In this episode of the Future Proof HR podcast, Thomas Kunjappu sits down with Amaan Hussain, Director of HR at The Acquisition Group, to explore how HR leaders can adopt AI without sacrificing the human connection that defines their organization. With over a decade of experience leading HR strategy in high-growth, direct-to-consumer environments, Amaan shares how his team balances efficiency, empathy, and scale in a world increasingly shaped by technology.

Amaan explains why his organization is intentionally cautious about where AI shows up and where it does not. He outlines a clear guardrail that guides every technology decision: AI can improve speed, consistency, and insight, but it should never replace the core human relationships that drive performance, trust, and differentiation. From recruiting and coaching to sales enablement, he shares how a hybrid model allows AI to augment work without eroding what makes the business successful.

The conversation also explores recruiting and managing Gen Z in high-touch, in-person roles. Amaan discusses how generational shifts, post-pandemic expectations, and increased access to information are changing how candidates evaluate employers. He explains why adapting leadership style matters more than trying to change the workforce, and how culture, growth opportunity, and human connection remain powerful advantages even in a tech-saturated market.

Topics Discussed:

1. Protecting human connection as a core business and HR value
2. Being strategic, not reactive, with AI adoption
3. Where AI can improve efficiency without replacing judgment
4. Using AI for coaching, feedback, and skill development
5. Recruiting and engaging Gen Z for non-remote, high-touch roles
6. Adapting leadership styles to generational shifts
7. Creating guardrails for HR technology decisions
8. Balancing productivity gains with long-term culture and trust

If you are an HR leader, people strategist, or executive navigating AI adoption while trying to preserve culture, credibility, and human connection, this episode offers a practical and grounded perspective on how to do both well.

Additional Resources:

1. Cleary’s AI-powered HR Chatbot
2. Future Proof HR Community
3. Connect with Amaan Hussain on LinkedIn

Our approach is we are very strategic in our AI adoption, right?

2

So within our company, our

core is human connection.

3

Our core is to build relationship

with our clients, with our

4

stakeholders and our customers.

5

We are very hesitant on

replacing that with AI.

6

So we do not want AI to connect

on our behalf to the other human

7

beings because that's our core

8

Thomas Kunjappu: They keep

telling us that it's all over.

9

For HR, the age of AI is upon

us, and that means HR should

10

be prepared to be decimated.

11

We reject that message.

12

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,

15

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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Hello and welcome to the Future Proof

HR podcast, where we explore how

19

forward-thinking HR leaders are preparing

for disruption and redefining what it

20

means to lead people in a changing world.

21

I'm your host, Thomas

Kunjappu, CEO of Cleary.

22

Today's guest is Amaan Hussain,

Director of HR at The Acquisition

23

Group, one of Canada's fastest-growing

marketing and sales organizations

24

with over 600 employees nationwide.

25

Amaan is a certified CPHR with a decade

of experience leading HR strategy,

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talent operations, and data-driven people

initiatives across diverse industries.

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Amaan and his team are tackling one

of HR's toughest modern challenges,

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preserving human connection in a world

increasingly shaped by technology.

29

We'll talk about balancing efficiency and

empathy, recruiting Gen Z for high-touch

30

roles, and where AI fits in and where

it doesn't in the people function.

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Amaan, welcome to the podcast.

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Amaan Hussain: Thank you, Thomas.

33

Thank you for the wonderful introduction,

and thank you for having me.

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Thomas Kunjappu: So let's get right

into this unique differentiator,

35

something that you talk about.

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The direct-to-consumer, you talk about.

37

The direct-to-consumer sales model that

you're embodying with your organization

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and the concept of human connection,

which is a key part of the differentiator

39

overall for your organization.

40

What you look for in talent

and I think is part of your

41

philosophy on the HR side as well.

42

So could you tell me a little

bit about that philosophy?

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Amaan Hussain: Absolutely.

44

Yeah.

45

Before I dive into the philosophy, just

to build a context around our company and

46

what we do, it will then all make sense.

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So company, The Acquisition Group, we

are a marketing and management company.

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What we do is basically we help

other companies market and sell

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their products and services.

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We help them increase

their revenue stream.

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So one of the unique ways we have

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discovered to do this is

direct-to-consumer, as you mentioned.

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So in this current era of technology where

everybody is focused on computers to sell

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and technology to sell their products.

