The AIX Factor

This is the third in a series of talks with David Foote, founder of Foote Partners, on The Big Shift- several tectonic changes sweeping through the workplace and the workforce. In this pod, we discuss the shift from a demand for "traditional" tech skills to a demand for a variety of so-called soft skills due to the changing nature of work – hybrid, cross-functional teams that often operate without day-to-day managerial oversight. David categorizes these skills as those that you’re born with, those that can be taught, and those that are difficult – but not impossible - to acquire. These skills include empathy, authenticity, humility, critical thinking, curiosity, passion, and leadership. You’ll have to listen to find out which are innate, and which can be taught and improved upon! We also discuss the importance of workplace culture- and HR’s role -  in facilitating the acquisition and development of these skills, especially in the context of AI and workforce transformation.  We encourage you to listen to the first two in the series if you haven't already, though they each stand on their own. Thanks for listening - we welcome your feedback!

On these podcasts, we discuss the challenges of maintaining a balance between AI and our humanity. Today’s conversation focuses almost entirely on the human side of the equation: the challenges of being civil and what this means in an increasingly uncivil world. It’s a timely conversation on a vitally important topic with the best person I can think of to have it with. Shola Richards is the CEO and founder of Go Together Global® and is a widely sought-after civility expert. We discuss his latest book, Civil Unity: the radical path to transform our discourse, our lives, and our world. Shola dispels several misconceptions on the topic, and addresses the central question: can civility be learned? Spoiler alert: it can, but it takes commitment to the work, and the willingness to negotiate uncomfortable situations and inconvenient truths. And yes, we also discuss at the very end the impacts and implications of AI in our everyday interactions. Much like his excellent book, it’s a lively, insightful, sometimes counterintuitive, and, yes, fun conversation (and I’m not just referring to our occasional digressions into our shared passion, NBA hoops – always, always to support a relevant point). Civil Unity is available at Amazon and wherever books are sold.

Ryan Carrier is Executive Director at ForHumanity/ President at ForHumanity Europe, a public charity operating in 98 countries that examines the impact of AI and autonomous systems on jobs, society, rights and freedoms, as well as the downside risks and challenges associated with these technologies. Ryan shares his unusual career journey, which started in finance  and led to the founding of ForHumanity in March 2020. Initially focused on drafting audit rules for digital contact tracing during the pandemic, they have since developed more than 50 certification schemes and submitted them to governments and regulators for approval. We discuss:responsible AI developmentthe need for independent audits promote compliance with emerging regulationsthe importance of AI literacy (and how it ought to be defined) why compliance is often cheaper than paying fines for non-compliance, yet many companies currently view fines as just a cost of doing businessthe marketing benefits of a “Good Housekeeping” seal of approval to verify compliance We also veer into several other emerging technologies that are problematic from a societal/ethical standpoint, such as emotional recognition technology, those advancing "transhumanism," and gene editing.  Also - ForHumanity just published 62 use cases for HR, designed to provide auditors with examples of best practices and compliant outputs. We discuss one such use case involving mental health chatbots - the potential for good as well as the considerable downside risk. A truly fascinating conversation with a man - and organization - doing remarkable, vitally important, and largely unsung work.

Taylor Bradley is Head of Talent Strategy & Developer Success for Turing, builders of generative AI products and solutions that transform complex data into actionable insights. Taylor is an HR executive with over a decade of experience partnering with founders and executives to drive talent strategies in fast-growing, late-stage tech companies. Our wide-ranging conversation touches on:   the unfair advantages of having two first nameshow his previous work as a paramedic informs his leadership styleTuring’s “AI-powered Talent Cloud” and real world applications for HRhow Turing scales AI-centric workforces (we discuss the flip-side: maintaining human-centricity)aligning HR practices with business goals in an  AI-augmented worldthe major opportunities and challenges going forward

David Foote, of the eponymous Foote Partners, joins us for  the second in a series of talks on The Big Shift-several tectonic changes sweeping through the workplace, driven by several key high-momentum technologies, including, of course, AI. In the first podcast we discussed the previous four industrial revolutions, going back to the first one in the 1700’s that was chiefly powered by the emergence of the efficient steam engine. On this pod, we examine the shifts in supply, demand and pay  pay for tech skills. As with all the pods in the series, this should be particularly illuminating for the HR pros in our listening audience who want to get out in the front of the trends David and his team have identified that are shaping the future of work.

Yuval Harari’s brilliant new book, “Nexus, A Brief History of Information Networks From the Stone Age to AI,” speaks about the importance of stories as the building blocks of culture. Geoffrey Klein is CEO and founder of nine dots, which helps businesses create compelling story-driven visual content. He is also an AI consultant, TEDx speaker, Wharton lecturer and best-selling author. He joins us to discuss the business case for spinning a ripping good yarn, how to become an adept storyteller, and why it’s particularly important in the age of AI. Bonus content: Geoffrey shares details of his triumphant appearance on the Dating Game, prompted by a question asked by AIX’s intrepid cohost, NetatWork's Harold Ford III.

