“HR Heretics” | How CPOs, CHROs, Founders, and Boards Build High Performing Companies Airbnb’s Iain Roberts on Designing HR as a Strategic Service Function
Feb 20, 2025
Iain Roberts, Global Head of Employee Experience at Airbnb, is known for his innovative design-thinking approach to HR. He discusses the role of HR as a strategic service function, emphasizing the need for continual refinement of employee programs. Iain shares insights on implementing flexible work policies post-COVID, the balance between micromanagement and collaboration, and the transformative impact of AI on recruitment. He also clarifies misconceptions about CEO Brian Chesky's ‘Founder Mode’ and its relationship with organizational innovation.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Design-Focused Career
- Iain Roberts's art teacher proclaimed, "Everything needs to be designed," which shaped his career.
- This led him from engineering to design, focusing on both products and organizational structures.
Design as Intentional Shaping
- Design is about intentionally shaping systems for desired outcomes, not just creating products.
- At Airbnb, this involves organizing 7,000 people effectively, aligning them towards a common goal.
Balancing Top-Down and Bottom-Up
- Airbnb uses a single product roadmap for all 7,000 employees, launching new features every six months.
- Organizational change requires both top-down structure and bottom-up movements, balancing mandates with innovation.