Grant Thornton UK is pursuing ambitious growth plans, including the recruitment of 160 new partners over the next two years, and Abigail Fisher has been brought into a newly created chief people officer role to help ensure its people strategy keeps pace. She joined the professional services firm in February 2026 after 12 years at international law firm Eversheds Sutherland, where she progressed to HR director.
Living in Leeds and working in London, the 42-year-old is married to Adam and has two daughters, Ella, 11, and Rosie, six. Her 12 years at Eversheds Sutherland, where she progressed to HR director, helped shape an approach that treats people decisions as business decisions and places leadership, employee experience and skills development firmly within commercial strategy.
In this HR Profile, she talks about how employers can retain talent in an increasingly competitive market, build trust through organisational change and prepare employees for AI, while arguing that empathy and strong relationships will become more important as technology advances.
You joined Grant Thornton UK in a newly created chief people officer role during a significant period of growth and investment. What have been your immediate priorities in shaping the firm’s people strategy?
I can’t think of a more exciting time to join a firm, and my biggest priorities are to ensure that our people strategy supports the challenges and opportunities right in front of us. We’ve set out an ambition to recruit 160 new partners over the next two years, alongside investing in our wider talent pipeline, so attracting, developing and retaining great people is central to delivering on that.
It’s important that we don’t lose sight of what makes Grant Thornton such a special place to work. I’ve spent a lot of time listening to our people, understanding what they value most and thinking about how we continue to strengthen our culture as the firm evolves.
My other main priority has been working to further strengthen leadership capability to support a more complex, growing organisation.
External investment often brings new opportunities but also new expectations, so how do you balance commercial growth ambitions with maintaining a strong people-first culture?
The most future-proof organisations are the ones with the strongest cultures because people know what the business stands for and feel connected to where it’s heading.
For me, it’s about making sure people considerations are part of business decisions from the beginning, not something that’s discussed afterwards. Whenever you’re growing quickly, there’s a temptation to focus solely on commercial outcomes, but culture is one of the things that enables those outcomes in the first place.
At Grant Thornton, we’re being thoughtful about protecting the values, behaviours and experiences that matter most to our people as the firm evolves. That means transparency and communication during change. A strong culture isn’t a constraint on growth. It’s one of the reasons growth is possible.
What are the biggest challenges currently facing employers in attracting and retaining skilled professionals?
The first challenge is understanding and adapting to the evolving expectations of the workforce. For example, competitive reward still matters but it’s no longer enough on its own. People are looking for meaningful work, opportunities to develop, a strong culture and a sense that they can share in the success of the organisation they’re helping to build.
That’s one reason we’ve introduced initiatives such as our Employee Benefit Trust, which gives employees a stake in the future value of the firm. It’s about recognising contribution and creating a strong connection between individual success and success of the business.
Another key challenge for this sector is differentiation. Professional services is a crowded market and talented people have lots of options. Organisations need to be clear about what makes them different. Increasingly, people are looking at the whole employee experience rather than a single factor.
Attracting and retaining great talent comes down to creating an environment where people feel valued, supported and excited about their future. If you get that right, people are much more likely to stay and build their career with you.
“People are thinking much more carefully about what they want from work.”
Having spent more than two decades in people leadership roles, what changes have you seen in employee expectations, and how are organisations adapting?
The biggest change is that people are thinking much more carefully about what they want from work. Career progression still matters, but people are also looking for purpose, inclusion and alignment with their values. They want to work for organisations they believe in.
There’s also an expectation that development will happen more quickly. People want continuous learning, varied experiences and opportunities to build new skills rather than waiting years for the next step. Conversations around wellbeing have become much more open. Organisations are recognising that sustainable performance depends on creating an environment where people can thrive.
Career development remains a major factor in retention. How are you helping employees build long-term careers in an increasingly competitive and fast-moving market?
We’re heavily focused on creating flexible career pathways and investing heavily in learning and development. We want people to feel they can build a long and rewarding career with us, even if it doesn’t follow a conventional path.
Flexible and hybrid working have become established across professional services. How do you see these models continuing to evolve over the next few years?
A few years ago, the focus was largely on where people were working. Increasingly, it’s about how people work together and what helps them perform at their best.
