Talent Edge Weekly - Issue #305

Workforce and scenario planning, CEO succession planning, a succession planning cheat sheet, AI in performance management, and AI agent examples.

Author

Brian Heger
July 06, 2025

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Welcome to this week’s issue of Talent Edge Weekly!

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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 

WORKFORCE PLANNING

My cheat sheet with questions to help HR and business leaders align workforce plans with potential business scenarios.

Many organizations still approach strategic workforce planning (SWP) as a static, annual exercise—often based on a single, expected scenario. However, as business needs and conditions shift rapidly, SWP requires a more dynamic and flexible approach. Scenario planning (SP) enables organizations to explore and prepare for a range of possible futures, helping them respond more effectively to uncertainty. If you've ever planned a vacation with a backup plan in case of bad weather, you've used SP—thinking ahead, identifying alternatives, and adapting as conditions change. Or consider a sports team preparing for a championship game. They don’t rely on one game plan—they prepare for what to do if other scenarios unfold: a star player gets injured, the opponent changes strategy, the game clock is running out, or weather impacts play. The same principle applies in business. SP helps leaders prepare for various scenarios. These scenarios then guide SWP, where talent implications are outlined and specific responses developed. Although SP varies in sophistication—often enabled by technology and analytics—simply discussing scenarios and possible responses is a valuable starting point. To help connect business scenarios with SWP, my cheat sheet includes a set of questions to guide your planning.

SUCCESSION PLANNING

A 25-page report offering practical insights on how CHROs can play a pivotal role in helping boards overcome key challenges in CEO succession.

This 25-page report outlines 10 common challenges boards face in CEO succession—and how a trusted Chief HR Officer (CHRO) can help address them. Based on interviews with directors, investors, and succession experts, as well as a national survey of corporate directors, the report provides practical suggestions for addressing each challenge. While there are too many insights to summarize here, two challenges stand out: Challenge 5: Lack of Depth in Succession Discussions. Only 35% of directors believe their board has sufficient time for CEO succession planning, and just 26% of those prioritizing it feel confident in the amount of time available for in-depth discussions. Even when emergency succession plans exist, they’re often outdated or untested. Strong boards invest in both emergency and long-term plans to ensure their viability and relevance. Challenge 6: Limited Insight into Internal Talent. Many boards lack direct exposure to internal CEO candidates and rely on information that may be filtered or incomplete. CHROs can help by providing objective insights into internal candidates, creating structured ways for directors to engage with emerging leaders, and aligning objective assessment tools with future leadership needs. Although the report focuses on CEO succession, many of the insights can be applied to succession planning at levels below the CEO.

SUCCESSION PLANNING

My one-page cheat sheet helps practitioners explore succession planning (SP) from four angles to support a more deliberate approach to SP.

Succession planning (SP) remains a top priority for many organizations. In response to frequent requests for SP resources, I’ve created a one-page cheat sheet that consolidates elements from several of the individual cheat sheets I’ve previously shared on the topic. This cheat sheet includes four components: 1) SP Questions – A set of 10 questions to help organizations clarify their approach, such as determining the scope of succession planning (what roles they will focus on) and how they will assess successor readiness to assume a targeted role; 2) SP Metrics – A list of 12 metrics, including the percentage of non-ready-now successors with a development plan and the success rate of successors after assuming the role; 3) Trigger Events for Reassessment – Nine examples of events that may warrant a reassessment of succession plans, such as shifts in business strategy, organizational transformation, or successor turnover; and 4) High-Impact Development Role Audit – Four starter questions to help determine when it may be time to move someone out of a high-impact development role—particularly when their continued presence limits opportunities for others in the pipeline. This cheat sheet is designed to help practitioners take a more deliberate approach to succession planning, ensuring that plans remain relevant and actionable.

AI AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Covers how AI might help organizations address common pain points associated with performance management.

