Human at the Core: How HR and AI Drive Care, Culture, and Change

Omar: 00:00:00

If it's a work thing, it's an HR thing.

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And there's a big component of: "Hey, if

it's a People thing, it's an HR thing."

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Because all our employees are

the center of all that we do

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Thomas Kunjappu: They keep

telling us that it's all over.

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For HR, the age of AI is upon

us, and that means HR should

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be prepared to be decimated.

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We reject that message.

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

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Instead, it'll be defined by those

ready to experiment, adopt, and adapt.

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Future Proof HR invites these builders to

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

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

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We are committed to arming HR

with the AI insights to not

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just survive, but to thrive.

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Thomas: Hello and welcome to the

Future Proof HR Podcast, where we

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explore how forward-thinking HR

leaders are preparing for disruption

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and redefining what it means to

lead people in the changing world.

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I'm your host, Thomas

Kunjappu, CEO of Cleary.

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Today's guest is Omar Alhadi, Senior HR

Director at Adobe Population Health - not

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to be confused with the software company.

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Omar leads HR for APH - a fast scaling

multi-state healthcare provider that

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blends population health, social impact,

and human-centered care delivery.

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Under his leadership, the HR team

has evolved from a one-person

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operation—him— to a strategic

function, enabling both internal

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transformation and frontline innovation.

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From navigating acquisitions to embedding

AI in care delivery and HR practices,

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Omar brings a rare combination of

operational depth and cultural clarity.

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Omar, welcome to the podcast.

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Omar: Thank you, Thomas.

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Appreciate it.

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Thomas: Yeah.

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So tell me a little bit about AI.

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Within the healthcare context.

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When I think about an organization

like Adobe Population Health, you are

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working in healthcare, you're working

hands-on in caregiving, one of the most

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human things that we can possibly do.

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How do you - if at all - introduce

AI to folks who are caregivers

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and field clinicians in these

very deeply personal roles.

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Omar: Yeah.

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It's a great question.

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I wanna take it a little bit back to

the start of the organization and how it

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started and what the model of care is.

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And the idea behind it is proactive

case management and care management

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to really focus on improving health

outcomes while reducing costs.

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And this is to be done through us

going into the homes of our members

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and rural areas and supporting

them throughout the array and

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challenges of the healthcare system.

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What attracted me first to Adobe, and

this is ties into the structure and

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model of it, was the fact that I was a

primary caregiver for my grandparents.

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And I got to experience firsthand the

many challenges of the healthcare system

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- whether it's going into the hospital,

coordinating care, getting out of the

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hospital, coordinating with specialists

and primary caregivers, whether it's

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case management, whether it is education.

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What needs to happen, there's care

gap solutions and resolutions.

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There's also a lot of social

determinants of health.

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Like I was there to be able to take my

grandfather to the appointments, right?

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I was there to be able to support him and

help him with the financial aspect and

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get him everything he needs from the home.

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But what about the members that are

in rural areas that have nobody?

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So this unique model that was created from

a dissertation by our CEO and and founder,

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allowed us to have that opportunity.

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Now, being that it's such an innovative

company, we've been innovative from

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the ground up in everything that we do.

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So when it comes to the data, right?

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This is a really big important aspect

of it, is how do we use data to improve

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the lives of our members, right?

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Our mission is to positively

impact the lives of our members.

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So how can we use data to do that?

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The human aspect of it is something

that we wanna focus on, but there's

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so many other things that we could use

AI and technology, the tools, right?

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That we could equip our clinicians

with these tools and our support staff.

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Because we have RNs, we have nurse

practitioners, we have social

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workers on staff, we have array

of different types of positions.

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How can we use this tool to help them

improve the quality of life of the

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members and really improve the quality

of service that they're providing.

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So there's a lot of manual

tasks potentially that are used.

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We have our technologies that we use.

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How do we find the opportunities

within those spaces, right?

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To be able to enhance the quality of work,

but also to be efficient and effective

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in delivering those services- allowing

us more time to connect with the members

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directly instead of, say, charting or

capturing notes or different types of

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reviews or those different aspects of it.

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We want to try to eliminate

some of those automations,

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things that we could help with.

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And then that way, they can care

more directly with the members and

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we have more face time with them.

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Thomas: That's interesting because I

think over the last couple of decades

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with digitization coming into every

industry, certainly in healthcare,

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there's so much the patient-doctor

or patient-nurse interaction I've

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personally seen evolve, right?

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From one where you're facing each other

having a conversation constantly to one

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where a majority of the time is spent

with the caregiver behind a screen.

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Taking notes, dropping stuff into

the EMR and it's definitely changed

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the relationship a little bit.

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But then interestingly, you guys have

dug even deeper into technology, right?

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So did I understand it right that

you basically have your own, bespoke

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internal EMR that you've built out?

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Omar: Yes.

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In speaking with our CIO, Chief

Information Officer, Alex Waddell,

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when he first came into the company,

the idea behind it was if you

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could dream it, we could build it.

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And because it was so innovative,

there was nothing off the shelf

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that we'll be able to do that.

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And there is such a big component

of data and business analytics

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to it that's unique, right?

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That's not in the market.

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Most companies have EMR and a business

system or Excel sheets, and they

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collaborate and work with the two here.

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We have it all together, which

enable us to work faster.

