Josh Greenwald
Former CHRO
Elevance Health (previously Bank of America, TIAA)
Episode 328
HR's AI Imperative: Building Durable Talent Strategies for Business Transformation
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJanuary 28, 2025 · 17:06
Thesis
“HR must build durable, future-proof talent strategies, develop learning-agile leaders, and foster human-centric cultures to navigate the accelerating pace of business transformation, especially with AI, while proactively mitigating burnout and enhancing employee experience.”
Show notes
In this episode of the Built by People podcast, HR leader Josh Greenwald shares his extensive career journey spanning over 25 years with roles at Macy's, Liberty Mutual, Bank of America, TIA, and Elevance Health. Sponsored by Previ, the episode delves into pressing HR topics, including the need for durable talent strategies in the face of rapid change, the importance of building a sustainable and human-centered culture, and the major challenges businesses face in adapting to continuous transformation. Josh also discusses the significance of knowing, growing, and deploying talent systematically, as well as the crucial role of leadership in fostering resilience and innovation within organizations. 00:00 Introduction to the Built by People Podcast 00:16 Sponsorship Message from Previ 00:44 Meet Josh Greenwald: Career Journey and Insights 02:11 Building Durable Talent Strategies 03:31 Major Headwinds and HR Responses 06:01 The Importance of Leadership in HR 09:16 Creating a Talent-Focused Culture 12:19 Future-Proofing HR Organizations 16:08 Final Thoughts and Advice 17:09 Conclusion and Farewell
What you'll take away
- 1Organizations must build more durable and future-proof talent strategies to manage the rapid and intensifying pace of change, as traditional strategies can become obsolete within a year.
- 2HR needs to cultivate 'muscle' around systematically knowing, growing, and deploying talent, leveraging talent inventory systems, skill-based assessments, and targeted experiential development.
- 3Creating a talent-focused and human-centered culture is crucial, which involves adjusting scorecards to incentivize and reward leaders for developing and rotating talent, countering the natural disincentive to share high performers.
- 4AI offers a significant opportunity for HR to gain scale and capacity by leveraging digital labor for transactional service delivery, such as digital HR assistants, enabling HR professionals to focus on more strategic, value-added transformation work.
- 5Addressing 'first responder burnout' in HR, promoting holistic wellness benefits, experimenting with flexible schedules (e.g., 4x10), and adopting a balanced approach to hybrid work are critical for organizational resilience and talent retention.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Most organizations struggle with defining role clarity and shared accountability in matrix teams because it often runs counter to the tribal nature of human behavior.
- •Many leaders are disincentivized from sharing their best talent because it makes their jobs more difficult; scorecards must be redefined to overtly celebrate and reward talent sharing.
- •It was once frowned upon to be human with your workforce, but demonstrating authenticity and care is a key differentiator for great places to work and drives discretionary effort and loyalty.
In Josh's words
“In today's environment, a talent strategy can be obsolete within a year.”
This highlights the unprecedented speed at which traditional HR approaches become outdated.
“There's no reason that HR organizations can't do the same thing around understanding the capability and the supply and demand of their talent. And those that do will have an immense competitive advantage.”
Emphasizes the strategic competitive edge gained by robust talent inventory and foresight.
“one great person equals three good people.”
A concise statement highlighting the disproportionate value of high-performing individuals and the challenge of retaining them.
“HR is the first responder for change in the organization and the continual acceleration of change and transformation. Has been taking a toll on the organization's first responders.”
Identifies HR's unique and often overlooked burden during periods of intense organizational change.
“Organizations can only transform as fast as the workforce is willing and ready.”
A crucial reminder that technological or business transformation is ultimately limited by human capacity and readiness.
“model being human, authentic, and transparent with your workforce. Your organization will run through a wall if they know they care about you as a person.”
Underscores the profound impact of empathetic and authentic leadership on employee loyalty and effort.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Talent strategies become obsolete quickly (within a year) due to the intensifying pace of business transformation.
- •Organizations struggle to define role clarity and shared accountability in matrix teams, often running counter to human tribal nature.
- •Lack of ample supply of learning-agile leaders and a systematic way to know, grow, and deploy talent across the organization.
- •Leaders are disincentivized from sharing their best talent, leading to burnout among frequently rotated individuals and limiting opportunities for others.
- •HR professionals experience 'first responder burnout' due to the relentless acceleration of change and transformation within organizations.
- •HR organizations are often the last to be invested in, hardest to change, and late adopters of technology, hindering their strategic impact.
- •Employees face fear of job loss and declining engagement due to AI transformation, significant corporate restructuring, and the frenetic pace of change.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
My career spans over 25+ years in HR and includes several leadership roles
PODCAST: Starting Your Career in HR
Josh: Companies need to build more durable talent strategies in today's environment
The Need to Build More Durable Talent Strategies
Josh: There are 3 broad thematics driving businesses to adapt
CHRO: The Challenges of Talent Change
First thematic is around having ample supply of the right kind of leaders
Five themes for the future of leadership
Creating a talent-focused and human-centered culture is key to sustainability
5 tips for building a talent-
Josh: AI could transform HR into a more resilient, more durable organization
WSJD Live: Future-proofing HR Organization
Organizations can only transform as fast as the workforce is willing and ready
Josh Silverman on Built by People
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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