In this episode of the Future Proof HR podcast, Thomas Kunjappu sits down with Lauren Tropeano, Chief People Officer at Docebo, a global AI-first learning platform supporting HR and L&D teams worldwide. Lauren is helping shape what it means to be an AI-first organization—from rethinking learning and development to weaving AI literacy into every level of the employee experience.
Lauren shares how her team is translating a bold AI vision into everyday behavior, creating a culture where curiosity, experimentation, and learning drive transformation. From launching an internal AI Academy to embedding AI in hiring, performance, and team planning, she reveals how HR can make change feel human, safe, and scalable—all while leading by example in a rapidly evolving world of work.
Topics Discussed:
If you’re exploring how to move beyond AI tools to build real cultural capability, this conversation offers a practical guide to embedding AI in your organization’s rhythm—without losing the human pulse that makes it work.
Additional Resources:
How can you ask people to come on this journey unless you
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:enable them to be successful on it?
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:That would be like me saying to you,
like, hey, I want you to sail across an
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:ocean, but you've never sailed before.
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:Oh, my gosh.
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:But yeah, but we're giving you a sailboat.
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:We're giving you like the tool, but you
don't necessarily know how to navigate it.
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:You don't know what you're expecting.
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: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 Kunjappu: Welcome to the Future
Proof HR Podcast, where we explore
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:how forward-thinking HR leaders are
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:preparing for disruption and
redefining what it means to
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:lead people in a changing world.
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:I'm your host, Thomas
Kunjappu, CEO of Cleary.
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:Now, today's guest is Lauren
Tropiano, the Chief people Officer
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:at Docebo, a global AI-first learning
platform supporting HR and L&D teams
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:around the world.
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:With a thousand employees
across North America
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:and EMEA, Lauren is helping lead Docebo's
transformation from the inside out.
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:Translating product ambition
into internal people strategy.
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:Through a company-wide AI academy,
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:intentional mindset work, and L&D
experimentation, she's helping
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:the org to unlock innovation,
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:one team at a time.
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:Lauren, welcome to the podcast.
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:Lauren Tropeano: Thank
you so much, Thomas.
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:So excited to be here and
talk all things AI with you.
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:Thomas Kunjappu: Absolutely.
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:Give us some context about
Docebo, the product, the
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:company, because I think that's
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:going to be very relevant to
our conversation today, right?
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:Lauren Tropeano: Yeah, absolutely.
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:So Docebo is a global company,
like you just mentioned.
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:We have about a thousand employees.
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:We are a leader in AI first
learning, and we provide a
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:multi-use platform to companies
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:of all sizes, enterprise businesses,
as well as more mid-market
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:businesses that help organizations
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:unlock learning and endless
potential in their employee bases.
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:And yeah, we've been
around for about 20 years.
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:And we are just so excited about what
we've got going this AI horizon right now.
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:We're really leading the charge
in the industry on modernizing
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:learning and making sure that we're
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:a leader in this space right now
as companies are really trying to
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:meet the mandate of how to bring AI
and uplevel all of their employees
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:to grow and learn in this new way.
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:So yeah, that's a little bit about Docebo.
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:Thomas Kunjappu: That's exciting.
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:So I want to talk a lot about what you're
doing and leading by example internally.
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:But before we get into that, I'd like
to just ask you to opine or share
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:your thoughts on what
is the transformation.
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:What is happening with learning in
the workplace more broadly, and how
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:should companies be looking to respond?
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:Lauren Tropeano: Learning's
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:changing a lot.
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:The concept is still there, such as
we need humans, we need our people
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:to grow skill sets and evolve,
but the modalities with which
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:people are learning are changing.
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:And that's very similar to how
people consume content, right?
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:Like they don't really
read a newspaper anymore.
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:Some people do, but they consume
content on TikTok, on LinkedIn, on
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:all different types of platforms.
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:The days of going to a physical training
or a classroom setting, those again,
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:those forums do still exist, but
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:there are many more modalities and much
more of a focus on personalization and
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:micro learning and things like that.
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:So we are building tools and evolving
our product every single day with all of
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:our new product releases to really make
sure that we're meeting the needs of the
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:modern learner and that we are both also
able to deliver content and technology
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:tools that unlock that learning in an
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:expedient way, as well as also
making sure that we're supporting
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:L&D professionals as they evolve
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:the function and how content gets created
and authored and all of that as well.
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:So I think
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:personalization's king right
now in this conversation and
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:AI is helping us unlock a lot
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:of that, which is really exciting.
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:Thomas Kunjappu: So let's
zoom out even further.
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:What would you say makes this AI
transformation or this kind of industry
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:shift feel different from others
you've been involved with in the past?
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:Lauren Tropeano: As an HR person, as
a people person, we've been managing
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:changes, major transformations
and changes for a long time.
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:You think about the journey to the
private cloud or even like COVID, right?
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:That was like a massive transformation
in how companies worked, right?
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:It's like overnight,
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:organizations were in offices
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:and then everybody had to
be in a distributed format.
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:That's like wild, right?
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:But the interesting thing
about this transformation
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:is I think it's so exciting
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:because we have no idea
what's around the next corner
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:because the technology is changing so much
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:and it is so fluid.
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:And I think that's both a little, it's
both exciting, but a little bit scary.
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:I also think companies have
the opportunity to author
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:what this next step means
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:for them and how they actually ingest
this period of change and all of that.
