Talent Edge Weekly - Issue #314

Prioritizing AI-enabled HR use cases, AI in the workplace playbook, developing talent management champions, a study on the impact of AI on cross-functional collaboration, and ideas on performance management.

Author

Brian Heger
September 14, 2025

SPONSORED BY

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

A shout-out to Bridget Penney, Chief People Officer at Applied Systems, for referring new subscribers to Talent Edge Weekly. Thank you, Bridget, 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 IN HR

My new one-page worksheet to evaluate and prioritize AI-enabled HR use cases by linking business needs, potential impact, and execution feasibility.

With the HR Tech Conference happening this week, many HR practitioners are eager to explore the latest advancements in HR technology—including AI-enabled platforms that can unlock capacity and deliver greater value to stakeholders. But with so many choices, it’s critical to focus on what matters most; otherwise, efforts get spread too thin and decision-making suffers. To help, I’ve created a one-page editable worksheet that guides HR teams through questions for identifying which AI-enabled use cases are most likely to generate business value in their organization. It begins with business-first questions: What problem, pain point, or opportunity are we addressing? Which stakeholders are most impacted? What evidence shows this is worth solving now? What’s at stake if we don’t act? Only after clarifying the business need does the framework move into solutions: What HR-based AI capabilities could address this most effectively? Why is this the right solution, and what supporting data exist? It then shifts to business impact: What outcomes (e.g., revenue, efficiency) would be most affected, and what ROI can be estimated? When would the ROI be achieved? Finally, it considers execution: What resources are required? What resource gaps must be filled? What risks could arise, and how will they be managed? The tool also provides space to capture a narrative for each area and identify next steps—helping teams move from ideas to action.

AI AND THE WORKFORCE

A 135-page playbook outlines practical strategies, frameworks, and tools to help organizations build, assess, and strengthen AI-related workforce capabilities.

This 135-page playbook provides organizations with strategies and tactics for acquiring AI skills, including the “Build, Buy, Borrow, Bot” framework, as well as methodologies for assessing workforce capabilities and identifying AI-related skill gaps. Developed by the AI Workforce Consortium—led by Cisco and includes companies such as IBM, Intel, Microsoft, and Google—the playbook offers tools to support AI workforce readiness. The Consortium was established to address the broader impact of AI on jobs and to help the workforce adapt by promoting strategies and training programs that enable reskilling and upskilling for an AI-enabled future. While the playbook contains too many insights to capture fully here, its five sections provide a useful roadmap: 1) Targeted Upskilling & Reskilling Programs—focused learning aligned with strategy and workforce priorities; 2) Data Quality & Integrity Foundations—practices for data quality, integrity, and metadata management to support AI implementation; 3) AI Interaction Skills—cultivating skills employees need to effectively work with AI tools; 4) Framework for Assessing AI Adoption & Skilling Progress—structured approaches to evaluate adoption and workforce development; and 5) Change Management & Governance—robust change management, communication, and governance to guide transformation and drive engagement. This playbook thoroughly covers the many aspects of preparing the workforce for an AI-enabled future.

TALENT MANAGEMENT

A new article outlining four manager approaches to talent management and five tactics organizations can use to cultivate more enterprise-wide talent champions.

This article introduces a framework that illustrates how managers vary in their commitment to talent management across two dimensions: strategic depth (short-term, task-focused vs. long-term, enterprise-focused) and scope of impact (limited to their own team vs. extending across the organization). Together, these dimensions highlight four levels of commitment: 1) Bystanders—who show little commitment to the organization’s talent strategy and may lack the resources to engage in talent identification, development, and sharing; 2) Protectors—who develop people but hoard them within their own teams (i.e., they don’t share talent); 3) Connectors—who facilitate moves but treat talent management as HR’s job; and 4) Captains—who champion talent as an enterprise asset aligned with business priorities. To shift more leaders into the Captain role, the authors recommend five tactics: aligning business and talent strategies, co-designing practices with leaders, clearly communicating priorities and resources, embedding talent management into leadership roles, and recognizing champions. The “Protector” type directly relates to my previous posts on talent hoarding—when managers restrict the movement of their team members, especially top talent, to other parts of the business. Against this backdrop, I’m resharing my one-page diagnostic with 10 reflection statements to help managers assess whether they may be blocking internal talent sharing.

AI AND ROI

A 56-page working paper by researchers at Harvard Business School and Wharton that examines the impact of AI on cross-functional collaboration.

