Artwork for podcast Future Proof HR
Building an AI-First Culture: Embedding AI in the Rhythm of Work
Episode 2410th October 2025 • Future Proof HR • Thomas Kunjappu
00:00:00 00:46:21

Share Episode

Shownotes

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:

  • How to define and operationalize an AI-first culture.
  • Building AI literacy through an internal academy and shared learning.
  • Using mindset work and champions to drive grassroots adoption.
  • Recruiting for curiosity and adaptability, not just AI skills.
  • Embedding AI into HR’s daily rhythms and OKRs.
  • The partnership between HR and IT in enabling transformation.
  • Why human judgment, empathy, and communication remain HR’s ultimate edge.

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:

Transcripts

Lauren Tropeano:

How can you ask people to come on this journey unless you

2

:

enable them to be successful on it?

3

:

That would be like me saying to you,

like, hey, I want you to sail across an

4

:

ocean, but you've never sailed before.

5

:

Oh, my gosh.

6

:

But yeah, but we're giving you a sailboat.

7

:

We're giving you like the tool, but you

don't necessarily know how to navigate it.

8

:

You don't know what you're expecting.

9

:

They keep telling us that it's all over.

10

:

For HR, the age of AI is upon

us, and that means HR should

11

:

be prepared to be decimated.

12

:

We reject that message.

13

:

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

14

:

Instead, it'll be defined by those

ready to experiment, adopt, and adapt.

15

:

Future Proof HR invites these builders to

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

16

:

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

17

:

We are committed to arming HR

with the AI insights to not

18

:

just survive, but to thrive.

19

:

Thomas Kunjappu: Welcome to the Future

Proof HR Podcast, where we explore

20

:

how forward-thinking HR leaders are

21

:

preparing for disruption and

redefining what it means to

22

:

lead people in a changing world.

23

:

I'm your host, Thomas

Kunjappu, CEO of Cleary.

24

:

Now, today's guest is Lauren

Tropiano, the Chief people Officer

25

:

at Docebo, a global AI-first learning

platform supporting HR and L&D teams

26

:

around the world.

27

:

With a thousand employees

across North America

28

:

and EMEA, Lauren is helping lead Docebo's

transformation from the inside out.

29

:

Translating product ambition

into internal people strategy.

30

:

Through a company-wide AI academy,

31

:

intentional mindset work, and L&D

experimentation, she's helping

32

:

the org to unlock innovation,

33

:

one team at a time.

34

:

Lauren, welcome to the podcast.

35

:

Lauren Tropeano: Thank

you so much, Thomas.

36

:

So excited to be here and

talk all things AI with you.

37

:

Thomas Kunjappu: Absolutely.

38

:

Give us some context about

Docebo, the product, the

39

:

company, because I think that's

40

:

going to be very relevant to

our conversation today, right?

41

:

Lauren Tropeano: Yeah, absolutely.

42

:

So Docebo is a global company,

like you just mentioned.

43

:

We have about a thousand employees.

44

:

We are a leader in AI first

learning, and we provide a

45

:

multi-use platform to companies

46

:

of all sizes, enterprise businesses,

as well as more mid-market

47

:

businesses that help organizations

48

:

unlock learning and endless

potential in their employee bases.

49

:

And yeah, we've been

around for about 20 years.

50

:

And we are just so excited about what

we've got going this AI horizon right now.

51

:

We're really leading the charge

in the industry on modernizing

52

:

learning and making sure that we're

53

:

a leader in this space right now

as companies are really trying to

54

:

meet the mandate of how to bring AI

and uplevel all of their employees

55

:

to grow and learn in this new way.

56

:

So yeah, that's a little bit about Docebo.

57

:

Thomas Kunjappu: That's exciting.

58

:

So I want to talk a lot about what you're

doing and leading by example internally.

59

:

But before we get into that, I'd like

to just ask you to opine or share

60

:

your thoughts on what

is the transformation.