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:So I think a more exciting time to be in
a transformation because it's not specific
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:to a business strategy, but it
is actually the next horizon
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:of how work itself is changing.
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:And it is pervasive across all
industries and all environments.
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:was just reading an article where it was
like, interior designers are using this.
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:Electricians are using it.
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:Chefs are using it for recipes.
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:It's not just recipes.
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:It's not just a corporate thing.
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:AI is really changing the
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:way that people like do their work.
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:And I think that's so exciting.
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:Thomas Kunjappu: Yeah,
it sounds like it's like
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:more foundational, right?
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:Yeah.
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:So it's there's promise and peril.
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:It's unsettling, but also
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:there's opportunity.
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:Lauren Tropeano: Yeah.
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:Thomas Kunjappu: You're swimming in it.
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:So if you're thinking about
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:Docebo, would you say that I think
when we're talking previously, there's
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:this concept of an AI first org and
orienting the organization in that way.
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:Would you say that's you guys?
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:And if so, what does that mean?
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:Lauren Tropeano: Yeah, absolutely.
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:For sure.
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:We've really adopted
that moniker internally.
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:And I think you need to name
that for your organization
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:because it really, I think, sets
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:a tone of we really want to be embedding
this into our operating system and
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:our mindsets and just how we work.
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:We want to be AI first, meaning
that we are not only obviously
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:building products in this space,
but we ourselves are operating in
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:such a way that's our orientation.
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:It is not just like, oh, an afterthought
or just some type of a tool that we use.
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:It is like in the rhythm of our business.
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:So yeah, I think it's important
to really be explicit with that
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:as you're trying to influence
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:organizational change.
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:And we have, yeah.
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:Thomas Kunjappu: So let's go
more in depth and internally.
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:What does that mean at Docebo
from a people process, systems,
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:reinforcement, maybe L&D
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:perspective to have that posture.
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:And if you were talking to
your peers about maybe creating
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:a shift like that for their
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:organization, or maybe there's
the demand for that from executive
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:team or the CEO or board,
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:and you're trying to figure out a
strategy to shift in that direction.
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:What are the kind of the levers that you
have and the activities that you might
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:put in place to move in that direction?
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:Lauren Tropeano: Yeah.
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:It first starts with your vision, which
our vision is very embedded in being
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:an AI first technology and AI first
learning company that unlocks that value.
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:So it starts with your vision
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:and then everything I
think stems from that.
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:What that practically means is
really have to be overt with, again,
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:talking about this all the time.
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:You have to understand also by
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:doing discovery, which is something
that we've done, where are you
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:on the spectrum of AI awareness
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:or adoption or innovation so that you can
understand your starting point, right?
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:So one
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:thing that we did was we
actually embedded in our mid-year
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:performance reviews, we embedded
a question, which is not meant
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:to be like a rating or anything,
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:but it was more a calibration
exercise for us to understand
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:where we are as a company.
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:We just created a very simple four-point
scale from AI aware to AI innovator.
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:And we asked managers and employees
to rate themselves on where do you
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:think you are on this spectrum?
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:And that was really meant to
inform where are we today?
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:Where do we hope to be?
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:Obviously
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:we hope to be more on the innovator
side, but it's really important
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:for us to understand the current
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:place of the company so that
we can help bring people along.
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:And so it starts with just again, like
just doing a diagnosis of where are you?
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:Where do you want to be?
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:And then helping people come
along the journey and also
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:thinking about that journey as
something that is really exciting
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:and an invitation to learn
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:and experiment and do all those
things as opposed to it being
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:for otherwise otherwise like for
a lot of people might be like,
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:oh, this is scary, this
is new, this is temporary,
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:those types of things.
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:And we really wanted to be explicit
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:around how we're inviting people
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:to come on this journey
with us and experiment.
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:One of the other things that I would say
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:is really important to
the enablement of this
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:sort sort of posture within
a company is that you
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:have to have a really great set
of tools that are available to
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:people and you have to give them
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:almost like a marketplace
to choose from, right?
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:So most companies have ChatGPT or
they have Gemini, depending upon
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:what tools and technologies are
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:available, but we have a phenomenal
internal IT department and
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:they have done a great job in
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:partnering with all areas of the
business to really understand like,
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:what are the business practices
that you're constantly working on?
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:Like, how are your business operations,
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:how can they be made more
efficient through AI tools?
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:Or what are the things
that you're spending
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:a lot of time on so that they can help
to recommend for us some different tools
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:or technologies that can help make the
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:adoption of AI really easy because it
adds a lot of value for our people.
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:And that partnership with IT
has been huge for us as we
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:bring in like a myriad of really
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:exciting apps for people to just
experiment and play around with.
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:Thomas Kunjappu: I think that's an
interesting point because I know
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:you're not calling it a mandate,
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:but by having a vision and
kind of really pushing this new
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:way of working for everyone,
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:for it to relate for anyone in their
day-to-day, if there's friction
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:between what they're hearing
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:at that messaging level and what
they actually need to do, which
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:is a bunch of whatever it is,
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:a bunch of manual tasks or a bunch of
collaboration that needs to happen.
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:Yeah.
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:If you're able to connect a specific work
task that will help move the ball forward.
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:But a key piece of that is having
a technology forward partners
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:maybe your IT org who can
actually help you those dots.
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:But IT can't help you unless
the folks on the ground know
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:what are the potential pain
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:points that can be solved better with AI.
