What happens when over 400 shared service professionals unite? You get two days of unstoppable energy, bold ideas, and game-changing conversations. Last week, the SSF UK Annual Conference 2025 brought our community together at the breathtaking Chester Cathedral for an event that will shape the future of shared services.
This year’s theme, Innovate Regenerate, wasn’t just a tagline, it was a call to action. Across every keynote, workshop, panel and networking session, we explored how to innovate fearlessly, regenerate sustainably, and lead with purpose. Our keynote speakers brought the stage to life, creating unforgettable moments and delivering insights that sparked meaningful conversations, giving us plenty to think about and takeaway. A huge thank you to you all and great to meet you all in person Ben Keene, Priya Lakhani OBE, Holly Matthews and Steve Backshall MBE.
One of the highlight of the conference has to be the Future Vision Awards 2025, where we celebrated excellence across our membership community. Congratulations to all our winners, your achievements inspire us all and whether you took home an award or not every one is a winner in our eyes and you should be super proud of yourselves, your teams and organisations.
Our awards evening came alive with an incredible performance by Brassienda whose energy and music created an atmosphere we will never forget. Thank you!!
A heartfelt thank you to our sponsors Cogna FISCAL Technologies Trintech Audit Partnership ADP Protiviti Trustpair Esker UK & Northern Europe PEAK4 and AccessPay and collaborators Team Academy Ltd AAT WH People JUST ONE Tree CiC Wellbeing Cube Thinking The HR Fixers and Change Agents UK for your support and insights. Thank you to all our members for bringing the passion and energy that drive our community forward. Special thanks to our latte artists Ben Lewis and Dhan Tamang, our talented photographers ER Photography our AV team The Aventive Group for capturing every moment and ensuring everything ran seamlessly and to Lorna Hobson Richard Hodge and Chester Cathedral who made sure everything was perfect and looked after us until the end.
The key takeaways from this year’s conference were clear: innovation isn’t optional, it’s essential; regeneration starts with leadership and purpose; and community and collaboration are the catalysts for change.
From all of us at SSF UK we wish you a great end to 2025 and look forward to seeing you all again in 2026!!
