Bolstering the technological proficiencies of staff has to be a collaborative process with the workers on the ground, rather than a top-down dictation, at a time of voluminous market change.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Grant Thornton head of digital capability and enablement Jemma Hirst about her background in L&D, what's inspiring large businesses to invest time and energy into AI capability uplifts, the challenges in doing so, how Grant Thornton undertook the process of uplifting the workforce's AI capabilities, the need for bottom-up feedback rather than top-down communication, the need for a people-led approach, lessons learnt, and guidance to other businesses in learning from Grant Thornton's successes.

In this special episode of The Legal Brief, produced in partnership with Kingston Reid, we explore how HR professionals can harness the benefits of artificial intelligence while managing the legal and practical risks that come with it.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Kingston Reid partner Michael Stutley about the growing role of AI in workplace decision making, investigations, and people management – from the risks of automation bias, over-reliance on AI-generated outputs, and the misuse of sensitive employee information to sharing practical guidance on governance, privacy and the importance of keeping humans in the loop.

The conversation also outlines a series of practical "golden rules" for responsible AI use, helping HR professionals and employers embrace new technology with confidence while maintaining procedural fairness, accountability, and trust.

To learn more about Kingston Reid, click here.

New technologies are reshaping daily operations and processes, but – since every workplace has access to such tools – what will truly separate businesses from the pack is how they harness and grow their people.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with an organisational psychologist and the former head of strategic talent at the IMD Business School in Switzerland, Tania Lennon, the ongoing shift in perspective about people, leadership, and talent, the need to future-proof businesses, necessary workplace capabilities moving forward, taking a holistic approach to leadership development succession planning, strengthening productivity and innovation without losing key human skills, and the essential role of HR moving forward.

In this special episode of The HR Leader Podcast, produced in partnership with Deel, we unpack the imperative for HR to not only implement successful AI-inspired workflows but also get the most out of teams by having a stronger focus on the people within them.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Guy Fenton, Global Director at Deel, about getting AI implementation right. When done properly, AI becomes an amplifier – not a replacement. Drawing on Deel's transformation, Guy shares the framework that works: the questions that drive success, cascading benefits of smart deployment, and how to keep people central while revolutionising workflows. They tackle tricky conversations around team composition and make a compelling case for why Australian businesses are positioned to make the pivots that matter. If you're leading through AI's inflection point, this is your playbook.

To learn more about Deel, click here.

The reshaping of how people work raises myriad pertinent questions, including, and especially, how employers can and must use new technologies to elevate human potential rather than replace it.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy welcomes back Insight APAC people and culture director Elyse Philippi to discuss what it means to be a good and productive worker, how to view performance in the current climate, the inherent risks with mistaking productivity for capability, how to define capable workers, ensuring that the right skills and traits are being recognised in the age of AI, practical steps that HR must take, bringing the C-suite along for the ride, balance upskilling the workforce on new technologies against not losing sight of the need for capability, and why she's optimistic about employers' willingness to view performance as being tied to capability.

Here, an award-winning HR practitioner reflects on the headline trends that will impact the vocational direction of the human resources function in FY2026–27 and why it is so important to put one's self forward as a leader in the workplace.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Heritage Real Estate director of people and culture Hayley Adcock, who won the Innovator of the Year (HR Manager in a Large Business) category at the inaugural HR Innovation Awards, about her transition from being a registered psychologist to working in HR, the need for HR to step into leadership roles and why, the impact of new technologies in the market, honing soft skills, prioritising psychological safety, bringing the C-suite along for the ride, best practice in FY26–27, and why staff are the first clients.

According to this award-winning HR professional, the next frontier in workplace wellbeing is shaping up to be how well workplaces manage the breakdown of relationships.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with The Separation Guide chief executive and co-founder Angela Harbinson, whose business won the Innovator of the Year – Best ESG Program at the inaugural HR Innovation Awards, about the hidden wellbeing gap that employers haven't solved, why relationship stress is becoming an HR issue, the financial and social impact, what the data is telling us, the future of workplace wellbeing, lessons for HR leaders, and why this conversation matters.

Traditional designs for a business's HR function often lose sight of the problems they are trying to solve and fail to tie programs to commercial outcomes. Here, we explore the need to move towards more modern, holistic thinking about the role of HR and how best to succeed in FY2026–27 and beyond.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with We Are Charlotte founder and chief executive Jessica Trumble about what she likes about outsourced HR work as opposed to being in-house, unpacking the differences between older HR approaches and newer ones, the imperative of having a commercial mindset, taking advantage of environmental opportunities in the post-pandemic market, rethinking the function of HR, what constitutes being commercially minded, and getting business buy-in for a new approach.