In this episode of the WhatWorks podcast, Caryn McGarry, CHRO of ICF, describes her journey to CHRO how she manages HR in a highly competitive professional services company. Caryn shares insights on the detailed nature of the C-suite partnership and how her unique career path contributes to her C-level business role today. ICF is a large professional services company headquartered in Washington, DC with over 7,000 employees globally. Additional Information Why Is It So Hard To Be A Chief HR Offi...
Mar 10, 2025•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast After an intense week in Europe at an HR Technology conference, I want to share my deep perspectives on Trust, which is in very short supply these days. Not only do European leaders mistrust the US right now, the Edelman Trust Barometer shows that 2/3 of employees no longer trust the CEOs of their own companies. In an effort to help you think this through, I share the three dimensions of trust and give you some important things to think about in your own career and in your role as an HR professi...
Mar 08, 2025•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast After a long week of meetings about AI transformation with many companies, I want to highlight the big paradox we face. On one hand, AI is now seen as a proven, pragmatic solution to productivity, growth, and customer experience. So every company is pushing for AI transformations in every domain. But on the other hand, AI is also likely to eliminate many routine jobs, already leading to a white-collar recession. (White collar and college educated workers are having a hard time finding new jobs.)...
Mar 07, 2025•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week I summarize some of the hard-hitting AI transformation and productivity stories we’re hearing from clients, and I explain the various ways to approach these topics. I also discuss the surprising pushback on DEI and how workforce fear and stress has risen in our companies. All this leads to a new and important new role for HR leaders: driving and leading the push toward productivity and automation throughout the company. And finally I try to give you some perspective on the Elon Musk DO...
Mar 01, 2025•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week I interview CEO of Arist Michael Ioffe, one of the most innovative entrepreneurs I’ve met. Michael and his team have built an astounding message-based learning platform that uses AI to build content, distribute content, and even do needs analysis. For those of you who are L&D or learning geeks, you really need to listen to this podcast. Arist was developed for “learning in the war zone,” and that’s pretty much what business is like. Additional Information Experience Arist: HR Predi...
Feb 25, 2025•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week I share perspectives on the huge theme of “taking a chainsaw to bureaucracy” and improving productivity. Is it fair to “ Blame the Workers ” for the bureaucracy we face? There is a growing trend toward strategic layoffs and workforce redeployment around AI, and this is just the beginning. But rather than blaming the workers for the problem, I suggest the problem starts at the top. When leaders over-hire, fail to clarify goals, and under-invest in strong leadership alignment, bureaucrac...
Feb 21, 2025•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast “The moment your HR organization can be ‘replicated’ into another company, you’ve failed as a CHRO.” In this podcast Arne-Christian explains why the CHRO is no longer an HR leader, but now a business transformation executive. Arne-Christian describes his career path to becoming a CHRO, identifies the key behaviors and characteristics that helped him become a high-performing CHRO, and discusses the evolving role of the CHRO and how it can shape the journey to Systemic HR®. He also provides action...
Feb 18, 2025•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this podcast I want to talk about Jamie Dimon’s recent town-hall at JP Morgan Chase . He describes his frustration with remote work, bureaucracy, and lack of productivity in vivid language. As you’ll hear from my comments, I have 100% sympathy for his feelings, but the answer is not as simple as forcing people into the office or laying off 10% of the workforce. Stay tuned I promise you’ll learn something. This is a problem in job design, culture, middle management roles, and overly complex jo...
Feb 14, 2025•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week’s podcast I introduce our new research on the important and fast-changing role of CHRO, or Chief People Officer. Over the last decade this role has exploded in scope and importance, leaving many CEOs and CHROs working to keep up. After a year of research studying the career history and performance of more than 20,000 senior HR leaders, I explain how the role has changed and share our new research on the backgrounds, experiences, and capabilities of the world’s leading Chief HR Offic...
Feb 12, 2025•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week I discuss the rapid evolution of AI Agents in the Enterprise, and how they’re starting to replace billions of dollars of legacy enterprise software. It won’t happen overnight, but using our four-stage model, companies are rapidly looking at ways to use AI platforms to assist, automate, and integrate business workflows in ways that ERP and HCM systems failed. (PS: this disruption is why Workday and Salesforce just had layoffs.) The four stages are discussed in The Rise of the Superworke...
