More than 70% of US workers are frontline workers and most of our workforce is worried about AI. How do we as a country and we as employers help our people reskill, upskill, and educate themselves as adults? Well Guild, which started its life as a tuition reimbursement management company, has pioneered a new model. By working with employers and credentialed education institutions, Guild gives employers a set of solutions to train, educate, certify, and license people for new, higher paying jobs. For companies in manufacturing, healthcare, airlines, and other regulated sectors Guild also helps “up-license” the technicians and specialists we need. The solution to this problem is complex, and Guild took on this entire problem. The company works with many types of training and learning providers and also provides coaching, career pathways, and their own learning programs to help. For any company looking to fill critical talent gaps with...

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Vijay Swaminathan, co-founder and CEO of Draup, believes the future of workforce planning is not about studying people; it’s about studying work itself. After nearly a decade pioneering talent intelligence, Draup has pivoted toward the most urgent question every enterprise faces: how do you redesign work for the age of AI? In this episode, we sit down with Vijay to find out exactly how this works and why it’s more important today than ever. The centerpiece of this evolution is a new product called Etter — named from Norwegian mythology, meaning “always in pursuit of” — because AI transformation is never finished. Insights from Etter help companies model their workforce not around job titles and skills taxonomies, but around processes, workflows, and tasks, then simulate what AI automation would actually mean for each one — quantifying the opportunity in dollar terms for the CFO. For one hospital client, Draup sized...

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As I discuss in this week’s article, Microsoft introduced a “voluntary exit offer” that teaches us some lessons in modern management. It’s not a layoff by any means, despite the flurry of headlines. Listen to me explain why these kinds of programs are part of what I consider “the new model of management.” The old model was “hire to grow.” The new model is more of “grow to hire,” and it focuses on talent density, not the supply chain model of talent management. Additional Information Understanding Talent Density Galileo® goes Enterprise: The Jupiter Release HR 2030®: The New Architecture for Human and Agents Our New Book: Superpowered: How AI Unlocks the Superpower of People, Leadership, and Teams  

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When Microsoft announced its Voluntary Exit Offer last week, the headlines were immediate. “Microsoft Lays Off 60,000.” “Tech Giant Cuts Workforce.” “AI Takes Another Victim.” Quickly Instagram and TikTok were filled with angry videos: “another big company eliminates workers with AI.” Well I hate to tell you, this is not what happened. I spoke with Microsoft’s HR leadership team this week, and the story is much more positive than it seems. What Microsoft has done is not a layoff, rather a thoughtful workforce innovation, one which many companies will want to copy. What Microsoft Really Did Let’s start with the facts. Microsoft introduced a voluntary exit offer available to 60,000 eligible employees across four markets: U.S., Canada, India, and the UK. Eligibility is determined by organizational unit, not performance. Employees from vice president level and below are eligible, with no tenure requirement, so you could have been at Microsoft for...

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The HCM (human capital management) market is being reinvented by AI. In this podcast I explain why and how HCM may become the center of the corporate AI revolution. Why? There are many reasons, but perhaps the biggest is that AI agents are like people, and the HCM platform will help us manage, optimize, train, align, and leverage these new digital workers. This impacts the revenue and strategies of Workday, SAP, Oracle, UKG, HiBob, Dayforce, Gloat, Darwinbox, ADP, and other vendors who make up more than $70 billion in IT spending. Listen more for details, or read the article published today. Additional Information AI Makes The HCM Market Hot Again: Workday, SAP, Oracle, and More. Galileo® goes Enterprise: The Jupiter Release HR 2030®: The New Architecture for Human and Agents Our New Book: Superpowered: How AI Unlocks the Superpower of People, Leadership, and Teams  

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I just finished a month of meetings with Workday, SAP, and many vendors at the Unleash conference so I want to give you an update on the HCM market. This is a long article but worth the read. The Big Story: HCM is Hot, Foundational Platform for AI After four years getting slammed by Wall Street, the HCM core vendors are in the strongest position I’ve seen in years. Why? First, the economy is growing and companies are restructuring, so companies need these platforms more than ever. Gartner believes IT spending will rise by 15% this year, and HCM may grow at twice the rate. Second, the HCM are becoming strategic platforms for AI. Rather than think of them as HR systems of record, they are now AI platforms for business growth. They refine and speed hiring plans, improve company skills, and soon will manage a hybrid workload of people...

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