Konnichiwa (こんにちは). Joining me from his HQ in Tokyo is my co-host, Michael Piker, VP, Global Total Rewards for Shiseido, the global beauty giant. Michael and I speak with NetExpat's founder and CEO Alain Verstandig and his colleague Laurette Bennhold-Samaan, Vice President, Global Advisory and Intercultural Services. Both are experts in Global Workforce Management Deployment, which is about establishing and deploying talent in the right location, in the right culture, and in the right context. The topics we discuss include:  the challenges and benefits of international assignments and repatriationthe importance of cultural agility in successfully navigating change,  whether being assigned to an overseas location or moving from the main office to the home office how AI has improved their ability to accurately predict successful assignments/transitionsthe aspects of their work they would happily have AI do, and those that AI will never be able to replicate the importance of ensuring “human centricity” in an increasingly AI-augmented world  Tanoshinde ne (enjoy)!

Mark Vickers, HR.com’s Chief Research Analyst & Data Wrangler - aka, the Hardest Working Man in HR Research (TM) - joins us to talk about their new report, HR.com's State of People Analytics (https://tinyurl.com/ywbpmvv8). The report’s exec summary wastes no time laying it out: “HR has an ongoing analytics problem.”  Two stats that bear this out: Only 22% of organizations feel effective in HR analytics; twice as many (44%) say their organizations are only somewhat effective or not effective at all in this area.We discussed the decline in the use of people analytics and what’s behind it - spoiler alert: design, implementation, cultural resistance. Mark suggested strategies to reverse this trend, including starting small with meaningful metrics, leveraging existing technologies, training HR staff, and holding workshops on storytelling with data to effectively communicate insights to other parts of the organization. Naturally, we also discussed the implications this has for HR using AI to derive insights.  An enlightening, free-wheeling conversation...check it out!

Today’s guest is uniquely qualified to answer the question: How can we ensure that AI doesn't leave a "body count" in its wake? Steve Levy is the principal talent advisor at DHI Group and an influential voice on all things TA (talent acquisition). By body count, we mean AI’s potential threat to jobs, social equity, and, gulp, humanity. We touch on: Steve’s 34-year stint saving lives (and we assume having some fun) as a Jones Beach lifeguardthe AI “fear factor”the importance of maintaining AI-human balancethe need for self-learning among recruiters”radical transparency”... and my two favorite topics: “automating stupidity” (what you definitely do not want to do)“HR’s Ethan Allen syndrome” (you will LOL). Bonus Content: generously waiving his standard Actor’s Equity rate, Steve did a dramatic reading of the famous courtroom scene from "Inherit the Wind" to emphasize the importance of critical thinking over blindly accepting dogma, and offered up a vaguely recognizable Tony Soprano applying for a sales job at a Jersey car dealership. As to the question of AI’s body count, Steve saves the two-word answer to the very end…the wait will seem brief, as we’re sure you’ll be riveted for the 60 minutes that precede it.

Excerpted from a conversation with Harold G. Ford III, the Practice Director for the Employer Solutions Practice at Net at Work. We discussed AI's transformative potential and the challenges of efficiently and responsibly integrating AI into the HR workflows of small and medium-sized businesses.

(With apologies to the great Gil Scott-Heron.) This is the first in a series of conversations with the estimable David Foote, Chief Analyst & Chief Research Officer for the eponymous Foote Partners, on the Big Shift: the tectonic changes sweeping the workplace. Highlights: - David compares AI to previous industrial revolutions, and why its potential to bring positive change (productivity, innovation, etc.) should outweigh broadly felt fear and uncertainty. - The five “shifts” disrupting the workforce, focusing on the massive generational shift, what each generation uniquely offers, and the challenges of managing people with different workstyles, learning styles, goals, and values. - The increased value and need for soft skills, one of the Big Shifts that we’ll focus on in a future pod. Foote Partners are innovators of advanced techniques for benchmarking enterprise tech jobs, skills supply/demand, and compensation; tracking/forecasting tech labor trends; and analyzing human factors in technology development.

Michael Borrelli, Director at AI & Partners, joins us from his HQ in London, England to discuss the EU AI Act and its implications for organizations across Europe and for US companies doing business there. We begin with big news on the AI front - the signing of the world’s first treaty on AI - signatories include the UK (awkward!) and the US. We discuss the work that AI and Partners does to help clients navigate the complex and fast-changing AI regulatory landscape, then take a deep dive into the EU AI Act and what US-based companies need to be aware of. In another piece of good timing, this pod drops the same day as their report on “The EU AI Act: Third-Country Preparedness.” Highly recommended: https://lnkd.in/dJ_WQTE5

Harold G. Ford III - yes, the third - is the Practice Director for the Employer Solutions Practice at Net at Work, a leading business technology consulting firm. Harold will be one of our rotating co-hosts, bringing a field-level perspective to AI and HR. Harold and I will ask our guests to answer the question: How should organizations re-think their day-to-day HR, IT, and business processes and all the associated organizational challenges, in the age of AI? We’ll address topics from a practitioner’s perspective - business owner, head of HR, finance, or IT - from an SMB company. In other words, bringing the AI tablets down from the mountaintop.  On our first pod together, we discuss the most significant changes in the workplace over the past few years, the “hesitational enthusiasm” (his words) with which HR professionals have approached AI, its transformative potential as well as the challenges of efficiently and responsibly integrating AI into HR workflows. We discuss the need for greater AI literacy and touch on topics we’ll be addressing on future pods together.

