In this episode of the Future Proof HR podcast, Thomas Kunjappu sits down with Stephanie Leal, Director of HR Learning and Development at Mission North. Stephanie is leading a company-wide initiative to build AI fluency, not just within HR but across client-facing teams serving some of the most innovative tech brands. What began with a simple usage survey has evolved into a structured learning program—Navigating AI—that combines show-and-tell sessions, AI principles embedded into onboarding, and ongoing cross-functional training.Stephanie shares how she shifted from AI skeptic to champion, helping Mission North employees transform curiosity into practical skills while balancing excitement with caution around data privacy and security. Her story offers a model for how HR and L&D leaders can drive adoption without mandates, creating a culture of experimentation and trust.Topics Discussed:

• How a baseline AI survey revealed 73% of employees were already “explorers.”
• Why mandates spread fear while experimentation spreads innovation.
• Building Navigating AI, a cross-company learning journey with measurable outcomes.
• Embedding AI principles into onboarding and company culture.
• Using show-and-tell sessions and super users to drive grassroots adoption.
• Balancing security, transparency, and responsible AI use.
• How L&D can leverage AI to create more personalized and scalable learning experiences.
• Why curiosity and continuous learning matter more than prior AI skills in hiring.
• The future of L&D: moving from manual training tasks to AI-powered content creation and strategy.

If you’re looking for a practical guide to building AI fluency across your organization while keeping HR at the center of trust, learning, and culture, this conversation with Stephanie Leal is packed with insights you can use today.Additional Resources:

• Cleary’s AI-powered HR Chatbot
• Future Proof HR Community
• Connect with Stephanie Leal on LinkedIn
• AI Creates Major Knowledge Gap

So we wanted to see how many people were using AI,

2

how many people felt comfortable.

3

Or were nervous about it,

what were their fears?

4

And then also what were the use cases

around what they're using it for?

5

Because we really wanted to see

where can we fill those gaps?

6

Where can we take some of the more manual

7

or administrative or time-sucking tasks

8

and use AI to help with that?

9

And what really surprised me was that...

10

73% of our staff described

themselves as explorers.

11

So moderate understanding

of AI, moderate adoption.

12

And we had no one self-report as a novice.

13

They keep telling us that it's all over.

14

For HR, the age of AI is upon

us, and that means HR should

15

be prepared to be decimated.

16

We reject that message.

17

The future of HR won't be handed to us.

18

Instead, it'll be defined by those

ready to experiment, adopt, and adapt.

19

Future Proof HR invites these builders to

share what they're trying, how it's going,

20

what they've learned, and what's next.

21

We are committed to arming HR

with the AI insights to not

22

just survive, but to thrive.

23

Thomas: Hello and welcome to the Future

Proof HR Podcast, where we explore how

24

forward-thinking HR leaders are preparing

for disruption and redefining what it

25

means to lead people in a changing world.

26

I'm your host, as always,

Thomas Kunjappu, CEO of Cleary.

27

Today's guest is Stephanie Leal,

the Director of HR Learning and

28

Development at Mission North.

29

A strategic communications firm serving

the future of work and innovation economy.

30

Stephanie is leading the charge

to build AI fluency across

31

her company, not just in HR,

32

but especially for client-facing

teams supporting emerging tech brands.

33

Stephanie is building a practical

cross-functional learning

34

initiative with measurable outcomes.

35

She's also helping HR reimagine

its own role in this new landscape.

36

Stephanie, welcome to the podcast.

37

Stephanie: Thank you.

38

Thank you so much.

39

Thomas: So I'm so excited to talk to

you about how you've been thinking about

40

bringing in the learning and development

mindset into your firm, especially for

41

Mission North, where you are working with

42

a lot of your clients who are

pretty tech and AI forward, right?

43

Stephanie: Yes, correct.

44

Yeah, I've been working at

Mission North for about 10 years.

45

And over a decade, I've been able to

shape my career here in the HR space,

46

deepening my expertise there.

47

And really moved into a

learning and development role

48

because it's the part of

HR that really excites me.

49

It touches so many aspects

of the employee experience

50

from onboarding to career development,

51

to performance reviews,

and of course, training.