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:Lauren Tropeano: Yeah, for sure.
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:For sure.
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:And that partnership is so
important because we're able
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:to articulate the rhythm of our
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:work and our business.
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:And then they're able to really provide
us with, oh, hey, there's this tool.
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:How would that potentially help us?
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:So they're almost like an
internal consultancy for us that
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:brings us some interesting new
opportunities to experiment with.
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:And in most functions as well,
we have an AI champion or a
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:small team of people who are like
AI champions who are those early
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:adopters or those first movers
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:within the organization that are really
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:closely partnering with their IT
partner to provide that guidance
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:or be the one to be in a pilot or
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:something like that.
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:And so those people are really helping
to lead the charge, provide those
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:technical requirements and things
like that, and then ultimately
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:be the voice within the function
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:that can help bring people along.
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:And I think that's an important piece too,
because you do need those champions in any
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:type of a change that are
going to have that credibility
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:within the function versus to
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:your point, like feeling like
something was imposed upon
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:you because people don't like
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:that.
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:Thomas Kunjappu: And just
because get very practical.
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:So these champions, are they official?
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:Is there, do they have badges or badges?
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:Do they have dinner parties?
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:Or is it completely organic and
natural and it happens or doesn't
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:in different parts of the org?
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:Because I'm really
trying to get practical.
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:Because if you're really trying to
make this change happen, how much
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:is it bottom up versus top down?
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:Lauren Tropeano: I would say it's
pretty, we've been very lucky in
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:that it feels quite grassroots.
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:Like we didn't have to actually
impose all of this structure
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:around it just because there
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:was a lot of excitement about it.
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:And I think that partly comes
from the products that we're
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:building and the tremendous value
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:that we see like our customers being
able to unlock like through this.
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:So people are like just also excited
to utilize these things themselves.
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:But yeah, I would say it's
not a super formalized effort
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:and different organizations.
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:I'm sure that
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:there are a lot more like formally
committees and things like that.
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:We do have a group like a
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:consortium type group that's
coming together to share best
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:practices and things like that.
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:But for the most part, it feels
grassroots and it's mostly voluntary
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:in the sense of if someone's really
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:excited about it, then
they can get involved.
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:And that I think is the best
way to do it because it really,
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:again, it's like a self-led thing.
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:And that energy, it's
like, it's contagious.
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:You can't really
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:create that unless someone is
passionate about this topic themselves.
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:So those are the people
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:that I think are the best fit
for these types of things.
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:Thomas Kunjappu: So tell me
more about something that I
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:think is more explicit, which you've
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:invested in, which is
the internal AI Academy.
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:Yeah.
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:In some ways, like the baseline, or you
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:want to have everyone to get
to this level of learning.
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:Tell me more about how that came about,
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:what it is, outcomes.
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:Lauren Tropeano: Absolutely.
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:So my peer on our executive
team, we have a Chief Learning
305
:Officer because we are a learning company.
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:And so that's a unique role that not every
company has, but we do have the benefit of
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:having one here at Docebo.
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:So he is my peer and he and I
were talking about, okay, we
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:really want to lead this company
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:through this transformation.
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:How can we make sure that what
we're asking of people is really
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:practical and approachable
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:and also that everyone is
starting from a common foundation.
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:We put our heads together and we
came up with this idea of this AI
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:Academy, which is a homegrown academy.
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:And what we did was we took
someone who was previously in a
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:product kind of marketing role
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:and brought him over to
the learning function.
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:And he was then tasked with,
let's create this essentially
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:like this internal product that we
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:can give to all of our employees
to start them on this journey.
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:And that would give us the peace of
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:mind that everybody in our company
is essentially like de facto,
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:like certified in understanding
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:these like AI foundations.
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:And to be honest, we're still building it.
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:We launched the first, I would say like
the first module or the first iteration of
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:it this summer, and it's been going great.
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:We had very high completion
rates and people really loved it.
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:Essentially what it is, we went out to the
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:organization, we asked them, like,
what would you like to know about AI?
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:Like, where are you?
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:Like, what things are you afraid of?
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:What do you feel like you need to
know in order to talk to customers,
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:in order to talk to customers, in order to
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:talk to your peers, in order to adopt
this in a really thoughtful way?
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:And so we got all that
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:information.
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:And then that team was able to pull
together this academy, which covers
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:things like AI language, right?
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:Like, what are some of
these technical terms?
342
:that are being used.
343
:What do we practically mean about that?
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:What are some best practices in terms
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:of using AI responsibly?
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:Like, what information
should we share with LLMs?
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:What shouldn't we share?
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:And how do we actually use it?
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:Meaning that we have like internal
licenses here at Docebo that can help
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:us protect our proprietary information.
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:You shouldn't just go out on your
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:personal account, like
governance, things like that.
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:And then also just just really good
prompting, how to interact with it.
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:And then also how to sort of apply
your human logic to make sure that
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:whatever you're getting out of the AI
is actually makes good sense, right?
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:Because we know sometimes
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:AI gives us answers to things,
but sometimes they don't
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:always make the most sense.
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:So we still do
360
:have to apply our common logic.
361
:So those are just like some of the things.
362
:But yeah, it's a journey.
363
:And we thought, hey, we can't expect
people to come on this journey,
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:but not enable them, especially
as a learning company.
365
:This was something that was developed
366
:just this year and just rolled out
and people have loved it so far.
367
:So continuing to build it
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:upon that.