61

:

What is happening with learning in

the workplace more broadly, and how

62

:

should companies be looking to respond?

63

:

Lauren Tropeano: Learning's

64

:

changing a lot.

65

:

The concept is still there, such as

we need humans, we need our people

66

:

to grow skill sets and evolve,

but the modalities with which

67

:

people are learning are changing.

68

:

And that's very similar to how

people consume content, right?

69

:

Like they don't really

read a newspaper anymore.

70

:

Some people do, but they consume

content on TikTok, on LinkedIn, on

71

:

all different types of platforms.

72

:

The days of going to a physical training

or a classroom setting, those again,

73

:

those forums do still exist, but

74

:

there are many more modalities and much

more of a focus on personalization and

75

:

micro learning and things like that.

76

:

So we are building tools and evolving

our product every single day with all of

77

:

our new product releases to really make

sure that we're meeting the needs of the

78

:

modern learner and that we are both also

able to deliver content and technology

79

:

tools that unlock that learning in an

80

:

expedient way, as well as also

making sure that we're supporting

81

:

L&D professionals as they evolve

82

:

the function and how content gets created

and authored and all of that as well.

83

:

So I think

84

:

personalization's king right

now in this conversation and

85

:

AI is helping us unlock a lot

86

:

of that, which is really exciting.

87

:

Thomas Kunjappu: So let's

zoom out even further.

88

:

What would you say makes this AI

transformation or this kind of industry

89

:

shift feel different from others

you've been involved with in the past?

90

:

Lauren Tropeano: As an HR person, as

a people person, we've been managing

91

:

changes, major transformations

and changes for a long time.

92

:

You think about the journey to the

private cloud or even like COVID, right?

93

:

That was like a massive transformation

in how companies worked, right?

94

:

It's like overnight,

95

:

organizations were in offices

96

:

and then everybody had to

be in a distributed format.

97

:

That's like wild, right?

98

:

But the interesting thing

about this transformation

99

:

is I think it's so exciting

100

:

because we have no idea

what's around the next corner

101

:

because the technology is changing so much

102

:

and it is so fluid.

103

:

And I think that's both a little, it's

both exciting, but a little bit scary.

104

:

I also think companies have

the opportunity to author

105

:

what this next step means

106

:

for them and how they actually ingest

this period of change and all of that.

107

:

So I think a more exciting time to be in

a transformation because it's not specific

108

:

to a business strategy, but it

is actually the next horizon

109

:

of how work itself is changing.

110

:

And it is pervasive across all

industries and all environments.

111

:

was just reading an article where it was

like, interior designers are using this.

112

:

Electricians are using it.

113

:

Chefs are using it for recipes.

114

:

It's not just recipes.

115

:

It's not just a corporate thing.

116

:

AI is really changing the

117

:

way that people like do their work.

118

:

And I think that's so exciting.

119

:

Thomas Kunjappu: Yeah,

it sounds like it's like

120

:

more foundational, right?

121

:

Yeah.

122

:

So it's there's promise and peril.

123

:

It's unsettling, but also

124

:

there's opportunity.

125

:

Lauren Tropeano: Yeah.

126

:

Thomas Kunjappu: You're swimming in it.

127

:

So if you're thinking about

128

:

Docebo, would you say that I think

when we're talking previously, there's

129

:

this concept of an AI first org and

orienting the organization in that way.

130

:

Would you say that's you guys?

131

:

And if so, what does that mean?

132

:

Lauren Tropeano: Yeah, absolutely.

133

:

For sure.

134

:

We've really adopted

that moniker internally.

135

:

And I think you need to name

that for your organization

136

:

because it really, I think, sets

137

:

a tone of we really want to be embedding

this into our operating system and

138

:

our mindsets and just how we work.

139

:

We want to be AI first, meaning

that we are not only obviously

140

:

building products in this space,

but we ourselves are operating in

141

:

such a way that's our orientation.