52

So AI has really become

a top priority for us

53

because of how much

54

it doesn't just shape the

learning and development

55

and HR space,

56

but also it's a huge learning

opportunity for our whole workforce

57

at Mission North and the impact

58

it can have when we're upscaling

our employees and involving our

59

skills and the ability to take

60

those skills to our clients as they

bring their AI expertise to the world.

61

So it's a really great

62

opportunity right now.

63

It's a really exciting space to work in.

64

Thomas: So would you say, at least

for you, from an L&D perspective,

65

is a lot of the L&D about

66

AI?

67

Stephanie: Currently, yes.

68

So we launched a learning and development

initiative this summer that we're calling

69

Navigating AI,

70

a summer learning journey.

71

And it's our biggest priority in

terms of upscaling our employees,

72

because we want to make sure

that they feel confident in

73

the new tools that they have at

74

their fingertips, that they are finding

it supporting their work and their

75

outputs, that it's giving them time

76

back and more time and efficiency

so that they can do deeper

77

strategic work for their clients.

78

And then that they can also

take that to provide even better

79

counsel, even better trust from

80

our clients into not only

81

are we advising you to reach a

broader audience with your tech,

82

but we are also confident in the

83

emerging tech that's

coming out for all of us.

84

I think it's a double header.

85

It's a two-pronged learning

opportunity for all of us.

86

So I'm really excited

to be spearheading it.

87

And I'm really

88

excited that Mission North

is motivated and excited by

89

this learning opportunity too.

90

Thomas: Okay.

91

I want to get into much more in depth

there how that works because of everything

92

from the genesis of the program all

the way to how you're executing on it.

93

But first, I was thinking we could

study that's saying about eight

94

in 10 HR practitioners are using

AI in their day-to-day use cases,

95

but only a tiny minority feel like they've

gotten any kind of job-specific training.

96

Now, I think this is interesting for us to

talk about because it's in the context of

97

setting up a whole L&D program

all about AI upskilling for

98

not just HR, but the entire

99

workforce.

100

So as you're seeing this kind of gap

that's being talked about in this article,

101

what are your thoughts?

102

Stephanie: Yeah, I think one of my biggest

takeaways from the article was about how

103

having a company mandate AI does not

spread innovation, it spreads fear.

104

So we don't want it to come

from this you must use AI

105

approach, but more of creating

an environment for all

106

employees, not just HR employees,

107

of experimentation, of sharing

resources, of sharing use cases

108

and best prompts and things

109

like that so that we can all

continue to evolve our skills there.

110

I think for HR specifically,

I can understand why a company

111

might not be able to offer HR

training specifically for AI.

112

But one of the best things about HR as a

113

profession is the networks that

are available because so many

114

people on HR teams are one or

115

two people in an organization or just one.

116

So I've found that

117

some of the HR focus newsletters

or templates, there's

118

different organizations.

119

Obviously,

120

there's HR organizations like SHRM,

and then there are more specific

121

places based on where you're located.

122

But people are really

sharing resources right now.

123

And so I think I would suggest that

124

HR professionals leverage their networks,

125

try to find those resources

because they do exist.

126

There are HR and L&D

specific AI trainings.

127

And then also assess what their

companies are offering in terms of

128

personal professional development and

129

see if they can use the stipends that

their companies might offer, other

130

kinds of training benefits like that

131

to really seek out what

they're looking for.

132

I know at my company, we

are mostly PR and integrated

133

marketing professionals.

134

And so our AI trainings are

really tailored to those skills.

135

But for our HR team, we're

136

constantly sending each other the

best prompts that we found from

137

a newsletter or templates that

138

we can use for our own work.

139

There really is such a

great opportunity for

140

knowledge sharing right now.

141

Thomas: Absolutely.

142

And it's great point that you talk about.

143

There's not a single company

where the HR team is like the

144

majority of the employee base.

145

Stephanie: It can be a

lonely group of people.

146

Thomas: Right.

147

So it's interesting because

the article is talking

148

about HR practitioners

149

needing to practice what they preach

150

because the L&D role is going to be,

151

like you said,

152

at least in your current state,

153

a lot of it is about enabling AI

154

and upskilling with AI skill sets

155

for obviously for different

types of functions.

156

But then you need to be able to practice

157

what you preach a little bit.

158

You need to understand the material.

159

You need to be a little

160

bit native in that.

