Horst Gallo
Chief People Officer
Orion Innovation
Episode 398
Stop Admin, Start Leading: How HR Becomes a Strategic Business Powerhouse with AI
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleOctober 23, 2024 · 11:50
Thesis
“Horst Gallo believes that HR professionals must evolve into business leaders first, deeply understanding revenue and operations, and strategically leverage technology like AI to place HR at the center of organizational influence and drive meaningful change amidst constant transformation.”
Show notes
HR Evolution: From Personal Journeys to Strategic Leadership and AI Integration In this episode, an Horst Gallo narrates his unexpected career path, transitioning from insurance to IBM’s HR service center in London, and highlights significant global trends in HR. The discussion covers balancing personalization with scalability and the revolutionary impact of generative AI tools like Atlas Copilot. Insights are shared on managing cross-continental roles, adapting to diverse cultures, controlling workload, and fostering team trust. The episode underscores HR's pivotal role in organizational well-being, diversity, and inclusion, especially in the post-COVID era. It also advocates for HR professionals to adopt a business leader mindset, learn from failures, embrace change, and cultivate a growth mindset. 00:00 Journey into HR: An Unexpected Path 01:09 Current HR Trends and Innovations 03:58 Challenges and Learnings in HR 05:54 Cultural Adaptation and Team Trust 06:53 The Future of Work and HR's Role 08:21 Controversial HR Practices 09:39 Learning from Failure 10:09 Parting Advice for HR Executives 10:53 Conclusion and Farewell
What you'll take away
- 1HR professionals should prioritize understanding business operations and revenue generation to act as effective business leaders.
- 2Leveraging new technologies, especially generative AI (like Atlas Copilot), is crucial for automating administrative tasks and focusing on strategic HR functions.
- 3Leaders must learn to delegate and trust their teams, especially when navigating diverse cultural contexts, and be open to different approaches.
- 4Gaining control over one's own agenda, even symbolically (e.g., leaving at 5 PM), can significantly reduce feeling overwhelmed in demanding executive roles.
- 5Embracing continuous learning and a growth mindset, especially in areas outside one's comfort zone, is essential for navigating constant change in HR.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Horst argues that HR professionals should be 'business leaders first' and then specialize in HR, emphasizing that many HR folks focus too much solely on the 'people aspect' without a deep understanding of business operations and revenue generation.
In Horst's words
“I think one of the major things what I see is, and this is not new, it's this balance between on one side customization, specialization, really getting down to personalization for the employee on one side, but on the other side, of course, also driving scale and actually doing that at a very different kind of level around that.”
This highlights a core tension in modern HR that technology aims to resolve by enabling both personalization and scale.
“The biggest trend now for me is generative AI, using that in the way going forward. And of course you have many tools actually out there which are helping you... a Copilot for HR which is helping you. This is a company called Atlas Copilot.”
Directly identifies generative AI and a specific tool (Atlas Copilot) as a significant and immediate trend transforming HR functions.
“Look, what you're missing is control. You're driven by somebody else's agenda... you need to find a way to actually make decisions yourself, even if it means that you just pretend to make decisions.”
Offers a practical, psychological strategy for managing executive overwhelm and reclaiming personal agency amidst demanding schedules.
“Not accepting that you know everything or you don't have to accept everything. You don't have to know everything. You can ask questions. You have a team normally who's actually very willing to do that.”
Emphasizes the importance of humility, delegation, and leveraging team expertise, especially when navigating diverse cultural or operational contexts.
“HR folks are business leaders first, and then of course they specialize maybe in HR.”
This is his core contrarian take, advocating for HR professionals to prioritize a deep understanding of business operations and financial drivers.
“The only thing which is constant is change. And therefore, of course, actually getting comfortable with change, learning, having a growth mindset, trying to do things differently.”
Provides a concise summary of the essential mindset required for success in the continuously evolving HR and business landscape.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Overwhelmed executives struggling with excessive workload and lack of private life due to being driven by others' agendas (4:49).
- •Difficulty balancing the need for personalized employee experiences with the imperative to drive scale across an organization (1:59).
- •Challenges for HR leaders in rapidly adapting to and understanding diverse cultural norms and expectations in global roles (4:49).
- •HR professionals often lacking a deep understanding of core business operations, revenue generation, and financial implications (9:10).
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
What are some of the more significant trends shaping the HR landscape
WSJD Live: The Future of HR
I'm curious what some of the bigger challenges you've faced as an HR professional
Biggest Challenges of the HR Profession
How do you see the future of work evolving and what role do HR play
How HR will shape the future of work
Is there anything controversial that you're doing in HR which you believe is effective
What's Controversial in HR?
What's your biggest failure in your career and what did you learn from it
MRKT: The Biggest Failure of My Career
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
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