As organisations across the Middle East deepen their commitment to inclusion, this episode offers a timely exploration of what neurodiversity really means for today’s workplaces. Dr. Adrian Waite Chartered FCIPD is joined by Gemma Morris Assoc. CIPD, HR Business Partner at Savills Middle East, who brings a blend of professional expertise and lived experience to a conversation that cuts through assumptions and focuses on what truly matters for people at work.

The episode looks at neurodiversity through a practical HR lens: how different thinking styles show up in everyday tasks, interactions, and expectations, and how small, intentional adjustments can significantly improve the employee experience. From clearer communication and reduced ambiguity to flexible environments that support focus and wellbeing, the discussion highlights the kinds of practices that help people perform at their best.

Gemma offers insight into the often‑unseen pressures neurodivergent colleagues may navigate, and how thoughtful support can make work more accessible, sustainable, and empowering. Rather than treating neurodiversity as a specialist topic, the episode reframes it as a natural part of every workforce—and a key consideration for HR teams striving to build environments where people feel understood and able to contribute fully.

At its core, this episode is a reminder that inclusion is built through everyday actions. It provides HR professionals with grounded, actionable perspectives on how to create workplaces that are more human‑centred, more supportive, and better equipped to help every individual thrive.

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Recorded in Dubai during CIPD’s 10‑year anniversary, this episode brings together Dr Adrian Waite FCIPD and CIPD CEO Peter Cheese for a grounded, engaging conversation about how people strategy is evolving across the Gulf. Drawing on Peter’s nearly 14 years leading the CIPD and four decades in HR and consulting, the discussion blends regional insight with long experience of how work and workplaces change.

The Gulf’s momentum comes through clearly: youthful populations, long‑term national visions and sustained investment in education are creating the conditions to build people systems with unusual long‑range clarity. Adrian and Peter explore how organisations are rethinking work before digitising it, shaping people strategies that reflect nationalisation priorities and cultural context, and equipping individuals with the human skills that support increasingly “squiggly” careers. They also look at what it means to extend wellbeing, safety and representation to large site‑based and blue‑collar workforces, and how data and AI can be used more intentionally to turn fragmented information into early signals and meaningful insight. Throughout, they return to the idea of people investment as generational value—something that resonates with governments, investors and future talent alike.

The result is a conversation that feels both celebratory and forward‑looking, capturing the region’s progress while opening up space for what comes next.

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The CIPD Middle East People Podcast Series continues with a significant moment: the first episode in our Saudi Arabia thread, and the first delivered entirely in Arabic.

In this conversation, host Khalid Al‑Harbi speaks with Malek Qaisi, Chartered MCIPD, a young HR leader who entered the profession in 2014, just as Saudi Arabia began a decade of extraordinary transformation. His journey from operational HR to strategic, evidence‑based practice offers a grounded, human view of how the profession evolved from within. Malek reflects on how expectations of HR shifted in real time, the capabilities practitioners needed to build to keep pace, and how CIPD qualifications and membership shaped his development. His perspective is honest and practical; the voice of someone who didn’t just observe change, but grew through it.

This episode sets the tone for the Saudi Arabia thread: thoughtful, accessible, and rooted in lived experience. It speaks directly to HR professionals navigating a field that continues to move quickly, offering clarity and reassurance at a moment when the profession is redefining itself.

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