161

And so it's important for HR professionals

to get in there and just have

162

something rolling.

163

I'm actually a little bit skeptical about

the vast majority of HR practitioners

164

actually using it today.

165

Now it's maybe if you're doing like

a Google search and you're like,

166

instead of doing a Google

search, you're doing it like in

167

chat GPT, that kind of counts.

168

And it's maybe if you're doing like a

Google search and you're like simple

169

instead of doing google search you're

doing it like in ChatGPT that kind of

170

counts and it's a self-reported kind of

171

data but i think there is a big

opportunity so much so that I'm

172

personally working on content

173

and training for like HR professionals

to get started from nothing to

174

like i know what ChatGPT is to like

actually getting more productive use

175

and also the frameworks for how to

think about it because that's often

176

missing like which direction how do

I apply it when should I apply it.

177

And the article talks about a

gap then between the enthusiasts

178

and like the rest that naturally

179

will emerge if there's not like

any kind of structure and so

180

I do see that happening right

181

so there's enthusiasts maybe

like you right that right?

182

And kind of like those are the folks

183

who are listening to this podcast

184

or like getting out,

trying things on their own,

185

experimenting a bunch.

186

And because we're in the early days,

187

it's almost like that's like

the best experimentation

188

and just being exposed constantly

189

seems to be the better method

190

than thinking of like rigid training

modules and trying your best.

191

Although I'm curious because you're

rolling this out at scale at your

192

company, but that's really interesting.

193

Gives us a moment in

194

time of where we're at.

195

So let's come to your use of or your

program for around like L&D and how

196

you started developing it, Stephanie.

197

So when we're talking beforehand,

I think you said it all

198

started off with a bit of a usage survey.

199

And then that's how you went

downstream from all that.

200

So was the survey about?

201

What were you looking for?

202

What did you uncover?

203

Stephanie: Yeah, so we wanted to

see how many people were using ai,

204

how many people felt comfortable.

205

or were nervous about it,

what were their fears?

206

And then also what were the use cases

around what they're using it for?

207

Because we really wanted to see

where can we fill those gaps?

208

Where can we take some of the more manual

209

or administrative or time-sucking tasks

210

and use AI to help with that?

211

And what really surprised me was that...

212

This was back in April.

213

73% of our staff described

themselves as explorers.

214

So moderate understanding

of AI, moderate adoption.

215

And we had no one self-report as a novice.

216

So low understanding and low adoption.

217

I myself said I was a skeptic.

218

And that is moderate

understanding, low adoption.

219

I come from a more luddite sensibility

220

than I might be letting on right now.

221

But I thought that was really interesting.

222

And there was no one who reported

223

that they never used it, but

almost half the company or actually

224

a little more than half the

225

company was using it every day.

226

So we knew we had people who

were definitely experimenting

227

with it, but we didn't know how

comfortable they felt in it.

228

Or we were worried that if we didn't

fill those gaps or those skills,

229

that they wouldn't be using it

to the best of their potential.

230

That maybe we would have

data at risk, whatnot.

231

So we really wanted to understand

where people's baseline was.

232

And then we wanted

233

to know what their biggest concerns were.

234

And that was, in fact,

privacy and data security.

235

That was the top thing where people

were like, I want to try it out,

236

but I'm nervous that if I say

237

something, it's going to suddenly be

training public models on my data.

238

Yeah.

239

Thomas: So that's interesting.

240

You have great employees

who care about that stuff.

241

So actually, it probably has

to do with other trainings and

242

onboarding and things that you've

243

got going on.

244

It sounds like the first baseline

where you're trying to just get an

245

understanding of your population.

246

It sounds like you segmented under either

skeptic, novice, explorer, or there's

247

some advanced and a super user.

248

And

249

so that's interesting.

250

So you got like a baseline of like

where like folks thought they were.

251

And from there, what do you do next?

252

Even before that, like

what was the intent?

253

Like why?

254

What was the trigger for you

to even send out the survey?

255

Stephanie: It's interesting.

256

Back in 2023, when this really started

to become something that seemed to

257

be popping off, we came out with

an AI principles that were fairly

258

generic, basically, try it out, use it,

259

but don't say anything that

is proprietary information.

260

And it shouldn't be the only

thing that you're using.