AI continues to show promise in enhancing various talent and HR practices. As such, I previously shared my one-page cheat sheet with 12 AI-in-HR use cases to help teams generate ideas. One area gaining particular interest is performance management (PM), where AI can support goal setting, reviews, and feedback. However, as highlighted in a recent Gartner article, adoption remains limited, often due to compliance concerns and unclear ROI. While the article offers several insights, including a case study on how Thrivent is utilizing AI, Table 1 may be particularly useful. It maps specific PM pain points to GenAI capabilities, helping teams start with the problem they’re trying to solve rather than with a use case. For example, one common pain point is unclear or biased feedback. GenAI capabilities, such as writing assistants, can enhance clarity, tone, and word choice while minimizing bias. Another pain point is the quality or delivery of feedback, where GenAI can support managers through digital coaching tools or private GenAI chat assistants—helping them build the skills needed for more effective and candid conversations. Practitioners can use this type of framework as a starting point to identify opportunities for leveraging AI within performance management. They can also refer to my cheat sheet, which highlights the importance of identifying the risks associated with each use case and developing strategies to mitigate them.

AI IN THE WORKPLACE

Explores how AI agents could shape the future of work through the illustrated experiences of three workforce personas.

This article explores what an AI-enabled workforce could look like through the lens of three personas: a new hire (Riley), a VP (Taylor), and a CEO (Angelina). Each example illustrates how AI agents—drawing on personal data, behavioral signals, and business context—can enhance how people onboard, lead, and make strategic decisions. Riley’s agent is tailored to her communication style and career goals based on prehire assessments. It guides her through onboarding, answers follow-up questions, introduces mentors, books a social lunch, and even detects elevated heart rate before a key meeting—offering real-time coaching to help her feel confident. Taylor’s agent helps optimize daily work by surfacing project updates, adjusting his calendar, preparing him for a CEO presentation via a VR simulation, and even setting meeting agendas that include icebreakers based on team feedback. At the executive level, Angelina’s agent aggregates real-time internal and external data to support complex decision-making, facilitates strategic planning, and coaches her through town hall rehearsals using biofeedback and simulated audience reactions. As the article notes, “While the scenarios above may seem like something from a science-fiction novel, the reality is that this technology already exists.” One practical takeaway is that organizations can begin exploring how AI agents might be applied across different workforce personas—helping to evaluate where these technologies could have the greatest impact and create stakeholder value.

MOST POPULAR FROM LAST WEEK

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY

My cheat sheet with 10 questions to identify opportunities to unlock workforce capacity—before defaulting to hiring.

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.

A few job cuts announced this past week:

  • 4D Molecular Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FDMT). The late-stage biotechnology company announced a 25% reduction in its workforce, encompassing both current and planned roles. Impacted employees primarily work in areas supporting early-stage research and development, as well as support functions.

  • TikTok. The social media and short-form online video platform owned by Internet company ByteDance has announced a third round of layoffs at its global e-commerce division. The specific number of cuts was not disclosed. Although TikTok Shop is currently the platform's fastest-growing business, its U.S. division has undergone multiple restructurings after failing to meet internal targets.

  • TomTom N.V. (OTCMKTS: TMOAY). The Dutch multinational developer and creator of location technology and consumer electronics announced it is cutting 300 jobs—about 6% of its workforce—as part of a strategic shift toward AI-powered location and navigation software.

Click here to access all listed announcements.

CHIEF HR OFFICER MOVE OF THE WEEK

This past week, 9 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:

  • Vimeo, Inc. (NEW YORK) [NASDAQ: VMEO]— the largest and most trusted private video network in the world— announced the appointment of Rose Frawley as its Chief People Officer. Most recently, Rose served as Chief People Officer at YipitData. Prior to YipitData, she was the Chief People Officer at Vivvix. ​​

🔓️ Never miss another Chief HR Officer announcement!

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

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FROM ME ON LINKEDIN

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

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THE BEST OF JUNE 2025

Did you miss the “Best of June ” issue of Talent Edge Weekly? If so, check out issue #304, which includes 18 of the most popular resources from the month.

Thank you to our sponsor, TechWolf, who sponsored the Best of June.

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