This week I summarize my meetings and discussions with clients in NYC and you can see we covered many topics. Here’s the AI summary, which is pretty good. In this conversation, Josh Bersin discusses the evolving landscape of AI platforms, particularly focusing on Microsoft’s positioning and the challenges of creating a universal AI agent. He delves into the complexities of government efficiency, emphasizing the institutional challenges faced in re-engineering government operations. The...

In today’s podcast I discuss the organizational, institutional, and societal impacts of AI. And I’m not predicting what “could happen” but rather sharing “what is happening now.” As you’ll hear, AI plays a role in our political issues but an even greater role in our careers, pay, rewards, organization structure, and culture. A recent AI adoption study by McKinsey found that 74% of companies have at least one AI application in place, and 20% have 3 or more. So we’re already seeing the impact....

After decades of effort and growth, only around 10% of People Analytics teams deliver strategic business value. Many are still focused on traditional analysis of engagement, retention, leadership pipelines, and other HR measures. In this WhatWorks podcast I talk openly with Paul Rubenstein, the Chief Customer Officer at Visier, about how this market has evolved. And in the conversation you can learn about Visier and the role of integrated, AI-platforms for the important topic of managing...

This week I discuss the issue of DEI (must it DIE?), inclusion, and corporate culture in the Trump Era. We just completed a 1.5 hour discussion with 30+ companies on the impact of the 2024 election and regardless of your political position, some people are worried. It’s clear to me that DEI (or whatever you call it) is not going away, but in this podcast I reframe the topic and give you perspectives from some of the largest companies in the world. Additional Information Are Diversity And...

In this episode of the WhatWorks podcast, Paul Walker, CEO of FranklinCovey, talks with Kathi Enderes about FranklinCovey’s history, his own journey of 25 years with the company from frontline employee to CEO, and how the company now helps large organizations like Marriott enable transformational change through individual behavior change, execution excellence, creating a culture of trust and performance, and developing new leadership capabilities. FranklinCovey (FC) is one of the only...

This week I discuss how major new AI use-cases have emerged. Imagine if every employee had a personal AI assistant? It’s going to happen. I also discuss LinkedIn Hiring Assistant, Galileo, SuccessFactors Joule, AI for performance management, and a big question: what are you going to do with the 35% productivity you gain? Coming back from multiple weeks on the road with clients and vendors, this podcast will expand your thinking and help you build your own business case for AI tools and agents...

In this week’s podcast I discuss the trend (and need) for job task re-engineering: breaking down our jobs into tasks, so we can effectively use AI and Agents to speed things up. As more and more vendors announce AI Agents to assist with work, our best opportunity for massive improvement is to “re-engineer” how we do things, not just “add agents” to our current jobs. As I describe, most companies build job titles in a “mashed potato” approach where we squash a bunch of things into one job...

In this episode of the WhatWorks podcast series, Nick Benaquista, SVP, People and Capability Partner, Chief Administration Office and Strategic Growth at Mastercard, shares how Mastercard has transformed HR from a static, siloed, overlapping model towards the product and consulting-oriented model of Systemic HR. Now in year 2 of the ongoing transformation, the company is continuing to change HR roles, jobs, operating models, and skills, and is using technology and AI to elevate the employee...

White collar robots have arrived: digital twins, digital assistants, and AI-powered agents. In this podcast I discuss what I learned about at Unleash, Sana, and Spotify this week. My big message is this: AI in HR is even more powerful than we expected. And AI platforms and tools are transforming HR right this minute – across every domain in HR. Digital Twins in the insurance industry. AI-powered L&D and change management solutions. AI-powered candidates battling it out with AI-powered...

Delta Air Lines understands the importance of its employees, managers, and leaders, so the company has built one of the airline industry’s most advanced “skills-first” strategies. Built on its investment in SAP technology (Talent Intelligence Hub) and a focus from the top, the company fully embraces an agile cross-functional career model, all built around skills. In this episode Tim Gregory, Managing Director of HR Innovation and Technology at Delta, walks Kathi Enderes through the company’s...

I just finished a long meeting with 15 senior HR leaders in Silicon Valley, so in the context of AI, I discuss the themes of forgiveness, growth, and leadership these organizations are facing. And these issues are acute right now. 2025 is shaping up to be a “Year of Redesign” throughout business, and as we do this we have to rethink about how we think about people. Are we ready to support, forgive, and help our people adapt? Leadership trust is at an all time low, so we definitely have some...

This week we are so excited to launch Galileo Professional, the personal AI platform designed for HR professionals, consultants, vendors, and investors in the global Human Resources industry. As you’ll hear in my introduction, Galileo Pro is Your Personal AI Assistant for everything HR. For $39 per month you now have access to the most trusted corpus of HR research in the world, including every research study, maturity model, case study, vendor profile, and benchmark we’ve done for 26+ years....

