What AI Will — and Won’t — Replace in People Analytics
AI won’t replace 90% of what a strong people analytics team delivers. But what exactly is in that 90%—and how long will it stay out of reach? Roxanne Laczo (Head of People Analytics at Cloudflare), Cole Napper (VP of Research, Innovation & Talent Insights at Lightcast), and Noelle London (Founder and CEO of Illoominus) join David for a grounded roundtable on what AI can and can’t do in HR today.This isn’t a breathless tour of shiny tools. It’s a candid look at the real dynamics reshaping the people analytics function: the transactional work being automated, the strategic work that still demands human context, and the business acumen gap that could soon define who stays relevant—and who doesn’t.Related Links:Join the People Managing People community forumSubscribe to the newsletter to get our latest articles and podcastsConnect with Noelle, Cole, and Roxanne on LinkedInCheck out Illoominus, Lightcast, and Cloudflare, Inc.Support the show
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Surveillance, Burnout, and Pickup Lines? The Realities of AI in the Workplace
We’ve reached the point where “AI in HR” isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a mandate. But with every vendor promising a smarter, faster, more predictive future, it’s getting harder to tell the difference between innovation and smoke and mirrors. In this episode, Alana Fallis and I go deep on how to navigate the noise: What should you actually invest in? How do you build real AI readiness, not just compliance theater? And how do you make sure your “data-driven” decisions don’t quietly erode employee trust?We also tackle the people-and-technology dilemmas that HR leaders are facing right now. From scaling culture without losing soul, to drawing red lines on surveillance and privacy, to the sheer absurdity of AI-generated workplace flirtation—we’re not short on material. These aren’t hypotheticals. They’re real, messy, and urgent. Let’s get into it.Related Links:Join the People Managing People community forumSubscribe to the newsletter to get our latest articles and podcastsConnect with Alana on LinkedInCheck out Quantum MetricTalk HR to MeSupport the show
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AI Readiness Starts with Documentation: Lessons from Remote Work
If you’re out there being told to slap AI tools onto everything and call it “digital transformation,” this episode is your reality check. I sat down with Darren Murph—yes, the remote‑work oracle behind GitLab’s all‑remote strategy—to pull back the curtain on what needs to exist before you ever type “chatbot” or “LLM integration” into your roadmap.We dug into why good documentation isn’t optional anymore, why remote‑work lessons are now directly relevant to AI adoption, and how companies who rushed ahead without building infrastructure are setting themselves up for a trust disaster. In short: if your data, your knowledge systems, your culture aren’t ready for AI, this technology is not your solution—it’s your liability.Related Links:Join the People Managing People community forumSubscribe to the newsletter to get our latest articles and podcastsConnect with Darren on LinkedInCheck out Darren’s websiteSupport the show
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How Agentic AI Is Changing Onboarding, Mentorship, and Retention
AI isn’t just generating insights anymore—it’s acting on them. In this episode, I talk with Francisco Marin, CEO of Cognitive Talent Solutions, and Dan George, the company’s Chief Experience Officer, about how agentic AI is changing the game for HR. These aren’t your standard dashboards—they’re autonomous systems that detect workforce patterns in real time and proactively intervene, from mentoring and onboarding to retention and burnout prevention.We get into what makes AI “agentic” in the first place, why consent and trust must sit at the core of any autonomous HR system, and how early pilots are already cutting onboarding time by 40%. If you’ve been wondering what comes after analytics and automation in HR—this is it.Related Links:Join the People Managing People community forumSubscribe to the newsletter to get our latest articles and podcastsConnect with Dan on LinkedInCheck out Cognitive Talent SolutionsNetwork-First ManifestoSupport the show
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The ROI of AI: How to Build an AI-Augmented Organization
We’re in an era where everyone’s talking about AI, but few are actually getting value from it. In this episode, futurist and author Ravin Jesuthasan joins host David Rice to unpack why the ROI of AI is still so elusive — and why most organizations are looking at it backwards.Ravin argues that the problem isn’t technological; it’s human. Companies are rushing to deploy tools before they rethink the work itself. He explains how leaders can shift from a tech-first to a work-first mindset, what it really means to be AI fluent, and why the job-based identity that defined the past 150 years of work is quietly crumbling.If you’re an HR leader, executive, or strategist trying to navigate AI adoption without losing the human center of work, this conversation will help you see what transformation actually looks like — and where to start.Related Links:Join the People Managing People community forumSubscribe to the newsletter to get our latest articles and podcastsConnect with Ravin on LinkedInCheck out Mercer and Ravin’s websiteSupport the show
The People Managing People podcast equips forward-thinking leaders to thrive in the AI era—reshaping teams, systems, and strategy without losing what makes work human. Hosted by David Rice, each episode brings real-world insights from innovators, executives, and people leaders on topics like AI in practice, people-first leadership, performance systems, and workplace culture.
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