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So the team being able to really just

build it off of Salesforce and create our

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own EMR, create our own business system.

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Allows us to be able to have that

level of innovation and creativity

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and to capture the data that we

need, to capture the points that we

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want, to create the workflows that

we want, that we seem deem fit.

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Because again, it's such a

unique company, unique model

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of care, unique space to be in.

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So innovation's key, and it was

from the very start and the team

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has done a phenomenal job coming

into seeing their work in action.

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It's been amazing and every

time we interact it's always

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amazing to see the amount of

innovation that they're working on.

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So it's fun.

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Thomas: That's awesome.

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Then what about from the

employee's perspectives?

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And then we can transition also

to talk about the HR department as

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well, because, there are parallels

here, but is there resistance?

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I know broadly in the healthcare industry,

when I was talking about digitization

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and introduction of EMRs and a lot

of caregivers feel like technology is

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getting in between them and their work

as opposed to aiding them in their work.

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I think the intention here is

to aid and simplify over here.

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Do you have any examples of how that

has come to be, and also from an HR

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enablement perspective, change management

and communication perspective, how have

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you partnered there to enable all these

things coming into the ecosystem and the

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day-to-day lives of the employee base?

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Omar: Yeah.

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Change is difficult.

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our vision is to change how

healthcare is delivered, right?

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So we're from the forefront,

we're very innovative.

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Our CEO is very innovative.

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Our C-suite is very innovative.

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And they love change and

they love to move fast.

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That's why we've been able to grow in such

a rapid face three years now in a row.

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In the ink, 5,000.

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But when it comes to change as our CEO

says, nobody wants change unless it's

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a child needing their diaper changed,

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right?

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It's in all references

that we're humans, right?

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We like structure, we like to do

things- and that's a challenge.

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But I think it's important to set

expectations from the beginning,

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people understand our culture.

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It is our lifeline, it is our

bloodline, and everything that we do.

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So having that from the beginning is

important, but then it's also important

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to understand that on the user side of

things, and even as a practitioner or

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as a support staff, it's tough because

you're trying to do the right thing.

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There's a lot of information.

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It's hard to adjust, it's hard

to learn, it's hard to apply.

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All of this on top of one being out in the

field potentially and seeing members and

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then taking care of the members directly.

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So it's just layer upon layer.

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The challenge is how can

we make it easy for them?

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How can we be proactive about it?

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And it was a big challenge earlier on.

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I think we are getting

much, much better in it.

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And a lot of it has to deal with the order

of operation in which we go about it.

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It has to deal a lot

with change management.

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It has to deal a lot with communication,

has to deal a lot with being strategic on

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the rollouts with regards to the updates.

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It has to be strategic with

regards to emphasizing training

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and spending time for that and

allowing time to adapt and change.

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So all of those different components

are still very important and that's how

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we're able to continue to innovate and do

things is because we understand it's hard.

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But we also understand that it's important

to do and that's how we'll continue to

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grow and innovate as we continue to adapt.

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So it's important to have

that level of flexibility.

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It's important to have

that level of resilience.

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And then ultimately, it's important

for everybody to adopt, to understand

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that: "Hey, this type of culture,

the only constant is change."

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And you have to be okay with that.

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Thomas: Let's talk a little bit more

about that change management and

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specifically the role of HR in such

an environment, which, we're talking

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about a very innovative, rural,

especially healthcare delivery model

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which is leading to a lot of change

and an internally built and implemented

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tool, which needs a lot of change

management and built out on top of that.

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But I think there's a generalizable

story here with a lot of change

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management coming around, how the

skills are expressed in almost any

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function in almost any industry, right?

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Like it's how you accomplish a task is

changing, generally speaking, and you've

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been at the forefront of that because

of the specific model that you have.

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So what has been the HR lens on this?

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For change management or learning

and development, what have you

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been doing to enable this change?

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And do you think it's pulled

anything different from you and

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your team than in times past?

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Omar: Yeah, it's very unique.

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I'll tell you what, for when I first

joined the organization, the HR

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department, there was one person here and

they're doing the best to try to scale and

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do the best to do all areas of HR, right?

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So the idea was: Hey, we need somebody

with some HR experience to come in

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and help the team, develop, grow the

team, build their everything out, build

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their structure out, and support it."

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Luckily, I've had great mentors

in the past that really allowed

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me to have a mindset of thinking

about the future and thinking about

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growth and thinking about everything

as an opportunity to get better.

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And when you have that kind of mindset

and you have a service-oriented mindset,

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for me it was about: "Okay, how can we

service the leaders to service their

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employees, to service the members?"

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And coming in through that lens,

it's really about developing the

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relationships, building the trust, and

then offering support when you can.

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Because there's a lot of things moving.

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We say it all the time.

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It's like we're going down the river and

we're building a boat at the same time.

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So change management sometimes is

not on the forefront, but if you can

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help communicate it to the leaders

and let 'em know: "Hey, if you want

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this to be a smooth, that's possible.

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And if you don't wanna deal with

the headache in the aftermath, of

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constantly having to go back, it's

important just to set things up from

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the beginning and then allow it."

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And as we've been able to grow and

we've able to add structure, add

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positions, add individual help, because

as a startup, initially, everybody's

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wearing multiple hats, right?

