People and Strategy

In this episode of People + Strategy, Mo Fathelbab sits down with two HR leaders in

healthcare: Jennifer Strauel, chief people officer at Adelante Healthcare in Arizona,

and Jonathan Walker, CHRO at Equitas Health in Ohio. They share firsthand

examples of how they are using AIto analyze workforce data and standardize HR

communications while navigating economic uncertainty, workforce shortages, and

rising operational pressures.

Drawing on their experiences leading AI adoption, Strauel and Walker offer guidance

on building a culture of experimentation, establishing responsible-use guardrails,

and equipping employees with the skills to use AI effectively. Ultimately, they

emphasize that AI should enhance human capabilities, not replace them,

preserving the compassion that is essential to healthcare.

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you

weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and

groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization

and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

What if one of the most people-first industries in the worldis also one of the best places to see how AI should, and shouldn’t, be used in HR? In this episode of People + Strategy, Mo Fathelbab sits down with two leaders running HR at top hotel companies to explore how they integrate AI without losing the personal touch guests expect. Hear examples of AI in action from Aka Ali-Kerr, director of HR for Andaz West Hollywood and Unscripted Durham and Gregory Curtis, corporate director of HR and strategy at Avion Hospitality — a portfolio which includes The Windsor Court hotel in New Orleans, voted among the top 500 hotels in the world by Travel + Leisure in 2026. Recorded live at SHRM’s Executive NetworkVisionaries Summit 2026, this conversation gives HR professionals insight into AI-driven compensation tools to aid in recruiting and dashboards to house client data.

For more AI use cases, visit SHRM's AI Field Manual Toolkit: https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/toolkits/ai-field-manual-use-cases-at-work

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr --- Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this special episode, we’re recapping highlights from the SHRM Executive Network’s 2026 Visionaries Summit in Indianapolis. Hear directly from industry leaders, chief people officers, and senior HR leaders about their biggest takeaways from the event, what’s top of mind for them right now, and the ideas they’re bringing back to their organizations.

Couldn’t make it to Visionaries this year? Tune in for insights from the leaders who were there, and learn more about the SHRM Executive Network.

For more information about the Visionaries Summit, visit: https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/networking-events/visionaries-summit

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

What if the best candidate isn’t the one with the strongest resume, but the one who can actually demonstrate the skills the job requires?

In this episode of People + Strategy, Mo Fathelbab sits down with Namrata Kamdar, co-founder and COO, and Abhishek Shah, founder and CEO of Testlify, to explore how organizations can rethink hiring around skills, evidence, and job-relevant assessments. Kamdar and Shah discuss how AI-powered assessments and structured evaluation can help organizations reduce hiring friction, improve the candidate experience, and make more consistent hiring decisions. They also explore how assessment data can extend beyond recruitment to identify skill gaps and inform employee development.

The conversation examines what leaders should consider before introducing AI into the hiring process, from defining what success looks like in a role to maintaining human oversight. Kamdar and Shah also look ahead at how AI could transform assessments from static tests into realistic simulations of the work candidates will actually perform.

Related Article: How a Fire Department’s HR Leader Used AI to Rebuild Recruiting

Related Resource: AI Field Manual for Employers

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this episode of People + Strategy, we sit down with Natalie Nixon, CEO and founder of Figure 8 Thinking, and author of The Creativity Leap, to explore how leaders can harness creativity and intuition to drive business results. She emphasizes that amplifying human capabilities is critical in navigating an era of AI. Nixon also shares practical techniques, including question storming and doodle sprints, to help leaders make creativity an everyday leadership practice.

Drawing on her experience advising executive leadership teams, Nixon reveals a common yet costly mistake: organizations chase innovation before developing the creative capabilities needed to sustain it. She breaks down the business ROI of creativity, how leaders can use intuition alongside data to make strategic decisions, and how curiosity can reshape workplace culture.

Related Article: 3 Mindset Shifts HR Leaders Need to Solve the Trust Deficit

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

How do top organizations solve their toughest leadership challenges when full-time resources are scarce? Some companies are relying on fractional c-suite leaders, seasoned executives who have opted to lend their expertise to companies on a contract basis rather than work full-time for one company.

In a special recording with a live audience for SHRM’s podcast, People + Strategy, fractional HR leaders share their insights on how they approach HR from a fractional perspective and their view on what longevity looks like for the HR profession.

Attendees will learn how fractional HR leaders are shaping the future of work and hear real-world stories of navigating change.]

