This episode is sponsored by Deel.
Hire, manage and pay, anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/
In this episode of @thehrldpodcast Nick Day is joined by Nelly Salinas, a global HR operations leader and Director of Global HR Operations at Certify Inc. Nelly's path into HR started nowhere near HR. She began her career in industrial engineering and IT project management before discovering that projects rarely fail because of technology, they fail because people were never aligned in the first place. That engineering lens is exactly what she brings to global HR operations today.
Nick and Nelly explore why the future of HR will not belong to the most human leader alone, but to the hybrid leader who can connect people, process, systems, data, and strategy in one conversation. They unpack where AI is genuinely creating value in HR right now versus where organizations are mistaking experimentation for transformation, why AI can make recruiters lazy if it replaces human connection instead of freeing up time for it, and how homogenized AI written CVs are making it harder than ever to spot real talent. They also dig into the near impossible balancing act of standardizing HR processes across global regions without losing local nuance, why data literacy and change management are becoming non-negotiable skills, the ongoing debate over whether payroll should sit inside HR or finance, and what a realistic first step into agentic AI actually looks like for HR leaders who have not started yet.
In a world where HR is being asked to improve employee experience, scale global operations, adopt AI responsibly, and still deliver measurable outcomes, this episode makes the case that technology and humanity were never competing priorities. The job has always been to bring both together.
A must-listen for HR leaders, global operations professionals, and anyone trying to figure out what skills will actually matter in the next phase of HR.
Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content!
Nelly Salinas's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nellysalinascabala/
Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/
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Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!
Timestamps:
(00:01) Why HR Is Asking the Wrong Question About AI
(02:46) From Industrial Engineering to Global HR Operations
(05:04) HR's Collaboration Gap With IT
(07:13) What It Means to Be a Hybrid HR Leader
(08:52) Where AI Is Actually Showing Up in HR
(10:31) Is AI Making Recruiters Lazy?
(15:28) Experimentation vs Real Transformation
(17:56) Standardizing Global HR Without Losing Local Nuance
(21:51) The Skills HR Leaders Need to Future-Proof Their Careers
(26:06) HR as Strategic Partner, Not Back Office
(29:59) Using AI and Data Analytics to Drive Real HR Insights
(31:56) Getting Started With AI and the Future of Agentic HR
