Integrate or Die: a work technology podcast

Evan Sinar, Ph. D., Senior Research Scientist at Amazon discusses how development of generative AI solutions is affecting psychological and organizational research.  Evan led applied research teams at DDI and BetterUp before joining Amazon and works on the forefront of research focused on employee performance and development.  He shares how AI is reshaping research methods but also calls out its l...

Steve and Alexis talk with Fred Oswald, Professor at the University of California Irvine School of Education about the impact of AI on the assessment and education of students and employees.  This episode dives deep into some nerdy industrial-organizational concepts so be forewarned!   Some things we cover: Whether psychometric principles apply to the evaluation of AI/ML algorithms How use of AI i...

Steve and Alexis talk with Eric Sydell, founder & CEO of Vero AI about responsible use of AI solutions. Eric built some of the first large scale applications using AI machine learning to support recruiting as a founding member of Modern Hire, a company subsequently acquired by HireVue. He is now building solutions to ensure compliant use of AI applications across a range of areas.  Some things...

Steve and Alexis talk with Tyler Weeks, VP of People Technology, Research & Analytics at Marriott International about using AI to support frontline employees in the hospitality industry.  A physicist by training, Tyler brings a high sophisticated but reality-based approach toward the use of AI technology within organizations. Some things we cover: Why AI LLMs that use natural language interfac...

Steve and Alexis talk with Jerome Gouvernel, co-founder of datascalehr about the value AI provides for integrating highly complex, global HR datasets. Jerome’s work is primarily focused on payroll data management, which as we learn is one of the most important, most sensitive, and most complicated areas of HR data. Some things we cover: • Why HR data is fragmented and far more complex than people...

Steve and Alexis talk with Guy Tourigny, HR Technology Implementation Leader at HRIZONS about using AI to build agentic HR applications.  We discuss the efficiency gains associated with these solutions along with the importance of not over automating a function that is focused on optimizing the value of humans. Some things we cover: • The value of agentic HR solutions that integrate data from diff...

Steve and Alexis talk with Richard Landers , Professor of Industrial Organizational Psychology at the University of Minnesota about building AI technology that is informed by psychological science.  We focus specifically on the use of AI to support candidate selection and employee development.  Some things we cover: The change management challenges caused by the rapid speed of AI innovation The ch...

Steve and Alexis talk with Armen Berjikly, an early-stage investor in technology solutions at Emerson Collective about integrating human involvement into AI automated processes.  Armen is a computer scientist who built some of the first widely adopted natural language AI solutions applied to HR at Kenjoya (employee listening) and Better Up (coaching).  Some things we cover: The importance of inves...

Steve and Alexis talk with Alec Levenson, Director and Senior Research Scientist at the USC Marshall Center for Effective Organizations about AI, data, and decision-making through the lens of organizational effectiveness. Alec brings an economist’s skepticism to the discussion, emphasizing the limits of data and technology when disconnected from real organizational questions.  Some things we cover...

Steve and Alexis talk with Tim Gregory, VP of HR Transformation at Delta Air Lines about adoption and use of AI technology in large, complex global enterprise companies. We explore the challenges enterprise organizations face when using AI technology and discuss why the development of enterprise AI solutions follows a different timeline from consumer AI applications.  Some things we cover: The fou...

Steve starts season 3 of Integrate or Die interviewing co-host Alexis Fink about her experiences using AI technology as an HR leader in large, global organizations. She shares insights about the benefits and risks of using AI to change talent processes and decisions drawn from experience leading workforce analytics at Meta, Intel and Microsoft.  Some things we cover: Building “white box” vs “black...

Steve talks with Shonna Waters about coaching technology and employee development.  Shonna is a co-founder of Fractional Insights, a company that helps organization increase workforce performance and amplify employee potential by integrating technological capability, work design, and psychological science. Some of the things we cover + Using technology to increase self-awareness + The risk of over...