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:Thomas Kunjappu: So one of the points
I think you've subtly made is that
370
:because Docebo is learning company
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:and an AI-first company
and the product does that.
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:Obviously you have a lot of talent who
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:is naturally excited and working
in the world of AI like every day.
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:And yet it might vary by department
and in context and experience.
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:So you're doing this AI academy to bring
people at least to some baseline together
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:and share in that learning journey
as you point the direction forward
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:and be aligned in the path forward.
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:Has that impacted your point of
view on onboarding or recruiting
379
:for the organization as well?
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:Lauren Tropeano: Yeah.
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:On the point of recruiting, and I'll
cover onboarding in a moment, to
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:the point of recruiting, we actually
built in specific questions into
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:our initial screens to screen for
384
:AI competency.
385
:Now, we're not looking for AI
expertise in all roles, but we
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:want curiosity and some competency
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:or awareness for every single
person that we hire at Docebo.
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:So it could be like a simple question
like, tell me about how you use AI
389
:in your everyday work, or how have
you used AI to improve your efficiency
390
:or the outcomes or impact of a
391
:specific deliverable or
project or something like that.
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:So for us, it's just testing
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:for curiosity around the topic,
experimentation around the topic,
394
:some of those characteristics
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:that we are really looking
to really build upon here.
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:So that's how we've just, again, started
to very simply and very tactically
397
:just infuse that into the screen.
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:Now, if someone is like a deer
399
:in the headlights, it's okay.
400
:Maybe they're not, maybe they're
not the most competent in this area.
401
:And we should just step back and
reflect, is this a good fit for the
402
:very strong culture we're trying
to build around AI literacy and
403
:competency and all of that, and really
like a curiosity for this topic.
404
:So it's not, again, like a binary
405
:yes or no, but it is something
that helps to give us some signals,
406
:hopefully positive signals that
407
:they'll be able to adapt to the
strong like AI learning culture
408
:that we're building right now.
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:Thomas Kunjappu: I love that as a
babysit before we go on to onboarding,
410
:I just want to reflect on that
411
:because you're, I think in some
ways having an admission that
412
:where we don't know where this is
413
:going to go, what kind of
specific skillset tools
414
:process you're going to need.
415
:But given the prevalence of this
technology globally for a few years
416
:now, we want you to at least be curious
about it and showcase that you're
417
:using it personally in some kind of way.
418
:And that's where you're started.
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:I wonder if the way this
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:evolves is that for each function,
if you're in customer support
421
:or in sales or in marketing,
422
:there's going to be much more
specific expectations over
423
:time that start to become like
industry-wide, if not credentials,
424
:but at least signs of competence.
425
:Because it would be like if you're
asking someone in finance, like,
426
:do you know QuickBooks or some other
kind of tool versus doing pen and paper
427
:for doing all of your corporate finance?
428
:It's not something you
even ask after a while.
429
:It's just a very baseline expectation.
430
:But I think this is a sign that we're at
the nascent stage of the technology that
431
:on the recruiting front, we're really
just trying to filter for curiosity.
432
:Lauren Tropeano: And also maybe even take
that a step further, like a point of view.
433
:Like, oh, I do use this and I
also use it in my personal life.
434
:And I'm excited for these
435
:use cases.
436
:And it helps to give us a little
bit of a window into how excited
437
:the individual is about embracing
438
:this technology in this moment
in terms of transforming
439
:themselves as an individual, as
440
:well as a professional.
441
:And that is, again, when you think about
a characteristic of an employee or a trait
442
:of an employee versus like a skill,
which is like when you use that
443
:when like that QuickBooks analogy
444
:it's like anyone can learn a
software per se but there's like
445
:an inherent curiosity about this
446
:space that's what we're looking
for more so than like a skill
447
:that we could teach which would be
448
:like the difference between the software
versus, again, like an inherent curiosity
449
:about something that's really new.
450
:Thomas Kunjappu: I was just thinking
back to maybe the 80s when personal
451
:computing and software do something
452
:like finance and it's like a new thing.
453
:And if you're that world and
you've experienced that, it's
454
:a market for that curiosity that
455
:you're talking about in that
different eras, but eventually
456
:it just becomes, there's no jobs
available unless you're doing that.
457
:But if that's where the
458
:technology evolves.
459
:But let me ask you more about mindset.
460
:Cause this is interesting.
461
:Cause you said the server, you get
a sense of like where people are
462
:at in terms of their AI adoption.
463
:And then you're leveraging other surveys
and just inputs to understand what
464
:you want to put in
terms of the AI Academy.
465
:But if you zoom that out to
just the broader population or
466
:just think about any industry.
467
:Earlier you were telling me about how
the applications are endless, right?
468
:Like it's in personal life.
469
:It's not just corporate.
470
:It's all types of industries.
471
:across the board.
472
:And yet the things that you mentioned,
like people feel like it's scary,
473
:it's unsettling.
474
:I don't know if this is
just the flavor of the day.
475
:There's been other trends that
476
:have come up and down that this
too shall pass my industry or my
477
:job is safe slash it's the same.
478
:Or there's like a not quite that
mindset of it doesn't apply here, maybe.
479
:I just want to stress
test this with you, right?
480
:Is this mindset do you
think, globally applicable?
481
:I know what we've been talking about
is Docebo and what you're seeing there.
