foHRsight: HR, Leadership & the Future of Work

Mark Edgar and Naomi Titleman

You’re leading people through constant change. Evolving expectations, AI disruption, and rising pressure to get culture and performance right. If you’re an HR leader, People and Culture executive, or senior business leader shaping the future of work, foHRsight is for you. foHRsight: HR, Leadership & the Future of Work is a weekly podcast from future foHRward, hosted by Mark Edgar and Naomi Titleman Colla. Each episode explores the most pressing issues facing HR and leadership today, including employee engagement, retention, flexible work, leadership effectiveness, and the real impact of AI on organizations. Through candid conversations with CHROs, senior leaders, and forward-thinking experts, foHRsight delivers practical insight and strategic perspective you can apply immediately. The goal is simple: help you make better people decisions, build stronger organizations, and lead with confidence in an increasingly complex world of work. Follow foHRsight on your favourite podcast platform and join the future foHRward community, a growing network of HR and People leaders connecting through conversation, events, and shared insight on what’s next for work.

  1. 3d ago

    How to Reduce Resistance to AI at Work with Gleb Tsipursky

    NOTE: We will be welcoming Dr. Gleb to our community for an interactive webinar November 25th. To go deeper on this episode and take the opportunity to connect with Dr. Gleb live, register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/HfJOZAaIRI6DBXc84CSCSA. Hope to see you there! Most AI adoption strategies start with tools, training and governance. But what happens when the real barrier isn’t knowing how to use AI? Employees may be wondering whether the technology will eventually replace them. Experienced professionals may feel that work they spent years learning to do can suddenly be generated in seconds. Others are already using AI successfully but are reluctant to admit it because they worry it will make them look lazy, less capable or as though they have somehow cheated. Those aren’t technology problems. They’re human ones. In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman is joined by behavioural scientist Dr. Gleb Tsipursky to explore what leaders often miss when trying to drive AI adoption at work. They unpack three very different forms of resistance: fear and anxiety about job security, threats to professional identity, and the social stigma that can keep productive AI use hidden. Gleb shares practical ways leaders can respond, including starting with the work employees actively want off their plates, modelling AI use openly, creating opportunities to share what is working, and giving people genuine space to experiment. The conversation also looks at the growing problem of AI-generated “work slop,” why critical thinking becomes more important rather than less important in an AI-enabled workplace, and how psychological safety needs to be paired with accountability and human review. For HR leaders navigating AI adoption, the challenge is no longer simply choosing the right technology. It is creating an environment where people can learn how to use it without feeling that doing so puts their job, identity or credibility at risk. About Our Guest Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is a behavioural scientist, seven-time bestselling author and author of The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results. His work focuses on how leaders and organizations make better decisions and adapt to changes in the future of work, drawing on extensive research and consulting with organizations navigating AI adoption. Resources Referenced The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results — Dr. Gleb Tsipursky’s latest book. Georgetown University Press Free book sample + AI adoption resources — disasteravoidanceexperts.com/aibook MIT research on GenAI ROI — referenced in the discussion about the majority of AI pilots failing to show ROI. MIT Project NANDA Harvard Business Review on AI “workslop” — referenced in the discussion about poor-quality AI output creating more work for colleagues. Read the article Amy Edmondson on psychological safety — referenced in the conversation about balancing experimentation with accountability. Amy EdmondsonStay Connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! Support the show

    How to Reduce Resistance to AI at Work with Gleb Tsipursky
  2. Sep 24

    What AI Could Finally Make Possible for HR with Franco Girimonte

    AI is moving quickly into HR, but the most important question may not be how much work it can automate. It may be what HR chooses to do with the capacity it creates. In this episode of foHRsight, Mark Edgar speaks with Franco Girimonte about what the next phase of AI means for HR operating models, skills, workforce planning and the role HR needs to play in enterprise AI strategy. Franco shares research from The Hackett Group estimating that by 2030, 43% to 49% of HR roles or activities could be automated. But rather than seeing that solely as a headcount story, many HR leaders see an opportunity to redirect capacity toward work that has historically been under-resourced: strategic workforce planning, deeper business partnership, better insights and helping employees and leaders adapt to AI. The conversation also explores why HR and IT increasingly need to lead AI transformation together, why standardized processes matter before organizations can capture the benefits of automation, and how HR roles may shift from producing work to orchestrating work across people and AI agents. For HR leaders feeling both excited and overwhelmed by AI, this episode offers a useful place to start: not with every possible tool, but with the work your organization needs HR to be capable of next. About Our Guest Franco Girimonte is a Principal at The Hackett Group, where he works within HR transformation and brings extensive experience across HR consulting, organization design, operating models, research and benchmarking. His perspective combines hands-on transformation work with a broad view of how organizations across North America and Europe are adapting their HR functions for the future. Resources Referenced The Hackett Group — thehackettgroup.com2026 HR Key Issues Study: Building the Agentic HR Organization — View the researchAI World Class Human Resources — View the researchMicrosoft Copilot — copilot.microsoft.comStay Connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! Support the show

    What AI Could Finally Make Possible for HR with Franco Girimonte
  3. Sep 17

    How to Use AI Without Losing the Human Side of Hiring with Jeremy Schifeling

    AI is making hiring faster. But is it actually helping organizations make better decisions about people? Candidates are using AI to write, tailor and scale applications. Employers are using it to screen, evaluate and increasingly interact with those candidates. The result can quickly become an arms race where both sides automate more, trust each other less, and lose sight of what hiring is supposed to uncover in the first place. In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla speaks with Jeremy Schifeling about what HR leaders should be paying attention to as AI reshapes recruitment, early-career work and the talent pipeline. At the centre of the conversation is a simple question: does AI move us closer to people, or further away from them? They explore why candidates may be using AI differently than employers assume, where automation genuinely creates room for better human connection, why transparency in the hiring process matters, and what organizations risk when short-term efficiency removes the entry-level opportunities that develop future leaders. They also consider a bigger shift underway in how organizations assess talent. As technical tasks become easier to automate, qualities like initiative, relationship-building, judgment, creativity and the ability to use AI to accomplish meaningful work may become increasingly valuable signals. For HR and talent leaders, the opportunity isn't simply to add more AI to an old hiring process. It's to question whether the process itself is still measuring what matters. About Our Guest Jeremy Schifeling is a former LinkedIn executive, early OpenAI partner and author of three number-one Amazon bestselling career books. Through his work with job seekers, students, career changers and working professionals, he brings a ground-level view of how AI is changing the experience of getting hired and what those changes mean for employers and the future talent pipeline. Resources Referenced Unbreakable by Jeremy Schifeling: https://www.thejobinsiders.com/unbreakableFortune: “Robots Screening Robots: Inside the AI Arms Race Reshaping Hiring”:  https://www.fortune.com/2026/06/01/robots-screening-robots-inside-the-ai-arms-race-reshaping-hiring/Stanford Digital Economy Lab: “Canaries in the Coal Mine? Six Facts about the Recent Employment Effects of Artificial Intelligence”: https://digitaleconomy.stanford.edu/publication/canaries-in-the-coal-mine-six-facts-about-the-recent-employment-effects-of-artificial-intelligence/future foHRward: “Rethinking Entry-Level Work in the Age of AI”: https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribeJeremy Schifeling on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schifelingCNBC: “The No. 1 AI Mistake Job Seekers Make”: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/dont-use-chatgpt-to-write-your-resume.htmlStay Connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! Support the show

    How to Use AI Without Losing the Human Side of Hiring with Jeremy Schifeling
  4. Sep 10

    Give a Damn with Justin Ricklefs

    Most organizations would say they care about their people. The harder question is whether their people can actually feel it. When work is moving quickly and leaders are navigating pressure, change and new technology, it is easy for care to become something organizations talk about rather than something employees experience. But culture is built in the everyday proof points: the questions leaders ask, the clarity they provide, how they respond when someone is struggling, and whether people feel seen in the first place. In this episode of foHRsight, Mark Edgar speaks with Justin Ricklefs about why caring can be a genuine competitive advantage and what it takes to turn that idea into action. Justin shares a practical framework built around curiosity, compassion, clarity and consistency, including why empathy without action only goes so far, why leaders need to ask better questions, and why the strongest culture signals are often much simpler than we think. The conversation is a useful reminder that you cannot market your way to a healthy culture. Your people experience the organization from the inside, and the stories they tell about that experience become part of the business itself. About Our Guest Justin Ricklefs is the founder of strategic brand agency Guild Collective and the author of Give a Damn. His work explores how care, storytelling and human connection shape stronger organizations, brands and leadership cultures. Links from the Episode Justin Ricklefs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinricklefsGuild Collective: https://guildcollective.com/Give a Damn: The Catalyst for Caring Companies: https://thegiveadamnbook.com/Stay Connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward Follow us on Instagram On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! Support the show