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We want to maintain that human connection.

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We know that people, they

want to buy from people.

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People are a little bit fed up of calling

into a company answering AI voice a robot.

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want to hear from a real person.

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They want to have a personal touch

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into any conversation that they're

having with another person, especially

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from the person that they're buying.

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So we decided that this is our

core, like building relationships,

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maintaining the sense of empathy

maintaining that human connection.

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And the best way to do

this is direct to consumer.

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So we do not wait for customers

to come to us, to come to

66

the store to buy the product

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or wait for the customers to go to our

website or call in to buy the product.

68

Instead of waiting for them, we just

directly approach them and have that

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face-to-face conversation, face-to-face

connection, give them the opportunity to

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ask any questions that they might have

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And buy from us.

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I think we, we found that this

technique is proving itself to

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be a very efficient technique.

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Amaan Hussain: We can see the

increase in sales numbers and we

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can see how successful it is when we

implement it to our different clients.

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And they see the success and they

enjoy the revenue growth as well.

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Thomas Kunjappu: We know that

AI and technology can replace a

78

lot of things, but then a human

still crave human connection.

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I think that's what you

were telling me this.

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So how do you preserve that in a world

where there's a lot of pressure for you

81

and your clients, for those in HR and

just across all functions, to move towards

82

automation, think about efficiency, right?

83

It sounds way more efficient to find

clients to just maybe click on you,

84

find your website, click a button,

and just buy on a credit card and just

85

never have to talk to someone, right?

86

There's a strange efficiency and

something attractive about that.

87

But then what is your approach internally,

like within your organization, for

88

how you all connect with each other

to maintain that human connection?

89

Amaan Hussain: Yeah, absolutely.

90

Our approach is we are very

strategic in our AI adoption, right?

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Where I know it's AI frenzy nowadays.

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Everybody is just going all in into AI.

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And we have nothing against AI.

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AI is, I think, one of

the most profound things

95

I've seen in my life after internet.

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So it's going to do wonders.

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And we just want to be a bit more

strategic on how we apply AI.

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So within our company, our

core is human connection.

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Our core is to build relationship

with our clients, with our

100

stakeholders and our customers.

101

We are very hesitant on

replacing that with AI.

102

So we do not want AI to connect

on our behalf to the other human

103

beings because that's our core.

104

And our focus is to look up some of

the administrative tasks, some of

105

the redundant repetitive tasks, and

rather those can be replaced by AI

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and we can make it more efficient,

more productive that manner.

107

But what our core is are going

to hold on for now on any sort

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of AI implementation on it.

109

So we want to preserve that

human connection, empathy

110

and the relationship building

111

that the reputation that we

have formed, do not want to give

112

that away at the moment to AI.

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Thomas Kunjappu: And while the hope

is that is the differentiator, right?

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So if that's the case, I know

that in an industry where you're

115

selling sales almost, right?

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And that concept of doing sales in person

and through human human connection.

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So often, and you can tell us about

the talent that you're recruiting for,

118

right?

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But I imagine there's a lot of

like early career, maybe even first

120

job folks that make up the cadre,

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the ranks of your workforce.

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I imagine there's a big

recruiting challenge at play,

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right?

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To make sure that you're getting

the right people who then are

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able to hook into this culture.

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How do you not resist the massive

pull of just full automation to just

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go in and do recruiting for you?

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Or do you?

129

How do you think about recruiting

in this world with this context?

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Amaan Hussain: Yeah, absolutely.

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It's not that easy in this changing

world, especially after COVID where

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the industry has totally changed.

133

It's all work from home that

everybody is looking for

134

now.

135

And this direct-to-consumer, of

course, it's not only work from home,

136

you have to come to office and then

you have to go and meet customers.

137

So we do find it a bit challenging when

it comes to a lot of candidates looking

138

for work-from-home opportunities.

139

But the thing with the direct-to-consumer

role that we have, it's unique.

140

It's very unique and you only

know when you try it out.

141

So what we notice is we see candidates,

they give it a shot and they love it.

142

They see that, oh, they have the autonomy.

143

They go out, they get to

speak to different people.

144

The amount of money they

can make is very good.

145

The amount of growth, the growth

potential this position has is amazing.

146

So there are a lot of factors that

makes this position unique, very unique,

147

especially nowadays the market is getting

more and more saturated with technology.