482
:But if we're going to look at any industry
and any employee and or CHROs who are
483
:in vastly different kinds of industries
484
:and company sizes and locations,
485
:what are some of the boundaries
or are there any, right?
486
:Or is this, generally speaking,
globally useful thinking, do you think?
487
:Lauren Tropeano: I do
think it's globally useful.
488
:And again, there's
489
:a lot of layers and nuance to that,
depending upon what line of work you do.
490
:Certainly if you're a
491
:technologist or you're developing these
types of products, your purview for this
492
:type of work or the level of depth that
you'll need to go into is way different
493
:than someone who may be experimenting
with this in their personal life
494
:and doesn't yet have any opportunity even
to utilize this in their professional
495
:capacity because it's still nascent.
496
:But I think that this is, again, as I
mentioned, I think it's like fundamental
497
:shift in how we are working as people.
498
:It's not, It's like a new
tech, it's like the internet.
499
:Like it's just like everything's
just done online now.
500
:It's like the new way of doing things.
501
:How that gets espoused in
different roles or different
502
:industries, I think we will see
503
:over the next coming years.
504
:And I think it's going to
rapidly iterate and be adopted.
505
:But I do think that this is one of
those moments where it's pretty sticky.
506
:I think this is a new way of working.
507
:And I don't necessarily think that
this is going to go analog anytime
508
:soon or that we're going to move
509
:away from this.
510
:But I do think there will be, again,
degrees of adoption and degrees of
511
:relevance based on the type of work that
512
:you do.
513
:Even the most human-centered
jobs, physicians and doctors and
514
:therapists and people who are
515
:doing deeply humanly connected
work are using AI in different
516
:capacities, not maybe necessarily
517
:for all dimensions of their work, but
certainly as a sidekick to help unlock
518
:research and productivity and writing
and like those types of things too.
519
:So I think there's
520
:like universal application.
521
:Thomas Kunjappu: I think that's right.
522
:Yeah.
523
:For doctors, even like all
524
:these examples that you're
saying, like you're, it's just
525
:going to be you're just going to,
526
:it's got to be your psyche if you
want to be both efficient, but also
527
:accurate or better at your job.
528
:So does that mean if I was translating
that specifically, does it make sense
529
:for every academy to have some
version or every company to have
530
:some version of an AI academy?
531
:Lauren Tropeano: I think so.
532
:Thomas Kunjappu: Or
like, when would it not?
533
:Lauren Tropeano: I think so,
because how can you ask people to
534
:come on this journey unless you
enable them to be successful on it?
535
:That would be like me saying to you,
like, hey, I want you to sail across an
536
:ocean, but you've never sailed before.
537
:Oh, my gosh.
538
:But yeah, but we're giving you a sailboat.
539
:We're giving you like the tool, but you
don't necessarily know how to navigate it.
540
:You don't know what you're expecting.
541
:Like the waters, that's a
little bit of an interesting
542
:analogy, but it's quite similar.
543
:It's like you can give people the
technology, but you have to help
544
:them learn it and get educated
545
:and comfortable in that
new dimension as well.
546
:So I think it's incumbent
upon organizations
547
:to actually set their people up
for success and not just throw
548
:them into the deep end of, oh,
just figure it out type thing.
549
:And I do know organizations
are doing that.
550
:And it's like
551
:a sink or swim.
552
:Well, if people can't get on board,
then they maybe don't belong here.
553
:And
554
:I feel that's a bit, that's a bit
harsh for people because this is
555
:a new, you just made that analogy.
556
:It's like, this is a new way
of working for many people.
557
:And I think it's incumbent upon us
to enable that and enable it in a
558
:way that feels safe and fun and like
exploratory as opposed to punitive or
559
:forced or those types of things
that really makes an impression on
560
:people favorably or unfavorably.
561
:Thomas Kunjappu: That's interesting
because that you mentioned that because
562
:I'm connecting the dot between that and
the concept of return to office being
563
:for many companies being like an implicit
way to do round of layoffs when you're
564
:not actually trying to announce that,
but you're just trying to come up with
565
:some policies that make it effectively
sink or swim or just change things up
566
:on people pretty quickly and then expect
attrition and call it good attrition.
567
:But there's a similar
568
:thing here, right?
569
:So we're an AI first company.
570
:All right, here's all the
tools, go nuts, right?
571
:And then you're going to have
different levels of success with
572
:that as from a learning development
573
:background.
574
:So let's talk about the HR
department a bit itself.
575
:So actually, first of all, just
576
:within Docebo, as you enabled the AI
Academy, as well as just everything
577
:that you're seeing in terms of
578
:demand shift from your organization,
from the employees to your
579
:organization in HR, what is
580
:different, if anything?
581
:Does your function
start to feel different?
582
:Are people's day-to-days starting
583
:to feel different?
584
:How is that changing?
585
:Lauren Tropeano: We're on our own
transformation journey, right?
586
:So there's the company.
587
:So actually, let me
step back even further.
588
:There's the industry that's transforming.
589
:There's the company that's
590
:transforming to support the industry
or to even lead the industry.
591
:And then there's the different
592
:functions within a company that
need to evolve and grow to support
593
:the company's transformations.
594
:So we, as a people team, are
also going through this journey.
595
:And I would be remiss if I said,
596
:as a people team are also going through
this journey and I would be remiss if
597
:I said oh yeah we've got it
all figured out because we
598
:absolutely don't and that is
both I think like very real and
599
:also it's still exciting because
600
:we're still writing
this story because again
601
:a lot of this is evolving
602
:what I can say that we are doing is we
use an OKR kind of methodology for goals
603
:and things like that here at Docebo.