Related Articles:

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https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/3-attributes-of-successful-fractional-c-suite-execs

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https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/fractional-hr-perspective-what-does-strategic-hr-look-like

Related Podcast: https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/podcasts/rise-of-fractional-c-suite-leaders

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

What does it take for HR leaders to earn a seat in the boardroom? For executives looking to make the move, understanding how to stand out as a board-ready candidate is critical in an increasingly competitive landscape.

In this episode of People + Strategy, we sit down with Debra Boggs, CEO of D&S Executive Career Management, to explore the path from HR to the boardroom. Boggs shares how HR leaders can define their unique value, build a network that opens doors, increase executive visibility, and position themselves for corporate board opportunities. She also offers guidance for HR leaders navigating board relationships and presenting with confidence to the board.

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

What does it take for organizations to turn AI investments into measurable business results? As companies navigate rapid technological change, HR leaders are increasingly using AI to drive efficiency, improve decision-making, and create more strategic impact across the enterprise. These findings can be used to provide HR’s value-add across the c-suite — from conversations with the CFO to the CEO.

In a special recording with a live audience for SHRM’s podcast, People + Strategy, HR leaders from global organizations share how they are approaching AI adoption, measuring ROI, and balancing innovation with human-centered leadership.

• AI Field Manual for Employers: 138 Use Cases for AI at Work: https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/toolkits/ai-field-manual-use-cases-at-work

• AI Use Case on Job Description Drafting and Refinement Job Descriptions: https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/how-fire-departments-hr-leader-used-ai-to-rebuild-recruiting

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this episode of People + Strategy, we sit down with Kathryn Mayer, content specialist at SHRM, to discuss how employee benefits are evolving in 2026. Drawing on her extensive experience reporting on total rewards, Mayer explores how rising healthcare costs, economic uncertainty, and shifting workforce priorities are prompting organizations to rethink their benefits strategies.

She discusses the shift from a talent-attraction mindset to a cost-management mindset, how employers are balancing employee needs with financial realities, and the strategies organizations are using to manage rising healthcare expenses while maintaining trust and engagement. Mayer also explores emerging trends, including the role of AI in benefits administration, the future of financial wellness, and why some benefits remain resilient despite mounting budget pressures.

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

HR leaders are reexamining what effective leadership truly means in a rapidly transforming world — particularly as generational differences reshape expectations for how leadership is defined, practiced, and communicated in today’s workplace. This is going to become more important than ever, given the fact that the U.S. labor force demographics are shifting. The fastest-growing segment of the U.S. labor force is expected be workers age 75 and older. Supporting this talent pool and the five generations of the workforce will continue to be a challenge.

In a special recording with a live audience for SHRM’s podcast, People + Strategy, an intergenerational panel of HR leaders explores how leadership styles have evolved over time, the role of technology in shaping workplace expectations, and how different generations approach communication, purpose, and organizational change.

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this episode of People + Strategy, we sit down with Kris Bahner, senior advisor for Mars Snacking and former chief global corporate affairs officer at Kellanova, to explore the state of employee retention in 2026. Drawing on a 35-year career with two decades with Kellogg and Kellanova, Bahner shares why staying can be a powerful career strategy in an era defined by job hopping. She explains how long-term investments in relationships, trust, and institutional knowledge can accelerate growth and leadership impact. Bahner also reflects on leading through major transformations, including Kellogg’s spinoff in 2023 and the Mars acquisition of Kellanova in 2025. She offers insights on retaining talent and helping employees thrive through change.

Resources from this Week's Episode -

Toolkit: Managing Organizational Change

https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/toolkits/managing-organizational-change

Toolkit: Improving Employee Retention and Reducing Turnover https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/toolkits/managing-employee-retention

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this episode of People + Strategy, we sit down with Shawnee Delaney, founder and CEO of Vaillance Group and a decorated former clandestine operations officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Delaney shares why HR leaders are the most underutilized intelligence asset in any organization. She explains her career journey from conducting human intelligence operations in combat zones to building insider threat programs for global corporations like Uber and Merck. Grounded in unique human intelligence expertise, Delaney explores how HR leaders can proactively manage human risk, foster security partnerships, and mitigate insider threats across the employee lifecycle.

“The Quiet Threat Within": https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/people-strategy

In this episode of People + Strategy, we sit down with Jamie Durling, regional Chief People Officer for luxury goods organizations such as Dolce & Gabbana and Moncler. Durling challenges the idea that HR is still earning its seat at the table. Instead, he argues that the opportunity lies in how HR leaders use that seat to orchestrate strategy, operations, and financial performance — especially through the critical CFO partnership. Grounded in both personal reflection and real-world application, he shares how HR can balance creativity with discipline, use data beyond HR to drive productivity, and tailor operations for true revenue success.