261

At the time, I think there was

much more fear around the kinds of

262

output that you would get from AI.

263

And we had everyone do fairly

generic courses at the time we

264

were using LinkedIn Learning.

265

Just about what is AI.

266

What is a large language

model and things like that.

267

And then basic understanding of it.

268

And we really wanted to get more

specific around how folks could use it.

269

So it wasn't just, I'm trying

to draft an email or I'm writing

270

a brainstorm or something.

271

And more actual tasks that people use.

272

And not to say that AI isn't great at

273

crafting an email, but just that there

were more opportunities out there.

274

We also wanted to make sure

that our employees knew that

275

we were prioritizing it.

276

So it wasn't just like

a flavor of the week.

277

We're interested in this.

278

We're going to forget about it tomorrow.

279

So we did the survey.

280

And then from there is really

when we started launching

281

into more of a show and tell.

282

We have people who are super users,

283

let them show us the ways

in which they're using it.

284

So that was really the

next step of the journey.

285

Thomas: Just to make sure I understand.

286

So in 2023, you'd set up some principles.

287

And so there was already,

288

it's in the water, people are

using it on their own, their

289

subscriptions, with some guidelines

290

about how you can use it.

291

But then in 2025, it sounds

like the trigger was you wanted

292

to have more structure around

293

how you can get people from the

most surface level use cases

294

to go deeper into specific

295

workflows so that it can actually

make an impact on productivity

296

and just fundamentally

297

how the functions or whichever

function you're in, how you operate.

298

So that was a trigger for the survey,

if I understand that correctly.

299

Exactly, yeah.

300

But then you got these results.

301

And then was it as you expected

in terms of like most people using

302

it once a day or for everything.

303

Especially as you're looking at it

as an L&D team or like an exec team

304

in terms of what you want to do next?

305

Or did it surprise you and you

had to pivot the L&D approach?

306

Stephanie: Actually, I feel like

it was surprising in a positive

307

way, where I think I assumed that

308

there would be more people who

identified as novices, people

309

who never used it, people who

310

were very against the idea of

incorporating it into their work.

311

But it was really exciting to see

that people were really ready to jump

312

in with both feet and try it out.

313

What they were missing was that

314

evangelizing and maybe the

hands-on workshops to really

315

see what it could look like

in their day-to-day work.

316

So that it was less theoretical

and more so tactical that they

317

could really start using it.

318

Thomas: So it sounds like your

strategy for that, you did next was,

319

so you have the LinkedIn Learning and the

generic, like understanding what LLMs are,

320

like how to use things so

that people are at that level.

321

But then you went to

322

getting your super users

who are self-identified to

323

start doing show and tells.

324

So the idea is evangelism, right?

325

So tell me more about that,

what you did post-survey.

326

Stephanie: Yeah.

327

So after the survey, we did

it right before we had an all

328

company offsite, which we hadn't

329

done in a few years.

330

It was a great opportunity to

get us all together in person.

331

And one of the sessions

332

that we focused on was the kickoff

of this AI show and tell, because

333

we had certain teams of people

334

for certain client groups were

beginning to really incorporate it

335

in their day-to-day work for those

336

clients and wanted to show it

off to the rest of the employees.

337

And again, I am coming in as a skeptic.

338

I was not a person who

339

was using it every day.

340

I was a little hesitant,

especially around security.

341

And one of the AI

342

platforms that we have in our

work tech stack is Gemini.

343

We use Google Workplace.

344

So to me,

345

I thought Gemini was just that little

pencil icon that pops up when you're

346

writing an email that says refine.

347

And I truly did not

348

realize that it had its own

sort of ChatGPT-esque platform.

349

And I didn't know about

all of the other use cases.

350

I didn't know about Gems,

which is essentially Gemini's

351

custom GPT, or I didn't know

352

about Notebook LM.

353

And so in these show and tell

sessions, employees that I trust,

354

that I work with, that I look up

to, the group how Notebook LM had an

355

audio generating feature or the power

356

of gems to cut out the constant

prompting of your Gemini.

357

And it was really great, I think,

358

that we did it in person

because you could really see

359

people's wheels turning and a lot

of aha moments, not just my luddite

360

aha moment, but people asking

361

questions and really starting

to think about the ways that

362

they could use it themselves.

363

And so

364

that was really the first iteration.