604
:One of the OKRs that we have
each quarter is to have everybody
605
:on the HR team, like adopting
606
:some type of AI rhythm
into their work, right?
607
:To either unlock efficiency or unlock,
again, some form of impact in their role.
608
:And so, again, that goes back to just...
609
:Thomas Kunjappu: Sorry,
this is global, right?
610
:You're not
611
:talking about the HR team,
this concept of unlocking some
612
:kind of efficiency with an OKR?
613
:Lauren Tropeano: Yes.
614
:Yeah.
615
:So that is like a global ask, but specific
to the people team, I have asked each
616
:person on my team.
617
:And I think it's important
to just highlight that this
618
:isn't like an ask of the
619
:HR team, because often it
is assumed that these types
620
:of things are happening in technology
teams only, that GNA doesn't
621
:do this stuff or people teams
622
:don't do this stuff.
623
:But we need to be explicit users of
this technology like adopters so that
624
:we can lead the charge again,
within this change for the company.
625
:So yeah, we are trying
to find all different
626
:types of opportunities.
627
:Like it could be something
as simple as like my TA team.
628
:Like we, we had a problem with not
problem, but like a challenge, I would
629
:say with people taking comprehensive notes
630
:in interviews.
631
:So it's okay.
632
:Let's just get them a sidekick
so that we can get higher quality
633
:notes that then can give us insights
634
:into the interview outcomes, right?
635
:That's a very sort of common use
case, but it's just something
636
:that we were adopting.
637
:Or how can we make sure that our
people ops team that answers employee
638
:inquiries and things, they're
not answering the same
639
:question over and over again.
640
:We're actually using
an enterprise-wide tool
641
:that we use Glean that can
help serve up information
642
:for people through a simple just question.
643
:And we actually don't even
need a human interacting
644
:in that environment, right?
645
:So there's very, again, nascent
business cases that are coming up.
646
:But I think the biggest
thing is just inviting people
647
:to think about this as how do
we build this into our workflow?
648
:So that's one thing that we're
649
:doing that has, I think, like
really signaled a shift in how we
650
:work as an HR team, as a people
651
:team.
652
:And then beyond that, it's like, how do
we really, again, think about enabling the
653
:organization on this journey?
654
:And that's not,
655
:it's not just like in the
traditional sense of like, how
656
:do we use AI, but like, how do we
657
:lead an AI first organization, right?
658
:What is our posture or like
our point of view on employees
659
:using AI to write white papers
or things like that, right?
660
:Because I don't know, back even just a
661
:few years ago, it was taboo somewhat
to use AI to author pieces of
662
:work and then call it your own
663
:or things like that.
664
:But it's how do we actually think about
developing a point of view around this?
665
:And then also, what are those...
666
:skills and competencies that
we believe are really important
667
:for this like modern leader
668
:in this type of environment to have.
669
:So there's a lot of different
ways that we are thinking about
670
:this and trying to adjust and
evolve our HR team, but it's still
671
:definitely a work in progress for sure.
672
:Thomas Kunjappu: I love that concept of
embedding the projects into the rhythm of
673
:your planning process or existing process.
674
:In this case,
675
:there's like a quarterly OKR rhythm
and you're just forcing everyone
676
:to stop and reflect and say,
677
:okay, what am I going to be doing
in this next quarter that's aligned
678
:with this particular pillar?
679
:It's a very practical way
of translating the vision
680
:into action throughout the organization.
681
:And great example on governance issues
that just keep cropping up across the
682
:board, which is, I think one of those
things, I think these subtle items
683
:where the people team might
be asked to do, I think I hear
684
:constantly to do more with less.
685
:And that's one of those, another
one of those subtle things of,
686
:oh, here's another more that
687
:like maybe you weren't handling before.
688
:Sticking with the people team, the HR
function, how do you think budgets are
689
:evolving in response to the AI era?
690
:As a naive CFO might
say, everything that is
691
:not revenue generating, we want
to be as efficient as possible.
692
:Let's cut, cut, cut.
693
:And really,
694
:look, now we have AI tools, tooling for
everything to just enable everything
695
:from just invoices to payroll to
just all the administrative work to
696
:just everything that we need to do
697
:there.
698
:And so we can be ever leaner
than ever before, because this
699
:goes into the fundamental thrust
700
:of what we like to talk about here
is what is the opposing view to that?
701
:How do we future-proof HR as a
function in response to that kind
702
:of thinking, which I think is going
to be more and more pervasive.
703
:Lauren Tropeano: I have a
couple of thoughts on this.
704
:The first is with any transformation,
705
:you're typically trying to build something
that's a bit more future-proof while still
706
:running a highly functioning business.
707
:So it's that analogy of changing
the tires on a bus while
708
:you're driving on the highway.
709
:It's hard to do.
710
:So I think the, maybe the naive,
711
:dare I call it like point of view
that, oh, okay, we now have AI.
712
:So that can just like
713
:cut tons of money out of our budget.
714
:I feel like that's a bit
dangerous of a point of view,
715
:because I still think AI
is a great enabler, but you
716
:still need human beings and
717
:employees to guide that AI or
to inform that AI or even build
718
:process around things that are being
719
:automated and to transfer
knowledge and things like that.