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It's important for me, one of the first

things was to identify positions where

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we could actually create those positions,

where we could fill those positions and

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to be able to give the existing leaders

some support so they could focus on

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some of the more strategic functions

and allow us to continue to grow.

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The first and foremost thing that I

did was take a look at that structure

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within itself and saying: "Okay, you

know what, as soon as we hire talent,

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we'll be able to relieve so much stress

off our existing staff to be able to

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put them in positions to succeed and

create new positions that will allow

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them to flourish and continue to drive."

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That was the initial phase, but as

we could continue to go forward, it's

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important to continue to advocate for

increased communication, increased

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order of operation, increased structure.

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And then increase training as it goes

through and everybody's on board.

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That's the good thing, right?

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The leadership is always on board for

anything that helps us move forward,

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anything that helps our employees.

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So for me, it's lucky to be in

a position where we have such a

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supportive leader, such innovative

leaders that are able to act upon it.

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And then opportunistically,

where I can add value to the

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operations, I go ahead and do.

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Thomas: What are you doing in

2025 that you weren't doing in

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previous years as an HR department?

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What's different now in

this moment, do you think?

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Omar: It depends If you're looking

at 2024 or are you looking like 2020.

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Because it's a whole new landscape

with AI and the technologies

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that we have in place.

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I refer to AI as a friend and as a tool.

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As we move forward with the different

technologies, a lot of the things that

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we do now, we still have to do manually.

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And we used to have to

cipher through a lot of data.

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We used to have to figure things out.

250

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We used to have to do our own internal

researches, which we still do but

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things have gotten much faster.

252

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There's much more clarity,

there's much more efficiency.

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And that's a big difference between

where we were and where we are now.

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So in 2025, I think the biggest thing

is actually using the data, using

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the technology to support, right?

256

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In the past we've used it, but we

haven't really implemented it as per se.

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So what I mean by that is that, it

was like on the outside looking in.

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But now we've adopted it and we've

used it more and more that it's

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become part of our daily use.

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Thomas: Can you gimme a

specific example of that?

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Like in the past you're talking

about data analysis, for example,

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like performance review or comp

planning or talent pipeline and then

263

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used to leverage it or not do it.

264

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What do you mean?

265

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Omar: Yeah.

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it's everything from the

entire employee lifecycle.

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Whether we're talking about change

management, so we could focus on that.

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It took time to create

communication plans.

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It took time to point out certain

aspects that you need to focus on.

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It took time to create FAQs.

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It took time to cipher through

survey data, to find patterns,

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and to dissect it even further.

273

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And so all of those different components,

there's a lot more adoption in 2025

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than there was previously in say, 2023.

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Thomas: So are you saying it's easier

or more efficient to accomplish

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any one of these tasks today?

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And just because of that things that

there was no time to accomplish that

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in the past, so it wasn't really

getting done, it's getting done

279

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more often or you're going deeper

in with all these type of workflows?

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Omar: Absolutely.

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When it was introduced, It's a new tool.

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You really don't know how to use it.

283

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You don't know how to adopt it.

284

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You don't know the futures of it, right?

285

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So it's relatively new.

286

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And just like anything, even going back to

healthcare space, do you really trust it?

287

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What's the intent behind it?

288

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Is it really accurate?

289

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All those different components

with anything, right?

290

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With practice, you start to see:

"Okay, here's an opportunity

291

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where I could use this.

292

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Here's another opportunity.

293

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Let's try it with this,

let's try it with that.

294

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Let's see what it was."

295

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Initially it was just simply

to redraft an email, right?

296

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And now, we're taking it to where

it's helping us with analytics

297

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and helping us figure out what's

our next with recommendations on

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next steps and things like that.

299

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For me, I use it almost in

every aspect like a friend.

300

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It's almost like a subconscious in a way.

301

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Thomas: So tell me, for you

personally, what's a use case that

302

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has really surprised you with AI,

specifically within the HR kind of

303

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landscape that this actually helps me?

304

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Omar: For us, obviously, we mentioned

we're in rural areas, right?

305

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So from a talent standpoint,

we're trying to find talent.

306

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We talk about all the time, right?

307

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Fishing from small ponds.

308

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Because we need people with certain

certifications, certain experiences,

309

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and then that are willing and able to

drive and go into members' homes, right?

310

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And to be able to support the members.

311

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So for us, that's a

very unique talent pool.

312

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So how do we reach them?

313

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And certain areas now, we became very

efficient in the state that we operated.

314

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But as we expanded to Nevada, as

we expanded to New Mexico, Oregon,

315

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California, as we keep going, there's

a lot of these rural areas that

316

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is really hard and it's very time

consuming to find the right talent.

317

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So for us, for example, we use AI

sourcing to help us source talent

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for us to be able to engage with them

and see if it'll be a good fit for

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them and for us as we move forward.

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That's an example of that where

sourcing takes a lot of time in the

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talent space and that's one of the

things that could help with is that it

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looks at a lot of different databases

and gives you some recommendations

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based on what you're looking for.

324

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That's been a big help on that front.

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This has been a fantastic

conversation so far.

326

00:17:51,944 --> 00:17:54,734

If you haven't already done so,

make sure to join our community.

327

00:17:54,974 --> 00:17:57,644

We are building a network of the

most forward-thinking, HR and

328

00:17:57,644 --> 00:18:00,824

people, operational professionals

who are defining the future.