142

:

It is not just like, oh, an afterthought

or just some type of a tool that we use.

143

:

It is like in the rhythm of our business.

144

:

So yeah, I think it's important

to really be explicit with that

145

:

as you're trying to influence

146

:

organizational change.

147

:

And we have, yeah.

148

:

Thomas Kunjappu: So let's go

more in depth and internally.

149

:

What does that mean at Docebo

from a people process, systems,

150

:

reinforcement, maybe L&D

151

:

perspective to have that posture.

152

:

And if you were talking to

your peers about maybe creating

153

:

a shift like that for their

154

:

organization, or maybe there's

the demand for that from executive

155

:

team or the CEO or board,

156

:

and you're trying to figure out a

strategy to shift in that direction.

157

:

What are the kind of the levers that you

have and the activities that you might

158

:

put in place to move in that direction?

159

:

Lauren Tropeano: Yeah.

160

:

It first starts with your vision, which

our vision is very embedded in being

161

:

an AI first technology and AI first

learning company that unlocks that value.

162

:

So it starts with your vision

163

:

and then everything I

think stems from that.

164

:

What that practically means is

really have to be overt with, again,

165

:

talking about this all the time.

166

:

You have to understand also by

167

:

doing discovery, which is something

that we've done, where are you

168

:

on the spectrum of AI awareness

169

:

or adoption or innovation so that you can

understand your starting point, right?

170

:

So one

171

:

thing that we did was we

actually embedded in our mid-year

172

:

performance reviews, we embedded

a question, which is not meant

173

:

to be like a rating or anything,

174

:

but it was more a calibration

exercise for us to understand

175

:

where we are as a company.

176

:

We just created a very simple four-point

scale from AI aware to AI innovator.

177

:

And we asked managers and employees

to rate themselves on where do you

178

:

think you are on this spectrum?

179

:

And that was really meant to

inform where are we today?

180

:

Where do we hope to be?

181

:

Obviously

182

:

we hope to be more on the innovator

side, but it's really important

183

:

for us to understand the current

184

:

place of the company so that

we can help bring people along.

185

:

And so it starts with just again, like

just doing a diagnosis of where are you?

186

:

Where do you want to be?

187

:

And then helping people come

along the journey and also

188

:

thinking about that journey as

something that is really exciting

189

:

and an invitation to learn

190

:

and experiment and do all those

things as opposed to it being

191

:

for otherwise otherwise like for

a lot of people might be like,

192

:

oh, this is scary, this

is new, this is temporary,

193

:

those types of things.

194

:

And we really wanted to be explicit

195

:

around how we're inviting people

196

:

to come on this journey

with us and experiment.

197

:

One of the other things that I would say

198

:

is really important to

the enablement of this

199

:

sort sort of posture within

a company is that you

200

:

have to have a really great set

of tools that are available to

201

:

people and you have to give them

202

:

almost like a marketplace

to choose from, right?

203

:

So most companies have ChatGPT or

they have Gemini, depending upon

204

:

what tools and technologies are

205

:

available, but we have a phenomenal

internal IT department and

206

:

they have done a great job in

207

:

partnering with all areas of the

business to really understand like,

208

:

what are the business practices

that you're constantly working on?

209

:

Like, how are your business operations,

210

:

how can they be made more

efficient through AI tools?

211

:

Or what are the things

that you're spending

212

:

a lot of time on so that they can help

to recommend for us some different tools

213

:

or technologies that can help make the

214

:

adoption of AI really easy because it

adds a lot of value for our people.

215

:

And that partnership with IT

has been huge for us as we

216

:

bring in like a myriad of really

217

:

exciting apps for people to just

experiment and play around with.

