In this podcast I talk with Josh Secrest, VP of Marketing at Paradox (Workday) about how we segment the “frontline” into useful worker categories. As you will hear, the complex issues of hiring, training, managing, leading, and building operational excellence vary widely from role to role. Many companies think “Frontline” is a category. As you’ll discover, this is not really true. Our new research shows that there are more than 800 “Frontline” worker job titles and they are not only industry-specific but also vary by skill type, skills depth, front or back office, licensing, and professional credential. And these dimensions play a major role in all HR, pay, reward, training, scheduling, and retention strategies. This episode sets the stage for our follow-on podcasts where we detail the Five Types of Frontline Work, a body of research you’ll find even more useful in leading this important part of our companies. Remember,...

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As AI expands its role all over our companies, a big question comes up: What will AI Agents do to HR and all our human capital practices? One could imagine the HR department “going away” or being replaced by agents, and managers interacting with this AI Agent Cloud for hiring, pay, promotion, hourly scheduling, and training. Is that where we’re really going? This week we’re starting to introduce our HR 2030 Vision, which brings together the world of Systemic HR (HR as an integrated operation, not only COEs) and our AI Superagent/Agent architecture. Vendors are slowly moving in this direction and we see HR leaders and operating groups also moving this way at various rates of speed. Many tech companies are moving in this direction quickly (Microsoft, Roblox, Google, others) while most other industries are still struggling to integrate systems and start their Agent journeys. This new vision, as bold...

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As AI expands its role all over our companies, a big question comes up: What will AI Agents do to HR and all our human capital practices? One could imagine the HR department “going away” or being replaced by agents, and managers interacting with this AI Agent Cloud for hiring, pay, promotion, hourly scheduling, and training. Is that where we’re really going? This week we’re starting to introduce our HR 2030 Vision, which brings together the world of Systemic HR (HR as an integrated operation, not only COEs) and our AI Superagent/Agent architecture. Vendors are slowly moving in this direction and we see HR leaders and operating groups also moving this way at various rates of speed. Many tech companies are moving in this direction quickly (Microsoft, Roblox, Google, Mastercard, ServiceNow, others) while most other industries are still struggling to integrate systems and start their Agent journeys. This new vision, as bold as...

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What does it look like when one of the world’s most innovative tech companies decides to write the playbook for agentic HR — from the inside? Brandon Roberts, Global VP of People Product, Analytics and AI at ServiceNow, joins Kathi Enderes for a conversation that crackles with real-world urgency and hard-won insight. Under the bold leadership of CHRO Jacqui Canney – whose title as Chief People and AI Transformation Officer signals just how seriously ServiceNow is taking this moment – Brandon and his team have made a defining bet: empower every HR professional to experiment with AI, then ruthlessly prioritize based on value and feasibility. The results are already turning heads. When an HR Business Partner came forward with an idea, it didn’t disappear into a committee. It became a live capability: HRBPs now work alongside a people data agent paired with Galileo, giving them real-time internal workforce data fused...

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Today, as we read more stories about various layoffs (often using AI as an explanation), I’d like to suggest a big idea. AI Agents, defined as “Talent Redeployment Agents,” may be one of the most powerful new use-cases for AI in HR. No I’m not talking about AI randomly selecting people and zapping them by email based on financial results (that could happen I suppose), but something much bigger. Listen in as I explain how the “decoupling” of workers from their employers has led to a new era of dynamic employee redeployment, which is only possible with AI. We’re deep into studying these Superagent use-cases in companies around the world so if this conversation gets you excited (I think it will), please get hold of us we’d like to explain more. Additional Information Should an AI Agent Be Able To Fire You? Yes, And It’s Likely To Go Well. Gloat...

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This week Gloat, a pioneer in skills intelligence and talent marketplace, launched a bold entry into the world of AI Agents for HR. It’s an interesting move, demonstrating how competition for core HR technology has emerged. Simply explained, Gloat is offering a toolset (Gloat Agentic HR) which uses all the business rules and security you have in Oracle, Workday, or SuccessFactors and lets you quickly build AI Agents that work in MS Copilot, Teams, Slack, and other AI apps. Application Layers of Agentic AI Let me start with a little architecture discussion. In the world of AI agents, there are essentially five layers. At the bottom we have the systems of record that store, update, and maintain information about our companies. These HCM applications sit on top of complex databases which hold information about our financials, customers, people, inventory, and products. This is the world of Workday, SAP, Oracle, UKG,...

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