720
:So I think it would be naive to think
721
:that it could be like a light switch
that you turn off and then you
722
:turn something else on right away.
723
:It's like any sort of
technology implementation.
724
:It takes time,
725
:right?
726
:So that's the first thought I had on that.
727
:The second thought is, I have
a point of view where work
728
:for humans isn't going away.
729
:AI is actually
730
:a commodity for all businesses,
meaning that all businesses could
731
:potentially have access to ChatGPT or
Glean or whatever these things are.
732
:The thing that makes the AI really
unique and useful and powerful in
733
:organizations is actually the coupling
of the AI with the human beings that
734
:you have in your business.
735
:Because the humans are like the unique
flavor, the thing that differentiates
736
:how AI gets utilized, adopted, integrated,
built, whatever, into your organization.
737
:And that is, and humans
are not commodities
738
:in any way, shape, or form,
739
:which is why we're so beautiful,
740
:because everybody is unique and messy
741
:and all the things that come with it.
742
:But there is, so I don't necessarily
743
:think, again, they're like a one
for one, like certainly certain
744
:roles will be massively changed
745
:and disrupted in some ways.
746
:But going into the idea of how do
we future proof the HR organization,
747
:I see AI as like a massive enabler
to a function that has always been
748
:traditionally resource constrained.
749
:So it's, oh, wait, we still have to
do this foundational body of work,
750
:which is keep the lights on work,
751
:but how can we have AI do that
stuff so that the human beings
752
:that are in our department
753
:and our function are actually
able to do the strategic, highly
754
:valuable work that can actually
755
:propel a business forward
much more strategically?
756
:I think it's like a massive
opportunity, but I don't
757
:necessarily think it's like a zero
758
:sum game, like in the sense of we embed
all this AI and then we just have like
759
:budgets getting decimated.
760
:I think that's a pretty dangerous,
honestly, uninformed point of view.
761
:It's not to say that we won't
have cost savings because we will
762
:for sure in terms of maybe you
763
:don't like add as many roles in the
future because of efficiencies or
764
:whatnot but i still think you're
765
:there's always going to be a space
for like how humans will interact
766
:with technology that's been
767
:the motion for the past like
since we've had technology.
768
:Thomas Kunjappu: Yeah and
arguably that's been the
769
:evolution of the function
right because it used to be the
770
:benefits function where it's by
771
:definition administrative, like the
things that you just put in that layer
772
:of just saying that we just can, it's
not the human side at all and evolved
773
:to HR and people like slowly and
774
:subtly over time.
775
:So it's not a zero-sum game maybe, but
then there are definitely some skill
776
:sets, right?
777
:And activities that'll be
more expressed in the future.
778
:Sure.
779
:So what do you think those are
for folks in HR who are looking
780
:to future-proof their careers
781
:as they're thinking about
experiences or skill sets they
782
:should really try to gather?
783
:I assume one of them would just be trying
to be AI curious and seeing how we can
784
:do something in whatever role they're in.
785
:But anything beyond that, if you
think about the actual roles that
786
:are going to be expressed more
often than not in the future?
787
:Lauren Tropeano: Yeah, for sure.
788
:Obviously, the ability
to interact with and know
789
:how to be really strategic with AI as
again, like a tool is going to be huge.
790
:But I really think that juxtaposing that.
791
:technology with the deeply human
skill sets is where people are
792
:going to, you'll never be able
793
:to replace that.
794
:So things like coaching
as an example, right?
795
:Yes, there are AI coaches
and Docebo has one, right?
796
:However, there is so much
nuance in a conversation.
797
:The ability to read facial expressions.
798
:The ability to like understand body
language, the emotional complexity
799
:of a conversation is something that
800
:humans have been wired through
millions of years of evolution to
801
:really understand in a way that
802
:I just don't think
machines understand yet.
803
:So it's like those
deeply human things, also
804
:communications, right?
805
:We're going to have a lot of work that
gets automated, but we need to still
806
:bring people along, inspire them, create a
807
:vision, create excitement, like
all of those things that, again,
808
:evoke these emotions in people.
809
:Those are deeply human things
that are, that human beings are
810
:uniquely like designed to do,
811
:right?
812
:So like those types of skill sets.
813
:Also just the ability to
really understand a business
814
:and what we're trying
to accomplish and then
815
:be able to filter that
through the lens of people.
816
:And that's just the strategic
mandate of an HRBP or someone
817
:in the people organization.
818
:That is always going to be a skill set
that I think helps you interpret and
819
:contextualize what is important to the
business through then the people lens.
820
:So those are just skill sets
that I would say are very
821
:future proof for any HR person.
822
:Thomas Kunjappu: Got it.
823
:So then if you were going to take
that point of view and imagine
824
:you're talking to someone who's
just coming out of college and is
825
:looking to get into the function,
what advice would you have for them?
826
:Lauren Tropeano: I would say get
off of your phone and meet people in
827
:person and have human conversations.
828
:And the reason I say that is because so
much of what emerging generations are
829
:doing is like digital, which is great.
830
:That's just the way that they interact.
831
:But we cannot lose our skills
for interacting as human beings.
832
:We can't lose that way of connecting, the
way of knowing people deeply on a very
833
:personal level outside of technology.
834
:Again, it's so rudimentary,
835
:but I do worry about people's
ability to navigate social
836
:situations, situational context,
837
:things like that.
838
:Because of the influx of the use
of technology and how some of the
839
:earlier generations are interacting.