148

So one of the factors that make it unique

is that human touch that we talked about.

149

And we want to show

this to the candidates.

150

We want to make our candidates realize the

potential of it, how unique this position

151

is, and how much more they can accomplish

by just focusing on this differentiating

152

factor and being more successful.

153

Our company, our mission

is to provide opportunity.

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It's written on our website.

155

It's to provide opportunity.

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It's opportunity not only to our clients,

but also our team members as well.

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So we are a lot focused on

our team members' growth.

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So one of the other things that we

focus on while recruiting for this

159

role is telling them how much we

care about their success and not only

160

just saying it, showing it as well.

161

We do have a structured growth program.

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Anybody who comes in with good

attitude is performing well.

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There's nothing stopping them to grow.

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We do not just promote based on seniority.

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We promote based on

attitude and performance.

166

If someone is working with us past five

years and someone just joined us a month

167

ago, if the new person is performing

well, they will get promoted first.

168

So that's one of the things

that we maintain within our

169

organization as our biggest value.

170

But when it comes to the position

itself, it's a very different position.

171

It has an element of surprise

on how much you can grow within

172

this role and how different it

is when you are working on it.

173

That's the only way to find out that

how different this position is and

174

how unique this position is when you

join us and you start working with us.

175

To answer your question,

it is challenging.

176

It takes some of convincing.

177

So we do have very talented recruitment

team, fully trained on how to give them

178

the clear picture, show candidates a clear

picture of what the position is and how

179

much of a potential it contains about the

growth and the money-making potential.

180

And even though it's challenging, but

we are being very successful and we are

181

one of the biggest in North America in

the direct-to-consumer space right now.

182

Thomas Kunjappu: That success might

build some conviction, but let me do

183

an argument of a different approach.

184

And let's talk through exactly the

nuances of your feelings about what's

185

differentiated here, specifically from

an HR recruiting process perspective.

186

So what if I said, let's sell

the the opportunity, the unique

187

possibilities with this role.

188

Yes, it's hard with, it's not remote work.

189

There's all these things you need to get

into it, but let's sell these candidates

190

on this, but then let's do it with more

efficiently and scale it way up and

191

take your recruiting team out of it.

192

And the way that you're doing

one-on-one selling, creating human

193

connection with candidates, and then

helping them realize the value of

194

this potentially for their career.

195

Instead of that, trying to scale it

up in a higher level without as much

196

of this human touch with so many human

touches within the candidate experience.

197

Maybe we can remove a bunch of those

steps and get it more efficiently there.

198

And then once we realize who this role

is for, those are the people maybe we

199

might put more of our efforts towards.

200

And efficiency is all that matters and to

getting people to the end of that funnel.

201

So someone might say that, well, and do

you agree with parts of that in your role?

202

Or how do you think about the core

values around human connection that

203

makes you agree or disagree with

parts of that type of analysis?

204

Amaan Hussain: Yeah.

205

So to what you're explaining me

is an ideal hybrid model, right?

206

So we can preserve the human

connection as well as we become

207

more efficient and more productive.

208

So to establish this, what we are

focused on in some sort of, as I

209

said before, we are very strategic

on our AI implementation, right?

210

So we are seeking a perfect hybrid

model where we can preserve the

211

human connection, whereas any other

task that can be made more efficient

212

by technology, we're open to that.

213

We have nothing against AI.

214

AI, as I said, is the most profound thing.

215

It's going to do wonders in future.

216

So I'll give you some examples.

217

We are using AI.

218

A lot of AI is being used within our

team to research, which has made it

219

a lot quicker, a lot more efficient.

220

We use AI to write our communications,

our ad writing for jobs.

221

Even though our calls that we make and

the conversations that we have with

222

clients and customers and team members,

those are all recorded, of course and

223

we take the consent as well but it's

later on analyzed by an AI coach and AI

224

provides us with the feedback and how

how you can have a better conversation

225

more convincing conversation how was your

tone how was the speed of your speech and

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your patience level?

227

Are you over talking the other person?

228

So it gives us the feedback that

we use to make our conversations

229

more productive or more impactful.

230

So we are using AI to become more

effective, more efficient, as well as

231

trying to preserve the human connection

the human touch which is the core of

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our company we are looking for that

perfect hybrid model we are efficient

233

and we do not want to be behind in

this AI race where everyone is becoming

234

more productive and we are not we're

not stubborn about not adopting AI

235

we are just being very careful on

not having it replace our core value.

