What are the consequences of treating employees as an expense rather than an asset? Cappelli argues that this “penny wise and pound foolish” practice hurts the bottom line by discouraging investments in a skilled workforce and prioritizing downsizing, irrespective of efficiency. How changes in management and reporting can realign incentives. Also, C-suite demographics and the impact of AI.

WGU President Scott Pulsipher returns to the podcast for an update on the online institution’s mission to extend the reach of skill-oriented instruction. The HBS grad argues that the focus on competency rather than credit hours democratizes college access and economic opportunity. 

Managing the Future of Work co-chair Joe Fuller joins Colorado State University's Jocelyn Hittle to discuss his work on the Managing the Future of Work project and the Harvard Project on Workforce and to consider broader workforce trends. 

As the digital economy pushes companies to prioritize continuous learning, HR strategies need to emphasize customization, flexibility, and support for diverse work-life needs.

AI's potential is tempered by the need for reliability and consistency in financial intelligence. How is Morningstar adopting the technology, upskilling its 10,000-strong global workforce, and competing for talent? Also, factoring sustainability and workforce strategy in ratings and risk analysis.

Chief Caregiver Officer, Kelly Hancock, on filling key roles when talent is scarce; fostering careers in increasingly stressful occupations; how to make skills-based hiring work; the benefits of diversity; and how AI is altering jobs and HR.

AI’s revolutionary potential is best realized incrementally, according to Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President of Modern Work and Business Applications. How the tech giant is experimenting its way from AI assistants to autonomous agents while engaging with stakeholders. Also: the OpenAI connection, responsible AI, and upskilling.

Employers are wrestling with how to provide the resources and foster the motivation workers need for continuous learning in an AI-altered economy. Workers of all stripes are looking to acquire the skills to compete. How is the company coordinating with its employees and its training partners?

How do you re-engineer the people function to support a post-Covid virtual organization? Shopify’s CHRO explains.

If schools aren't turning out job-ready grads, can employer-led partnerships reengineer the talent pipeline to meet the demand and provide opportunities for a diverse workforce? J.D. Hickey, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, on his firm's collaboration with East Tennessee State University, the BlueSky Tennessee Institute, a work-based accelerated computer science bachelor's program based at the insurer's corporate campus.  

In its second iteration, the corporate scorecard draws on a wider range of worker outcomes to rank Fortune 500 employers on how well they boost career prospects. The index is a collaboration of the HBS Managing the Future of Work Project, the Burning Glass Institute, and the Schultz Family Foundation. Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute, and Rajiv Chandrasekaran, managing director of the Schultz Family Foundation, join host Bill Kerr.