How HR Execs Are Already Using AI and Preparing Their Organizations for Broader Adoption

In HRchat episode 681, David Creelman and I speak with Jonathan Bergdahl, Rachel Wong and Vimal Sharma. In this discussion, we gain practical insights from those who are leading the way and supporting their organizations, from the starting line, and discuss how they are leveraging AI at present, and how they are preparing and supporting their teams and organizations to implement AI effectively in 2024.

Tune in and Discover:

• How is ChatGPT utilized in daily work and how does it enhance efficiency beyond just saving time?
• How are organizations currently leveraging AI capabilities, and how are they preparing to effectively utilize advancements in AI technology?
• How can HR professionals support employees in adapting to this new technology?
• Advice for HR professionals who are beginning their journey with AI.

About our Guests

• Jonathan Bergdahl leads the Global Talent Operations function at EssenceMediacom, based in the UK. He is a senior HR operations leader who always seeks to learn about the latest technologies which can enable himself and his colleagues to do their jobs better! Jon currently works in the digital advertising sector, with prior experience that includes the legal, retail, and market research sectors.
• Rachel Wong is the Vice President, Total Rewards & HR Technology, at Symcor Inc.  Over the past 18 years, she has held various positions in HR and Total Rewards, across a number of industries, with experience successfully implementing HRIS systems, redesigning incentive plans, and leading corporate-wide compensation and benefits projects.
• Vimal is an experienced HR executive and the Vice President of Human Resources for the Canadian division of WIS International. Vimal Sharma leads all aspects of the people strategy and operations in Canada. She is a member of the AI Steering Committee at the enterprise level and currently partners with stakeholders to determine the short and long-term role AI will play within internal HR functions and assess the associated risks.

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In the 5th episode of the special AI-focused mini-series, guest hosts Pauline James and David Creelman talk with entrepreneurs in the HR Tech marketplace. This discussion is focussed on practical use cases for AI and offers up insights from four experts – Boyd Reid, Fuad Miah, Mike Hall, Ania Garczyńska and Shingai Manjengwa – to discuss how AI is driving innovation in HR products and departments.

Tune in and Discover:

• How can we leverage AI to optimize the employee experience, including employee commutes?
• What are the key considerations for an HR department that is considering building their own AI-based application or tools?
• How can AI contribute to optimizing HR initiatives, such as recruitment, and enhancing team engagement and collaboration?
• How can organizations harness AI effectively while maintaining our ethical standards?

Related Content

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In HRchat episode 655, Pauline James and David Creelman talk AI, HR practices and ethics. The special extended edition offers up three experts – Frank Rudzicz, Kate Bischoff, and Jesslyn Dymond – to discuss the ethical considerations, legal risks, and potential benefits associated with the integration of AI at work.

Tune in for valuable advice for HR leaders on navigating the short-term challenges and opportunities posed by advancing AI technologies.

Tune in and Discover:

• How should leaders navigate the ethical landscape as AI becomes more commonplace in organizations?
• To what extent does employee privacy come into play when tracking keystrokes?
• Can AI be a tool for fostering ethical, objective decision-making?
• What are the new recruiting challenges caused by AI?
• How can HR diligently embed AI into their operations while managing associated risks?

About our Guests

Frank Rudzicz is an Associate Professor at Dalhousie University, co-founder of WinterLight Labs Inc., founding faculty member at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, status professor at the University of Toronto, and CIFAR Chair in Artificial Intelligence. His work is in machine learning in healthcare, especially in natural language processing, speech recognition, and safe AI. His research has appeared in popular media such as Scientific American, Wired, CBC, and the New York Times, and in scientific press such as ACL, NeurIPS, JAMA, and Nature.

Kate Bischoff is the founder of Thrive Law and Consulting. She’s a renowned expert in employment law and HR and has a background that includes roles at the consulate general in Jerusalem and the US Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia, Kate is a go-to authority recognised by the New York Times, CNN and more. She’s also co-host of the hostile work environment podcast. Kate brings a wealth of knowledge on workplace innovation and compliance.

Jesslyn Dymond is the Director of Data Ethics at TELUS leading the approach to responsible data-driven innovation, drawing on a background of privacy and information management expertise. She is part of TELUS’ Data & Trust Office, a team devoted to ensuring that data handling practices are responsible and respectful. Jesslyn is a CIPP/C and has completed a Masters of Information from the University of Toronto’s iSchool. She is recognised for her leadership in data enablement and an advocate for creative solutions to building customer trust with emerging technology.