Feb 07, 2025•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lloyds Banking Group, the largest bank in the UK, is undergoing a £3 Billion business transformation focused on enhancing customer experiences, integrating products and services, and leveraging technology to improve service delivery. Holly Quincey , Chief Talent Officer, describes the company’s accompanying talent transformation, particularly its skills-based hiring strategy. Talent Acquisition: This includes bringing executive hiring and leadership development in-house, saving millions. A progr...
Feb 04, 2025•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Change and transformation is the theme for 2025. 53% of CEOs believe their company will not exist in ten years, with iconic brands like Starbucks, Boeing, Nike, Intel, Southwest, and Target going through turnarounds. And 93% of CEOs believe AI will totally transform their operating model. ( PwC CEO Survey .) At the same time we’re witnessing a massive “change management” push in the US Federal Government, driven by 200+ executive orders and other communications. The big issue i discuss is “will ...
Feb 01, 2025•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jim Hemgen , Director of Talent Development at Booz Allen Hamilton, talks with Kathi Enderes about how the company creates validated skills across hundreds of domains, including AI. This success story defines the journey for every company. Using skills validation provided by Workera , and content from Udemy and HackerRank , Booz Allen has created a highly trusted, validated skills process that credentials employees in a trusted and verified manner. And Jim explains how he works with these vendor...
Jan 27, 2025•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this conversation, I discuss the DEI firestorm, the evolution and current state of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the corporate world, the alarming decline in trust towards businesses, and the necessity for companies to reinvent themselves in the face of changing market dynamics and the rise of the ‘super worker’. I also explain how much of our HR research is now clearly playing out in the PwC CEO Survey, which puts a financial picture on much of our HR and workplace re...
Jan 24, 2025•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this podcast I explain the four-stages of AI transformation and detail why and how “AI Pacesetters” will far outperform others in their AI business transformations. The Rise of the Superworker research explains this in more detail. The Rise of the Superworker predictions report is available to all users of Galileo , The Josh Bersin Academy , or Corporate Members . (A Galileo Pro membership is only $39 per month, and JBA membership is $49 per month.) If you want to learn more and follow our on...
Jan 17, 2025•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast How do you deliver on the promise of AI in your team, your company, and your career? Welcome to The Rise of the Superworker, our new research on the organizational adoption of AI. This research explains how organizations and leaders can redesign work, jobs, and customer experiences to deliver on the promise of AI. And as you’ll hear, job opportunities will expand for everyone. AI is not a technology to eliminate jobs, rather its a platform to empower every role. And the result will be orders of ...
Jan 14, 2025•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast How do you build precision leadership skills at scale? Kendra Goldbas , Global Head of Learning & Development at PayPal, describes the world-class new manager development program at PayPal, MAPS (Managing at PayPal Successfully). During the pandemic PayPal grew rapidly and needed a world-class leadership development program for remote leaders. The MAPS program, which is based on “learn | practice | teach,” builds managerial skills quickly. The program starts with a 6-week cohort based learni...
Jan 07, 2025•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to 2025, where I discuss the five big challenges ahead. These include (1) economic uncertainties, bifurcated labor market, (2) the impact of AI on the workforce and the Rise of Superworkers, (3) the new “soup” of issues in employee experience, which lands in HR’s lap, (4) the changing nature of leadership and leadership development, and (5) the urgent need to HR transformation from the inside out. Every CEO, CHRO, and individual HR professional is going to deal with these five challenges...
Jan 01, 2025•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to 2025. Today I give you a sneak preview of Galileo as a voice assistant , powered by our upcoming mobile app. And I give you a preview of your enormous 2025 role in embracing, adopting, and optimizing the use of AI in your company. I highlight three major themes for the year. First, the use of intelligent agents in your own work throughout HR; second, the new world of “productivity-based job design,” which will create enormous changes in job titles, roles, structures, and skills; third...
Dec 28, 2024•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this discussion I reflect on the significant events and trends of 2024, highlighting the impact of global conflicts, economic change, labor market dynamics, and the transformative role of AI in organizations. What has changed? I discuss the evolving nature of DEI, the new model of leadership which emerged, and the transformation of HR into a more integrated and essential function within businesses. I also describe the two-edged labor market, with severe labor shortages in hourly and blue coll...
