Out has gone the relaxed small-town, tea-and-scones charm of Harrogate and in has stepped the large-city, latte-and-croissant cosmopolitan bustle of Manchester.

Some might have feared that such a move could have been at the expense of intimacy for the annual gathering of CIPD members. It hasn’t felt that way to me. The venue, a winning mix of Victorian brick and 21st century glass and steel, is right in the beating heart of central Manchester, and has a sense of vibrancy about it. The exhibition hall is suitably massive, but with seminar rooms clustered together and a small central hallway always bustling with people, there has been a definite feeling of community here.

The nature of the change in location also seemed in keeping with the changing nature of HR – the theme that linked many of the sessions I attended. The CIPD’s flagship Next Generation HR project was the vanguard of this. It showed how far HR had moved on from the transactional, past hand-wringing over the “top table” (although that was still lurking in the shadows of some sessions) – even past partnering – towards a pure business model.

It’s not HR hanging around and asking what it can do to help, handing out the cream teas. Rather it’s HR being so attuned to the business that it knows the strategy and priorities inside out, knows what it needs to do and gets on with it. In that sense, this year’s conference felt more like an urgent gathering, a priority meeting, before delegates rushed off to do the job in hand – and perhaps grabbed a latte and croissant if there was time.

But just a quick caveat. This is not to say that HR has become so business-like or focused on the senior team that it’s lost its connection with people. More than once I came across delegates and speakers rubbishing the term “human resources”, as indeed Deborah Baker from Sky recently did when I talked to her. The preferred term is fast becoming “people”, not “HR” – and the concept of being a bridge between the senior team and employees, not an island which neither side visits all that regularly, came across strongly. The message seemed to be that being astute number crunchers and strategic planners does not mean forgetting the people – rather it’s that very knowledge of people that makes HR unique among business functions.

So, here’s to a successful Manchester conference. Now, back to work for all of us.