Most workforce plans weren’t built for what AI is doing to them.
Annual headcount cycles assume the shape of work barely changes year to year. AI capability shifts every quarter. Job titles persist long after the underlying work has changed shape. Reskilling budgets go unspent because no one is sure where to start. The gap between intention and execution is widening – and the decisions that will define how UK technology businesses compete in 2027 are being made right now.
On 2nd December, La Fosse in partnership with Boardwave is bringing together a small, curated group of board-level technology leaders for an evening roundtable at NoMad London. The conversation will be centered on the Beyond Headcount Blueprint – La Fosse’s practical guide for UK leaders on workforce planning in the AI era, co-authored by the AI Workforce Council, a hand-picked group of ten of the UK’s most senior AI and technology leaders.
Attendees will receive the Blueprint before the event and members of the AI Workforce Council will be in the room to take questions directly.
What the Blueprint addresses
The Blueprint diagnoses three gaps in how UK businesses plan their AI-era workforce – and sets out four practical shifts to close them.
The three gaps:
- Static planning vs dynamic reality. Most workforce plans are out of date before they’re signed off, built on annual cycles while AI capability shifts every quarter.
- Jobs vs capabilities. Job titles persist long after the work has changed shape – and none of them say who owns a decision an AI agent makes.
- Reskilling intention vs execution. Most organisations have the budget and the intent. Almost none are moving at the speed the moment demands.
The four shifts the Blueprint recommends:
- Capacity, not headcount. Plan the work that needs doing, not the roster currently doing it – treating people, contractors, AI agents and automation as interchangeable levers toward the same output.
- Accountability, not architecture. Ownership of an AI agent should sit with whoever is accountable for the result it produces, never with the team that built or bought it.
- Context, not tools. AI models are becoming interchangeable. What holds its value is the layer of data, definitions and workflows that makes a generic model useful to a specific business.
- Capability, not credentials. Hire and structure around judgement, curiosity and critical thinking – not job descriptions written for work that no longer exists in that shape.
A small group. A high-quality dinner. A candid conversation – not a networking event.
The evening includes
- A discussion on the Blueprint’s key findings and what Workforce 2027 requires of board-level leaders
- Direct Q&A with members of the AI Workforce Council who co-authored the Blueprint
- Peer conversation with fellow Boardwave members and La Fosse’s senior leadership
Who this is for
- Board-level and C-suite technology leaders
- Founders, CEOs and CTOs of scaling UK technology businesses
- Leaders responsible for technology strategy, organisational design and workforce planning
This event is by invitation only. Invitations are extended through Boardwave and La Fosse’s senior leadership.