236

And you can say that we are an

Apple in the Silicon Valley.

237

You probably have noticed Apple is usually

late to adopt some of the technologies.

238

They let others experiment first.

239

And if it's successful,

then they adopt it.

240

They launch it their own way.

241

So we are doing that as well

when it comes to AI adoption.

242

Thomas Kunjappu: It seems like

you're holding two thoughts

243

at the same time, right?

244

You're very open to adoption

with the latest technology, but

245

you're also thinking about when

to use it and when not to use it.

246

So thank you for some of those examples

about how it has actually made its

247

way into just the day-to-day of the

whole organization as well as HR.

248

I'm curious if your ethos around the

human connection, has that led to any

249

situations or do any decisions come

to mind where you looked at, evaluated

250

using AI in some part, whether in

the HR function or broadly in the

251

organization where you looked at it and

then you step back and said, no, this

252

does not make sense because it actually

detracts from what we are really trying

253

to accomplish as an organization.

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Amaan Hussain: Yeah, I have actually.

255

In fact, yesterday I was having a

meeting with Salesforce and they were

256

showcasing some of their AI products.

257

But one example I can give you is one

demo I attended which was an AI voice.

258

So that AI voice can call on your behalf

can receive and answer calls on your

259

behalf so you are speaking to an AI which

sounds like a human but what I noticed

260

is after speaking about 30 seconds to

that AI voice, I can figure it out.

261

It's not a human.

262

It's not there yet, to be honest.

263

So, the empathy is missing.

264

The human-to-human connection, the

level of understanding is missing.

265

So, we have looked into some of the

stuff like that and decided to go

266

against it at this point of time.

267

So, decided not to adopt it because

the human connection, the level

268

of empathy is not there yet.

269

Thomas Kunjappu: Great example.

270

And then let me counter back to

the example you mentioned about

271

leveraging like voice call, recorded

voice calls to analyze how someone

272

is doing and to help coach them.

273

Now, coaching, usually it's in my

mind, it's very much associated with

274

high empathy and highly understanding

particular nuances of a situation.

275

But you're going ahead and doing

some coaching with data, right?

276

and AI.

277

How do you think if you had to

articulate, what is the nuance there?

278

What's different there?

279

Like a voice call where you're seeing,

okay, this is lacking empathy, but

280

something like coaching, where it's trying

to up-level and up-skill your employee

281

base, but that also needs empathy.

282

And I'm sure there's limits to

what AI is really able to do there.

283

What are the nuances?

284

How do you see that being different?

285

Amaan Hussain: Yeah, absolutely.

286

So one is the execution of

the core work that we do.

287

So we are being reluctant to get

that replaced by AI, but the other

288

is just to augment what we are

doing, just make it a little better.

289

So we are very, as I said, we are

very open where AI can help us

290

improve the process, but not fully

replace the core work that we do.

291

So I agree to the point where

AI is listening to the call

292

and providing the coaching.

293

Point where AI is listening to the

call and providing the coaching.

294

So yes, the empathy, the human

touch is missing there, but still

295

it's able to provide us with some

concrete feedback that we can use.

296

It doesn't mean that we have totally

given it away to the AI to manage.

297

We do listen to the

calls manually as well.

298

We're not 100% relying on AI, but where

it took us a week to listen to 100

299

calls before, now it takes us about

half of the time to listen to the 100

300

calls where we listen to some and AI

is leveraged and give us some feedback.

301

So the combination of both human and

AI is making us more efficient here.

302

Thomas Kunjappu: So let's talk about just

recruiting and the generational shifts.

303

It's clearly taking over in boardrooms

and leadership teams and HR teams

304

are thinking about it and using it in

different parts of the workflow, including

305

the recruiting like we're talking about.

306

But then I wonder just generationally

if it's produced any differences.

307

Kids growing up

308

using smartphones obviously has an

impact eventually right into the

309

workforce or the pandemic and how.

310

high schools and colleges

shifted in that time.

311

And now we have a new generation that

is becoming more AI native in the way

312

that it's been a few years now, right?

313

Since the big ChatGPT version that came

out, that became a bit of a revolution.

314

I'm curious if you're seeing

anything, any trends, right?

315

In recruiting from a generational

perspective, is anything shifting

316

in mindset motivation for this

next generation that's coming in?

