Talent Edge Weekly - Issue #292

AI agents in the workplace, leadership assessments, talent reviews, rehiring former employees, and performance management.

Author

Brian Heger
April 13, 2025

SPONSORED BY

Welcome to this issue of Talent Edge Weekly!

A shout-out to Amber Weaver, Vice President, Talent Acquisition at ADT, for referring new subscribers to Talent Edge Weekly. Thank you, Amber, for your support of this newsletter!

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THIS WEEK'S CONTENT

Below are links and descriptions of the topics covered in this issue. If you're interested in my deep dive, you can read the full newsletter.

📉 Also, check out my job cuts tracker & Chief HR Officer move of the week.

Let’s dive in! ⬇️

THIS WEEK'S EDGE 

AI AND WORKFORCE

Addresses the opportunity for organizations to scale AI agents as digital collaborators within their teams. I share a bonus resource from McKinsey on AI agents.

AI agents—autonomous tools that can analyze data, generate content, and support decision-making—continue to evolve and reshape how work gets done across organizations. These agents act as collaborative partners with human employees, becoming an extension of the workforce. As this new article points out, rather than simply adding more people to drive results, leaders now have the opportunity to scale intelligence by integrating these digital collaborators into their teams. While AI agents have many implications on aspects of talent management, one relates to workforce planning and how organizations must determine the optimal "human-to-agent ratio" for different contexts to maximize productivity without overwhelming employees. This requires multiple considerations, including identifying where agents can add value, designing workflows where AI agents handle repetitive tasks, redefining roles, updating job descriptions, and preparing employees for these changes through reskilling initiatives, to name a few. What implications will AI agents have on how you conduct workforce planning and other talent practices in your organization? As a bonus, I am including a new article from McKinsey, which provides an extensive overview of AI agents.

LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENTS

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.

As HR practitioners, we're excited about AI's transformative potential across talent management practices. However, as Allan H. Church, James Scrivani, Gina A. Seaton, and Janine Waclawski thoughtfully note in their new article, when using AI-based tools for leadership assessment and selection, it's essential to look beyond technological novelty and focus on how these tools enhance decision-making validity. One key insight is the importance of prioritizing what assessment tools measure—not just the "bright and shiny" appeal of new technology. This means focusing on underlying measurement models, using multiple methods for a holistic view, and verifying actual capabilities rather than relying on marketing claims. Validity should never be sacrificed for simplicity or a sleek user experience; assessment tools must accurately predict leadership performance within an organization’s specific context. The authors especially caution practitioners to be wary of vendors unwilling to explain the "black box" algorithms behind their tools, as these decisions directly impact people's careers and carry significant legal and ethical implications. While AI offers powerful opportunities—particularly in automating development follow-through, long seen as assessment's "Achilles' heel"—it should augment, not replace, human expertise.

TALENT REVIEWS

My one-page cheat sheet with eight example questions that can guide talent review discussions and outcomes.

Most organizations conduct talent reviews to identify and develop employees with the potential to advance into larger, more complex roles. While tools and technology often take center stage, it’s equally important to step back and align on the key questions the review should answer. The right questions guide discussions toward the areas and outcomes that matter most. My cheat sheet includes eight example questions, each paired with a brief explanation of its importance. For example: Strategic Alignment—What are our organization’s key priorities for the next 18-36 months? Purpose: Grounds the review in strategic goals and identifies where leadership and skills are most needed. Developmental Focus—What is the most critical developmental action for each HiPo and successor to accelerate their readiness for more complex roles/work? Purpose: Forces decision-makers to prioritize the most impactful actions over less effective ones. Accountability—Who is responsible (non-HR) for ensuring each action identified during the review is executed effectively? Purpose: Ensures clear accountability so actions are executed and progress is tracked. This cheat sheet can help you craft your own questions tailored to your organization’s needs. Once you determine the questions, you can structure your agenda and facilitate discussions to ensure actionable outcomes.

TALENT ACQUISITION

I share why recruiting former employees can help organizations meet their talent needs. Includes my template to support this effort.

As organizations continue to explore untapped talent pools to increase their talent depth, one group often overlooked is former employees—commonly referred to as “boomerang employees.” These individuals bring the dual benefit of organizational knowledge and a fresh perspective gained during their time away. A study published in the Academy of Management Journal found that, upon being rehired, former employees tend to outperform new hires—especially in roles requiring strong relational skills and internal coordination. And while not all former employees are ideal candidates for rehire, many were high performers when they left and now bring added value. In some cases, these individuals may have exited the organization through no fault of their own—such as during a layoff or company-wide restructuring—yet still hold interest in returning. As the desire to return often intersects with evolving personal priorities and organizational needs, cultivating relationships with alumni talent can make their path back more seamless. While it’s optimal to have technology that helps track and support outreach to this group, I’m sharing my one-page editable template to help managers and recruiting teams start thinking through which former employees their organization may want to re-recruit. Sometimes, the talent you’re looking for is talent you’ve already had.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Highlights how some organizations have made progress in improving performance management by focusing on culture, technology, leadership, and workplace design.