218

:

Thomas Kunjappu: I think that's an

interesting point because I know

219

:

you're not calling it a mandate,

220

:

but by having a vision and

kind of really pushing this new

221

:

way of working for everyone,

222

:

for it to relate for anyone in their

day-to-day, if there's friction

223

:

between what they're hearing

224

:

at that messaging level and what

they actually need to do, which

225

:

is a bunch of whatever it is,

226

:

a bunch of manual tasks or a bunch of

collaboration that needs to happen.

227

:

Yeah.

228

:

If you're able to connect a specific work

task that will help move the ball forward.

229

:

But a key piece of that is having

a technology forward partners

230

:

maybe your IT org who can

actually help you those dots.

231

:

But IT can't help you unless

the folks on the ground know

232

:

what are the potential pain

233

:

points that can be solved better with AI.

234

:

Lauren Tropeano: Yeah, for sure.

235

:

For sure.

236

:

And that partnership is so

important because we're able

237

:

to articulate the rhythm of our

238

:

work and our business.

239

:

And then they're able to really provide

us with, oh, hey, there's this tool.

240

:

How would that potentially help us?

241

:

So they're almost like an

internal consultancy for us that

242

:

brings us some interesting new

opportunities to experiment with.

243

:

And in most functions as well,

we have an AI champion or a

244

:

small team of people who are like

AI champions who are those early

245

:

adopters or those first movers

246

:

within the organization that are really

247

:

closely partnering with their IT

partner to provide that guidance

248

:

or be the one to be in a pilot or

249

:

something like that.

250

:

And so those people are really helping

to lead the charge, provide those

251

:

technical requirements and things

like that, and then ultimately

252

:

be the voice within the function

253

:

that can help bring people along.

254

:

And I think that's an important piece too,

because you do need those champions in any

255

:

type of a change that are

going to have that credibility

256

:

within the function versus to

257

:

your point, like feeling like

something was imposed upon

258

:

you because people don't like

259

:

that.

260

:

Thomas Kunjappu: And just

because get very practical.

261

:

So these champions, are they official?

262

:

Is there, do they have badges or badges?

263

:

Do they have dinner parties?

264

:

Or is it completely organic and

natural and it happens or doesn't

265

:

in different parts of the org?

266

:

Because I'm really

trying to get practical.

267

:

Because if you're really trying to

make this change happen, how much

268

:

is it bottom up versus top down?

269

:

Lauren Tropeano: I would say it's

pretty, we've been very lucky in

270

:

that it feels quite grassroots.

271

:

Like we didn't have to actually

impose all of this structure

272

:

around it just because there

273

:

was a lot of excitement about it.

274

:

And I think that partly comes

from the products that we're

275

:

building and the tremendous value

276

:

that we see like our customers being

able to unlock like through this.

277

:

So people are like just also excited

to utilize these things themselves.

278

:

But yeah, I would say it's

not a super formalized effort

279

:

and different organizations.

280

:

I'm sure that

281

:

there are a lot more like formally

committees and things like that.

282

:

We do have a group like a

283

:

consortium type group that's

coming together to share best

284

:

practices and things like that.

285

:

But for the most part, it feels

grassroots and it's mostly voluntary

286

:

in the sense of if someone's really

287

:

excited about it, then

they can get involved.

288

:

And that I think is the best

way to do it because it really,

289

:

again, it's like a self-led thing.

290

:

And that energy, it's

like, it's contagious.

291

:

You can't really

292

:

create that unless someone is

passionate about this topic themselves.

293

:

So those are the people

294

:

that I think are the best fit

for these types of things.

295

:

Thomas Kunjappu: So tell me

more about something that I

296

:

think is more explicit, which you've

297

:

invested in, which is

the internal AI Academy.

298

:

Yeah.

299

:

In some ways, like the baseline, or you

300

:

want to have everyone to get

to this level of learning.

301

:

Tell me more about how that came about,

302

:

what it is, outcomes.

303

:

Lauren Tropeano: Absolutely.

304

:

So my peer on our executive

team, we have a Chief Learning

305

:

Officer because we are a learning company.

