HR Leaders

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Jayney Howson, SVP Global Workforce Skills & Talent Readiness at ServiceNow , to unpack why “talent readiness” has become a burning platform for companies trying to keep pace with AI, platform adoption, and customer transformation. Jayney shares how ServiceNow builds skills for both its 28,000 employees and the millions of practitioners who power ServiceNow implementations inside the world’s largest enterprises, including 85% of the Fortune 500.
She explains how ServiceNow built ServiceNow University, an AI powered, hyper personalized learning platform designed around the concept of the “University of You”, where every learner’s journey adapts to their context, their role, their skills, and their career aspirations. Jayney breaks down why minimum viable duration, skills profiles, and embedded learning experiences are replacing traditional course catalogs, and why democratizing training (including making it free) unlocks capability at global scale.
Most importantly, she shares why transparency, trust, and psychological safety matter more than ever as skills shift, roles evolve, and automation changes the nature of work, and why, if we do this right, the future of work becomes more human, not less.

🎓 In this episode, Jayney discusses:
How to embed learning into the flow of work and the flow of career
Why democratizing training creates global talent pipelines at scale
How ServiceNow University personalizes learning through AI and skills data
Why learning must shift to minimum viable duration and assessment led experiences
Why talent readiness became a burning platform for ServiceNow internally and externally

🙏‍ Thank you to our series partner - atlas copilot
Meet the AI-native adaptive learning platform that builds the course, teaches the skill, and proves the impact, while work is happening, not weeks later → https://www.atlascopilot.com/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with David Sperl, Head of HR for Advanced Visualization Solutions at GE HealthCare, to unpack how HR earns real business credibility by shipping outcomes, not PowerPoints, inside a heavily regulated, science driven environment.
David explains why AI literacy must move from theory to hands-on practice, how microlearning and shared baseline tools help drive adoption, and why leadership advocacy is essential to scale change across technical, clinical, and commercial teams. He breaks down GE HealthCare’s four stages of AI adoption, how communities of practice create demand pull, and why unlearning outdated mental models is now harder than learning new ones.
Most importantly, he shares why user experience and friction removal are the real unlocks for AI in HR and business, and why the future of change isn’t “change management”, it’s change agility.

🎓 In this episode, David discusses:
What HR learns sitting inside a complex, regulated product lifecycle
Why HR must understand the product, customer, and clinical context
Why feedback loops beat annual talent cycles in innovation environments
How role clarity unlocks productivity across scientific and commercial teams
How to build talent systems that match the speed of innovation, not bureaucracy

🙏‍ Thank you to our series partner - atlas copilot
Meet the AI-native adaptive learning platform that builds the course, teaches the skill, and proves the impact, while work is happening, not weeks later → https://www.atlascopilot.com/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Kristen A. Pressner, Global Head of People & Culture at Roche, to unpack why neurodiversity may be the single biggest untapped advantage in the post-AI workplace.
Kristen explains why most organisations are sitting on “free upside”, talented people already inside the business who are not thriving because work was designed for one type of brain. She shares why only ~25% of employees feel psychologically safe, and why the line manager is the biggest determinant of whether neurodivergent employees thrive or merely survive.
Most importantly, she reframes neurodiversity away from labels and diagnoses, and toward practical, human questions, how do you work best, what gives you energy, and what conditions help you shine, and why asking those questions changes performance, engagement, and learning at scale.

🎓 In this episode, Kristen discusses:
Why creating brain-friendly environments is “free upside” in a post-AI world
Why interest, urgency, and novelty, not importance, drive action for many people
The role of line managers as the single biggest differentiator in employee thriving
Why neurodiversity is not about diagnosis, but about how brains process motivation, focus, and energy
How workplaces accidentally label potential as laziness when they misunderstand neurodivergent behavior

🙏‍ Thank you to our series partner - atlas copilot
Meet the AI-native adaptive learning platform that builds the course, teaches the skill, and proves the impact, while work is happening, not weeks later → https://www.atlascopilot.com/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Will Clive, Chief Human Resources Officer at LVT (LiveView Technologies), to unpack what it really takes to build high performing teams in fast growing, high pressure environments without burning people out or killing trust.
Will breaks down why clarity beats control, and why the job of a leader is not to micromanage talent, but to make the destination so clear that teams can figure out the path themselves. He shares how outcome clarity, values driven leadership behavior, and removing low performance quickly are foundational to building real performance cultures.
Most importantly, Will explains the hard trade offs leaders avoid, why keeping low performers quietly poisons teams, how recognizing and stretching top performers matters more than money alone, and why autonomy plus accountability is the only model that scales.

🎓 In this episode, Will discusses:
Why clarity of outcome matters more than controlling execution
The real cost of keeping low performers in high performance teams
How recognition, stretch roles, and responsibility outperform money alone
Why hiring for grit, learning ability, and hunger beats pedigree
How leaders scale by trusting teams and removing roadblocks, not micromanaging

🙏‍ Thank you to our series partner - atlas copilot
Meet the AI-native adaptive learning platform that builds the course, teaches the skill, and proves the impact, while work is happening, not weeks later → https://www.atlascopilot.com/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Michael Burgess, Chief People Officer at Amey, to unpack what it really takes to build credibility, influence, and impact in HR when you don’t start with privilege, pedigree, or permission.
Michael shares his journey from leaving school at 16 and working as a farm labourer, to becoming a CPO responsible for people, culture, safety, and operations at scale. Along the way, he explains why hard work consistently beats talent, and why enjoying the work itself is the most underrated driver of long-term performance.
Most importantly, he breaks down a deeply practical view of modern HR, why getting the basics right earns you the seat at the table, why listening without action destroys trust, and how widening the talent pool through second-chance hiring, apprenticeships, and prison-to-work pathways is not charity, but smart, future-ready leadership.

🎓 In this episode, Michael discusses:
Why listening without action trains employees to disengage
How getting the HR basics right earns trust and credibility at the top table
Why hard work and enjoyment of work outlast talent, ambition, and opportunity
Why HR fails when it overloads the business with initiatives instead of running a clear plan
How Amey builds real career pathways through apprenticeships and prison-to-work programs

🙏‍ Thank you to our series partner - atlas copilot
Meet the AI-native adaptive learning platform that builds the course, teaches the skill, and proves the impact, while work is happening, not weeks later → https://www.atlascopilot.com/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.