The Josh Bersin Company

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 conversation also highlights the automation of work tasks and the need for businesses to decompose job functions for better efficiency. Bersin stresses the importance of expertise in HR, advocating for a shift towards full stack professionals who possess a broad understanding of various HR functions. Finally, he addresses the impending disruption in Learning and Development (L&D) due to AI advancements, predicting a significant transformation in how L&D professionals will manage knowledge and skills. Additional Information Inside Microsoft’s struggles with Copilot (Business Insider Exclusive) Hyper-Growth Through Efficiency: Theme For The New Era Digital Twins, Digital Employees, And Agents Everywhere Chatbot Architecture: MS Copilot, Joule, Galileo, and The Future of L&D

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. As you’ll hear, this is a technology that people are worried about at the moment, so we need to consider many levels of change management throughout our organizations. Chapters 00:00 The Rapid Rise of AI and Automation 05:13 Job Transformation and AI Impact 08:56 Privacy Concerns in the Age of AI 12:47 Organizational Design and Talent Density 20:48 Leadership in the AI Era 29:54 Embracing AI: The Path Forward Additional Information Hyper-Growth Through Efficiency: Theme For The New Era How To Create Talent Density Were These Layoffs Inevitable? Perhaps, But Here’s How It Happened. People as Competitive Advantage: Certificate Course In The Josh Bersin Academy

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 corporate HR and work data. Our newest research on People Analytics is coming out this month, stay tuned for much more detail on this topic. Additional Information People Analytics, Evolved: A Systemic Approach Certificate Course in People Analytics from The Josh Bersin Company    

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 Inclusion Programs Going Away? Elevating Equity: A Certificate Program From The Josh Bersin Academy Chief Diversity Officer: The Toughest Job in Business

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 publicly traded learning and leadership companies in the world. Learn about how FC helps Marriott deliver one of the most highly esteemed customer experiences in the hospitality market. Interviewee:  Paul Walker, CEO FranklinCovey Additional Information The Surprising Facts About Leadership Development, Human-Centered Leadership, Why Are Some Companies More Dynamic Than Others?

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 your own HR organization. While many of us believe AI is a productivity tool, I explain how AI use-cases in HR are for expansive than you realized. Watch this YouTube to learn about the two ways to think about AI applications. Keywords: AI in HR, recruitment, productivity, coaching, job descriptions, LinkedIn, generative AI, HR technology, innovation, use cases Additional Information LinkedIn Enters AI Agent Race With LinkedIn Hiring Assistant Digital Twins, Digital Employees, And Agents Everywhere SuccessFactors Leapfrogs HCM Capabilities: AI, Skills, Talent Intelligence, And More Introducing Galileo Pro, Your Personal AI Assistant for HR a9W3O0GjMWKbGryeXy5J  

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 description. Thanks to AI we can now think about work differently, and this will impact sales, marketing, HR, engineering, and just about every other function in our companies. In some ways this is a return to the old ERP model of “designing work around the software” but this time the Agents are smart, programmable, and learning! So if we do this well we’re going to see massive improvements in productivity. I talk about Rolls Royce, EPAM, and the PR battle between Salesforce and Microsoft for “Agent-Tech.”  Plus I talk about why Chief Learning Officers have a new role in 2025! Lots of new ideas to think about here. Please watch this video for more on this topic. Additional Information Get your hands on Galileo Professional: your personal AI assistant for HR Digital Twins, Digital Employees, And Agents Everywhere Redesigning Work with AI Vendors Mentioned Agentforce by Salesforce Copilot Agents by Microsoft Sana Labs (the platform under Galileo)  

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 experience and its continuous business transformation. Interviewee Nick Benaquista, SVP, People and Capability Partner, Chief Administration Office and Strategic Growth at Mastercard Company Mastercard, a leading US-based global payment solutions provider with 33,000 employees Additional Information The Systemic HR Operating Model Why The World Needs A New Operating Model for Human Resources The Mastercard HR Transformation Story Keywords:  Employee Experience, HR Technology, Systemic HR, AI in HR, HR capabilities, HR roles

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 selection and recruiting platforms. Scheduling bots unleashing energy in healthcare. End-to-end employee knowledge and learning systems at Spotify. For two years we’ve watched AI evolve from predictive analytics to AI assistants to AI agents to Digital Twins. And these tools are now here for you to use, as long as you just get your hands dirty trying these tools out. Bottom line: this is no longer a market of waiting for just the right solution – many of the new AI tools in HR can already do much more than you expected. Get your hands on Galileo and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Additional Information Introducing The AI Trailblazers! HR Technology Outlook 2025. Introducing Galileo Professional, Your Personal AI Assistant for HR Can AI Do Performance Reviews? Rippling Says Yes.