329

00:18:01,304 --> 00:18:03,914

I will personally be sharing

news and ideas around how we

330

00:18:03,914 --> 00:18:05,924

can all thrive in the age of ai.

331

00:18:06,284 --> 00:18:09,269

You can find it at go cleary.com/cleary

332

00:18:09,699 --> 00:18:10,309

community.

333

00:18:10,934 --> 00:18:11,774

Now back to the show.

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Thomas: That's a great win.

335

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So then, earlier in the conversation

we're talking about the impact

336

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of AI usage for the organization

and primarily, care staff, right?

337

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And given that you're in healthcare

and some of the challenges, but

338

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as well as the innovation that

you've taken on to enable that.

339

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But then we've just been now

talking about the HR side as well.

340

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Do you see there is like a parallel

there or is there something unique or

341

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different, do you feel about the HR use

cases that AI can leverage versus the ones

342

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in your case, in your industry, right?

343

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What you're doing for caregivers.

344

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Are there any nuances there or

is it pretty much the same things

345

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like: "Change management is hard.

346

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Look for the simple

wins, for efficiencies."

347

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But is there anything different?

348

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Omar: Yeah, I think for HR and any

support function, the use of that

349

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data is easily adaptable and you

could work through a little bit more.

350

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Because you're focused on employees,

you're focused on industry.

351

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There's a lot more things

you could work with, right?

352

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You have a lot more variables

that you could look through, a

353

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lot of things you could use for.

354

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In the healthcare space, it

is a little bit more limited.

355

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But there's also a lot

of opportunities, right?

356

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They're endless.

357

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For example, one of the things that

we use AI for is our case management

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team, they have to present to the health

plans at a random, 10 different members.

359

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And they have to look in the charts

and they have to gather information,

360

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create presentation, talk about their

summaries, talk about all the different

361

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components, and present on that.

362

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That potentially took an

hour or two hours to do.

363

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Now with AI, we've embedded in

there, it takes the individual

364

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data, it summarizes it.

365

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So now the practitioner could take

a look at the summary, take a look

366

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at the charts, validate its usage,

validate its accuracy, validate its

367

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information, build on it, right?

368

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It's directional help, but it

eliminated, almost 50%, close to 80% of

369

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their time that they would, normally.

370

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So this gives them back more time to focus

on the members and to be able to assist.

371

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So there's opportunities like that,

that the team has worked through.

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They're also working on, for example,

transcriptions as simple as that.

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Like they're at the member's home

instead of having a chart, use the AI

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tool to capture some of that information

and be able to potentially, leave

375

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it for them where they could chart

appropriately, review it and approve it.

376

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So it's things that, it's a tool to

enhance their service delivery model.

377

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And there's a lot of opportunities

for that because again, the idea

378

00:20:41,226 --> 00:20:44,796

is save them some time, save them

effort, but then give them more

379

00:20:44,796 --> 00:20:47,046

time and more focus on the member.

380

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Thomas: So the use cases are endless.

381

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I love that they're just coming

off the top of the dome, right?

382

00:20:50,741 --> 00:20:52,776

Like in this case, for the care provider.

383

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So in both these use cases,

transcription recording, recording

384

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plus transcription for note taking, or

the first example that you mentioned,

385

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Omar: summarizations

386

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Thomas: Right.

387

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Let's call it a monthly process and

you're trying to summarize and create

388

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some data, and create a presentation.

389

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Tell me about the change

management element of that.

390

00:21:08,106 --> 00:21:11,126

So how does this get introduced

as a concept in the organization?

391

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Is everyone on board?

392

00:21:12,746 --> 00:21:17,066

How do you make that the standard

operating procedure and what's

393

00:21:17,066 --> 00:21:19,706

your role in enabling that?

394

00:21:20,096 --> 00:21:24,226

Omar: Yeah, so it's very unique because in

this particular area, I have very limited

395

00:21:24,406 --> 00:21:28,806

kind of support, but what the team has

done in the past, and they continue to do.

396

00:21:29,076 --> 00:21:32,746

As we know, clinicians, especially

licensed clinicians, they're

397

00:21:32,806 --> 00:21:35,986

responsible for their own integrity

essentially- of course, you have

398

00:21:35,986 --> 00:21:39,566

the organizational integrity, but

they're also held accountable to

399

00:21:39,566 --> 00:21:41,336

their licenses, to their boards.

400

00:21:41,516 --> 00:21:45,531

So they have a personal invested

interest into making sure that: "Hey,

401

00:21:45,531 --> 00:21:48,381

what I produce is not only accurate.

402

00:21:49,146 --> 00:21:52,686

But it's to the best of my ability,

and is it within the guidelines

403

00:21:52,906 --> 00:21:55,346

of my certification or degree."

404

00:21:56,336 --> 00:21:59,976

And it's important to realize that,

and that's why sometimes change can

405

00:21:59,976 --> 00:22:03,756

be difficult because there could be

some additional personal risk, right?

406

00:22:03,756 --> 00:22:05,256

It's not just organizational risk.

407

00:22:05,466 --> 00:22:08,376

There's also sometimes personal

risks associated to clinicians

408

00:22:08,616 --> 00:22:10,236

as it relates to delivering care.

