This is a fascinating conversation with Josh Newman, the Global Head of People Strategy & Experience, at WPP. WPP, the world’s largest advertising agency, has around 100,000 employees and a fascinating agency-specific organization around the world. Josh explains the business and operating model for WPP, and how it became an $8.1 Billion market cap business.

Over the last year WPP’s board wanted to look at the workforce and find ways to improve productivity (“the Workforce Intelligence Project”). Josh explains how WPP took this sprawling, high-performing company and developed an enterprise-wide “work-design”, using its own AI and help from a new vendor Reejig, to understand what everyone was doing.

This effort enabled WPP to radically simplify its job families and prepare the jobs and roles for the company’s new AI platform, WPP Open. (As you’ll hear, WPP went from 60,000 job titles to fewer than 600 roles as the company prepares for its new multi-functional AI platform.) This is work simplification at massive scale.

This kind of work is now essential to every company as we look for ways to embrace AI. And as you’ll hear, the WPP Workforce Intelligence project has helped people find new jobs, advance their careers, and better pinpoint HR investments in the right place. The end result will be a company with higher growth, profitability, innovation, and client service.

If you’re a business leader, HR professional, consultant, or CEO you should listen to this discussion. Josh describes precisely how they accomplished this transformation and explains how AI is “preparing WPP for AI.”

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to WPP and Its Role in the Future of Work 05:36 Workforce Intelligence and Job Redesign Project 10:23 Leveraging AI for Job Architecture and Efficiency 15:05 Mapping Roles and Tasks for Enhanced Productivity 20:18 The Concept of M-Shaped Workers 25:11 Validating New Job Structures and Roles 30:19 Business-Driven Workforce Intelligence and Its Impact 35:06 Future-Proofing Organizations Through Continuous Learning

Additional Information

The Rise of the Superworker: Designing You Company for AI

The End of HR As We Know It? AI Is Starting To Change Everything.

Galileo Learn: The AI Professional Development Academy for Leaders

Recent comments from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei claims that we’ll have a “white collar bloodbath” in jobs and 50% of jobs are going away, leading to 20% unemployment. I believe this is completely incorrect, and in this podcast I explain why.

Tech leaders may have a distorted perspective because so much of their energies go into pure software development – there’s a much bigger positive effect happening. (The Superworker effect.)

Background

Why Entry Level Jobs Are Not Going Away

The Rise Of The Superworker

Axios story

This week I discuss Cornerstone Galaxy, the new, integrated version of Cornerstone, which includes Skyhive, Edcast, Grovo, Tailspin, and other technologies built in. As you’ll hear, Cornerstone is the largest enterprise learning platform company in the world and they’re getting very aggressive with bundling, pricing, and features.

At the same time I discuss the role of other competitors such as Docebo, Oracle, Workday, SAP, and the role of Sana and Galileo Learn (our new offering).

There’s lots more to discuss, please call us if you’d like help with your LMS | enterprise learning strategy and I urge to read our Revolution in Corporate Learning comprehensive study on how AI can totally reinvent your corporate learning, enablement, and skills strategy.

Additional Information

The Revolution in Corporate Learning (research report)

Galileo Learn – A Revolutionary Approach To Corporate Learning

This is a fascinating and essential podcast about leadership, AI, HR, and business transformation, featuring Tanuj Kapilashrami, the CHRO and Chief Strategy Officer of Standard Chartered.

In this conversation, Tanuj talks about the strategic direction of Standard Chartered Bank, her role as Chief Strategy and Talent Officer, and the importance of aligning organizational capabilities with business strategy. She discusses the transformation of work processes, the integration of AI, and the evolving role of HR in the banking sector. Tanuj explains the role of job architecture and the importance of skills in driving organizational success, and she also clearly explains the future role of the CHRO.

The CHRO role has risen tremendously in the last two decades. Tanuj is an inspirational example of a CHRO who has taken her experience in all areas of human capital management to become a powerful chief strategy officer, a career transition which will become much more common in the future. You will also hear how Tanuj views the AI transformation and how she puts a clear business focus on the AI strategy, moving far beyond AI as a tool to streamline HR.

(Listen to her discussion about AI in performance management and how the “AI Sandpit” works at Standard Chartered.)

Listen also to Tanuj’s focus on “plumbing,” as the foundation for business growth and transformation.

