Liz Ahmed
EVP, People, Communications and CSR
Unum
Episode 264
Unlock Growth: HR Leaders Embrace Constant Change as Strategic Generalists
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleMarch 24, 2025 · 16:16
Thesis
“By actively embracing continuous change and transformation rather than specializing, HR leaders can strategically align with business goals, foster deep employee engagement through transparent communication and storytelling, and proactively develop programs that address evolving workforce needs like mental health and efficient benefits administration.”
Show notes
Liz Ahmed was told throughout her career to specialize. She never did. That contrarian bet — staying a generalist with an obsessive focus on change and transformation — became the through line of a career that now spans PNC Bank, Marsh McLennan, and Unum Group.
As EVP of People, Communications, and CSR at Unum, Liz occupies an unusual vantage point: she is both the CHRO who designs employee benefit programs and a major customer of the very products her company sells to the market. That dual position has shaped how she runs HR. When Unum develops new workplace solutions, Liz's team serves as a real-time testing lab — surfacing pain points, generating feedback, and refining products before they reach external clients. The most striking example: the discovery that 35% of all leaves are intermittent FMLA, requiring tracking down to 15-minute increments. By automating that process internally, they reduced data mismatches from 35% to 1% — saving hundreds of hours and six figures in costs, while also improving the product for customers.
Her communication philosophy during organizational change is equally concrete: storytelling over announcements, transparent predictable updates (including CEO Quick Connects that employees can actually access), and a recognition that engagement doesn't hold steady during transformation — it requires active, ongoing maintenance. Her view on mental health is similarly proactive: prevention, early intervention, and multi-layered support, not just an EAP hotline buried in a benefits portal.
What you'll learn:
- How being a generalist rather than a specialist created a unique strategic career advantage in HR
- How Unum uses its own HR function as a product testing lab — with measurable market results
- The storytelling and transparent communication playbook for maintaining engagement during change
- Unum's multi-pronged mental health strategy: prevention, early intervention, and accessible support
- Why intermittent FMLA is one of the most underestimated operational pain points in HR — and how automation fixed it
- How to align HR strategy directly with corporate strategy to drive sustainable business growth
This episode is in partnership with Transform. Check out their community here.
Previ is a private pricing network, free for companies to launch, that saves employees $2,200/year on essential services like cell phone and auto insurance. Learn more here.
What you'll take away
- 1Embrace a generalist HR approach focused on talent transformation and business growth rather than strict specialization to unlock strategic opportunities.
- 2Utilize storytelling as a powerful tool to maintain employee engagement and morale during significant change, helping employees connect personally with organizational purpose and values.
- 3Implement transparent, consistent communication strategies (e.g., predictable updates, town halls, accessible leadership like CEO Quick Connects) to alleviate uncertainty and build trust during organizational change.
- 4Develop intentional, multi-pronged mental health strategies focused on prevention, early intervention, and support resources to address the rising employee wellbeing concerns post-pandemic.
- 5Leverage your internal HR function as a 'real-time test environment' or 'lab' to incubate and refine new product and service ideas, using employee feedback to drive market-leading innovation.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Liz bucked the common trend in HR career advice to specialize, opting instead for a generalist path focused on talent transformation and business growth.
- •She argues that change and transformation, often perceived negatively, can actually lead to increased employee engagement and morale when leaders actively manage through it effectively.
In Liz's words
“from the very first day of my career, one of the common threads that I would want to talk about really has been change and transformation.”
This quote encapsulates the central theme of Liz Ahmed's career journey and the episode's discussion.
“I bucked the trend in HR, which I like to think that's what it is because I got so much advice through my career that you need to specialize... And I never did that. So I am a generalist.”
This highlights her unique and contrarian approach to HR career development, prioritizing broad experience over deep specialization.
“I think really the first big one is how we've had to navigate employee engagement through the time of change, right? That ever-changing nature of employee engagement has just been something that threads through every aspect of an organization.”
This emphasizes the significant and evolving challenge of maintaining employee engagement in a dynamic post-pandemic workplace.
“I think one of the most powerful tools and one we use quite a lot here at Unum is storytelling. So, I think sharing stories is about the collective journey, it's about successes, and often about challenges.”
She identifies storytelling as a key strategy for fostering personal connection and a deeper sense of belonging during times of change.
“If you ask any HR leader about a time-consuming process, inevitably Intermittent FMLA comes up. 35% of leaves are intermittent, and they often result in multiple absences, and companies are required to track leave absences down to the 15-minute increments.”
This quote pinpoints a specific, significant and often overlooked operational pain point for HR organizations.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Navigating and redefining employee engagement in an ever-changing post-pandemic workplace, including resetting the employer-employee relationship.
- •The significant rise in employee mental health issues and associated leave claims, requiring comprehensive and proactive mental health strategies.
- •The immense complexity and high risk of error in tracking intermittent FMLA, which is time-consuming and can lead to compliance issues and inaccurate pay.
- •Ensuring HR strategies are effectively aligned with overall business goals and corporate strategy to drive meaningful change and sustainable growth.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
From the very first day of my career, one of the common threads has been change
Unum Group CEO on His Career Journey
Unum is looking at employee engagement after global pandemic
Unum CEO on the New Normal Workplace
Based on your experience in driving organizational change and transformation, what strategies have been effective
What Strategies Have Companies Used to Manage Change and Morale?
You are Unum's CHRO and a major customer of its services
Unum's Employee Benefit and Workplace Solutions
Liz, what are some of the most valuable lessons you've learned from testing new ideas
Employee Testing at Unum
Liz, what parting advice would you like to share with our community
Liz Lockhart on Built by People
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
Expand transcript (0 words)
Transcript is not available yet.