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In the second episode of our new AI-focused series, David Creelman and I investigate some key ways that large HR vendors are utilizing new forms of AI.

Joining us this time are Mike Bollinger, Ben Zweig, and Jarik Conrad.

Mike Bollinger is an accomplished executive with 20 years of industry experience. He has deep technology and HCM domain skills including strategic workforce planning, communications, change management, team building, business case development, and leadership. In his current role as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives with Cornerstone, Mike is responsible for internal research as well as strategy development around outcome-based goals. In 2020, Mike helped found, and currently manages, the Cornerstone People Research Lab (CPRL), whose mission is to generate data-driven discoveries about the world of work today and identify emerging trends that will give rise to new work models.

Ben Zweig is a prominent figure at the intersection of Data Science and Human Resources. With a PhD in Economics specializing in Labor Economics and Economic Development from CUNY Graduate Center, he has a strong academic background. Ben’s expertise extends to Natural Language Processing, Labor Economics, Human Resources, and Occupational Transformation. Notably, he spent several years as a Managing Data Scientist at IBM’s Chief Analytics Office, where he utilized Natural Language Processing (NLP) to develop data-driven solutions for businesses. Currently, Ben serves as the CEO of Revlio Labs, an organization that supports the convergence of Data Science and HR. The company focuses on applying data-driven methodologies to enhance workforce management and adapt to the changing job market.

Dr. Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-CSP, NACD.DC, is vice president of the Human Insights team at UKG, which consists of former HR practitioners, business leaders, and consultants who are distinguished experts in the HCM field and uniquely qualified to help leadership teams reach their organizational goals. With an acute pulse on industry trends, best practices, and technological innovations, Jarik and his team serve as liaisons, trusted advisors, and thought leaders who help to shape HR industry conversations and direction.

The post Mike Bollinger, Ben Zweig and Jarik Conrad: How HR Tech Firms Are Using AI appeared first on The HR Gazette and HRchat Podcast.

In the first of a special mini-series focused on AI in the workplace, David Creelman and I consider how AI is impacting the workplace. Joining us on the HRchat podcast is Avi Goldfarb, the Rotman Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare and a professor of marketing at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

Avi is also Chief Data Scientist at the Creative Destruction Lab, a faculty affiliate at the Vector Institute and the Schwartz-Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Avi’s research focuses on the opportunities and challenges of the digital economy. Along with Ajay Agrawal and Joshua Gans, Avi is the author of the bestselling books Prediction Machines and Power and Prediction.

He has published academic articles in marketing, statistics, law, management, medicine, political science, refugee studies, physics, computing, and economics. Avi has testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on related work in competition and privacy in digital advertising. His work has been referenced in White House reports, European Commission documents, the New York Times, the Economist, and elsewhere.

Questions for Avi include:

• You have been studying AI for a long time; well before its advances garnered the attention of the general population. Is anything taking you by surprise with the current advances?
• You have talked about AI automating prediction in ways that we had only understood humans could do well/reasonably well previously. Can you explain this for our audience?
• You have an interesting (and hopeful) perspective that AI may become more of an equalizer across professions than past advances have been, can you tell us more about that?
• Can you provide your thoughts on how long it will be until we see broad sweeping changes in work and how it is organized?
• With your extensive work with entrepreneurs on the bleeding edge of new technology, what advice do you have for those on the other side of the equation: those who are making recommendations and purchasing tech for their organization. How should we balance not being left behind with appropriate diligence?

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In HRchat episode 597, we ask: “What does the organization of the future look like?” Joining guest host Pauline James on the show is Michael H. McInerney, President at Executive and Board Services Consulting Group.

Navigating the Evolving Marketplace and Designing the Organization of the Future

In the ever-changing landscape of business, HR leaders face the challenge of envisioning what the organization of the future will look like. To shed light on this topic, I invited Michael H. McInerney, President at Executive and Board Services Consulting Group, as a guest on episode 597. In this episode, Michael shares his expertise of navigating a rapidly evolving marketplace and workplace, drawing from his extensive executive and consulting experience.

As the business landscape continues to shift, organizations must remain agile and open to innovation. Listen as Mike and I dive into ways to better navigate a marketplace and workplace characterized by constant innovation. He addresses the pressing need for organizations to embrace change and adapt to the evolving business landscape. Michael’s insights offer valuable guidance to HR leaders seeking to design organizations that can thrive in the future.

In our conversation, Michael emphasizes some strategies and practices that brought us to this point may not be sufficient to carry us forward. HR leaders must, he says, challenge conventional thinking and explore new approaches to drive success!