365

And from there, we now do

AI spotlights monthly in our

366

all hands.

367

So we're always, again, just trying to

368

find, hey, this is an opportunity

that we use specifically with

369

this piece of AI to help this

370

client.

371

And then we do biweekly show and tell

sessions every Friday, every other

372

Friday, around different use cases.

373

So most recently, we did building a GPT.

374

We've done building media lists,

which is something that PR

375

professionals do, things like that.

376

So it's been really interesting

and just a really great, they're

377

informal, they're discussion-based,

someone's sharing their screen and

378

then it opens it up for everyone

else to jump in and build their own.

379

And yeah, it really generates

a lot of enthusiasm, I think.

380

Thomas: So let me ask, so it

sounds like you're doing a lot of

381

bottom-up sharing, just leveraging the

382

work that's already happening

and trying to help that spur

383

it to spread even further.

384

On the other hand, another tactic

is the, which we talked about

385

a little bit earlier, is about

having a mandate, let's say, right?

386

Everyone needs to be using X and you need

to show Y progress in any kind of way.

387

Was there anything communicated in

that from an executive communications

388

level that's like more mandate-like,

389

or is it completely all about

just, hey, opt-in and it's in the

390

culture that like managers would

391

recommend, hey, you probably want

to attend this or you should show

392

this off.

393

How did you balance that part?

394

Stephanie: So we got

another group of people

395

together back in 2023.

396

We had an aI task force.

397

We got the gang back together

with a couple new super users

398

and we came out with an updated

399

AI principle.

400

Around our philosophies and around

the way that we want AI to be used.

401

And again, we're not

402

mandating it.

403

It's not that intense, but

it's more so about how if

404

you're using AI, you still need

405

to have human oversight.

406

You still need to be

doing quality control.

407

We own our output.

408

We need to also be fact-checking, we

need to make sure we're eliminating

409

bias, all of those things.

410

And then also, what do we recommend in

terms of the most secure AI platform?

411

We have a paid Gemini account, we have

412

a paid Team GPT account.

413

And if you're using something like

Claude or ChatGPT, make sure that use

414

it with a paid version so that you

can opt out of training their models.

415

I think those kinds of guidances are

really important so that we're not just

416

letting people go willy-nilly and then

inheriting that risk that comes with it.

417

And then the last part of it

is about continuing to grow.

418

It is going to continue to evolve.

419

We're going to continue to evolve with it.

420

We are not, we're not going

to set it and forget it.

421

If we need to continue to

shape these policies or

422

principles and update them, like

we are definitely going to do it.

423

And the same with the different kinds

of AI opportunities or AIs that we

424

want to invest in and things like that.

425

We're going to keep looking

426

into it to make sure that we are

supporting our staff and that they

427

feel empowered to use it as a tool,

but not completely rely on it.

428

Thomas: Okay.

429

And then can you tell me about,

are you putting this into the

430

onboarding process at all?

431

Or does it even go into the

employee culture to the point

432

of even in job descriptions or

433

in interviews.

434

How does this mindset and

set of activities, if at all,

435

does it apply to the

new employee experience?

436

Stephanie: Yes.

437

So we are definitely

438

putting the AI principles into the

onboarding with the employee handbook.

439

So it is a part of our policies at Mission

North that we expect that folks are

440

using it and we want to make sure that

441

you're using it thoughtfully.

442

We also, in addition to these show

and tells and hands-on trainings,

443

we also rolled out a series of trainings

from section that are focused on PR.

444

So there's four

445

courses that people take

asynchronously, and that is also

446

going to be a part of onboarding.

447

So

448

in addition to attending your

typical compliance trainings at

449

the beginning of onboarding, you'll

450

also have these to watch asynchronously

through the first month with

451

different checkpoints as you

452

go through to make sure that you

feel comfortable and confident.

453

Obviously, because new hires will

454

have missed the sort of hands-on

show-and-tell workshops that have already

455

occurred.

456

So they could watch them, they could

watch a recording, but we also just

457

want to make sure that folks are

checking in with them to say, do

458

you have any questions around AI?

459

In terms of job descriptions and

interview processes, it's definitely

460

a conversation that we're having.

461

Because I think when I talk to

other HR leaders, I think the

462

thing that concerns people the

463

most is a lack of

transparency around AI use.