317

Amaan Hussain: Yeah.

318

I'm in this space of direct-to-consumer

recruitment for about 11 years now.

319

So i've worked with a couple of different

generations and I can totally see how

320

they are different from each other.

321

So I've worked recruiting millennials,

I've worked recruiting baby boomers I've

322

worked recruiting the new Gen Z as well.

323

It's totally different.

324

You have to have a different strategy

dealing with each of these generations.

325

Even though if you're a manager, you're

managing a team, to manage a Gen Z takes a

326

different leadership style versus managing

someone from a previous generation.

327

So you have to be very mindful of that.

328

The latest generation, is a

very well-informed generation.

329

And as you mentioned, smartphones,

internet are some of the things

330

that they have used growing up.

331

Whereas the previous generation, when they

come to office, the work environment that

332

they see, that's the standard for them.

333

But the new generation

is very well informed.

334

They know how best of the best

work environments look like.

335

They are aware how Google

workspaces are like.

336

And they are also aware how not some

of the best work environments are like.

337

And they are very easy to compare.

338

So where some may find some of these new

339

generations a bit demanding but I would

say they're not demanding they are very

340

well informed so they compare right?

341

So if they're very quick to notice that

okay so other companies are offering

342

this but we are not so they'll come

and they'll ask a question, right?

343

So you need to be able to

adapt your leadership style.

344

You need to be more aware that they

are aware and you have to keep up

345

with the information that's out there.

346

And make sure that your

work and your culture is up

347

This has been a fantastic

conversation so far.

348

If you haven't already done so,

make sure to join our community.

349

We are building a network of the

most forward-thinking, HR and

350

people, operational professionals

who are defining the future.

351

I will personally be sharing

news and ideas around how we

352

can all thrive in the age of ai.

353

You can find it at go cleary.com/cleary

354

community.

355

Now back to the show.

356

Amaan Hussain: to speed.

357

There's no room to be behind.

358

There's no room that you are

slow to adopt any sort of change

359

because everyone is very well informed

and they are going to ask questions.

360

Where Gen Zs are a fun, focused generation

who is very well informed, but at the

361

same time they want to be productive.

362

They want to leverage all the

technology at the same time as well.

363

So all I can say is Gen Z needs

a different management style.

364

They can be as much productive as

some of our previous generations were.

365

It's just unique to know

how to get that out of them.

366

Thomas Kunjappu: So you said, I know that

I know that we're asking questions and

367

seeing what's going on in the market.

368

So a more educated marketplace.

369

And if that's the case, doesn't

that make like your kind of work?

370

And I feel like I wonder if this is

a generational thing even, right?

371

Especially when you combine the

proliferation of technologies and

372

combine it with the COVID pandemic era

where you have maybe almost a trained

373

workforce generationally to be focused

on remote roles, digital work, and

374

also honestly just be less connected.

375

You get human connection through

likes on a social media application

376

versus what we're talking about with

actual face-to-face connection and in

377

sales work so does it feel like your

organization is having to do much

378

more training like almost upstream

for from what you used to have to

379

do because of just societal shifts,

380

Amaan Hussain: So we have to

keep up with that as we know

381

that Gen Zs are well-informed.

382

They're quick to compare.

383

They are very productive generations.

384

So we have made some changes in our

work environment to cater them as well.

385

So we do a lot of fun things.

386

So our company culture

is work hard, play hard.

387

So we take them to international trips.

388

So we'll pick our top performers.

389

We'll take them to Mexico.

390

We'll pick our top performers.

391

We'll take them to Vegas.

392

We'll do team nights often.

393

Like every other week, we're

doing team nights for them.

394

We keep doing different bonuses, prizes.

395

In my office, today is the date

of recording is 28 October so

396

we are doing halloween potluck

everyone will come dressed up.

397

So we have to make sure that we are

keeping up with all the fun elements we

398

are keeping up with anything that they

can experience within the company and

399

they can brag about it to their friends.

400

So that's what some of the new

social media generation wants, right?

401

That's the whole point of social media.

402

We post about the fun things you're

doing so you can brag about it.

403

So we want them to brag about their work.

404

And that's how the word of mouth spreads.

405

So we become a cool company

to work for as well.

406

So it makes us more attractive to work

for, helps us with our recruiting,

407

even though our position is not a

remote work that they're looking for.