Takeaways

• • Standard Chartered is a cross-border bank focused on emerging markets.
  • The role of Chief Strategy and Talent Officer is crucial for aligning strategy with capabilities.
  • Transformation should be a core part of the organizational DNA.
  • Skills development must be integrated into work redesign.
  • AI can enhance productivity across various job types.
  • Job architecture needs to evolve with changing business needs.
  • A centralized approach to AI strategy is essential for scalability.
  • HR must embrace technology to remain relevant.
  • Understanding the operational aspects of HR is critical for strategic success.
  • Curiosity and continuous learning are vital for HR leaders.

Sound Bites

“Transformation is such an abused word.” “Skills come in at a work redesign level.” “Humans will lose out to other humans who use machines.” “AI cannot be empathetic as humans can be.” “Get comfortable as a team playing in the sand pit.” “It’s the plumbing that matters.”

Chapters

00:00 Overview of Standard Chartered Bank 02:49 The Role of Chief Strategy and Talent Officer 05:52 Aligning Strategy with Organizational Capabilities 08:46 Transforming Work Processes and Skills 12:07 Navigating Job Architecture and AI Integration 14:56 AI Strategy and Implementation in Banking 17:54 The Future of HR in the Age of AI 21:13 Advice for Aspiring CHROs

Additional Information

Yes, HR Organizations Will (Partially) Be Replaced by AI, And That’s Good

The White Collar Recession Is Real: What Should We Do About It?

The Rise of the Superworker: Reinventing Jobs, Careers, and Organizations

Welcome to Galileo Learn, the world’s first AI-native platform for all areas of corporate learning and professional development. And yes, Galileo Learn is also the new, dynamic version of The Josh Bersin Academy, and also your personal professional development coach. As the world’s first AI native platform for learning, Galileo Learn delivers an exciting new learning experience and the most dynamic, productive way to build content in the market.

And in an exciting new innovation, Galileo Learn connects directly to Galileo, the world’s AI Assistant for HR and Managers.

Read more here:

Buy Galileo Learn.

Learn more about The Revolution in L&D.

This week I dig into digital twins and AI and why I believe the “pedagogical” approach to corporate learning is going away. While we will always have educational programs in business, the L&D world is going in a wild new, positive direction. This podcast explains the forgetting curve, spaced learning, and what I call “the curiosity cycle” in business.

Does this mean “the death of courseware?” In some ways the answer is yes, so listen in.

Additional Information

Galileo Now Embedded Into ServiceNow and HiBob

The Mercury Release of Galileo Signals a New Era for Intelligent Agents

The White Collar Recession Is Real: What Should We Do About It?

A Revolution In Corporate Learning Begins, Join The Journey

In this episode we hear from Irena Flego Maric, Global Talent Acquisition Leader and HR Technology Strategist at Foundever, one of the largest customer service companies in the world. She describes how the company is transforming its highly demanding recruitment process with next-gen AI.

The company uses Maki People’s AI-powered solution to manage massive scale of hiring, sometimes recruiting 2,000 customer service reps over a weekend while handling millions of applications each month. And every candidate is assessed against the job.

Foundever uses Maki’s AI to create personalized, skills-based assessments that provide candidates realistic job previews, engaging candidates in the process. As you’ll hear, this kind of “skills-based assessment” creates a highly positive candidate experience, enabling Foundever to find the best candidates at enormous scale.

Additional Information

Maximizing the Impact of AI in the Age of the Superworker

Talent Acquisition at a Crossroads (Academy course)

Emerging Trends in Talent Acquisition: Factbook

This week I discuss the total re-engineering of HR and business software and why the “functional application” approach is going to be destroyed by workflow-oriented systems.

I apologize for the slightly awkward voice, I recorded this on a long walk this morning!

I discuss ServiceNow, Maki People, Galileo, Hubspot, Salesforce, HiBob, Workday, SAP, Paradox, and many other innovative systems.

Come to Irresistible 2025 in a few weeks to hear and see more!

Additional Information

Galileo Now Embedded Into ServiceNow and HiBob

The Mercury Release of Galileo Signals a New Era for Intelligent Agents

Podcast: The Galileo Inside Strategy

Q&A: Get Galileo for ServiceNow

Q&A: Get Galileo for HiBob