409

00:22:10,626 --> 00:22:14,856

So what the team has done is

that they've worked on a project.

410

00:22:15,006 --> 00:22:18,016

They'll ask for our clinicians

and say: "Hey team, we are working

411

00:22:18,016 --> 00:22:19,976

on this option, can we pilot it?

412

00:22:20,516 --> 00:22:25,676

Can we work with you on it and

partner together and see what it looks

413

00:22:25,676 --> 00:22:27,176

like and see how it can help you?"

414

00:22:27,866 --> 00:22:31,446

And luckily again, everybody's moving

in the same direction when it comes

415

00:22:31,446 --> 00:22:34,671

to how can we positively impact

the lives of the members we touch.

416

00:22:35,841 --> 00:22:38,341

And if we could do that in the most

efficient way, we have a lot of

417

00:22:38,341 --> 00:22:40,051

open-minded clinicians willing to do that.

418

00:22:40,051 --> 00:22:44,231

So they take a couple and they work with

them, and then they start using them.

419

00:22:44,981 --> 00:22:49,631

And now, they've become essentially

a testimonial with the product or the

420

00:22:49,631 --> 00:22:51,881

new project or the new innovative way.

421

00:22:52,006 --> 00:22:54,851

So they go back and they say:

"Hey, this is how we're using it.

422

00:22:54,851 --> 00:22:56,171

This is how it's helping us."

423

00:22:56,501 --> 00:22:59,171

And then they talk to their

peers directly about it.

424

00:22:59,531 --> 00:23:01,841

And their peers are like:

"Hey, great, just love this."

425

00:23:02,031 --> 00:23:02,786

You're saving time

426

00:23:02,786 --> 00:23:05,696

Thomas: and you're using it, I respect

you and I want to do it as well.

427

00:23:06,086 --> 00:23:06,416

Let's try it out.

428

00:23:06,926 --> 00:23:07,136

Yeah.

429

00:23:07,136 --> 00:23:10,856

It's almost like internal product

development and you're doing an internal

430

00:23:10,856 --> 00:23:16,586

pilot for any even process kind of shift

and moving the the pebbles along, right?

431

00:23:16,586 --> 00:23:19,666

So until you have something much

bigger, as you keep going through that.

432

00:23:19,736 --> 00:23:21,566

It sounds like the culture is top down.

433

00:23:21,836 --> 00:23:22,896

But hey, we're innovative.

434

00:23:22,916 --> 00:23:24,116

We're focused on this mission.

435

00:23:24,356 --> 00:23:29,746

But any specific workflow change or

innovation is a lot more bottom up, right?

436

00:23:29,746 --> 00:23:32,006

So the team is piloting and

there's a couple of people who

437

00:23:32,006 --> 00:23:36,096

are gonna try it and then it

escalates and snowballs from there.

438

00:23:36,246 --> 00:23:37,026

That's really interesting.

439

00:23:37,026 --> 00:23:41,041

So I don't wanna let you go

without talking about acquisitions

440

00:23:41,106 --> 00:23:42,066

'cause you've done a lot there.

441

00:23:42,426 --> 00:23:48,516

And I think you might have some ideas

about what a future-looking, acquisition

442

00:23:48,546 --> 00:23:50,526

workflow might look like for HR.

443

00:23:50,526 --> 00:23:56,186

So tell me a little bit about your

work on the HR side with acquisitions

444

00:23:56,186 --> 00:23:59,526

and how you see that evolving, with

each one and also in the future.

445

00:24:00,126 --> 00:24:00,336

Omar: Yeah.

446

00:24:00,336 --> 00:24:03,216

Acquisitions are a lot of fun, but

they're also a lot of work, right?

447

00:24:03,216 --> 00:24:08,951

Because potentially you're acquiring

a company and a similar industry.

448

00:24:10,061 --> 00:24:14,351

In a different state with different

folks, different companies,

449

00:24:14,801 --> 00:24:17,111

different cultures, right?

450

00:24:17,111 --> 00:24:18,641

So how do you approach this?

451

00:24:19,361 --> 00:24:24,411

And you dive into it by saying: "Okay,

how can I gather as much information as I

452

00:24:24,411 --> 00:24:29,211

can to take a look at their current state

and understand what's our future state?

453

00:24:29,241 --> 00:24:31,431

How can we bridge the gap

and how can we make it fast?"

454

00:24:31,626 --> 00:24:32,916

So for me, I've used it.

455

00:24:32,976 --> 00:24:36,326

Hey, let's take a look at the state

and let's take a look at compliance.

456

00:24:36,686 --> 00:24:38,276

Let's take a look at

what's needed for setup.

457

00:24:38,576 --> 00:24:40,016

Let's take a look at the company.

458

00:24:40,076 --> 00:24:41,276

Let's take a look at leadership.

459

00:24:41,276 --> 00:24:44,436

Do a deep dive into the

company, the research aspect.

460

00:24:44,436 --> 00:24:48,826

Because before I got in HR, I was really

a data analyst for a financial company,

461

00:24:48,886 --> 00:24:53,986

and we used to research companies,

so we used to do a deep dive on both

462

00:24:54,056 --> 00:24:58,346

domestic and international companies and

strategic partners, and all kind of data

463

00:24:58,346 --> 00:25:00,176

gathering used for business intelligence.