Dec 19, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast How has Deel grown from zero to 4,500 employees in 100 countries in less than five years? It’s an amazing story of hyperscale growth and passionate customer focus. In today’s podcast Alex Bouaziz , CEO of Deel, talks with Kathi Enderes about his own journey from environmental engineer to founder of an HR tech company. Alex explains how he started Deel as an EOR (Employer of Record) company, and how the company has expanded into HCM and payroll around the world. He explains the EOR market and wha...
Dec 16, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this conversation I share insights from my recent trip to Europe, focusing on the Workday Rising event, the current state of talent acquisition, and the evolving role of CHROs in strategic workforce planning. I discuss the importance of systemic talent acquisition, the emergence of “Precision Talent Acquisition” and the entire redefinition of this function. And I also explain why the term “Hiring Manager” is such a terrible concept. Finally I share my amazing conversation with one of the most...
Dec 14, 2024•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast I know most of you have used ChatGPT, Galileo , or other AI tools in your job, but you haven’t seen anything yet. In this podcast I walk through a complete end-to-end scenario to show you precisely how AI agents will automate, scale, integrate, and vastly improve the process of hiring, onboarding, performance management, internal mobility, and more. As you’ll hear in this scenario, AI agents are going to revolutionize the talent process. Recruiters, HR Business Partners, and CHROs watch out. And...
Dec 10, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast What do we do about the American Dream? This week I discuss the explosion of employee and citizen activation (NYC UHG CEO, for example) and how the US economy has not been delivering for 2/3 of the workforce. And in that discussion I challenge HR and business leaders to re-engineer jobs and work around what we call Superworkers, all with a goal of using AI to increase customer service, scale, quality, and value. I try to warn and give examples of what happens when companies use technologies like...
Dec 07, 2024•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Linda Kirchhevel , Director, Talent & Leadership Development at Sanford Health talks with Kathi Enderes about their leadership development program. Linda discusses how the organization’s frequent mergers caused them to prioritize creating a unique leadership framework centered around the mission of the organization. (Sanford Health is the largest rural healthcare provider in the United States.) The Sanford Leader Framework (“The Sanford Leader”) is applicable to anybody in the organization, ...
Dec 03, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast AI tools are rapidly sweeping across our companies in every job function, and most of us see them as “productivity tools.” Well, that’s a very limited view of the future. While AI may make you 15-20% more productive, the big payoff comes when we rethink work entirely and let AI systems take over as “autonomous agents,” albeit with our support. In this podcast I discuss the four levels of AI adoption , and help you think about the important job-redesign work we’ll do in 2025. And I would argue th...
Nov 29, 2024•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Companies have been investing in People Analytics and Industrial Psychology since the late 1800s, going back to Fredrick Taylor (time and motion studies) and Carl Jung (psychological types). The original idea was to scientifically manage work, using data to measure labor, strength, motion, and later engagement, skills, and leadership. All this effort resulted in thousands of books and tools to measure employee engagement, employee experience, productivity, and organization design. Ultimately whe...
Nov 22, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week I summarize my meetings and discussions with clients in NYC and you can see we covered many topics. Here’s the AI summary, which is pretty good. In this conversation, Josh Bersin discusses the evolving landscape of AI platforms, particularly focusing on Microsoft’s positioning and the challenges of creating a universal AI agent. He delves into the complexities of government efficiency, emphasizing the institutional challenges faced in re-engineering government operations. The conversat...
Nov 17, 2024•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s podcast I discuss the organizational, institutional, and societal impacts of AI. And I’m not predicting what “could happen” but rather sharing “what is happening now.” As you’ll hear, AI plays a role in our political issues but an even greater role in our careers, pay, rewards, organization structure, and culture. A recent AI adoption study by McKinsey found that 74% of companies have at least one AI application in place, and 20% have 3 or more. So we’re already seeing the impact. As ...
Nov 13, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast After decades of effort and growth, only around 10% of People Analytics teams deliver strategic business value. Many are still focused on traditional analysis of engagement, retention, leadership pipelines, and other HR measures. In this WhatWorks podcast I talk openly with Paul Rubenstein, the Chief Customer Officer at Visier, about how this market has evolved. And in the conversation you can learn about Visier and the role of integrated, AI-platforms for the important topic of managing corpora...
Nov 11, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