464

I heard a story about someone doing an

interview and using ChatGPT while they

465

were on the interview to generate answers.

466

That feels a little, again, luddite here.

467

It feels duplicitous from

a HR recruiting standpoint.

468

But at the same time, I think it's okay to

use ChatGPT to improve your resume or help

469

craft a cover letter.

470

And I think it's okay to also

use ChatGPT to craft your job

471

descriptions or things like

472

that.

473

And I think as long as you're being

transparent about where AI is coming in,

474

and then the human component as well,

475

that kind of saves or avoids some of

476

the heartache or confusion

around how it's being used.

477

I think folks rightfully

are concerned about

478

AI assessing resumes and cutting

people without any human check on what

479

the AI is doing.

480

And so I think as long as companies

are being transparent about what tools

481

they're using, the way in which

it works, how they are continuing

482

to have a human touch on those

483

processes, I think people will feel

a lot less afraid of it in general

484

and just more.

485

Also, it creates a level of trust for the

company that you're looking to work for.

486

At Mission North, those are

definitely conversations we're having.

487

We're not quite in those directions

488

yet of adopting AI tools in that space,

but we'll definitely be transparent.

489

I trust that the company

490

will be transparent about any

kinds of extra AI touches that

491

might be a part of those processes.

492

Thomas: I was more

interested in how you talk

493

about expectations.

494

And if you think about your

company at 70% explorer, right?

495

And as your average

496

company has turnover and you're in

a couple of years, a completely new

497

workforce, what is the expectation

for prospective new employees?

498

Because that's, I think, part of the fear.

499

It's almost in 2022, you're trying

to say, are you guys remote?

500

Are you hybrid?

501

I need to understand this.

502

And there's a similar

question, I think, for talent.

503

Are you AI native?

504

What does that mean?

505

Like, how much do I need to know?

506

Am I actually going to be

able to succeed at this job?

507

It's almost like a question

that employers and employees are

508

going to be like navigating as

509

this shift is happening.

510

And I think it's communicated in

job descriptions and sometimes,

511

and oh, how we work and what

we do and things like that.

512

But then I think that is something

513

that's, you're talking about it

with the existing employee base,

514

but then now you have it also in

515

new hire orientation and it's there.

516

And then it goes even upstream into

expectations and even evaluation

517

of skill set to get people started.

518

But it seems at least from what I'm

hearing at Mission North, it's like you

519

want people who are curious and are...

520

even if they've had no exposure,

they're going to be going through

521

this in the onboarding process.

522

And that should be an expectation.

523

If you've literally never

touched an AI tool, you're

524

going to be within the first three

months and you got to get ready, right?

525

Stephanie: Mm-hmm.

526

Yeah.

527

One of our values is stay curious

and another one is test yourself.

528

So I don't think

529

that we would, I don't think having

a lack of AI skills is disqualifying,

530

but I do think that candidates for any

position in any company need to have

531

that continuous learning Mentality

where it is a new skillset that we

532

are all, that we, no one is immune to.

533

We are all learning together.

534

And to have that, that, that feeling of.

535

curiosity.

536

And I think that will set candidates

537

up for success no matter what

job they're applying for.

538

Because I imagine it

was similar when people

539

started using computers or

the internet and shifting the

540

way that they're doing work.

541

I think that we should all take this

opportunity to look at it as an exciting

542

learning adventure, as opposed to

something that is inherently destructive

543

or inherently a bad idea or something.

544

I think it's a mindset.

545

And I think that candidates

in all industries

546

have an opportunity to really say,

I'm working on my skills and I'm

547

ready to jump in where I need to be.

548

And then from the employer side

of things, it's on our end to

549

make sure that we're providing

550

those asynchronous trainings

to give everybody the same base

551

knowledge and then support that

552

experimentation and support

those knowledge sharing.

553

And not just to say, these are the

554

things that I did well, but these are

the prompts that really failed me.

555

Or these are the things that I tried

to do and I came up with a really

556

bad answer or something like that.

557

To show that, to have people

have the freedom and the safety

558

to experiment in that way.

559

Thomas: I love that mindset.

560

Now, let me go through an exercise

with you because you mentioned in

561

the past you're skeptic, luddite,

and also being in on the HR side,

562

you think about risk and policy

issues, but you've had an evolution.