464

00:25:00,336 --> 00:25:04,196

So for me, being involved with

data, this is my home, so I

465

00:25:04,196 --> 00:25:05,636

like to do a lot of research.

466

00:25:05,906 --> 00:25:09,446

The more information I have, the

more I can then customize a plan.

467

00:25:09,776 --> 00:25:12,716

The more I can help, lead our

efforts to be able to do that.

468

00:25:12,716 --> 00:25:15,836

So it's really across the board,

even as we look at the company, of

469

00:25:15,836 --> 00:25:18,816

course we're doing deep dive on the

company from an external standpoint.

470

00:25:18,816 --> 00:25:19,416

Pre-acquisition.

471

00:25:19,746 --> 00:25:19,926

Yeah.

472

00:25:19,926 --> 00:25:20,526

Pre-acquisition.

473

00:25:20,526 --> 00:25:22,956

We haven't really engaged in the

conversation, but then we start taking a

474

00:25:22,956 --> 00:25:28,006

look at their positions and take a look

at the market for those positions in that

475

00:25:28,006 --> 00:25:30,481

particular area from a talent standpoint.

476

00:25:30,531 --> 00:25:33,141

And we start to take a look at what

their salary looking range is, 'cause

477

00:25:33,141 --> 00:25:34,671

I don't know what's everywhere.

478

00:25:34,671 --> 00:25:37,671

And so you start to take a look

at that and then, because you're

479

00:25:37,671 --> 00:25:40,821

thinking about how to integrate into

your organization potentially as

480

00:25:40,821 --> 00:25:42,651

well and what does that look like?

481

00:25:42,771 --> 00:25:46,211

So all those different components

throughout the entire chain is, you're

482

00:25:46,211 --> 00:25:48,551

looking at it, from a pre standpoint.

483

00:25:49,151 --> 00:25:52,211

And then when it comes time to

actually start engaging, having those

484

00:25:52,211 --> 00:25:55,711

conversations, then it's a matter of

whether it's notes capturing, whether it's

485

00:25:55,711 --> 00:26:00,371

summarizations, whether it's those types

of tasks that are helping with efficiency.

486

00:26:00,371 --> 00:26:02,201

And it helps a lot in that area.

487

00:26:02,511 --> 00:26:05,541

And then you're taking a look at

employee sentiment by sending surveys,

488

00:26:05,841 --> 00:26:09,721

gathering the feedback, slicing and

dicing, taking a look at patterns,

489

00:26:09,781 --> 00:26:13,261

sediments, and seeing how you could,

again, make it a smooth transition

490

00:26:13,531 --> 00:26:17,621

and make it the best kind of employee

experience as possible for existing

491

00:26:17,621 --> 00:26:19,361

staff and future staff, potentially.

492

00:26:19,731 --> 00:26:23,391

So taking a look at the entire chain

and utilizing this tool of data,

493

00:26:23,571 --> 00:26:28,561

technology and AI to be able to

help you do all of that work much

494

00:26:28,561 --> 00:26:33,011

faster and much more efficiently,

and hopefully, more effectively.

495

00:26:33,926 --> 00:26:37,166

Thomas: So within the world of

acquisitions, is there any new work that

496

00:26:37,166 --> 00:26:41,486

you're doing because you're able to,

that you were not able to do before?

497

00:26:43,836 --> 00:26:44,616

Omar: That's a great question.

498

00:26:44,616 --> 00:26:47,976

I think it's just having access to

data and be able to do it faster

499

00:26:47,976 --> 00:26:49,056

is really the name of the game.

500

00:26:49,056 --> 00:26:50,526

I don't know if there's anything new.

501

00:26:51,086 --> 00:26:53,386

Because I was involved

in previous acquisitions.

502

00:26:53,626 --> 00:26:56,876

I think sharing and getting

data is much faster.

503

00:26:57,631 --> 00:27:01,446

And that's newer, I guess, in that

space because previously it'll take

504

00:27:01,446 --> 00:27:04,856

a lot more time to communicate,

coordinate, share, build trust.

505

00:27:05,096 --> 00:27:07,076

So the process has gotten much faster.

506

00:27:07,406 --> 00:27:09,026

So it's a lot more

efficient and effective.

507

00:27:09,026 --> 00:27:10,196

I don't know about new.

508

00:27:12,056 --> 00:27:12,416

Thomas: Got it.

509

00:27:12,446 --> 00:27:14,516

Are you involved in pre-acquisition?

510

00:27:14,546 --> 00:27:18,086

'Cause that's and the HR role has

changed a little bit, where I think often

511

00:27:18,086 --> 00:27:22,566

there is a due diligence on the talent

side, even beyond executive leadership.

512

00:27:22,866 --> 00:27:26,736

Is that something that you're seeing,

like more involved in that assessment

513

00:27:26,736 --> 00:27:29,886

or when you're talking about data

sharing, it's even in the pre-close

514

00:27:29,916 --> 00:27:32,716

stages to help provide an HR lens.

515

00:27:32,776 --> 00:27:33,286

Is that true?

516

00:27:33,976 --> 00:27:34,996

Omar: Yeah, I think so.

517

00:27:35,026 --> 00:27:36,796

Now I think, there's phases, right?

518

00:27:37,066 --> 00:27:40,536

So the initial phase, there's the

initial talks, seeing how it fits.

