People and Strategy

What if one of the most people-first industries in the worldis also one of the best places to see how AI should, and shouldn’t, be used in HR? In this episode of People + Strategy, Mo Fathelbab sits down with two leaders running HR at top hotel companies to explore how they integrate AI without losing the personal touch guests expect. Hear examples of AI in action from Aka Ali-Kerr, director of HR for Andaz West Hollywood and Unscripted Durham and Gregory Curtis, corporate director of HR and strategy at Avion Hospitality — a portfolio which includes The Windsor Court hotel in New Orleans, voted among the top 500 hotels in the world by Travel + Leisure in 2026. Recorded live at SHRM’s Executive NetworkVisionaries Summit 2026, this conversation gives HR professionals insight into AI-driven compensation tools to aid in recruiting and dashboards to house client data. For more AI use cases, visit SHRM's AI Field Manual Toolkit: https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/toolkits/ai-field-manual-use-cases-at-work Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr --- Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this special episode, we’re recapping highlights from the SHRM Executive Network’s 2026 Visionaries Summit in Indianapolis. Hear directly from industry leaders, chief people officers, and senior HR leaders about their biggest takeaways from the event, what’s top of mind for them right now, and the ideas they’re bringing back to their organizations. Couldn’t make it to Visionaries this year? Tune in for insights from the leaders who were there, and learn more about the SHRM Executive Network. For more information about the Visionaries Summit, visit: https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/networking-events/visionaries-summit Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr --- Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

What if the best candidate isn’t the one with the strongest resume, but the one who can actually demonstrate the skills the job requires? In this episode of People + Strategy, Mo Fathelbab sits down with Namrata Kamdar, co-founder and COO, and Abhishek Shah, founder and CEO of Testlify, to explore how organizations can rethink hiring around skills, evidence, and job-relevant assessments. Kamdar and Shah discuss how AI-powered assessments and structured evaluation can help organizations reduce hiring friction, improve the candidate experience, and make more consistent hiring decisions. They also explore how assessment data can extend beyond recruitment to identify skill gaps and inform employee development. The conversation examines what leaders should consider before introducing AI into the hiring process, from defining what success looks like in a role to maintaining human oversight. Kamdar and Shah also look ahead at how AI could transform assessments from static tests into realistic simulations of the work candidates will actually perform. Related Article: How a Fire Department’s HR Leader Used AI to Rebuild Recruiting Related Resource: AI Field Manual for Employers Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr --- Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

In this episode of People + Strategy, we sit down with Natalie Nixon, CEO and founder of Figure 8 Thinking, and author of The Creativity Leap, to explore how leaders can harness creativity and intuition to drive business results. She emphasizes that amplifying human capabilities is critical in navigating an era of AI. Nixon also shares practical techniques, including question storming and doodle sprints, to help leaders make creativity an everyday leadership practice. Drawing on her experience advising executive leadership teams, Nixon reveals a common yet costly mistake: organizations chase innovation before developing the creative capabilities needed to sustain it. She breaks down the business ROI of creativity, how leaders can use intuition alongside data to make strategic decisions, and how curiosity can reshape workplace culture. Related Article: 3 Mindset Shifts HR Leaders Need to Solve the Trust Deficit Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr --- Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

How do top organizations solve their toughest leadership challenges when full-time resources are scarce? Some companies are relying on fractional c-suite leaders, seasoned executives who have opted to lend their expertise to companies on a contract basis rather than work full-time for one company. In a special recording with a live audience for SHRM’s podcast, People + Strategy, fractional HR leaders share their insights on how they approach HR from a fractional perspective and their view on what longevity looks like for the HR profession. Attendees will learn how fractional HR leaders are shaping the future of work and hear real-world stories of navigating change.] Related Articles: https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/3-attributes-of-successful-fractional-c-suite-execs https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/fractional-hr-perspective-what-does-strategic-hr-look-like Related Podcast: https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/podcasts/rise-of-fractional-c-suite-leaders Subscribe to People + Strategy podcast to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/nq47pr --- Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r