408

It's direct to consumer.

409

But if you have that fun

element in this position.

410

So why not?

411

They would love to join us.

412

Thomas Kunjappu: So you've cracked

the code somewhat, maybe, but then

413

what would be your message to leaders

who say, hey, this new generation,

414

they don't, they, it's not, they're

not built like the previous ones.

415

They don't want to hustle.

416

They're not productive.

417

It's so much harder.

418

It's something that's said

behind closed doors, I would say.

419

Yeah, what do you say to that?

420

Amaan Hussain: Yeah, my message

to them is they can hustle.

421

They can work hard.

422

They can be productive.

423

You just need to know how

to get that out of them.

424

You need to amend your leadership

style, your management style to

425

get that productivity out of them.

426

So you should not focus on changing them.

427

You should just focus on how you

can amend some of your styles,

428

some of the ways you do things.

429

Focus on change to cater

to this new generation.

430

Change is something that we

should always be very mindful of.

431

Changing too quickly can be not

so beneficial and changing quickly

432

often is beneficial as well.

433

So you have to be very strategic

when it comes to change.

434

So we have so many examples of

companies reluctant to change and

435

they are nowhere to be fine now.

436

Yeah, so just focus on how we can better

cater to this new generation of what

437

changes we need to make within our

organization, the culture, our leadership

438

style, and we can get most productivity.

439

They can be more productive as compared

to any of the previous generations.

440

The combination of Gen Zs, their

mindsets, and the technology

441

nowadays can be a killer combination.

442

Thomas Kunjappu: Absolutely.

443

There's opportunity if

you can it done right.

444

So let's talk a little bit, Amaan,

about the, I guess, the guardrails.

445

Guardrails around technology and AI.

446

So we've talked a bunch about how

important it is to preserve human

447

connection across the board in

the organization, in the sales

448

organization, in HR as well.

449

So if that's true, what guardrails

and rules do you have almost that

450

help you make your decisions, right?

451

And different companies might have

different types of rules and guardrails,

452

but what are some of yours around

where you want to have evolution

453

and change with technology and

454

AI versus ones that you want to preserve?

455

Amaan Hussain: Yeah.

456

So one of the most important guardrail we

have is anything that is our core value.

457

Let that not be replaced

by any technology.

458

So that's the only rule that

we are focusing on as of now.

459

Not against the technology and AI.

460

We are very open to implement these, but

only the areas which are redundant, which

461

are repetitive, which are administrative.

462

So you can have AI or technology

do it quicker in a better way,

463

in a more effective way for us.

464

But the only rule we follow whenever

someone presents any AI demo to me, is it

465

replacing the core values that we have?

466

Is it the core of our business?

467

If the answer is yes, we'll hold on.

468

One of the examples I can give you

469

So I talked about the AI voice.

470

Thomas Kunjappu: Right.

471

Amaan Hussain: If I implement

that replaces one of the core,

472

which is human connection,

which is building relationships.

473

So I would not do that.

474

Rather, I would be open

to a AI chatbot, right?

475

After hours, when the HR team is off

after five o'clock, if someone has any

476

question, they can go to our website.

477

They can type a question and get

the immediate answer by a head bot.

478

It's just augmenting our ability, but

not entirely replacing the core value.

479

Great example.

480

Yeah, there's only guardrail we have.

481

Thomas Kunjappu: Okay.

482

With that in mind, I would love to look

ahead into the future a little bit,

483

actually from two angles, because I

think you're in an interesting field.

484

The world of sales and marketing

has been shifting rapidly, right?

485

It's been with AI tools,

there's been a plethora of tools

486

that are coming out there and

processes are shifting very fast.

487

As you look ahead in the next couple of

years, how do you think that whole world,

488

those whole functions are changing?

489

And do you think your organization

will actually be quite different

490

in terms of how the sales folks

are doing their day-to-day versus

491

today because they're enabled by AI?

492

Or how do you see that playing

out and also more broadly in in

493

the sales and marketing world?

494

Amaan Hussain: Yeah, I think with

time and improvement within AI

495

structures and AI technology,

496

everything is going to become

more and more time efficient,

497

more and more productive with time.

498

And this is not going

to happen all at once.

499

Everything is going to happen in phases.

500

You will see one aspect of the work being

501

slowly replaced then followed

by another aspect then another.