840
:Yeah.
841
:So that would actually be, I would say,
like really make it, make an effort
842
:to get to know people and
to connect in real life.
843
:Thomas Kunjappu: Yeah.
844
:I think there's a real challenge there
845
:because we were talking about
L&D and transforming an existing
846
:organization and employees.
847
:And we're like, in my
mind, I'm thinking about
848
:like mid-career folks, 'cause
there's a lot of context
849
:that you're bringing in value to the
organization, just knowing how work
850
:works and also how this company works.
851
:And then you're investing
in transforming them.
852
:But then the pipeline from high school
or college the first jobs that's
853
:really being disrupted a little bit.
854
:And there's a little bit of a gap
here, both from what I can tell,
855
:like AI tool usage leading to lower
demand for entry-level kind of
856
:work in a lot of functions.
857
:But also the other side is a bigger
gap in preparedness from college or
858
:high school because of their social
reasons, but also just the COVID
859
:is a part of it.
860
:But that's a whole gap
861
:that's also impacting how we're
going to be able to train the
862
:get the next set of recruits.
863
:We're going to be relatively like
AI native and tech native and went
864
:through the COVID kind of shift.
865
:But maybe that's a whole other deeper
conversation about the pipeline.
866
:Lauren Tropeano: Yeah, for sure.
867
:And I'll just say one quick thing
868
:about that because I do have
a high school age daughter and
869
:it's been so fascinating to just
870
:kind of see how she interacts
like in an educational setting
871
:and with friends and things
872
:like that.
873
:But I will say I'm very hopeful
about this next generation
874
:coming in because they will be
875
:the ones that are disrupting and We've
always worked this way, but there's
876
:actually a better way or a different way.
877
:So I think that they're going to
juxtapose a lot of the historical,
878
:traditional ways of working
with this new, innovative ways.
879
:And I think if we can actually
figure out a way to combine these
880
:two sort of way different things,
881
:we can maybe extract
the best of both worlds
882
:and provide like this,
883
:like mentorship and sage wisdom
with a lot of like disruptive
884
:creativity for how to do things way
885
:differently.
886
:I think that could be like really
like explosive in a good way.
887
:Like it could be a little
888
:messy and stuff like that too, but I
think it could be really interesting.
889
:So we'll see.
890
:Jury's
891
:still out, but yeah, I have a front
row seat to that here at home.
892
:Thomas Kunjappu: There you go.
893
:I guess mine's coming up.
894
:I'm behind on that journey.
895
:But I think that's a great
optimistic note as any to end on.
896
:Can I ask, Lauren, if folks want
to connect with you or follow your
897
:work, how can they best do that?
898
:Lauren Tropeano: Yeah, they
can find me on LinkedIn.
899
:So Lauren Tropiano, I'm the CPO of Docebo.
900
:That's probably the best place where
I share insights and just takes and
901
:things like that.
902
:So feel free to connect
with me, follow me there.
903
:And I'll look forward to
just continuing to share some
904
:interesting nuggets of information
905
:as we continue on this AI
transformation journey.
906
:Thomas Kunjappu: That's wonderful.
907
:So thank you so much
for this conversation.
908
:The many layers that we talked
about around the industry
909
:itself changing with L&D
910
:and how you guys as a product, you're
thinking about that and leading that.
911
:And then at a global
912
:company level, you have a whole shift
to being AI enabled and AI native.
913
:And we talked about the AI academy, as
well as, of course, how you're thinking
914
:about that in the HR function itself.
915
:And I love these practical guides
about translating the vision
916
:into, for example, like OKRs.
917
:That's an advertisement
918
:for rhythmic planning of some kind.
919
:Putting that on paper
920
:to force the organization
921
:at some scale to move in that direction.
922
:And I think we came to
923
:some really interesting
924
:thoughts around where are, if
there are any boundaries around
925
:the need for an organization
926
:to have an AI academy or
enablement of with learning.
927
:And maybe there really aren't any,
928
:if we can think of so many use cases
around for personal use cases and
929
:literally in any industry, maybe it pays
to have some kind of simple investment,
930
:if nothing else, to try to up-level,
931
:up-skill folks in this direction.
932
:And it feels like a major direction
933
:of what even you're doing in L&D.
934
:What is the outcome that
you're trying to produce
935
:no matter the industry
and the organization?
936
:And of course, thank you for your thoughts
937
:on the HR function itself,
938
:because it's, as you said, the function,
939
:change is nothing new,
940
:but it continues on.
941
:Something is a little bit distinct,
like you talked about this time around,
942
:and we're all trying to
wrap our minds around it.
943
:So thank you once again
for this conversation.
944
:Lauren Tropeano: Oh, you're so welcome.
945
:Thank you.
946
:Thank you for having me.
947
:Thomas Kunjappu: Absolutely.
948
:And for everyone out
there following along,
949
:this is another episode
of Future Proof HR.
950
:Good luck as you future-proofed
your own organizations
951
:and HR departments.
952
:And I hope you found this conversation
953
:as valuable as I did.
954
:See you on the next one.
955
:Thanks for joining us on this
episode of Future Proof HR.
956
:If you like the discussion, make
sure you leave us a five star
957
:review on the platform you're
listening to or watching us on.
958
:Or share this with a friend or colleague
who may find value in the message.
959
:See you next time as we keep our pulse on
how we can all thrive in the age on AI.