306

:

And so that's a unique role that not every

company has, but we do have the benefit of

307

:

having one here at Docebo.

308

:

So he is my peer and he and I

were talking about, okay, we

309

:

really want to lead this company

310

:

through this transformation.

311

:

How can we make sure that what

we're asking of people is really

312

:

practical and approachable

313

:

and also that everyone is

starting from a common foundation.

314

:

We put our heads together and we

came up with this idea of this AI

315

:

Academy, which is a homegrown academy.

316

:

And what we did was we took

someone who was previously in a

317

:

product kind of marketing role

318

:

and brought him over to

the learning function.

319

:

And he was then tasked with,

let's create this essentially

320

:

like this internal product that we

321

:

can give to all of our employees

to start them on this journey.

322

:

And that would give us the peace of

323

:

mind that everybody in our company

is essentially like de facto,

324

:

like certified in understanding

325

:

these like AI foundations.

326

:

And to be honest, we're still building it.

327

:

We launched the first, I would say like

the first module or the first iteration of

328

:

it this summer, and it's been going great.

329

:

We had very high completion

rates and people really loved it.

330

:

Essentially what it is, we went out to the

331

:

organization, we asked them, like,

what would you like to know about AI?

332

:

Like, where are you?

333

:

Like, what things are you afraid of?

334

:

What do you feel like you need to

know in order to talk to customers,

335

:

in order to talk to customers, in order to

336

:

talk to your peers, in order to adopt

this in a really thoughtful way?

337

:

And so we got all that

338

:

information.

339

:

And then that team was able to pull

together this academy, which covers

340

:

things like AI language, right?

341

:

Like, what are some of

these technical terms?

342

:

that are being used.

343

:

What do we practically mean about that?

344

:

What are some best practices in terms

345

:

of using AI responsibly?

346

:

Like, what information

should we share with LLMs?

347

:

What shouldn't we share?

348

:

And how do we actually use it?

349

:

Meaning that we have like internal

licenses here at Docebo that can help

350

:

us protect our proprietary information.

351

:

You shouldn't just go out on your

352

:

personal account, like

governance, things like that.

353

:

And then also just just really good

prompting, how to interact with it.

354

:

And then also how to sort of apply

your human logic to make sure that

355

:

whatever you're getting out of the AI

is actually makes good sense, right?

356

:

Because we know sometimes

357

:

AI gives us answers to things,

but sometimes they don't

358

:

always make the most sense.

359

:

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,

364

:

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

368

:

upon that.

369

:

Thomas Kunjappu: So one of the points

I think you've subtly made is that

370

:

because Docebo is learning company

371

:

and an AI-first company

and the product does that.

372

:

Obviously you have a lot of talent who

373

:

is naturally excited and working

in the world of AI like every day.

374

:

And yet it might vary by department

and in context and experience.

375

:

So you're doing this AI academy to bring

people at least to some baseline together

376

:

and share in that learning journey

as you point the direction forward

377

:

and be aligned in the path forward.

378

:

Has that impacted your point of

view on onboarding or recruiting

379

:

for the organization as well?

380

:

Lauren Tropeano: Yeah.

381

:

On the point of recruiting, and I'll

cover onboarding in a moment, to

382

:

the point of recruiting, we actually

built in specific questions into

383

:

our initial screens to screen for

384

:

AI competency.

385

:

Now, we're not looking for AI

expertise in all roles, but we

386

:

want curiosity and some competency

387

:

or awareness for every single

person that we hire at Docebo.

388

:

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.

392

:

So for us, it's just testing

393

:

for curiosity around the topic,

experimentation around the topic,

394

:

some of those characteristics

395

:

that we are really looking

to really build upon here.

396

:

So that's how we've just, again, started

to very simply and very tactically

397

:

just infuse that into the screen.

398

:

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.

409

:

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.

419

:

I wonder if the way this

420

:

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.

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube