Digital HR Leaders with David Green

How do you rebuild a company's entire capability infrastructure — and fund the transformation through the savings it generates? Zaka Farhat is Global SVP for Talent, Learning, Organisation and Capability Development at GSK, where she leads the company's enterprise-wide skills, learning and capability agenda. In this episode, Zaka shares the full story of how GSK rebuilt its capability infrastructure in 18 months - retiring more than 20 legacy systems, building a single skills and learning ecosystem, and funding the transformation through the savings it generated. Join them as David and Zaka discuss:Why GSK's skills transformation began with a commercial question about capability and cost The five conditions for organisational readiness that had to be in place before any platform launched How GSK approached skills taxonomy, job architecture and inference, and what they had to redo along the way What personalised learning looks like at scale, and how skills data is now shaping workforce planning decisions What GSK chose to stop, and why decommissioning is the step most transformations skip How Zaka's team is measuring impact across three KPI layers This episode is sponsored by TechWolf. The world of work is being rewritten faster than HR systems can keep up. Skills age in months. Roles get redesigned quarter by quarter. CHROs have quietly become AI transformation leads, and the data they need to lead it doesn't exist in any HR system. That's why the world's most forward-looking enterprises such as HSBC, AMD, T-Mobile, GSK, ServiceNow, Pfizer, have built on TechWolf.  As the data layer for the AI era of work, TechWolf gives enterprises the skills, they need to move faster and lead with confidence.  Skills Intelligence, Work Intelligence, and Market Intelligence, in one layer. Visit techwolf.ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can HR learn from private equity, where talent, culture, and leadership are part of the deal thesis from day one? In many organisations, the connection between people strategy and business outcomes is still taking shape. In private equity, however, that connection is immediate and unmistakable, with leadership quality, organisational design, workforce capability, and culture being central to the value-creation plan, with clear timelines, defined expectations, and measurable results. So, in this episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, host David Green speaks with Angela Geffre, Head of Human Capital at GrowthCurve Capital, to discuss what this looks like on the ground.  Together, they explore what it really means to run HR in a private equity environment, and what the broader HR profession can learn from it. So tune in, and learn more about:  The key people questions to ask when assessing a new portfolio companyHow HR contributes to value creation during a 3–5 year investment horizonWhat truly drives performance and retention across industries and organisation sizesHow HR must adapt when moving from large enterprises to fast-moving portfolio businessesHow AI is reshaping products, operating models, and early-career pathwaysWhy HR must lead the responsible and ethical adoption of AI, not just manage its impact  This episode is sponsored by HiBob. HiBob brings HR, Payroll, and Finance together into a single platform that employees actually use. With AI throughout, you move faster, work smarter, and empower your people to power your business.  Sapient Insights recognises HiBob’s AI vision, citing the Bob AI Companion for making everyday work faster and easier. Fosway Group also names HiBob a 2025 9-Grid™ Core Leader, recognising the strongest AI vision among Core Leaders.   HiBob. All-in-one HCM for HR, Payroll, and Finance.  ​​​Learn all about HiBob’s modern HR platform here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People analytics has spent years building credibility through data. Now the pressure is different. Business leaders aren’t just asking for insight - they’re expecting direction. Where should we invest? What should we stop doing? What risks are we not seeing yet? But many teams still find themselves pulled back into reporting cycles, ad-hoc requests, and an overemphasis on metrics that don’t always lead to better decisions. So what shifts when people analytics starts operating more like a product and less like a project function? In this episode, David Green is joined by Ashar Khan, Head of People Insights and Solution Design at Autodesk, to explore how the function evolves from delivering data to shaping choices at scale. Join this conversation as they discuss: The skills and mindsets modern people analytics teams need beyond technical expertiseWhat an effective people analytics operating model looks like in practice The core capabilities required to bridge HR technology and HR strategy Where “metric fixation” leads organisations toward false confidence and poor decisions Why the assumption that AI automatically means “fewer people” misses the bigger picture Practical advice for CHROs building or redesigning a people analytics function today This episode is sponsored by Worklytics. How productive is your organisation, really? Worklytics makes it clear - with privacy-first insights from everyday work data. See how meeting volume, manager effectiveness, collaboration health, and AI adoption are impacting your team’s focus, efficiency, and outcomes - so you can make smarter decisions, faster. No surveys. No assumptions. Just clear insight into work. Right now, Worklytics is offering podcast listeners a free 30-day trial of their productivity analytics dashboard. Learn more at worklytics.co/productivity Link to resources: The Strategic Workforce Planning Handbook  David Edwards’ Dark Artistry Newsletter  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI was supposed to make work more efficient. So why are people busier than ever? As organisations move into 2026, many leaders are realising that while technology has changed quickly, the fundamentals of how work gets done haven’t kept up. Activity is increasing, output is accelerating in places - yet coordination, focus, and decision-making often feel harder than before. So what’s actually going on? In this episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, David Green is joined by Philip Arkcoll, Founder and CEO of Worklytics, to unpack this very question.  Join this dynamic duo, as they discuss: What the data reveals around where organisations were getting stuck in 2025, and how the way we work is changing in 2026 What collaboration and activity data reveals that traditional HR metrics often miss Why decision-making, not output, is becoming the primary bottleneck in AI-enabled organisations How increasing spans of control are reshaping the role, and load, of managers The emerging divide between teams and individuals who are benefiting from AI and those who aren’t What HR and people analytics leaders can do to measure, diagnose, and redesign how work actually happens This episode is sponsored by Worklytics. Worklytics helps leaders understand how work actually happens with data-driven insights into collaboration, productivity and AI adoption.  By analysing real work patterns - from meetings to tool usage - they empower teams to work = Learn more at worklytics.co/ai  Link to resources: 5 Ways Work Will Change in 2026  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do organisations keep repeating the same mistakes when it comes to hybrid work - and are they now doing the same with AI? That’s the question Brian Elliott, one of the most respected voices on the future of work, explores in this episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast. In this episode, host David Green sits down with Brian to unpack why the hybrid and return-to-office debate continues to create tension between leaders and employees, despite years of data and experience, and the striking parallels between how organisations handled hybrid work and how many are now approaching AI adoption. Tune in and learn: Why the hybrid and return-to-office debate continues to divide leaders and employees What the evidence says about making hybrid work effective for both people and the business The similarities between hybrid work decisions and today’s AI adoption challenges How AI is changing entry-level roles and long-term talent pipelines The biggest barriers organisations face when trying to change long-established ways of working Why leadership behaviour ultimately determines whether change sticks This episode is sponsored by Worklytics. Worklytics helps leaders understand how work actually happens with data-driven insights into collaboration, productivity and AI adoption.  By analysing real work patterns - from meetings to tool usage - they empower teams to work = Learn more at worklytics.co/ai  Link to resources: Five leadership lessons for "tough" CEOs The burnout age The job market and AI  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.