Denise Grode
Chief Human Resources Officer
Cirrus Logic
Episode 155
Tomorrow's HR: Data, Agility, and the AI Revolution in Talent Management
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJune 9, 2025 · 11:34
Thesis
“HR must strategically leverage data, embrace agility in the face of change, and focus on human-centric approaches to optimize talent and support evolving business objectives, while actively preparing for the impact of AI.”
Show notes
Navigating HR Transformation with Denise Grode from Centene
In this episode of the Built By People Podcast, host Tanner steps in for the usual host Dave, welcoming Denise as the guest. Denise shares her unplanned but successful career journey in HR, starting from an executive admin role to becoming a Chief HR Officer.
She emphasizes the importance of seizing opportunities and not letting job titles define one's career. Denise discusses a major HR transformation she led at Centene, including growing the workforce and revenue significantly. She highlights the importance of having a strategic plan, being agile, and learning from mistakes.
Denise also talks about the value of data analytics in HR, particularly around new hire retention, and the evolving expectations from HR due to the pandemic, such as hybrid work models.
She provides insights into managing multiple HR roles and the importance of optimizing human capital. Lastly, Denise underscores the need for HR professionals to adapt to advancements in AI.
00:00 Introduction and Host Welcome
01:00 Denise's Career Journey
02:45 Transforming HR Organizations
04:56 Data Analytics in HR
06:29 Adapting HR Practices Post-Pandemic
08:12 Balancing Multiple HR Roles
09:51 Final Advice for HR Professionals
11:20 Closing Remarks
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What you'll take away
- 1Be open to diverse career paths and don't let a job title restrict your growth; seize opportunities as they arise.
- 2For HR transformations, develop a clear roadmap but maintain agility and be prepared to 'fail fast' by adjusting or abandoning ineffective solutions.
- 3Utilize both 'hard data' (e.g., new hire failure rates) and 'human data' to inform HR strategies and drive positive business outcomes.
- 4Design hybrid work environments to prioritize meaningful in-office experiences that foster connectivity, innovation, and learning, rather than just requiring physical presence.
- 5Embrace the multifaceted nature of modern HR (mentor, therapist, leader); trust your judgment to make decisions that benefit both employees and the company.
- 6Proactively engage with artificial intelligence to understand and adapt to its inevitable impact on HR practices, talent acquisition, and workforce management.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Advocated for 'pulling the plug' on a failing, costly learning management system implementation, rather than continuing with workarounds, challenging the sunk cost fallacy.
- •Highlighted the challenges of 'helicopter parents' sometimes getting involved in employee conversations, pushing back on traditional HR boundaries.
- •Emphasized that there is no 'black and white answer' to return-to-office, suggesting a nuanced, experience-focused approach rather than a universal mandate.
In Denise's words
“don't let the role or the title of the role define you because I didn't even know what that role was. I moved into it 6 months later. I had a role as a compensation analyst, and from there my career went off.”
This quote encapsulates her philosophy on career agility and seizing opportunities beyond predefined labels.
“you have to have a plan or roadmap... but you also have to be willing to pivot and be agile... if you know something's not working, You need to be willing to say that, fail fast, learn from that, move forward versus just continuing to force something to work if it's not going to, because it's going to be harder in the end if you do that.”
This highlights her strategic approach to HR transformation, emphasizing adaptability and decisive action.
“I always say, let's go to the data, right? So there's two types of data. There's the hard data, and then there's like the human side of the data, right? But I do think in HR, sometimes the data is underutilized...”
This quote underscores her belief in the critical, often underutilized, role of data in modern HR decision-making.
“We currently have a hybrid work environment where you're 2 days in the office, 3 days off... where do you have opportunities to create experiences that when people are in their office, they're doing things like training, learning, collaborating events, so that they feel like there's a reason to come in and they're not just sitting in their cube on a Zoom call, which they could be doing from home.”
This provides a practical, experience-driven approach to making hybrid work effective and valuable for employees.
“if you do what you think is best for them and the company, you rarely lose. In the old days, you may have had a playbook, a black and white, and today that's not the case. You have to think through every situation. Uniquely.”
This captures the nuanced and human-centric approach required of modern HR leaders in complex situations.
“with the age of artificial intelligence, like, you have to start leaning in on this, 'cause it is going to shift and change how we do work in HR, how we hire for talent, how we train for talent, how work gets done.”
This is a direct call to action for HR professionals, emphasizing the urgency and importance of preparing for AI's impact.
The problems this episode addresses
- •HR organizations face the challenge of implementing new HR technologies that may not deliver as promised, leading to wasted resources and the need for costly workarounds.
- •High new hire turnover within the first year can indicate failures in the hiring process, onboarding, or manager assimilation, resulting in significant financial and productivity losses.
- •Creating compelling reasons for employees to return to the office in a hybrid model is difficult; without valuable in-office experiences, collaboration and innovation may suffer.
- •The modern HR professional's role has become increasingly complex, demanding expertise as a mentor, therapist, and culture champion, often without clear guidelines or playbooks.
- •Optimizing human capital from a total cost, efficiency, and engagement perspective is a continuous challenge, especially given the significant investment in talent on company P&Ls.
- •Staying abreast of and strategically adopting transformative technologies like Artificial Intelligence is critical to avoid being left behind in talent acquisition, training, and overall HR operations.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Denise Tanner is the host of the Built by People podcast
Built by People: Denise's Career Journey
You successfully transformed an HR organization, and what challenges were you facing
Have You Transformed an HR Organization?
I'm curious to get your thoughts on integrating data analytics and HR practices
Integrated Data and HR Practices
There's a debate about return to office versus working from home
Return to Office: Working From Home or Remote?
How do HR professionals balance multiple roles today, such as mentor, therapist
The Multiple Roles of HR Professionals
Denise: Without the right talent, nothing gets done in HR
In Impact Today: The Right Talent for Your Business
Denise joins us to talk about the Build by People podcast
Denise on Build by People
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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