Dr. Solange Charas, CEO and Founder of HCMoneyball,  Professor of Practice at Columbia University, and author of Humanizing Human Capital, discusses how human capital analytics ensures an efficient, productive, and, yes, “human-centric” workforce. We discuss the four “D’s” disrupting the workplace: Demographics, Digitization, Datafication, and Disintermediation. We also discuss Strategic Workforce Planning and how it aligns HR, Finance, and Governance….and how AI can make us smarter and better. She also gives us insights into the practical benefits of her recent promotion to full professor at Columbia - in case any of you are weighing the pros/cons of a similar gig at a major university near you.

HR professionals don’t know what to make of AI.  Almost half of those surveyed by HR.com have “super high” expectations - “AI will give me super powers” - and about as many have major concerns, from legal risk to bias. Mark Vickers, HR.com’s Chief Research Analyst & Data Wrangler, joins us to talk about “AI’s Bumpy Ascent in HR,” his recent presentation on AI awareness and adoption among HR professionals, based on data gathered from 18 months of surveys. We discuss their findings regarding AI and Talent Acquisition, Learning, Performance Management, and Engagement & Experience.  We also discuss the implications of a study showing that recruiters using low-quality AI became more engaged with the AI, allowing it to augment - vs. substitute for - their efforts, producing a better outcome. As a bonus, if you listen carefully near the fifteen-minute mark, Mark almost stumbles into a classic line from Taxi Driver: "One of these days I’m gonna get organizized.”

We know how vital learning and upskilling will continue to be as AI transforms work - the question is:  why are soft skills so key, and how can we ensure that the resources we use for learning are accessible, fair, and effective?  Ioanna Onasi, co-founder & CEO of Dextego, an autonomous sales coaching platform, can legitimately claim to be a grizzled entrepreneur before reaching thirty. Indeed, one of her missions is to share her insights to help fellow Gen Z and under-represented founders accelerate their entrepreneurial journeys - several of which she shares with us on this podcast.  Along the way, Ioanna provided us with an exceptionally accurate and concise description of what it takes to be a successful founder/leader, premised as it is on continuous learning: “recognize patterns, iterate…be resilient.” We also spoke about the importance of learning and developing soft skills in the age of AI…with bonus restaurant tips for those who enjoy quality Greek food.

Dr. Mark Attridge, President of Attridge Consulting, Inc. ,  a prominent research and analyst firm that focuses on workplace mental health and employee assistance programs, discusses the findings of their recent study (free download) examining the relative efficacy of three different EAP delivery modalities:  in-person (worksite or offsite),  human via some technology channel (phone, online video, text/email) and AI only (self-care with digital tools and no counselor or coach involved). Mark provides a wealth of insight into the future of EAP and mental health delivery in the age of AI.

With over 25 years of experience as a management-side employment and labor attorney, Jon Hyman,  helps businesses strategically, proactively, and reactively solve their workforce problems. As leader of the Employment & Labor Practice Group at Wickens Herzer Panza, Jon provides practical and strategic advice on a range of employment, labor law, and  workplace technology issues. He also founded and leads the Craft Beer Practice Group at WHP – a pressing topic we explore before digging into what organizations need to do – and think about – in developing an AI governance strategy. Is there a blueprint for evaluating AI risk? What should organizations be most concerned about and prepare for? What challenges loom on the horizon?  Jon lays it all out.

Matt Burns has been an HR executive leading major change initiatives, a strategy consultant and industry analyst, a serial entrepreneur, as well as a podcast host and producer - he currently hosts and produces the Thinking Inside the Box podcast. He is also a co-founder of Atlas Copilot, whose mission is to transform the way HR professionals, teams, and other people leaders do their work, leveraging the latest in generative AI technology.  Now boarding…

On our maiden AIX Factor podcast we introduce Michael Piker, who will be a recurring co-host. Michael has worked and lived in 9, count 'em 9 countries - currently he’s based in London, but his bags and two chihuahuas are packed and awaiting imminent arrival in Japan, his fourth time working and living there. Michael shares his international perspective on navigating change, different work cultures, and today’s world of AI-augmented work. It was a fun, illuminating and wide-ranging conversation - capturing the kind of exchanges we look forward to having on the AIX Factor. Thanks for listening!  For more, go to AIXonHR.com.