At UCX Manchester, the most important conversations were not about technology. They were about whether organisations are actually equipped to lead people through it.
Across interviews with Rebecca Wray, Founder of Rebecca Wray Coaching Consultancy, Kalina Tomova, Founder of WomenWise, and Ebunoluwa Idowu, Cyber Resilience Specialist and Coding Black Women Ambassador, a clear theme emerged: employee engagement is being redefined by AI, hybrid work, inclusion, and the need for more human-centred leadership.
The workplace is changing quickly. AI is reshaping how entry-level employees learn, hybrid work is challenging how teams build relationships, and organisations are under growing pressure to prove that inclusion and DEI are more than policy statements.
For women in tech, and particularly underrepresented women in cybersecurity and digital roles, the question is no longer simply whether businesses are talking about inclusion, but whether employees can feel its impact day to day.
Doing More With Less: The Engagement Challenge Facing Leaders
Rebecca Wray described one of the defining pressures facing organisations today: leaders are being asked to maintain engagement while delivering more with fewer resources.
“I think all of my clients are facing the same problem where they’re having to do more with less.”
That pressure creates a difficult leadership balancing act. Organisations want to protect staff wellbeing, but many teams are also being asked to increase output. At the same time, hybrid and remote working continue to complicate onboarding, team-building and culture.
Wray noted that the informal “water cooler moments” that once helped relationships form naturally no longer happen in the same way. In distributed teams, leaders have to be much more intentional about building connection.
AI And Entry-Level Roles: Support Tool Or Learning Shortcut?
AI was another major theme running through the UCX Manchester conversations. Wray said she is excited by the potential of AI, particularly as a starting point for employees who may not feel confident asking a manager for help.
For early-career workers, AI can offer structure, ideas and a first step. However, Wray warned that it cannot replace human context.
“It doesn’t know me, it doesn’t know the other person, it doesn’t know the context, history”
That distinction is especially important for entry-level roles. AI can help new employees move faster, but leaders must ensure it does not remove the struggle, problem-solving and critical thinking that build long-term capability.
As Wray put it, there is a risk that people miss out on “really sitting in the mud and struggling through a problem”.
Building Engagement Across Generations
With more generations in the workplace than ever before, Wray also challenged assumptions about how different age groups respond to technology and change.
Rather than relying on stereotypes, she advised leaders to ask employees directly what they need.
One of her favourite questions is:
“For you to do the best job you can do, what do you need from me? How can I help you?”
That simple question is increasingly relevant in workplaces where AI adoption, hybrid models and shifting expectations affect employees differently. Engagement strategies need to be personal, not generic.
Inclusion At UCX Manchester: Moving Beyond Tick-Box DEI
For Kalina Tomova, the future of employee engagement cannot be separated from inclusion. She argued that women often leave tech roles because they do not feel recognised or cannot see a clear path ahead.
“A lot of the time when it comes to women leaving the workplace or leaving the tech workforce, it’s about the fact that they don’t feel recognised enough.”
Tomova urged organisations to give women better visibility of their future in the business. That means showing what progression could look like over the next five years, not simply discussing inclusion in broad terms.
She also said companies need to assess performance and pay data together to identify where bias may exist. The issue is not always performance itself, but how performance is perceived and reviewed.
Stop Trying To “Fix Women” In The Workplace
A standout point from Tomova’s conversation was that organisations should stop trying to “fix women” and instead look at the systems and leadership models around them.
In some legacy organisations, leadership is still associated with traditionally masculine traits such as dominance or competitiveness. But Tomova highlighted the value of leadership traits often associated with women, including “empathy, emotional intelligence, cooperation” and a more team-building approach.
The future of DEI, she suggested, is not about asking women to adapt to outdated models of leadership. It is about creating space for different leadership styles to be visible and valued.
Hiring For Cultural Add, Not Cultural Fit
Tomova also encouraged organisations to look more carefully at where women sit within the business. Overall gender representation is not enough. Leaders should break data down by seniority, function and ethnic background to understand where women are progressing and where they are dropping out.
She also called for companies to move away from hiring for “cultural fit” and instead hire for “cultural add”.
Hiring people who look, sound and think like the existing team reinforces homogeneity. Bringing in different perspectives creates stronger teams and better innovation.
“The beauty of diversity is that… by having different perspectives, you increase innovation.”
Women In Cybersecurity: Why Community Matters
Ebunoluwa Idowu brought the conversation into cybersecurity, where representation and pressure remain major challenges. Speaking about her work with Coding Black Women, she said there has been progress for Black women in tech, particularly through more collaboration with larger companies and more mentorship opportunities.
“There’s a way it helps you when you see people that do what you want to do, that look like you, that are going through similar experiences.”
For cybersecurity, that sense of community is especially important. The sector is high-pressure, technical and still male-dominated. Idowu explained that hearing from women at senior levels helps others understand that they can navigate career breaks, parenthood, technical progression and leadership without leaving the industry.
Supporting Employees After A Cybersecurity Crisis
Idowu also highlighted an often-overlooked aspect of employee engagement: what happens to staff after a cyber incident.
When a breach occurs, businesses naturally focus on recovery and returning to normal operations. But for cybersecurity teams, the work often intensifies after the immediate crisis. Reports must be written, lessons learned, old processes discarded and new measures implemented.
That emotional and operational burden falls on employees.
Idowu said leaders need to recognise the pressure staff carry during and after incidents, and she emphasised that leadership is not limited to senior executives. Team members can also lead by supporting new starters, sharing resources and helping colleagues navigate difficult situations.
The Future Of Work Is Still Human
The conversations at UCX Manchester showed that the future of employee engagement will not be defined by a single trend. AI, hybrid work, DEI, cybersecurity pressures and women’s progression in tech are all connected by one bigger question: do employees feel supported enough to do their best work?
Technology can help organisations measure engagement, automate tasks and support productivity. But the strongest message from Wray, Tomova and Idowu was that human leadership still matters most.
Leaders need to listen to feedback and act on it. They need to build relationships intentionally, create workplaces where women and underrepresented employees can see a future and use AI without weakening learning. And they need to make inclusion visible in everyday employee experience, not just in annual reports.
In all of these conversations, the takeaway was clear: The organisations that win won’t be the ones with the best tools. They’ll be the ones that know how to lead people through them.
FAQs
What Were The Main Employee Engagement Themes At UCX Manchester?
The main themes included AI adoption, hybrid work, leadership pressure, generational differences, inclusion, DEI, women in tech and the importance of human-centred leadership.
How Is AI Changing Entry-Level Roles?
AI is giving entry-level employees faster access to ideas, information and support. However, leaders must ensure early-career workers still develop critical thinking, confidence and problem-solving skills.
Why Is Inclusion Important For Employee Engagement?
Inclusion affects whether employees feel recognised, safe and able to progress. When people cannot see a future in the business, engagement drops and attrition can rise.
How Can Leaders Support Women In Tech?
Leaders can support women in tech by improving career visibility, reviewing pay and performance data for bias, creating mentorship opportunities, hiring for cultural add and making different leadership styles visible.
What Does DEI Need To Look Like In The Future Workplace?
Future DEI needs to move beyond tick-box initiatives. It should be data-led, action-focused and embedded into hiring, progression, leadership, feedback and everyday culture.
Why Is Community Important For Women In Cybersecurity?
Community helps women in cybersecurity see others with similar experiences succeeding in technical and senior roles. It provides mentorship, confidence and practical support in a high-pressure industry.
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