In this week’s podcast I give you some insights on HR tech in 2025, perspectives on jobs, and what you’ll be dealing with in 2025. We just had two weeks of HR Tech announcements and next week you’ll see a big one from us! (The biggest product announcement in my career, to be a little hyberbolic!). Topics include: the verticalization of AI, whey OpenAI will compete with Microsoft, how agents will change our jobs, and the implications of the low unemployment rate on pay equity, DEI, talent...

Aimbridge manages 1100 hotels around the US and employs more than 45,000 employees. In this podcast, Conrad Riddle, VP of HR Shared Services at Aimbridge Hospitality, discusses how the company empowers employees (“Uberizing the Workforce”) and delivers a flexible, highly engaged workforce with dynamic workforce scheduling. The company leverages UKG Workforce Management to give employees a centralized app that lets an employee manage their schedule dynamically. As you’ll hear, Ambridge...

In this week’s podcast I go through the 30 HR Technology AI Trailblazers in some detail. You’ll hear about all the companies in the Trailblazer Report, as well as some of my personal thoughts on their leadership teams, centers of innovation, and differentiating capabilities. My keynote at HR Tech was 75 minutes long and you can hear it or get access to the materials if you join our corporate membership (or come back to HR Tech 2025 next March!). For those of you in Europe, I will be speaking...

This podcast details what Workday’s new AI platform, Workday Illuminate, and also describes Workday’s momentum coming out of Rising. I also discuss why Salesforce slams Microsoft, the new tsunami of Agents, including Microsoft, Salesforce (who is charging $2 per conversation), SAP, Workday, UKG, ServiceNow, and others. I also discuss the near-term job disruption we’re seeing from Agents and what you should do to prepare. Then I discuss the strikes at Boeing and why “growth at any cost” is...

In our latest WhatWorks podcast, Samantha Garvie, HR Safety and Compliance Director at Rowley’s Wholesale, speaks with Kathi Enderes from The Josh Bersin Company. Rowley’s Wholesale, a Michigan-based distributor of automotive and industrial products, has been in business for over 100 years and is currently in its third generation of ownership. With 125+ employees across three locations, the company utilizes UKG-Ready for its HRIS system, covering benefits, timekeeping, payroll, succession...

This week Klarna, a buy-now pay-later company in Sweden, announced plans to terminate its Workday and Salesforce relationships and build it themselves. A bunch of tech pundits are big fans, but I have my doubts. As you’ll hear in the podcast, many big companies (much bigger than Klarna) have tried this, only to retreat to vendor solutions. And I do question the business strategy of putting high-powered engineering talent on mature, enterprise products like HCM and CRM. Obviously AI is getting...

Agentic AI is the next big wave in AI, where AI systems and chatbots can take actions on our behalf. These agents can perform tasks such as composing emails, creating documents, building courses, and even recruiting. They can be seen as virtual employees or teammates that can be trained and managed. These agents will change the technology landscape and the stack of tools in our organizations. They will require onboarding, training, and governance to ensure they are effective and secure. And...

In this podcast I discuss the ever-changing role of Labor in our economy, our companies, and our own personal lives. The word “labor” is really an old-fashioned idea, but we still have the US holiday, so I wanted to unpack what it now means. As you’ll learn Labor Day is a time to think about hiring, pay, development, and diversity as well as productivity, labor unions, the impact of tips and income inequality, and the enormous role of HR as an ombudsman between “labor” and “management.” And...

In this WhatWorks podcast I interview Andy Bradshaw, the CEO of SHL.  SHL is one of the world’s largest psychometric assessment vendors, bringing together psychology, skills assessment, and other forms of measurement to identify the capabilities, and potential of an individual at work. These highly scientific assessments are widely used for pre-hire screening, job-fit analysis, development planning, leadership development, and succession planning. But in a world of AI, where large HR...

In this week’s podcast I describe the HR Career Navigator and the role of HR skills and capabilities in HR and business transformation. Then, as we approach HR Tech season, I give you my three steps to evaluating HR Tech vendors. Additional Information Introducing The HR Career Navigator Why Is It So Hard To Be A Chief HR Officer (CHRO)? Research Shows That High Growth Large Companies Have Distinct HR Skills

This week I recap the idea of a “Corporate Learning Architecture” and give you some of my historic perspectives on why this is so important in the age of AI. A Learning Architecture is a constrained approach to corporate L&D that gives employees a clear and memorable approach to learning, and also gives you the “freedom within a framework” to use AI without creating chaos. We are in the middle of deep interviews, case studies, and vendor research on the impact of AI on L&D, so as I...

In this episode, Susan Podlogar, former CHRO at MetLife, talks with Kathi Enderes about the transformative impact of an AI-based talent marketplace (powered by Gloat). You’ll learn what a talent marketplace is, how to implement, and why these solutions are rapidly growing around the world. Podlogar explains how they implemented this solution and how it unleashes energy for individuals and the organization. MetLife’s talent marketplace democratizes access to projects, mentoring, and roles,...