502

So five years from now if anything

takes us an hour to do it's going to

503

take us 15 minutes to complete the same

task and in different areas of the work

504

whether it's an administrative task,

whether it's research or communication,

505

whatever it is, I think everything is

going to become more and more productive.

506

There will be more opportunities

because if people are taking less time

507

to do the same amount of work, then

there's going to be a vacuum created.

508

And I think naturally everything

is going to be balanced out.

509

That vacuum is going to be

filled by something else.

510

I don't know what, but that means

this is going to that vacuum is

511

going to be new opportunities

that will unveil itself with time.

512

And things are going to change.

513

The way you work, the way tasks are

executed is going to look a lot different.

514

But one thing I really want to see,

if you notice that what's different

515

nowadays with smartphones and all

the technologies, there used to be

516

a mental state of boredom before.

517

When I was a kid, I can think

of many times in my life that

518

I'm sitting and I'm bored.

519

Even though I'm a kid, I'm sitting

at the wall, I'm sitting on my patio,

520

I'm bored.

521

This is something I don't observe now.

522

No one is bored.

523

This mental state of being

bored has been vanished.

524

Whenever you have nothing to do,

you take out your cell phone.

525

You start looking at your cell phone.

526

When you're bored, when your

brain is not doing anything, then

527

you're thinking about things.

528

You're observing things.

529

You're coming up with

new ideas, new thoughts.

530

But that is missing.

531

So I hope with AI, people

have enough time to get bored.

532

Start thinking again.

533

So start thinking about new ideas

again, and we see more innovation.

534

So I believe if you notice the

535

70s, 80s, and even 90s, the rate of

innovation has declined ever since the

536

emergence of cell phones, smartphones.

537

We keep complaining about lack of

innovation in smartphones itself, but the

538

only biggest innovation I've seen after

539

is just happening now after 25 years.

540

So I hope that with AI make things

that productive, that efficient, less

541

time consuming, that people have some

time to think about other things, to be

542

more creative, to be more innovative.

543

Thomas Kunjappu: Yeah, it's a

little bit of a paradox there

544

because even with the advent of

545

smartphones, you can be a monk who

lives outside of society or lives

546

in Walden Pond, like Henry David

Thoreau, away from society, just to

547

give yourself time to be bored and to

focus and think about what you want

548

to do in a very considered manner.

549

But on

550

the other hand, the promise of

every new wave of technology

551

is to give you time back.

552

But the paradox is that it might

suck up all your time chasing the

553

efficiencies, figuring it out, and then

thinking about what else you can do.

554

So you mentioned that vacuum

that it creates, right?

555

So I think that's theoretically, you

can do the same things more efficiently,

556

but then there's two paths that

whether we're talking about a sales

557

org, a person in their leisure with

their time or someone in HR, right?

558

There's two paths.

559

You can take that extra time and do more

and run ever faster on the treadmill of

560

the particular treadmill that you're on,

or you could step off and be bored and

561

reflect and live life in a different way.

562

And that's such is the paradox that often

you just go faster on the treadmill.

563

So it's an interesting point you bring up.

564

But also, I would think this will

that desire to be bored or maybe

565

you can mix it also with the desire.

566

For human connection may actually make,

especially in the sales and marketing

567

world, the value proposition that you

provide to be even more compelling.

568

So in a pure metrics perspective,

human-to-human selling might actually

569

grow as a percentage of the pie, right?

570

As it has been shrinking for some

time with the advent of so much more

571

efficiency, but that is to be seen.

572

Let me ask you the same question while we

close out about the HR function itself.

573

So if you're projecting ahead in a similar

way, thinking about specifically how

574

all aspects of HR is done.

575

What does an HR team look like in

a few years from now and what are

576

they doing day to day within the

concept of an AI-enabled world?

577

Amaan Hussain: Yeah, it's a good question.

578

With AI revolution, implementation of AI,

I see HR team doing more in less time.

579

Now, this is the question that HR

leaders should think about, the extra

580

time that everyone gets in future.

581

How to best utilize that time, right?

582

AI going to enable us

to do things quicker.

583

Of course, the first thing comes

to everyone's mind is, okay,

584

our jobs are being replaced.

585

When you need five team members,

now you need just three team

586

members to do the same job.

587

But what we need to figure out here is

how can we create some more opportunities

588

so that overall, in a bigger picture,

as a company, you are doing more with

589

the same amount of people instead of

doing the same amount with less people.