Many continue to view traditional performance management (PM) processes as ineffective. However, this Deloitte Insights article highlights how some organizations have made meaningful progress by improving PM through culture, technology, leadership, and workplace design. The authors argue that if continually reinventing the PM process doesn’t address the core issues around performance management, organizations may need to move beyond process to a broader set of factors. For example, Deloitte research shows that organizations with stronger business and organizational outcomes define their PM strategy around purpose and mindset, rather than processes and models. Since PM can serve various purposes—including development—organizations should clarify which intents they want their PM to pursue and let go of the rest. One recommendation provided by the authors is to decouple developmental conversations from formal PM assessments and embed them into the regular flow of work. The article features examples from companies such as Rolls-Royce, Roche, and McLaren Racing to illustrate how performance management can be enhanced.

MOST POPULAR FROM LAST WEEK

SUCCESSION PLANNING

Shares five example questions illustrating how organizations can use a continuum of responses to align on key aspects of succession planning.

My one-page slide helps organizations align on five aspects (there are many more) of succession planning. This slide is an excerpt from a larger slide deck on multiple talent practices developed within my new Talent Edge Circle community.

JOB CUTS AND LAYOFF TRACKER

Check out my tracker of announcements from a segment of organizations that have conducted job cuts and layoffs since the start of 2023.

Partial view of tracker on brianheger.com

A few job cuts announced this past week:

  • Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). The company has laid off hundreds of employees from its Platforms and Devices division, which employs over 25,000 people, houses its Pixel phones and smartwatches, Nest devices, the Android and ChromeOS platforms, and Chrome browser.

  • Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). The tech giant plans to lay off employees mainly from the middle managerial and non-technical roles. The layoffs are likely to occur in May and are intended to streamline organizational structure and enhance the ratio of engineers within project teams.

  • U.S. Cellular (NYSE: USM). The mobile network operator is laying off 497 Iowa workers across 32 locations as part of its sale to T-Mobile. The layoffs are set to take effect June 2, 2025.

 Click here to access all listed announcements.

CHIEF HR OFFICER MOVE OF THE WEEK

This past week, 14 new Chief HR Officer announcements were posted on CHROs on the Go, my subscription-based platform tracking movement in and out of the CHRO role. This week’s CHRO move of the week is:

  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HOUSTON, TEXAS) [NYSE: HPE]—a global technology leader focused on developing intelligent solutions—announced that Stacy Dillow has been named EVP and Chief People Officer, effective May 1, 2025, reporting to CEO Antonio Neri. Dillow joins HPE from Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR), where she served as EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer for more than five years. Dan Domenech, who has been serving as HPE's interim Chief People Officer, will remain in his role as Chief Talent Officer. ​​

Stacy Dillow

CHROs on the Go has over 4,000 archived announcements in its database, with new announcements added daily!

If you are already a subscriber to CHROs on the Go, log in here.

FROM ME ON LINKEDIN

Catch up on what you may have missed from me on LinkedIn:

✂️ ‘Read Online’  if email cuts off

THE BEST OF MARCH 2025

Did you miss the “Best of March ” issue of Talent Edge Weekly? If so, check out issue #286, which includes 16 of the most popular resources from the month.

Thank you to SuccessionHR for sponsoring the Best Of March issue of Talent Edge Weekly. Join SuccessionHR for a 30-min webinar, April 16th at 12 PM EST, where you’ll get an in-depth look of the SuccessionHR software, identify key risks in succession planning, and explore proven succession planning best practices.

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RESOURCE LINEUP

​brianheger.com provides free access to +1,500 curated articles, research reports, podcasts, and more that help practitioners drive better business results through strategic human resources and talent management.

CHROS on the Go is a subscription that provides the easiest and most convenient way to stay informed about Chief Human Resources Officer hires, promotions, and resignations in organizations of all sizes and industries.

​Talent Edge Weekly is a free weekly newsletter that brings together the best talent and strategic human resources insights from various sources. It is published every Sunday at 6 PM EST.

Talent Edge Circle. My new, exclusive, vetted, invitation-only digital community for internal HR practitioners. If you are an internal HR practitioner interested in this paid community, indicate your interest here.

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