Many organizations rely on cross-functional teams to drive critical initiatives, ensuring each function is represented and able to provide input. Yet cross-functional experts often focus disproportionately on their own areas—understandably so, since these are the domains they know best—resulting in limited connections to other parts of the business. A recent working paper explored whether AI can help address this issue through a randomized controlled trial of 776 Procter & Gamble professionals—commercial and R&D experts—who worked alone or in cross-functional pairs, with half given access to GPT-4/4o. Without AI, specialists proposed solutions aligned to their own domains, and only teamwork produced more balanced outputs. With AI, however, both individuals and teams generated integrated solutions that blended technical and commercial perspectives, effectively dissolving traditional expertise boundaries. One reason is that AI introduced knowledge and perspectives beyond participants’ functional silos, enabling them to integrate ideas they might not have surfaced on their own; in fact, even less experienced employees performed at levels comparable to more seasoned teams when assisted by AI. Beyond implications for teamwork, these findings also highlight how organizations can utilize AI to develop broader capabilities in their employees, such as enhancing business acumen and fostering more holistic thinking across functions.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

A new article highlights research showing that PM is more effective when organizations clarify whether they are measuring learning or performance.

Performance management (PM) is a critical talent practice for driving individual, team, and organizational performance. Despite being long-standing, many organizations continue to adjust their PM processes—either due to dissatisfaction with current approaches or a belief that more can be done to improve effectiveness. While PM has many components, this new article (and the academic version it is based on) highlights how providing teams with greater clarity on what matters most and how they are measured can drive improvement. A study of 109 teams in a North American mortgage company found that those required to pursue both learning (experimentation, innovation) and performance (precision, flawless delivery) simultaneously were the least effective, as the dual emphasis created confusion about evaluation criteria. By contrast, teams with a clear primary orientation—either learning or performance—reported stronger purpose, higher morale, and better results. The findings suggest that PM can unintentionally send mixed signals when processes attempt to evaluate employees on both learning and performance; while connected, assessing them together can create ambiguity about what is truly valued, if not managed effectively. For organizations, a good starting point is clarifying their PM philosophy and defining its primary purpose. Once that foundation is set, goal-setting, coaching, evaluations, and incentives can be aligned to reinforce it consistently—helping teams focus, understand how they will be evaluated, and ultimately perform at a higher level.

MOST POPULAR FROM LAST ISSUE

HR EFFECTIVENESS + WORKFORCE PLANNING

My cheat sheet showing how using a one-page phased implementation plan—illustrated with a workforce planning example—can make HR initiatives easier to support and faster to move into action.

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:

  • ANZ Group (ASX: ANZ). The Australian bank announced it would cut 3,500 jobs and 1,000 contractor roles as part of a restructuring plan under new CEO Nuno Matos. The major bank said the changes were to 'simplify the bank, strengthen its focus on its priorities and deliver for its customers'.

  • Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC). The Swedish telecom company announced it will cut about 100 technical jobs in Canada as part of its plan to streamline company operations. The affected employees mostly consist of technicians and support staff within the Canadian network management services team.

  • Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO). The drugmaker announced plans to cut about 9,000 jobs—roughly 11% of its global workforce, including 5,000 in Denmark—as part of a restructuring plan intended to streamline operations and focus on diabetes and obesity therapies.

Click here to access my tracker with all announcements.

CHIEF HR OFFICER MOVE OF THE WEEK

This past week, 12 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. Subscriptions are for monthly or yearly plans.

This week’s CHRO move of the week is:

  • Vodafone (LONDON, ENGLAND) [NASDAQ: VOD]—a telecom company—announced that Leanne Wood will step down as Chief Human Resources Officer and as a member of the Vodafone Group Executive Committee, effective January 1, 2026. Leanne will continue to represent Vodafone on the Board of Vodacom Group Limited and the Vantage Towers AG Shareholders' Committee, as she pursues a portfolio career. Leanne has served as Chief HR Officer since 2019 and played a central role in transforming the company through improving customer experience, simplifying the organization, and delivering sustainable growth. Her successor will be announced before the end of September 2025.

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FROM ME ON LINKEDIN

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

THE BEST OF AUGUST 2025

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Did you miss the “Best of August ” issue of Talent Edge Weekly? If so, check out issue #312, which includes the most popular resources from the month.

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On Sept 16, join TechWolf at Shelby’s Rooftop Bar in San Francisco for premium food & drinks, golden-hour views, and candid conversations with HR leaders like Diane Gherson (former CHRO at IBM) & Josh Tarr (Director, Skills Based Organization at Workday).

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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