Steve talks with Russell Klosk about workforce planning, what it means to do it well, and how technology is changing how it is done.  Russell is a Managing Director at Deloitte and author of a new book on workforce planning called Talent Prophecy . He has helped hundreds of companies build strategies that ensure their workforce can support their strategic goals while meeting their financial object...

Steve talks with Muriel Clauson about building HR technology focused on supporting frontline, “deskless” workers. Muriel is the founder and CEO of Anthill, a company that builds technology to engage and retain distributed, frontline workforces. Some things we cover: + What makes the frontline employee experience distinct and why it is often overlooked + Value gained by establishing better lines of...

Steve talks with Karie Willyerd about how technology is and is not changing the field of learning and development. Karie’s career is focused on building workforce capabilities whether as a Chief Learning Officer, a  start-up entrepreneur, or an author of multiple award-winning books on career development and workforce trends.  Some of the things we cover + How to get budget to invest in learning t...

Steve talks with Jeroen Van Hautte about using technology to analyze skill requirements with organizations. Jeroen is the CTO and co-founder of Tech Wolf, a technology solution that helps organization understand and manage the capabilities of their workforce. Some of the things we cover + The importance of being clear on what you want technology solutions to do + The value of approaching HR proble...

Steve talks with Jason Corsello about the role of venture capital plays in driving innovation in HR technology. Jason is a founding partner of Acadian Ventures, a company focused on early investment in work technology companies.  Some things we cover  + Why we are set for a major transformation in the HR technology landscape in the coming years + What venture capital firms look for when they are d...

Steve talks with Jai Shah about building HR technology solutions where mistakes could have life threatening consequences. Jai is the CEO and founder of Kahuna, a company that makes solutions to assess proficiency and certify qualifications for jobs requiring specialized skills. Jai has spent his career helping companies use technology to manage complex workflows, employment regulations and schedul...

Steve talks with David Verhaag about adoption and renewal of HR technology solutions. Dave is Chief Customer Officer for Arist, a company that makes technology supporting employee learning and enablement. His career has focused on working with customers to ensure they get value from cloud HR technology solutions. Some of the things we cover: + Why customer success functions that sell software lice...

Steve talks with Tony Ashton about workforce analytics technology.  Tony is Chief Product Officer at One Model, a people analytics software company. Tony is a pioneer in the field of workforce analytics having built some of the first global, cloud based people analytics technology solutions. Some of the things we cover + How the advent of hyper-scaler cloud technology platforms is transforming the...

Steve talks with Christopher Lind about using technology to enable employee learning and workforce transformation. Chris is a former Chief Learning Office who began his career as an educational psychologist and computer programmer. He also studies and writes extensively on how AI technology is impacting work and society. Some of the things we cover: + Focusing learning strategies on impacting resu...

Steve talks with Pierre Rousseau about the challenges of managing software integrations.  Pierre is the President of Cloud Connectors, a company that provides solutions that manage integrations between HR technology solutions. Some of the things we cover + What middleware technology does and why it is more than you might realize + Strengths and weakness of different types of middleware platforms +...

Steve talks with Bruce Mazza about the role partner management plays in HR technology. Bruce is the SVP of Global Alliances for 360 Learning, a collaborative learning solution. HIs career has focused on building effective partnerships between technology companies that provide different but complementary solutions. Some things we cover: + Why you should ask technology vendors about their partner st...

Steve and Jordan talk with Dr. Mike Hudy about using technology to improve hiring decisions and create positive and equitable candidate experiences. Mike is Chief Science Officer at HireVue and has years of experience building empirically validated assessments to support candidate selection. Some things we cover: + Why one of the criteria for evaluating technology solutions should be to consider t...

Steve and Jordan chat with Jim Newman, founder of HRIZONS and Michael Pawlyczn, head of sales for SAP SuccessFactors North America about what it takes to convince organizations to invest in HR technology.  And the actions that have to take place after the initial sale to ensure high levels of adoption and long-term license renewals.