563

So maybe let's like straw man it for you.

564

What are your thoughts about

AI and how it's coming into the

565

workforce and how it could apply

to you and how has that evolved?

566

Stephanie: I think when I first started

hearing about AI, I was eye rolling.

567

I don't really know how

this is going to affect me.

568

I don't really see this

coming into my day to day.

569

And people are talking a lot about it,

570

but it seems different things like NFTs

571

were once something that people

were talking a lot about.

572

So I was skeptical to say the least.

573

And I think over time, especially in this

574

last year and a half, you can

really see it starting to integrate

575

seamlessly with your workflows.

576

So

577

So, you know, at first I remember

people talking about, oh, yeah, I

578

use ChatGPT to look up restaurant

recommendations for my book club.

579

And I was like, that's weird.

580

Isn't that just a Google search?

581

I've never looked at ChatGPT before.

582

And then suddenly, especially

with sort of the support of my

583

company, talking about good prompts

and the ways in which to use it,

584

suddenly crafting better prompts

and suddenly getting better outputs

585

and seeing how asking the right

questions gets you even better answers.

586

When I first started

using it, I definitely

587

asked a question that you would ask a

Google search, give me a list of this.

588

And then I got

589

answers that didn't really help me.

590

And then suddenly to learn,

you need to put in the context,

591

you need to, who is your audience?

592

What kind of output are you looking for?

593

What do you not want to see all of

those things, basically treating AI

594

like an intern, giving them

a lot of specificity, you'll

595

start to see better outputs.

596

And I think, again, it was that

experimentation piece, and that sort

597

of drive from my company and from my

598

industry of AI is not going away,

for Mission North, for HR, for L&D.

599

Better to jump in

600

with both feet than to be afraid.

601

Better to see how it can work

for you versus backing away

602

from it.

603

It really changed my mind.

604

I could really see that there is a

lot of advantages to just playing

605

around with it and just

learning the tools.

606

Thomas: So then a dual

question, looking forward

607

a little bit based on what you've

seen, let's talk about HR and

608

L&D and that function, your job,

609

and this function that we're all

thinking about future-proofing.

610

So how do you think the L&D

611

function is shifting going forward?

612

You've seen it happening

for you as well, right?

613

And then

614

based on that, do you have the

implicit question is what advice

615

would you have for your peers who are

616

in a similar kind of role

working for an organization where

617

there is at least a potential

618

for a lot more adoption

and upskilling with AI?

619

Stephanie: Yeah, I think

in terms of everyone knows

620

that a one-size-fits-all approach

doesn't work and that there are

621

many different kinds of learners.

622

And so you want to be able to hit people

where it is the most effective for them,

623

where they can absorb materials

and it has an impact on them.

624

And I think what's really exciting about

L&D and the AI capabilities is the way in

625

which AI can really assist the kinds of

learning resources that you're creating.

626

So for example, I might be

putting together training

627

and so I'm creating a deck.

628

and I'm customizing it and whatnot.

629

Then I'm creating a resource that

people can refer to after the training.

630

So that's something.

631

And then I'm either giving the

training live or I'm recording myself.

632

With bloopers and all and rewrites and

all, and then distributing that around.

633

And that all takes time.

634

And I'm one person and that is

that is a huge chunk of my day.

635

Whereas if you incorporate AI,

there are capabilities where

636

AI can create videos for you.

637

So you're no longer pointing

around your screen, but you're

638

actually showing something that

639

maybe is visually engaging for

people who are more visual learners.

640

And that also isn't just your

face or a deck that you created.

641

There's also capabilities with AI for

creating those kinds of presentations or

642

resources from those presentations.

643

And then the last thing that I

learned just this year is the

644

capabilities of audio generation.

645

So for those folks who are more audio

learners who want to listen to a podcast

646

while they're taking a walk, all of a

sudden, those sorts of suddenly, that is

647

something that you can create

in a matter of seconds,

648

minutes by just uploading

resources and generating a summary.

649

So there's just a lot more

with getting that time back.

650

Then suddenly you have more time

to work with people one-on-one.

651

Maybe they went

652

through a training, but it's just

not sticking and they need someone

653

to show them they learned by doing.

654

Suddenly you have more

time to devote to that.

