Introduction to inquisitiveness and why it matters

Inquisitiveness sits at the heart of CIPD's 3CO03 unit on core behaviours for people professionals, and this video addresses AC 2.2 by examining what professional curiosity actually means and why it carries such weight in the people profession. The video covers the distinction between passive learning and active, questioning engagement with knowledge, and it connects that distinction to the CIPD Profession Map's explicit identification of curiosity as a core behaviour expected at all levels of practice. Employment legislation, emerging technologies, shifting workforce expectations and changing economic conditions are all cited as reasons why relying on knowledge acquired during initial training is insufficient in a profession that evolves continuously.

The video also examines professional currency — the idea that a practitioner's working knowledge should reflect current thinking, legislation and best practice rather than outdated approaches — and links this directly to evidence-based practice. The principle that decisions ought to be grounded in the best available evidence, rather than assumption or tradition, is presented as something that curiosity actively enables. Concrete areas such as tribunal limits, holiday pay calculations and family leave entitlements are mentioned as examples of where legislative currency matters in practice, illustrating the real consequences of inquisitiveness, or its absence, for both the individual and their organisation.

Beyond personal knowledge management, the video addresses how professional credibility and problem-solving capacity are shaped by an inquisitive mindset. It also makes the case that curiosity should extend outward from a practitioner's specialist area — whether that is recruitment, learning and development or employee relations — to encompass broader business, economic and societal trends. This wider scope reflects the AC 2.2 requirement to consider inquisitiveness not only about developments within the people profession itself but also about the wider world of work.