Webinar Recap: CHRO Association Explores AI Implementation Strategies for CHROs

The CHRO Association’s latest webinar examined what it takes for CHROs to effectively manage the implementation of AI across their organizations. Jacqui Canney, CHRO of ServiceNow, joined Laszlo Bock, former CHRO at Google, founder of Berkeley Transformative CHRO Leadership Academy and AI pioneer in a conversation on AI in the workplace.

The impact on the workplace is still unfolding: Mr. Bock emphasized that developers and adopters are constantly rethinking how AI may ultimately transform workplaces and the way work is done. Productivity gains and ROI remain uneven across industries, companies, and job functions. Currently, “most of the value creation in organizations actually comes from collaboration between human beings,” he noted.

Five building blocks for AI integration success: Mr. Bock outlined five core principles CHROs should prioritize:

• Clean and centralize you company’s data: High-quality, well-configured data is essential to reduce AI “hallucinations” and other issues.

• Focus on learning and development: CHROs should prioritize learning agility and training to ensure employees embrace AI adoption and thrive alongside new technologies.

  • Instead of focusing on specific technical skills, both panelists emphasized the importance of prioritizing learning ability in hiring requirements.

• Strengthen statistical analysis skills: CHROs should become more comfortable with statistical analysis and running high quality AI implementation experiments.

  • “HR professionals need to become skilled at running proper experiments to determine whether AI implementations are working, rather than relying on correlation or feelings-based assessments,” said Mr. Bock.

• Be patient with implementation: Successful implementation will take time, particularly to measure outcome impacts. Organizations should view progress in 3-, 6-, and 12-month periods (and beyond) to fully see what is creating economic value.

• Choose the right AI partners: Mr. Bock emphasized the importance of working with AI developers that prioritize safety, security, and trust.

“Leading through change is crucial:” Ms. Canney provided insights into ServiceNow’s workplace AI evolution, noting that companies investing in education, learning agility, and training are outpacing others in AI maturity. “Leadership behavior significantly impacts learning effectiveness. ServiceNow approaches learning as a covenant where the company provides growth opportunities while employees commit to ongoing skill development.”

CHRO Association members, watch the webinar recording here.