Lisa Stevens
Chief Administrative Officer
Aon PLC
Episode 73
AI & HR: How data-driven well-being creates certainty in a changing world
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleAugust 21, 2025 · 17:48
Thesis
“Lisa Stevens' core belief is that 'everything in life is about people,' and HR's role, particularly in leveraging data and AI, is to proactively foster well-being and efficiency, thereby creating certainty and helping individuals and organizations thrive amidst constant change.”
Show notes
Summary
How do you lead a 60,000-person global workforce through rapid technological change, economic uncertainty, and a shifting definition of workplace wellbeing? In this episode of Built by People, host David engages in a rich conversation with Lisa Stevens, Chief People Officer at Aon, who shares her unexpected journey from nearly three decades in banking to leading human capital strategy during one of the most disruptive periods in recent history.
Lisa reveals how Aon is helping employees embrace AI rather than fear it, using strategies that blend digital fluency training with a focus on wellness and work-life balance. She also offers a behind-the-scenes look at Aon’s data-driven approach to benefits design—illustrated by their groundbreaking use of analytics to manage the rising costs of GLP-1 medications. Throughout, she highlights the company’s role as both a laboratory and a partner for clients, testing innovative workforce solutions internally before rolling them out to the market.
Whether you’re a business leader, HR professional, or someone curious about the intersection of people, technology, and health, Lisa’s insights offer a practical roadmap for building a resilient, future-ready workforce.
Key Timestamps
[00:45] – Lisa’s career journey from banking to Chief People Officer at Aon
[02:58] – Why employees fear AI—and how Aon is helping them embrace it
[06:08] – Using data to improve workforce health and control rising benefits costs
[10:49] – How Aon acts as an innovation incubator for clients and employees alike
[13:29] – Proactive approaches to mental wellness and workplace health
[15:07] – Lisa’s parting advice on leading with humanity and curiosity
Takeaways
Empower employees to embrace AI by pairing training with in-the-flow-of-work learning.
Leverage workforce analytics to make smarter, long-term benefits decisions.
Treat your organization as a testing ground for innovations before bringing them to clients.
Shift from reactive to proactive wellbeing programs to improve health and reduce crisis interventions.
Lead with humanity—curiosity, authenticity, and genuine care create lasting trust and engagement.
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What you'll take away
- 1Organizations must address employee fear and lack of motivation regarding AI adoption by making it accessible and demonstrating its benefits for efficiency and effectiveness.
- 2AI and data analytics can proactively bend the cost curve on health benefits (e.g., GLP-1s) by revealing long-term positive health and financial outcomes, shifting from reactive 'ill-being' to proactive 'well-being'.
- 3HR leaders have a unique opportunity to act as incubators for innovation, implementing best practices internally (like Aon's ChatGPT and smart working strategies) before advising clients.
- 4Prioritizing 'humanity' in leadership and fostering emotional connection among colleagues is crucial, especially in a world demanding constant change and agility.
- 5Continuous pulsing of colleagues and data-driven insights are essential for agile HR organizations to adapt initiatives and ensure employee voice is heard.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Instead of just sending people to training for AI, integrate learning 'in the flow of work' to overcome fear and lack of motivation.
- •Proactively investing in well-being programs (like Thrive) can actually reduce the need for reactive employee assistance programs (EAPs).
- •Don't just look at immediate costs for benefits (like GLP-1s); data shows long-term cost curves bend and health outcomes improve, justifying initial investment.
In Lisa's words
“everything in life is about people.”
This is Lisa's foundational belief, framing her entire approach to HR.
“And I would go so far as to say there's a massive opportunity with AI for us to bend towards wellness.”
This highlights a unique, positive framing of AI's potential beyond efficiency, focusing on employee well-being.
“you actually have to look at the long term of what you're doing.”
This emphasizes a strategic, data-driven approach to benefits decisions, moving beyond short-term costs.
“We spend so much time reactively thinking about ill-being... The thing about programs like Thrive... it's proactive. It's not reactive.”
This succinctly captures the shift from reactive to proactive wellness strategies in HR.
“Our humanity has to come out. It has to come out in everything that we do.”
This is her core parting advice, emphasizing empathy and connection in leadership.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Employee resistance to AI adoption: Employees often feel unmotivated or fearful about developing new AI skills (only 1/3 feel motivated), leading to slow adoption and missed efficiency gains.
- •Burnout and lack of well-being: Mobile devices and constant connectivity contribute to employee burnout, requiring HR to find ways to increase efficiency and promote true 'off-time'.
- •Rising healthcare costs (e.g., GLP-1s): Companies struggle with the increasing expense of chronic condition treatments like GLP-1s, often leading to decisions to cut programs without understanding long-term benefits.
- •Reactive HR strategies for ill-being: Many HR organizations primarily focus on reactive measures for employee crisis or illness (EAPs), missing opportunities for proactive wellness.
- •Difficulty in measuring benefits ROI: HR leaders struggle to quantify the long-term impact and ROI of human capital investments and wellness programs without robust data and analytics.
- •Siloed HR functions: Organizations with siloed HR, talent, and benefits teams struggle to provide holistic, tailored solutions to their colleagues and clients.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Dave Miller is the chief people officer for Aon
Aon's Chief People Officer
Aon is working to create a workforce that is excited about artificial intelligence
Aon's AI Adopation
Aon uses AI to help organizations make smart decisions about healthcare costs
Aon's Workforce Resiliency
Aon advises clients on human capital issues while implementing best practices internally
Aon's Human Capital Practice
What workplace wellness initiatives have shown most significant impact on employee wellbeing and productivity
What workplace health and wellness initiatives have shown the most significant impact?
Lisa, what parting advice would you like to share with our community
Lisa On The Built by People Podcast
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Organizations and entities mentioned
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