    Give a Damn with Justin Ricklefs
  5. Sep 3

    Why Low Turnover Can Hide a Retention Problem with Amy Stewart and Ruth Thomas

    Your turnover numbers might look reassuring. That doesn’t necessarily mean your people want to stay. The current labour market has created what PayScale calls a “job-hugging” era: employees are changing jobs less frequently, but economic uncertainty, slow hiring and anxiety about AI may be keeping people in roles they are no longer particularly happy in. As Amy Stewart puts it, some employees are holding onto their jobs “like you’re hugging a cactus.” That creates a difficult challenge for HR. Low attrition can look like stability while masking disengagement, pay frustration and employees quietly preparing themselves for their next opportunity. In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi talks with PayScale’s Ruth Thomas and Amy Stewart about what the latest compensation and flight-risk data tells us about where organizations may be vulnerable. They explore why new hires can sometimes out-earn longer-tenured employees, why perceived pay fairness can matter as much as actual market competitiveness, and why pay transparency makes it increasingly important for organizations to explain not just what people are paid, but why. The conversation also looks at some less obvious signs of flight risk, from employees seeking bigger titles to acquiring certifications and new skills, and why this slower labour market may actually be the right moment to examine job architecture, internal equity and where your retention dollars will matter most. For HR leaders, the takeaway is simple: don’t wait for resignations to tell you where the risk is. About Our Guests Ruth Thomas is PayScale’s Chief Compensation Strategist and SVP of Marketing, with decades of experience studying compensation, labour-market trends and the evolution of rewards strategy. Her perspective helps connect today’s pay pressures with the broader changes reshaping how organizations attract and retain talent. Amy Stewart is a manager on PayScale’s content and research team and one of the lead authors of its 2026 Flight Risk Report. Her work draws on PayScale’s proprietary compensation data to identify where organizations may be most exposed to attrition and pay-related retention risk. Stay Connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward Follow us on InstagramIf you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! Support the show

    Why Low Turnover Can Hide a Retention Problem with Amy Stewart and Ruth Thomas
  6. Aug 27

    How to Move from Survival Mode to Thriving at Work with Jon Rosemberg

    What if someone can look successful on paper and still be operating almost entirely in survival mode? For HR leaders, that distinction matters. Organizations are moving faster, employees are carrying more, technology keeps accelerating the pace, and HR is often asked to respond with another program, initiative or tool. But what if thriving at work depends on something more fundamental? In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi Titleman Colla speaks with Jon Rosemberg about the difference between success and thriving, and why agency, meaning and connection are essential to moving out of survival mode. Jon explores what happens to our decision-making when our nervous systems are overloaded, how emotions can become useful information rather than something to suppress, and why slowing down can actually help us respond more effectively when everything feels urgent.  They also unpack Jon’s AIR framework: Awareness, Inquiry and Reframing, a practical way to create distance from difficult situations, challenge the stories we’re telling ourselves and see more possibilities before deciding what to do next.  For HR leaders, the conversation ultimately lands somewhere deceptively simple: people need to feel seen, heard and valued. If work has become increasingly transactional, meaningful human connection may be one of the most important conditions HR and leaders can create for people to thrive.  About Our Guest Jon Rosenberg is a former operations executive turned advisor, the founding partner of Anthr and author of A Guide to Thriving. His work with founders and CEOs focuses on widening the frame around difficult decisions and helping people reclaim agency, making his perspective particularly relevant for leaders navigating pressure, uncertainty and change.  Stay Connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward Follow us on InstagramIf you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe Support the show On November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! Support the show

    How to Move from Survival Mode to Thriving at Work with Jon Rosemberg
  7. Aug 20

