The New Talent Code Eightfold AI

An industry leader and American icon in equipment engineering and manufacturing, John Deere is also setting the pace when it comes to talent management.


Deere is putting its 75,000 employees in the driver’s seat of their careers. Head of Talent Management Julianne Brown-Meola is helping lead the way as a true advocate for building talent plans around skills.


In this episode of The New Talent Code, Brown-Meola joined hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato to discuss her role, and Deere’s talent management strategies for finding and developing the technical “no-regret” skills they will need for the future.


In this episode, you’ll hear about:

- Why “all roads lead to skills” at John Deere.
- How talent leaders are creating an environment where every employee feels there is opportunity to develop their skills.
- How they practice what they preach: Collaboration and collusion across leaders and departments is key to creating a talent strategy that supports the business.

What will your role in HR look like in this new world of AI — and how can you successfully guide your employees and your organization through the transformation?

Jason Averbook, Senior Partner and Global Leader of HR transformation at Mercer, joined hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato to answer these questions on The New Talent Code.

Averbook is a recognized authority on HR, the future of work, and the role of technology in shaping the workforce of tomorrow, and is the author of two books: HR from now to next: Reimagining the workplace of tomorrow and The ultimate guide to a digital workforce experience: Leap for a purpose.

In this episode (2 of 2), you’ll hear about:

- The key differences between implementation and deployment of new technologies — and why understanding the difference matters.
- Why you need to use data to inform all your decisions.
- How to think about GenAI’s potential impact on your business.

What will your role in HR look like in this new world of AI — and how can you successfully guide your employees and your organization through the transformation?

Jason Averbook, Senior Partner and Global Leader of HR transformation at Mercer, joined hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato to answer these questions on The New Talent Code.

Averbook is a recognized authority on HR, the future of work, and the role of technology in shaping the workforce of tomorrow, and is the author of two books: HR from now to next: Reimagining the workplace of tomorrow and The ultimate guide to a digital workforce experience: Leap for a purpose.

In this episode (1 of 2), you’ll hear about:
- How the role of HR has changed drastically to support the intelligence economy.
- Why transformation is essential — you must unlearn to stay relevant.
- Why you must set benchmarks and measures of success that align to your overall business goals.

The New Talent Code is back — and features some of the best conversations we’ve had around HR transformation to date.

Join us as Eightfold’s Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato talk with today’s top HR thought leaders and practitioners to discuss what’s shaping the space today and the best ways to transform your workforce to be ready for anything.

From how GenAI will impact the space, to navigating AI regulations, to building an organization based on talent and skills, we hope you’ll listen in on our customers’ HR journeys and experts’ advice about how to best deploy AI in the HR space.

It’s all here in The New Talent Code.

As an HR professional, do you understand the direction of your business? Do you understand whether your organization has the skills and capabilities to move in that direction?


“These are fundamental questions that, without the appropriate knowledge, data, and intelligence to have that dialogue, the boardroom becomes a very anxious situation for a CHRO.”


In this must-listen episode, Darren Burton, former CHRO of KPMG and current Chief People Officer of Eightfold AI, talks about why HR data needs to be a driver in strategic workforce planning. From facilitators to champions, HR professionals have an increasingly vital role in shaping the future of work.


In this episode, you’ll hear about:


- The shift toward skills-based job descriptions that are more adaptable to the changing nature of work
- The need for HR professionals to have a deep understanding of their business and the market to advise and support their organizations
- The importance of having the right knowledge, data, and intelligence for productive conversations with the board and leadership team


Take advantage of this opportunity to hear from a leading HR expert on how you can take your career to the next level and make a real impact in your organization.

Since inception, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has focused on preventing and remedying unlawful employment discrimination and advancing equal opportunity for all in the workplace.


When it comes to AI, existing legal mechanisms also apply. Commissioner Keith Sonderling of the EEOC warns that the public should know that government agencies lack the requisite knowledge to regulate AI effectively. He advocates for organizations to self-regulate and self-audit so they don’t stifle critical innovation in this space.


"The most effective solution is a deregulatory approach that properly utilizes the existing employment discrimination framework and the resources already available to agencies,” Sonderling wrote in this co-authored opinion arguing for a deregulatory approach to the use of AI in the workplace.


In this episode, Sonderling breaks down some of the leading complexities behind AI and employment laws, including:


- Why ensuring that AI and other workplace technologies are designed and deployed to comply with existing civil rights laws, a top priority for the EEOC
- How AI can make HR processes more transparent and explainable
- Why a deregulatory approach to AI in HR puts greater emphasis on outcomes, and how that’s positive for antidiscrimination and innovation practices


Don’t miss a chance to hear more from Sonderling on AI’s role in HR:


- “It's no longer a conversation of, ‘Am I going to use HR technology?’ It's about how we will use that technology, for what purpose we will use that technology, and how we use it with the longstanding civil rights laws that we're all subject to.” [7:27]


- “Just like all other areas of the law, employers have a duty to comply with the law now. They don't need to wait for enforcement. They don't need to wait for large litigations. They need to ensure that the tools they have now comply with long-standing civil rights laws without the distraction of potential new laws.” [13:13]


- “A lot of larger companies need to hire a lot of people very quickly, and they can’t do it at this point without the assistance of some sort of technology.” [18:35]


- “Technology can look through job descriptions and tell you what lines may no longer be necessary and have historically prevented people from certain backgrounds from entering the workforce.” [24:13]