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 strategy, describing how Delta uses skillstech and AI to help employees advance their careers across job families in the company (we call this The Dynamic Organization). Delta is a pioneer in this effort: most airlines fall far behind in their talent and HR strategies. As Tim describes, this strategy not only helps employees grow and develop, it gives Delta a foundation of sustainability and customer service others only emulate. Delta is rated the #1 airline for passenger service in the US, and we believe this HR strategy is foundational to its market success. Join our course Career and Talent Mobility to learn more. Additional Information Delta Now Rated As Customers’ Favorite Airline SAP SuccessFactors Delivers on HXM and The Promise of AI Career and Talent Mobility: Certificate Program from The Josh Bersin Academy    

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 work to do. I also describe how Satya Nadella embraces this idea of continuous growth as a very senior leader. I also discuss the growing value of “Vertical AI” solutions and how they will complement and add value in a world of large AI providers, and give you a sense of where I believe the AI market is going. Takeaways: Forgiveness and growth are essential in personal and professional development. Leadership is a continuous journey that requires constant learning. AI will play a significant role in redesigning work processes. A growth mindset fosters a culture of improvement and accountability. Organizations should focus on problems rather than blaming individuals. Continuous learning is crucial for high-performing companies. Redesigning roles and processes is necessary in the age of AI. Forgiveness can lead to better employee engagement and retention. Leaders must adapt to changes and seek advice from others. Creating an environment for reinvention is key to organizational success. Additional Information Corporate Citizenship Redefined Leadership Trust Is Dropping (PwC) The Value of Values As Organizations Build on Trust Introducing Galileo Professional, Your Personal AI Assistant for HR    

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. This corpus is powered by the Sana advanced AI platform to give you personalized advice, education, and tools to help you in every area of HR. Our trusted content providers (Lightcast, Oyster, Visier, Heidrick & Struggles) add global data on regulatory practices, skills, salary and turnover benchmarks, and leadership models, and we are adding more trusted content every week. And best of all, Galileo Pro is an open Gen AI platform for you to add your company’s policies, procedures, hiring guides, and other internal tools so you have your own personal (or company) Gen AI system to help with every HR topic you face. Listen to the podcast, along with an AI-generated (thanks to Google Notebook LLM) Q&A on Galileo Professional, including a discussion of the Galileo Success Center, your place to learn about AI and share world-class ideas, innovations, and solutions built on the Galileo Platform. You can purchase Galileo Professional today for yourself, your team, or your organization. Join us on this exciting journey of AI-powered HR, leadership, and management solutions in the decade ahead.

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 density, recruiting, and organization design. For those of you who agree with me on Organization Design in 2025, here is the Org Design SuperClass, which is a “must consume” offering for the coming year. Watch this space for our Big Reveal next Tuesday! Additional Information Understanding The Job Market (video) The Org Design SuperClass How To Create Talent Density The Definitive Guide to Building a Dynamic Organization Galileo, the world’s AI-powered expert assistant for HR.    

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 employees can now “bid and ask” for new shifts without going through management. Through schedule sharing across locations and bidding on shifts in an online platform, employees have more flexibility in their schedules and empowers them to manage their own shifts. It also enables managers to easily approve requests and effectively manage labor to avoid costly contractors. Additional Information Employee Experience: The Definitive Guide New Research: Cloud-Based HCM Can Redefine Employee Experience Join The Employee Experience Workshop: A Certificate Program In The Josh Bersin Academy  

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 at Unleash Paris on Thursday October 17 and I will also be discussing many of these topics at Workday Rising EMEA on Wednesday December 11 at the RAI Conference Center in Amsterdam. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy hearing about these 30 amazing companies, each of which is delivering on AI in high-value, high-ROI solutions. I also spent some time talking about the COST of AI and why and how you can work on a business case for these new AI capabilities and make sure you have a clear use-case and implementation plan for these new, exciting, high-value innovations. AI in HR has reached a tipping point: it’s here and it’s delivering real value. Now we all have to figure out what to buy, which major players to standardize on, and which use-cases to address first. Vendors Discussed ADP Lyric HCM, Arist Creator and Teammate, Cornerstone Galaxy, Disprz Learning System, Draup Talent Intelligence, Deel Employment of Record Platform, Docebo Creator, Eightfold Career Navigator and Talent Intelligence, Galileo: The Expert AI Assistant for HR, Gloat Workforce Agility, Growthspace Precision Skilling, Heidrick & Struggles Navigator, HiBob, Lattice, LinkedIn Learning, Lightcast Skills, Medallia, Oracle HCM, Oyster Global Employment Platform, Paradox, Rippling Talent Signal, Sana Labs, SAP SuccessFactors and Joule, SeekOut, ServiceNow, SHL Global Assessments, UKG Bryte, Visier Vee, Workday Illuminate AI Platform (and HiredScore), Workera Skills System.  Additional Information The Trailblazer and HR Tech 2025 Report Josh Bersin Company Announces 30 AI HR Tech Trailblazer Vendors the CHRO Really Needs to Know About  