    Why CHROs Belong in the Boardroom with Suzan Morno-Wade & Harriet Harty

    Boards are making decisions about AI, transformation, succession, culture and growth. But how often does the person with the deepest understanding of the workforce have a seat at the table? In this episode of foHRsight, Naomi is joined by former CHROs Suzan Morno-Wade and Harriet Harty to explore why HR leaders remain significantly underrepresented on corporate boards, and why that gap matters more as organizations navigate increasingly complex workforce decisions.  The conversation challenges some persistent assumptions about what CHROs bring to the boardroom. Strong HR leaders aren't simply experts in people programs. They understand organizational performance, leadership capability, succession, culture and enterprise risk. They know how to influence without owning the decision, ask discerning questions and connect talent decisions back to business strategy.  And as AI reshapes work, that perspective becomes even more important. Technology decisions are also workforce decisions. Suzan and Harriet make the case for HR leaders to position those conversations in the language of strategy, risk, opportunity, financial analysis and measurable business outcomes.  For CHROs who see board service in their future, there's also a practical message: don't wait until you leave the operating role to start preparing. Building board experience, relationships and a board-ready profile takes time.  About Our guests Suzan Morno-Wade is a former CHRO of Xerox whose career has spanned finance, human resources and enterprise leadership. Today, she advises organizations, serves on boards and supports greater representation in the C-suite and boardroom.  Harriet Harty has held multiple executive HR roles, most recently serving as Chief Administrative Officer at ADT. She now works across advisory, board and executive coaching roles, bringing extensive experience in business transformation, talent and leadership.  Stay Connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward Follow us on InstagramOn November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! Support the show

    Why CHROs Belong in the Boardroom with Suzan Morno-Wade & Harriet Harty
  8. Aug 13

    Why Great Ideas Get Stuck with Fiona Stevenson

    Your organization probably has more good ideas than you realize. The challenge is what happens next. Employees learn quickly whether an unconventional suggestion is genuinely welcome, whether failure will be treated as information or incompetence, and whether leadership is open to an outcome it did not already choose. When those answers are unclear, people protect themselves. They offer safer ideas, wait for direction or stop speaking up entirely. In this episode, Naomi Titleman Colla speaks with Fiona Stevenson about the human dynamics that cause innovation to stall. They explore why fear of taking action can be stronger than the fear of doing nothing, how leaders unintentionally become more rigid when the stakes are high, and why psychological safety must be built into the work rather than treated as a separate culture exercise. Fiona also shares a practical process for moving from a clearly defined problem to human insight, inspiration, ideas, iteration and implementation. For HR leaders, the conversation offers a clear challenge: examine whether your performance measures, reward systems and everyday leadership behaviours actually support the experimentation your organization says it wants. Guest Resources Website: fionastevenson.comOpen State (with co-founder Alyssa Kerbel): openstate.ca — bringing nervous system regulation, music, and movement into the creative processKindness at Work: kindnessatwork.com — inaugural Workplace Kindness Awards ceremony in New York City during Kindness Week (November); nominations now openLinkedIn: Connect with Fiona StevensonAbout Our Guest Fiona Stevenson is CEO and founding partner of the Idea Suite, where she helps organizations turn human insight into commercially viable ideas. With a background in psychology, more than a decade at Procter & Gamble and experience leading hundreds of innovation projects around the world, she brings a deeply human and practical perspective to how ideas move through organizations. Stay Connected with foHRsight To sign up for our monthly newsletter, foHRsight, click HERE  Follow us on LinkedIn: Mark EdgarNaomi Titleman Collafuture foHRward Follow us on InstagramOn November 12th future foHRward will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary and 200th podcast episode in person in Toronto and you’re invited! More information and registration can be found at this link. Hope to see you there! Support the show

    Why Great Ideas Get Stuck with Fiona Stevenson
5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

You’re leading people through constant change. Evolving expectations, AI disruption, and rising pressure to get culture and performance right. If you’re an HR leader, People and Culture executive, or senior business leader shaping the future of work, foHRsight is for you. foHRsight: HR, Leadership & the Future of Work is a weekly podcast from future foHRward, hosted by Mark Edgar and Naomi Titleman Colla. Each episode explores the most pressing issues facing HR and leadership today, including employee engagement, retention, flexible work, leadership effectiveness, and the real impact of AI on organizations. Through candid conversations with CHROs, senior leaders, and forward-thinking experts, foHRsight delivers practical insight and strategic perspective you can apply immediately. The goal is simple: help you make better people decisions, build stronger organizations, and lead with confidence in an increasingly complex world of work. Follow foHRsight on your favourite podcast platform and join the future foHRward community, a growing network of HR and People leaders connecting through conversation, events, and shared insight on what’s next for work.

You Might Also Like