The organization of the future, therefore, requires HR leaders who can anticipate and adapt to the ever-changing workplace. By embracing innovation and challenging traditional practices, HR leaders can lay the foundation for organizations that thrive in the future.

About Michael H. McInerney

With over 35 years of experience in executive roles and consulting, Michael H. McInerney brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. He has held positions with prestigious companies such as IBM, Xerox, Gulf Oil, and Nortel. Additionally, he has served as President and CEO of Avyd Leadership Performance, Sibson Canada, and Navantis. As a board member of MBNA Bank and Bank of America (Canada) for 15 years, Michael has gained invaluable insights into the intricacies of organizational governance.

As a consultant, Michael has worked closely with more than 250 boards of directors and senior executive teams. His expertise spans various crucial aspects of organizational success, including strategy, governance, human capital, and executive compensation. Michael’s contributions to the field of HR are further showcased through his co-authorship of articles and research, such as the renowned McKinsey War for Talent and The Return on Leadership published by Harvard.

Michael educational background further solidifies his authority in the field. He holds an MBA from the esteemed Ivey School of Business, renowned for its focus on practical business education. Additionally, he obtained an Honors BA in English from York University, which provides him with a unique perspective on effective communication and collaboration within organizations.

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For a customer-focused culture, make collaboration unavoidable

We all want an organization that’s agile and has an established customer-focused culture. A workplace where all employees feel supported with a laser focus on improving the customer experience.

Certainly, “it all starts at the top” so we should focus on investments in leadership development. Yet top heavy investments often stall in the middle, with limited impact on the front line. The challenge is that executive-level initiatives often do not do much to assist our middle and front line managers. Meanwhile, these managers are the key drivers of both employee and customer engagement.

“The culture reflects the realities of people working together every day.” 

Frances Hesselbein, Former CEO of the Girl Scouts

We know how critical employee engagement and enablement are to drive great performance. And we know that leadership drives engagement. Yet often our investment in leadership development, per capita, is in the shape of an inverted pyramid.

If we want an agile culture, we need to instill practices that make it impossible to ignore inter-dependencies across teams

We could send executives on retreat after retreat on the importance of working collaboratively. Also, we could train managers, albeit in a less expensive one-day course. Then, we could wait for the magic to happen… or not.

Rather, we could invest in the infrastructure to ensure there is transparency around organizational performance and departmental interdependencies. In addition, ensure the leadership skills to implement these processes effectively.

Sound straightforward? Not if we are familiar with the obstacles in most organizations today, namely:

• Teams operating in silos,
• Variance in leadership abilities, and
• Subject experts holding onto key information and doling it out in bite-sized chunks to preserve their authority.

If we want to instill a customer-focused culture, what are the key differentiators for success?

In a customer-focused culture, the need for collaboration across the organization is articulated as a business imperative. Information-sharing tools and metrics are immersed in business processes, at all levels of the organization. There is a clear line of sight to the customer. And there is a structured approach for implementation and change management.   

“The best leadership development doesn’t happen by just going off to a course or a seminar … The best leadership development happens when people are learning in the context of their own strategic, economic agenda, with the actual people that they are going to influence and lead.”

Roselinde Torres, Top Leadership Consultant

There are key leadership skills needed at all levels to support an agile and customer focused culture:

• Owning the Message – taking responsibility in acknowledging and responding to concerns
• Approachability – showing employees that they can candidly raise concerns without fear
• Forward-focused problem solving – defining what success looks like and promoting joint problem solving

More senior leaders may well need more advanced training. They must be effective at modeling and coaching these principles. Senior leaders must also assess risk within their units. Furthermore, it is equally important to invest in developing the ability of mid and front line leaders in these areas. This is a priority. However, leadership training is not enough to transform a culture.

Leadership skills alone are not nearly enough

The impact of leadership training will not be realized without an environment where collaboration is unavoidable. Every employee must clearly see how each role supports the customer experience.

We can add ‘collaboration’ to performance reviews. We can even provide subjective feedback at every turn. But this will only move us inches along the runway in our attempt to stay ahead of our competition. In contrast, we can meaningfully inform all levels of our organization on our performance.

This begins with identifying and sharing key outputs from the organization. This can mean readable dashboards accessible to all. It requires senior leaders to commit to effective information sharing before relying on delegation. In this way, leadership and transparency make collaboration unavoidable.

When employees are meaningfully included, their participation drives commitment and becomes a flywheel to drive innovation.

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