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 such a dangerous business strategy, and how we may avoid this problem in our companies. Read Irresistible to learn more. Additional Information What Is Workday Illuminate? Galileo Selected As Workday Innovation Partner Benioff Slams Microsoft as he Promotes Salesforce Agents Irresistible: The Seven Secrets of the World’s Most Enduring, Employee-Focused Organizations

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 planning, and learning management. The mobile app has been widely adopted by employees, enabling them to access important information and complete tasks remotely. Samantha shares insights on how technology is transforming the employee experience and discusses her plans to explore AI to enhance fatigue management, stress management, retention, and succession planning. This episode offers valuable lessons on leveraging HR technology to support a distributed workforce and drive organizational success. Interviewee: Samantha Garvie, HR Safety and Compliance Director, Rowley’s Wholesale Company: Rowley’s Wholesale, a US-based distributor of automotive and industrial products with 125 employees

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 smarter and more capable by the minute. As I explain in the podcast, there are better ways to think about this problem, and this conversation opens up the door to a big discussion about the future of enterprise apps, agentic AI, and the role of large-scale incumbent vendors in our corporate IT stacks. Additional Information Klarna Cuts 50% of Workforce, Ends Partnerships with Salesforce and Workday Amid Generative AI Overhaul Klarna Plans to ‘Shut Down SaaS Providers’ and Replace Them With Internally Built AI. The Tech World Is Pretty Skeptical AI Agents, The New Workforce We’re Not Quite Ready For (Agentic AI)

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 Agentic AI has the potential to improve productivity and provide measurable ROI. Keywords agentic AI, AI systems, chatbots, virtual employees, virtual teammates, training manager, recruiting agent, technology landscape, productivity improvement, measurable ROI Takeaways Agentic AI allows AI systems and chatbots to take actions on our behalf, performing tasks such as composing emails, creating documents, building courses, and recruiting. These agents can be seen as virtual employees or teammates that can be trained and managed. Agentic AI will change the technology landscape and the stack of tools in organizations, requiring onboarding, training, and governance. These agents have the potential to improve productivity and provide measurable ROI. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Agentic AI 01:11 Agentic AI in Training Management 05:56 Agentic AI in Recruiting 09:03 Onboarding and Training Agentic AI 12:08 Changing the Technology Landscape with Agentic AI 16:31 Measuring the ROI of Agentic AI Additional Information AI Agents, The New Workforce We’re Not Quite Ready For Artificial Intelligence in HR: Certificate Course From The Josh Bersin Academy Introducing Galileo, The World’s First AI-Powered Expert Assistant For HR Autonomous Corporate Learning Platforms: Arriving Now, Powered by AI    

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 yes, AI is going to force us to think deeper about what “people” do in our companies. Remember that we’re all “labor” and every employee is a human being. So while US Labor Day was originally a way to celebrate unions and organized labor, let’s also think broader about all the value-based investments we make in every person in our companies. Keywords: Labor Day, labor movement, workers, economy, automation, technology, labor shortage, skills shortage, investment in employees, unions, fair pay, benefits, working conditions, income inequality, HR professionals, Boeing, Starbucks, employee activation Chapters: 00:00 The Importance of Workers in the Economy 02:11 Automation and the Changing Labor Force 04:07 Investing in Employees to Attract and Retain Talent 14:37 The Role of Unions in Advocating for Fairness 17:48 Addressing Income Inequality 20:08 The Role of HR in Supporting Employees   Additional Information When Will The Trillions Invested In AI Pay Off? Sooner Than You Think. With Thoughtful Design And Culture, Dropbox Proves Remote Work Is A Winner AI in HR Certificate Program in The Josh Bersin Academy Learn about Galileo: The World’s AI Assistant for HR