscape means that fair, transparent and well‑documented people management processes are more important than ever. HR functions are investing in stronger employee relations and more robust procedures to reduce the likelihood of grievances escalating into claims.

Finally, the rapid adoption of AI brings both opportunity and uncertainty. HR leaders are increasingly responsible for setting governance standards, ensuring ethical and legally compliant AI use, and preparing the workforce for ongoing technological change.

You can read the full article here (subscription required).