519

00:27:40,746 --> 00:27:45,006

There's the financial aspect, those types

of things happen, seeing if it's a fit.

520

00:27:45,226 --> 00:27:48,676

So senior leadership, executive CEOs,

they're working on that part of it.

521

00:27:48,916 --> 00:27:52,606

I think it comes in to discovery phase

on the second side of things, right?

522

00:27:52,606 --> 00:27:53,926

So it's Hey, we are interested.

523

00:27:54,036 --> 00:27:55,116

let's do a deeper dive."

524

00:27:55,116 --> 00:27:56,826

And in that phase, we become involved.

525

00:27:57,421 --> 00:28:00,271

And able to support the organization

from that standpoint and all the way

526

00:28:00,271 --> 00:28:04,111

towards, of course, right before close,

because there's financial aspects

527

00:28:04,111 --> 00:28:07,591

as relates to employees and employee

rosters and all those things as well.

528

00:28:07,596 --> 00:28:09,066

So there's a small element of that.

529

00:28:09,416 --> 00:28:11,366

And then of course, during the

transition, because you have

530

00:28:11,366 --> 00:28:12,746

to onboard everybody, right?

531

00:28:12,746 --> 00:28:15,746

So you have to create those plans,

communication plans, et cetera, et cetera.

532

00:28:16,156 --> 00:28:18,466

You have to work with the employees,

work with their leaderships.

533

00:28:18,466 --> 00:28:19,756

You have to create job alignments.

534

00:28:19,756 --> 00:28:22,406

You have to create new job

descriptions, you have to get those

535

00:28:22,406 --> 00:28:25,346

positions posted, you have to give

them an idea of what that looks like.

536

00:28:25,346 --> 00:28:28,581

Bring 'em onto the organization

and all of those different pre-hire

537

00:28:28,581 --> 00:28:30,201

essentially, if you're doing all of that.

538

00:28:30,501 --> 00:28:31,941

There's integration of benefits.

539

00:28:31,941 --> 00:28:34,631

There's an integration of all

those different components.

540

00:28:34,631 --> 00:28:36,761

So you're heavily involved in that stage.

541

00:28:36,941 --> 00:28:40,541

And then of course, afterwards making

sure that the transition went, they're

542

00:28:40,601 --> 00:28:44,201

onboarded, they have what they need, and

that you're supporting them effectively

543

00:28:44,201 --> 00:28:48,211

and supporting the leaders to be able

then to deliver services and move forward.

544

00:28:49,741 --> 00:28:53,171

Thomas: So let's look forward a bit

together if we could, as we close out

545

00:28:53,171 --> 00:28:55,361

here about the future of HR, right?

546

00:28:55,441 --> 00:29:02,116

As you've seen specifically at Adobe,

the evolution from a one person team

547

00:29:02,116 --> 00:29:05,746

to scaling up as well as all the

innovation, both for caregivers as well

548

00:29:05,746 --> 00:29:08,956

as all the things that you've done for

efficiency within the HR organization,

549

00:29:09,346 --> 00:29:14,026

what's your vision for how the

HR function is gonna help shape

550

00:29:14,566 --> 00:29:17,296

the rest of the organization?

551

00:29:17,896 --> 00:29:18,766

How does that change?

552

00:29:19,316 --> 00:29:23,146

Omar: In simplest terms, I was at

the SHRM conference for 2025 in Las

553

00:29:23,146 --> 00:29:25,246

Vegas, or I'm sorry, LA in San Diego.

554

00:29:26,146 --> 00:29:30,606

And one of the things that CEO

of SHRM harped on and they passed

555

00:29:30,606 --> 00:29:35,546

it out, the theme was: "If it's

a work thing, it's a SHRM thing."

556

00:29:35,671 --> 00:29:38,041

So for me, if it's a work

thing, it's an HR thing.

557

00:29:38,251 --> 00:29:41,521

And there's a big component of: "Hey, if

it's a people thing, it's an HR thing."

558

00:29:42,221 --> 00:29:46,741

Because all our employees are the

center of all that we do, right?

559

00:29:46,741 --> 00:29:50,461

How can we utilize talent to be able

to drive the organization forward?

560

00:29:50,671 --> 00:29:56,201

How can we make HR the strategic

growth driver for the organization?

561

00:29:56,201 --> 00:30:00,011

That's been my mindset from the very

beginning, and it will continue.

562

00:30:00,431 --> 00:30:04,401

Now with this new age, I think

it's also important to say how can

563

00:30:04,401 --> 00:30:06,891

we blend high touch technology?

564

00:30:07,756 --> 00:30:12,036

And healthcare values with

high tech HR infrastructure?

565

00:30:12,936 --> 00:30:16,186

Because we wanna automate the things

that we wanna use, the tools that we

566

00:30:16,186 --> 00:30:21,866

wanna use, and we wanna focus more

time and allow our HR members to really

567

00:30:21,956 --> 00:30:27,856

improve the employee experience by

focusing on relationships, coaching,

568

00:30:28,066 --> 00:30:30,316

development, and ultimately our culture.

569

00:30:31,216 --> 00:30:35,586

As we move forward, that's my

vision to support the organization.

570

00:30:35,586 --> 00:30:36,906

It's been that way just now.

571

00:30:36,906 --> 00:30:37,956

It's more enhanced.