For me, the future is less about rigid rules and more about being intentional. There are times when being together in person adds huge value, whether that’s collaboration, learning or relationship building. There are also times when flexibility helps people be more productive. The key is creating clear frameworks while giving teams the choice to make decisions that work for them.
We also recognise that this new normal has taken some getting used to, which is why we’ve both invested in the technology and the training to ensure leaders can manage hybrid teams effectively.
“It’s important to approach AI with curiosity rather than fear.”
Organisational transformation can create uncertainty for employees. What role should HR play in helping people navigate change while maintaining engagement and trust?
HR plays an important role in helping people make sense of change by ensuring employee voices are heard, helping leaders communicate effectively and by creating clarity in the business.
One thing I’ve learned is that people can cope with uncertainty a lot better than is often assumed by leaders. Provided organisations are honest and transparent, the resilience is higher than we might think it is. The problems tend to arise when communications become inconsistent or people feel decisions are happening around them or to them, rather than with them.
Diversity and inclusion remains a priority for many organisations, yet progress can sometimes feel slow. What practical things have you found most effective in driving meaningful change?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that progress comes when inclusion moves from good intentions to measurable action. People increasingly want to see evidence of impact. That’s why data is so important. It helps organisations understand where barriers exist, where progress is being made and where further action is needed.
It’s also about embedding inclusion into everyday business decisions. Hiring, promotion, performance management and work allocation all shape people’s experiences and opportunities. Leadership matters too. Our recent research found that organisations making the greatest progress are the ones where leaders visibly own the agenda and treat inclusion as part of the business success.
“We’ll see greater focus on skills rather than job titles as organisations adapt to technological change.”
Artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape professional services work. How do you think HR leaders should prepare their organisations for the opportunities and challenges this presents?
I think it’s important to approach AI with curiosity rather than fear. AI has huge potential to create more headspace and allow people to spend more time on higher value work. That’s particularly exciting in professional services where judgement, creativity and relationships are so important.
Both the challenge and opportunity in front of us is helping our people understand what this means for them. That requires investment in learning, guidance and opportunities to experiment and build confidence.
Wellbeing continues to be a major workplace issue. How can employers support performance and ambition while ensuring people remain healthy and resilient?
Wellbeing is the bedrock of sustained higher performance, not the antithesis of it.
Ensuring healthy workplace wellbeing requires leaders to assess core issues and challenges, not just the symptoms. Every employer should be thinking about workload, leadership behaviours and asking themselves whether their people have the right tools to succeed. Organisations need cultures where people feel comfortable speaking up, setting boundaries and asking for support when they need it.
Technology can help here. Used well, AI can help people focus more of their time and energy on higher value, more meaningful work allowing them to apply judgement, creativity and expertise where it matters most. That’s why we’re investing in our own approach to AI with GT Augment, which is designed to support our people and help them work effectively.
As a member of the Strategic Leadership Team, how do you ensure people considerations are embedded in major business decisions rather than treated as a separate HR issue?
I’ve always believed that people decisions are business decisions. Whether we’re talking about growth, transformation, technology or client work, success ultimately depends on people. That’s why people considerations should be part of conversations from the outset.
Part of my role is helping colleagues understand the commercial impact of people decisions. Leadership, engagement, skills development and culture all influence business performance. Equally, it’s about bringing in a people lens into strategic discussions and sometimes challenging assumptions. Asking questions about capability, capacity, culture and long-term impact often leads to better discussions for both our people and the business.
And finally, how do you see HR evolving over the next five years?
I think HR will become even more closely connected to business strategy. We’ll see greater focus on skills rather than job titles as organisations adapt to technological change and evolving workforce needs. HR teams will play a critical role in helping businesses identify future skills requirements and develop them.
Technology will also continue to change how HR operates. AI and data will provide better insights and processes, freeing up more time for strategic work. The human side of leadership will become even more important. As technology accelerates, organisations will need empathy, trust and strong relationships.
William Furney is a Managing Editor at Black and White Trading Ltd based in Kingston upon Hull, UK. His writing focuses on contemporary employment issues including pension schemes, employee health, financial struggles affecting workers and broader workplace trends.
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
