SHRM26 Debrief · AI, Data & Tech · #3616
HR Executive Insights: A CHRO’s View on Owning the Digital Workforce, Operationalizing Generative and Agentic AI, and the Future of Work
with Kathleen Pearson
& Chris Courneen
& Brian Dickens
& Chris Courneen & Brian Dickens"AI is a copilot at best to the work that we do as human resource professionals."
What it was about
AI is at best a copilot to HR, not a replacement for it, and the only way to move from experimenting with generative/agentic AI to actually operationalizing it is through a culture of safe, mandated play and micro pain-point solving rather than a single top-down playbook.
By the numbers
about three hours
time an AI-assisted 50-state handbook compliance review took, versus an estimated multiple weeks manually
saved 13 weeks of time...and $200,000 of consultant work
results of an 8-week audit of an AI-built invoice tracker measuring human-equivalent time/cost saved
six down, two up... net was four on 100,000 applications a year
net headcount change after redeploying roles automated by AI, against applicant volume
Key notes
- Start with one specific micro pain point (a handbook conflict, a performance-review audit, a scheduling bottleneck) rather than trying to deploy AI enterprise-wide from day one.
- Mandate dedicated play time (e.g. an hour a day) so employees build comfort and skill with new tools before they're asked to use them for real work.
- Build the business case in dollars, not theoretical time savings — track concrete metrics like cost per hire, consultant-hours displaced, or ROI multiples to win leadership buy-in.
The contrarian takeOne panelist argues that essentially all of the transactional, sensitive, or low-trust work traditionally routed to HR (work HR doesn't 'add value' to) is disappearing entirely: '100% of that work is not in the future.' That reframes HR's core future value proposition much more narrowly than most HR departments operate today.
Take this back Monday
Do this for your team
Pick one pain point (a handbook conflict or scheduling bottleneck) and mandate an hour of team AI 'play time' to solve just that.
Say this in your next leadership meeting
We're not deploying AI enterprise-wide on day one — we're mandating safe play time and fixing one micro pain point first.
Watch out for
- Letting fear of AI (job loss, shadow AI use, past bad experiences with early chatbots) go unaddressed instead of naming it directly with teams.
- Treating AI adoption as a technology-first initiative led by IT instead of a change-management and culture issue owned by HR.
- Buying or building AI tools without first identifying a specific pain point, leading to 'AI washing' and wasted vendor spend.
Fun fact · Chris Courneen
His HR team has been ranked among the Top 10 in the world, and he's personally been named one of the Top 50 HR Professionals globally.
If this landed, see these
↳ Go deeperReturn on Intelligence: Move AI ROI Beyond Cost to Competitive AdvantageGives the dollars-based business case a real framework: AI compounds like an onboarded employee, not a depreciating tool, so ROI math has to change.⇄ The counterpoint2026 State of AI in the WorkplaceComplicates the mandate-play-time prescription: AI usage and aptitude vary so sharply by job level that one culture play won't fit everyone.✦ The unexpected oneEmployee Experience & Technology: How Self-Service Portals, Mobile Apps, & Digital Tools Are Changing ExpectationsSame expectation gap driving AI adoption also shows up in benefits enrollment and payroll: employees already expect Amazon-level self-service everywhere.