655

You have more time to devote

to other areas of upskilling

656

that people are focused on.

657

And a big part of L&D and HR is

658

obviously the soft skills and

getting to know people and

659

working, talking about conflict or

660

things that make people tick or where

they want to go in their careers.

661

And suddenly you have time back to really

focus on those tasks that you can't

662

really put a price on or you can't, those

are the ones that you can't automate.

663

And so I think it just

gives us as L&D and HR

664

professionals an opportunity to

automate and make some of those tasks

665

more efficient so that we can put more

time and energy towards the strategy

666

and the people focus of our jobs.

667

Thomas: Yeah.

668

And actually it sounds like you're

going even further than the automation.

669

It's

670

actually creating a better product.

671

So for less time invested, you're

creating a more personalized

672

product with different

modalities of learning.

673

And also I think what you described around

674

presentation creation and just

content creation is probably just

675

a generic, like for any kind of

knowledge worker who's putting content

676

together can be made more efficient.

677

But then the delivery of that

whole process can happen in less

678

time and yet be more personalized.

679

On top of that, you have more time to work

potentially one-on-one, one-on-two with

680

different individuals to really make sure

that they're getting the most out of the

681

content and also growing and learning.

682

And in that way, you're maximizing your

impact for the organization as a whole.

683

But

684

then I would imagine the

floor starts going up, right?

685

The standards for what can one person

L&D team deliver over time will be,

686

the expectations will go up because

you should be able to do much more,

687

but then you have to experiment

688

along the way to figure

out how to do that.

689

It's hard fought insight.

690

So this is all very interesting.

691

I have to ask.

692

So going forward now with the program,

you've done a survey, you've gotten

693

in all these show and tells, you

incorporated into all hands, you've had

694

incorporation into onboarding meetings.

695

What's next do you think

for your L&D program?

696

Stephanie: Well, we are coming

out with our fourth PR specific

697

course and following that up

with another show and tell.

698

But I think the next step overall is to

really just assess how this summer went

699

and where people identify now.

700

I was looking over the survey questions

701

and just thought, I think we

can probably send this survey

702

maybe a couple of tailored questions,

703

but just the same questions

704

of how do you identify as an AI user?

705

How often are you using it and

really see what the shift has been?

706

Because I know personally, for

me, I would definitely, I have

707

definitely shifted in my AI use, and

I've definitely improved over time.

708

And so I do think that another

survey is in our future.

709

And then I think the next step for us

is also thinking about what kind of

710

agentic AI do we want to incorporate or

711

are there other specific tools

that we want to invest in for our

712

PR professionals outside of just

the tools that we already have.

713

And that's our next iteration is

how can we pinpoint specific tasks?

714

And if it's not something that we can do

with Gemini or Team GPT, is it something

715

that we can do with something

that someone is building for

716

us or for PR firms in general?

717

Thomas: Customized for a function

or just specifically for you guys.

718

Yeah, absolutely.

719

That's the next level.

720

There's so much more to uncover.

721

So excited to see where it all goes.

722

So where can people, how can people

best connect with you, Stephanie, if

723

they want to learn more about you or

what you're doing at Mission North?

724

Stephanie: Yeah, you can find

me on LinkedIn, Stephanie

725

Leal with Mission North.

726

And I'm excited to touch

base with you there.

727

Thomas: Wonderful.

728

Thank you for sharing your journey

personally, as well as how you've

729

seen it, the transformation slowly

but surely happening at Mission North

730

and how you're supporting it and a

little bit of a vision of what how

731

an L&D team supporting an upscale

initiative for an entire organization

732

towards AI that could look like.

733

So that is something that at

least a lot of people are thinking

734

about if not already executing on.

735

I think it's going to be massively

736

valuable.

737

So thank you for the conversation

and for everyone out there who

738

are future proofing your

orgs and your HR teams.

739

Thanks for listening and hope

you had a couple of takeaways and

740

we'll see you on the next one.

741

Bye now.

742

Thanks for joining us on this

episode of Future Proof HR.

743

If you like the discussion, make

sure you leave us a five star

744

review on the platform you're

listening to or watching us on.

745

Or share this with a friend or colleague

who may find value in the message.

746

See you next time as we keep our pulse on

how we can all thrive in the age on AI.