HR departments struggle to be all things to all stakeholders while delivering on the most strategic priorities of the business. But when we dig into the OS of HR, we find a resource-constrained function that contains multitudes. Long range people priorities are deemed negotiable, HR’s domain expertise isn’t respected, and the function acts as a service-provider when it should be guiding the organization's evolution.

This week, Rodney Evans sits down with HR industry giant Josh Bersin to discuss his book Irresistible: The Seven Secrets of the World’s Most Enduring, Employee-Focused Organizations and dig into how HR must transform itself to enable a shift to more profitable, resilient, human organizations. They explore what makes a company “irresistible,” the tidal wave that is AI, and the critical role HR plays in shifting a workplace’s culture.

(Editor’s note: This episode was recorded in July, so many things Josh talks about as “upcoming” are already out in the world! Look below for a full list of current references.)

Learn more about Josh Bersin on his website, LinkedIn, and Twitter (X).

Learn more about Josh’s book here.

Learn more about the Josh Bersin Company at their website and explore the courses offered in Josh Bersin Academy.

Mentioned references:

• Josh Bersin’s Systemic HR model
• Microsoft research about employees thinking they are productive vs what their leaders think
• Study about managers feeling more stress than employees
• W. Edwards Deming
• The AI episode of Josh’s podcast Rodney refers to: AI Deep Dive: Three Generations of HR Tech AI Solutions in the Market (May 15 2023)

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Learn more about The Future of HR at our website.

Curious where your company sits on our 5-stage maturity model? Take our assessment and find out!

Have a burning HR question for Rodney and Sam to answer? Email us at fohr@theready.com.

Ready to get started moving your HR department into the future? Email us at fohr@theready.com or hello@theready.com.

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00:00 Intro + Check-In: What’s something that you’re trying to learn right now?

03:33 Story behind the origins of Josh’s book

09:58 The shift behind “Coach, Not Boss”

16:17 Concept of “success” in Irresistible companies vs traditional companies

21:20 How irresistible companies are transforming their HR departments

30:11 HR leader Interview tips to identify an irresistible company

33:49 HR and AI and how to think about it

40:23 Where HR should start engaging with AI

43:04 Wrap up: Share this episode with your HR friends!