Here is an abridged version of issue 294—The Best of April 2025 of Talent Edge Weekly. The abridged version:

• only includes links and brief descriptions of the 15 resources

• does not include my in-depth review

• does not include bonus resources

• is for those who just want easy access to the 15 resources

You can access the full version of issue 294 HERE at any time!

Brian

I. AI and Organizational Capacity

Focuses on how organizations can optimize workforce productivity through AI integration, resource redeployment, and elimination of low-value work and ineffective workplace practices.

• When Work Gets in The Way of Work: Reclaiming Organizational Capacity | Deloitte Insights | Addresses how organizations can unlock workforce capacity by eliminating low-value work and ineffective work practices.

• Identifying Opportunities to Redeploy Resources to Critical Priorities Template | Brian Heger | My one-page worksheet to help managers and leaders identify opportunities to redeploy resources—talent and financial— to high-priority areas.

• 2025: The Year the Frontier Firm is Born | Microsoft Work Trend Index Annual Report | Highlights how AI is reshaping organizational structures and why rethinking human-AI agent collaboration is critical for workforce planning.

• AI at Work: How Human-Agent Teams Will Reshape Your Workforce | Microsoft WorkLab | Addresses the opportunity for organizations to scale AI agents as digital collaborators within their teams.

II. Talent Practices and Tools

Covers talent reviews, succession planning, critical roles, leadership assessment, performance management, skills-based practices, frontline talent development, and recruiting former employees.

• Talent Reviews: Eight Example Questions and Why They Matter | Brian Heger | My one-page cheat sheet with eight example questions that can guide talent review discussions and outcomes.

• 5 Succession Planning Questions to Help Articulate Aspects of Your Succession Planning Philosophy | Brian Heger | Shares five example questions illustrating how organizations can use a continuum of responses to align on key aspects of succession planning.

• Critical Roles Report 2025 | The Talent Strategy Group | Summarizes how firms identify and manage critical roles, highlighting opportunities for improving these practices to achieve greater impact.

• Threading the Needle: Where AI Should Play a Role in Leadership Assessment and Selection, and Where it Shouldn’t | Workforce Solutions Review | Allan H. Church and his colleagues explore how organizations can thoughtfully integrate AI into leadership assessment, selection, and development without losing sight of the science.

• Reinventing Performance Management Processes Won’t Unlock Human Performance. Here’s What Will. | Deloitte Insights | Highlights how some organizations have made progress in improving performance management by focusing on culture, technology, leadership, and workplace design.

• Building a Skills-Based Talent Marketplace: Verifiable Credentials Wallets for Learning and Employment | Jobs for the Future (JFF) | Shares how verifiable credentials wallets help workers communicate the totality of their skills and abilities and translate their achievements into future opportunities.

• The Missing Productivity Ingredient: Investment in Frontline Talent | McKinsey | Highlights how leading companies are investing in frontline workers through innovative talent practices that drive measurable outcomes.

• Boomerang Talent: Why Your Next Great Hire Might Be a Former Employee | Brian Heger | I share why recruiting former employees can help organizations meet their talent needs. Includes my template to support this effort.

III. Chief HR Officers

Addresses the evolving role of Chief HR Officers, shares nine recent promotions and hires in the CHRO role, and discusses how HR leaders can take a more strategic approach to HR tech.

• Reimagining CHRO Roles and Responsibilities for Strategic Growth | Deloitte Center for Integrated Research | Addresses how the CHRO role is expanding in scope and complexity, requiring mastery in analytics, regulatory expertise, and business management.

• 9 Chief HR Officers Hired or Promoted Between March and April 2025 | Brian Heger | My PDF highlights 9 Chief HR Officers appointed to a new CHRO role between March and April 2025.

• Drive Stakeholder Buy-in for HR’s Technology Transformation | Gartner | Highlights the need for Chief HR Officers to take a strategic, capability-led approach to HR tech that earns stakeholder buy-in and drives transformation.

Talent Edge Weekly is written by Brian Heger, a human resources practitioner. You can connect with Brian on LinkedIn and brianheger.com.