To hear more from Durling, register for SHRM26, where he’ll be speaking at the executive session HR Executive Insights: Architecting the Future of the Global Workforce.

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

This special episode of the People + Strategy podcast features host Carolynn Johnson, president of SHRM CEO Action, in conversation with Annette Tyman, partner at Seyfarth Shaw and chair of the firm’s People Analytics practice group. Together, they unpack what inclusion and diversity (I&D) compliance really looks like in today’s shifting legal landscape. As scrutiny intensifies and expectations evolve, Tyman provides clarity by moving beyond theory into the real-world decisions CHROs are making every day. She offers a nuanced view of I&D as both a legal and leadership challenge — one that requires balancing compliance and communication without losing sight of core organizational values.

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SHRM’s BEAM Framework: https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/toolkits/beam-framework-toolkit

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• Carolynn Johnson on Reinforcing the Importance of Inclusive and Civil Workplaces: https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/reinforcing-importance-of-inclusive-civil-workplaces

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this episode of People + Strategy, we sit down with Dan Wolf, CEO of leadership consulting company Dewar Sloan and editor of the People + Strategy Journal’s Director’s Roundtable, a regular column in the magazine that features a conversation with corporate board directors about workplace issues. Throughout the conversation, Wolf explores what it takes to navigate today’s increasingly complex boardroom dynamics. As uncertainty around rapid social and economic changes redefine the business landscape, Wolf unpacks how effective boards balance consensus with constructive debate. What emerges is the importance of building a “consideration culture” to help organizations better align talent, strategy, and governance.

https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/people-strategy/chro-board-expanding-seat-of-influence

https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/research/2026-global-workplace-culture-report

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this episode of People + Strategy, we sit down with Dawn Fay, operational president at Robert Half to unpack what the firm’s 2026 Salary Guide reveals about a cooling yet still competitive HR labor market. As wage growth moderates, Fay explores the growing tension between tighter budgets and rising expectations, where specialized skills in HR tech and analytics still command a premium. She helps to reframe the conversation beyond salary, urging HR and business leaders to rethink total rewards, flexibility, and the importance of “re-recruiting” their own teams to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving talent landscape.

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Pay Equity Toolkit: https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/toolkits/achieving-pay-equity-strategic-toolkit-hr-professionals

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Pay Fact Sheet: https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/fact-sheet/state-pay-transparency-laws-what-hr-needs-to-know

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this episode of People + Strategy, we speak about the ROI of workplace connection with ⁠Tracy Brower⁠, vice president of workplace insights at Steelcase and author of Critical Connections. Brower shares research on the rising loneliness level and its impact on employee performance, retention, and wellbeing. She explores the role that HR leaders can play in intentionally designing systems that foster meaningful relationships — from manager development and mentoring to hybrid collaboration strategies. Brower also examines the risks of overreliance on technology, including AI, and makes the case that building authentic human connection is essential for both people and organizational success.

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: ⁠https://shrm.co/nq47pr⁠

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: ⁠https://shrm.co/coy63r⁠

In this episode of People + Strategy, we sit down with Jessica Kriegel, chief strategy officer at Culture Partners and author of Surrender to Lead. Drawing on her life’s deeply personal turning points, Kriegel reflects on how learning to surrender reshaped her approach to leadership, accountability, and organizational change. Through candid stories, she challenges traditional assumptions about transparency and examines why many leaders fall into the “action trap,” mistaking activity for progress. Kriegel makes the case that modern leadership is about shifting beliefs and creating the conditions for people to choose accountability, adapt to change, and perform at their best.

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this episode of People + Strategy, SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, talks with renowned business scholar and HR thought leader Dave Ulrich about how and why HR has reached a true inflection point. Ulrich reflects upon his decades of experience to explore how AI, workforce burnout, and rising expectations from boards are reshaping what organizations need from HR today. Their discussion dives deep into how HR leaders can move beyond employee experience alone to create measurable stakeholder value. Together, they reflect on the hard truths facing HR, and what it will take for the function to lead with credibility, evidence, and lasting impact.

SHRM State of the Workplace 2026 Report

2026 CHRO Priorities and Perspectives Report

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this episode of People + Strategy, we talk with Sabrina Minor, VP and chief people officer at George Washington University. Minor shares candid stories about leading HR in a complex, 24/7 campus environment, including how she’s modernizing performance management, succession planning, and workplace flexibility across a five-generation workforce. She also explores how AI and technology can reduce workload, strengthen trust, and inform strategy. Throughout the conversation, she reflects on leadership, influence, and the courage required to drive change in environments built to evolve slowly.

Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr

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Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r