572

00:30:38,416 --> 00:30:41,806

But as we build in continued

infrastructure and add additional

573

00:30:41,836 --> 00:30:46,786

layers of leadership and support, we

hope we all hope to continue to find

574

00:30:46,786 --> 00:30:50,296

ways to positively impact the lives of

our members, but for us as well, take

575

00:30:50,296 --> 00:30:53,326

care of our employees so then they

can take care of the members as well.

576

00:30:53,606 --> 00:30:55,916

So all collectively, we're

rowing in the same direction.

577

00:30:57,536 --> 00:30:59,466

Thomas: Alright, we'll

have to leave it at there.

578

00:30:59,466 --> 00:31:00,666

It's a good place as any.

579

00:31:00,666 --> 00:31:05,696

Thank you so much for this conversation,

Omar, where we're talking a bit

580

00:31:05,696 --> 00:31:11,146

about the evolution with a very

innovative model of the technology

581

00:31:11,146 --> 00:31:13,786

and processes that you have to deliver

582

00:31:14,056 --> 00:31:18,076

what is the most human of services, right?

583

00:31:18,076 --> 00:31:18,616

Healthcare.

584

00:31:19,096 --> 00:31:21,566

And making sure people are doing okay.

585

00:31:21,796 --> 00:31:24,766

But you're combining that with technology

to make everyone like more efficient.

586

00:31:24,766 --> 00:31:28,126

And it's really interesting, you talk

about the culture and tone setting at

587

00:31:28,126 --> 00:31:31,066

the top without mandates per se, right?

588

00:31:31,066 --> 00:31:37,006

And it's every single initiative is

almost like an external push with a pilot

589

00:31:37,866 --> 00:31:42,846

key individuals opting in and people

opting in over time as they see others.

590

00:31:42,846 --> 00:31:46,536

And there's a certain level of autonomy

that comes in for all the caregivers

591

00:31:46,586 --> 00:31:49,376

that you're valuing very highly as

your employee base saying we're always

592

00:31:49,376 --> 00:31:53,636

looking to innovate together, but

then there's a shared skin in the game

593

00:31:53,636 --> 00:31:58,991

around the actual way to get to the

care and the outcome, but then setting

594

00:31:58,991 --> 00:32:02,531

that vision at the top and consistently

reinforcing that helps enable that.

595

00:32:02,531 --> 00:32:03,281

It's really interesting.

596

00:32:03,821 --> 00:32:07,371

And of course you're taking that,

by your own actions and also with

597

00:32:07,371 --> 00:32:11,141

your own team into the HR function,

basically most of those things apply.

598

00:32:11,141 --> 00:32:15,851

But I think you mentioned how specifically

in HR and really other operational

599

00:32:15,851 --> 00:32:18,261

roles, you almost have no excuse.

600

00:32:18,261 --> 00:32:22,991

That's like this is the job is to be

operationally efficient and enable the

601

00:32:22,991 --> 00:32:24,581

rest of the team as much as possible.

602

00:32:24,581 --> 00:32:30,671

So it's just core to just keep finding

efficiencies and do that faster than

603

00:32:30,671 --> 00:32:34,311

you did yesterday, because that means

that you can spend more time on more

604

00:32:34,311 --> 00:32:39,261

strategic, items that can actually

make HR a growth driver, right?

605

00:32:39,311 --> 00:32:42,681

A strategic partner for the

business which is the key.

606

00:32:42,731 --> 00:32:46,091

As you pointed out with your vision,

if it's a work thing, it's an HR

607

00:32:46,091 --> 00:32:49,691

thing, should be more and more of

the case for more organizations.

608

00:32:50,591 --> 00:32:55,271

And it can only be the case if HR is

valued and leadership actually has

609

00:32:55,271 --> 00:32:58,911

had good experiences with the team

and seeing that come to fruition.

610

00:32:58,911 --> 00:33:02,501

So that really is something

that we've got to ensure is a

611

00:33:02,501 --> 00:33:04,351

reality, and it's hard one, right?

612

00:33:04,691 --> 00:33:06,621

It doesn't come by just saying it.

613

00:33:07,001 --> 00:33:10,561

So thank you for going through

all those variations of that.

614

00:33:10,651 --> 00:33:14,951

And, for everyone out there who's

listening in, thank you and good

615

00:33:14,951 --> 00:33:19,181

luck to you as your future proofing

your own organizations and your

616

00:33:19,181 --> 00:33:22,841

own HR departments so that we

can all thrive in the age of AI.

617

00:33:23,051 --> 00:33:26,201

Thanks once again to Omar for

this enlightened discussion, and

618

00:33:26,201 --> 00:33:27,221

I'll see you on the next one.

619

00:33:27,431 --> 00:33:27,851

Bye now.

620

00:33:29,961 --> 00:33:33,021

Thanks for joining us on this

episode of Future Proof HR.

621

00:33:33,261 --> 00:33:35,871

If you like the discussion, make

sure you leave us a five star

622

00:33:35,871 --> 00:33:38,751

review on the platform you're

listening to or watching us on.

623

00:33:39,171 --> 00:33:42,111

Or share this with a friend or colleague

who may find value in the message.

624

00:33:42,411 --> 00:33:47,361

See you next time as we keep our pulse on

how we can all thrive in the age on AI.

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