590

So if you're producing 10 in a month with

five resources, so focus on producing 20

591

with five resources instead of

producing 10 with three resources.

592

So each technology is going to give

us more time back in our hands.

593

We have to figure

594

out the best way to

best utilize that time.

595

Thomas Kunjappu: So what do you think?

596

You're in the field.

597

What do you think that can look like?

598

What is the 10 to 20?

599

So what are

600

the types of value

601

that is going to be demanded

more from the function

602

that you feel like we should

be leaning in towards?

603

Or maybe there's new

things that it's 11 to 20

604

looks very different than one to 10.

605

But do you have any thoughts as

we're, I don't know, a few years,

606

months, quarters into the revolution,

any initial thoughts if you're

607

painting the way towards the future?

608

Amaan Hussain: So I can

speak for my company.

609

What we will be focusing

on is increasing our scope.

610

So with 600 team members, we are

focusing on telecom industry.

611

So most of our clients are telecom

clients, even though we do have some

612

other clients, but the ratio is quite

less, quite smaller as compared to the

613

other clients and the other industries.

614

So if I take my company's example, we

would need to increase our scope to

615

cater more industries, more clients,

rather than just focusing on one thing.

616

So other companies

617

should be coming up with

more products, right?

618

So if someone is producing smartphones

they should start producing

619

cars at the same time right.

620

So it's all about scope so you

need to use that time to increase

621

the scope of the products in the

industry that you're dealing with.

622

That's the best, I believe diving into

a new area with the same amount of

623

resources would open a new box for you.

624

It's like a blue ocean strategy.

625

So you're creating a new product

and using your extra resources

626

to work on that and less

627

amount of resources to continue to

work on what you have been doing.

628

On what you have been doing.

629

So if I see for my company, we're

going to focus on increasing

630

our scope by leveraging AI using

the same amount of resources.

631

Thomas Kunjappu: I love that example.

632

And specifically in HR, one thing

you're already starting to do that a

633

little bit is like coaching, right?

634

Executive coaching is something that

is expensive and only for a few people.

635

And it's one-to-one and doesn't really

scale to an entire organization.

636

And now with some technology, you're

actually increasing the scope of what

637

you're able to do by providing coaching

through technology to hundreds of

638

people in a way that is up-leveling them

hopefully faster than you otherwise would.

639

And I think there's probably so many

other examples like that, right?

640

For where the HR function can take on

all the bottlenecks that you, if you

641

had more time that you could produce

more services or programs or outcomes,

642

those things can be accelerated.

643

Amaan Hussain: Yeah, absolutely.

644

And just to give my company's example,

645

if we were focused on direct-to-consumer

and consumer channel, now we have

646

expanded to United States as well.

647

So we are not only limited to clients

in Canada, we have Verizon in United

648

States as our client and Verizon in

the space of business-to-business.

649

So that's something new for us.

650

We have done this business here in Canada

before as well, but we have expanded and

651

increased our scope in terms of region.

652

Instead of focusing in Canada only,

we are now in United States as well.

653

So we are going to continue to increase

our scope by leveraging technology and

654

that's how we become more efficient.

655

Thomas Kunjappu: I love that.

656

Thank you for this conversation, Amon.

657

I know that you have a very unique

organization that you're representing

658

where the human connection is

so central to what most of the

659

org is doing day-to-day and what

people are getting trained on.

660

And it's also such a unique role to

recruit and retain talent for because

661

it is certainly not getting easier.

662

Let's put it at least that way, right?

663

With all the generations that are

changing and the shifts upstream

664

from the labor market, right?

665

In terms of how people's habits

with how they engage with

666

each other and technology.

667

And because of that unique perch of, and

the differentiated position in the market

668

for what you sell, you're for force.

669

And HR functions, you're always,

you're reflecting the values of the

670

organization, how you will do the

work in your organization as well.

671

So I thought there's some great

examples about things that you could

672

be doing on the recruiting side, right?

673

But you're specifically saying no to

because it clashes with your values.

674

And I think I would suggest that

it's valuable for every organization

675

to clarify what actually matters to

them from that values perspective and

676

how they differentiate in the market

as clairvoyantly as you're doing,

677

because then it helps streamline

all your downstream decisions,

678

right, of any particular technology

or what not to do, what to do.

679

Thank you for this conversation.

680

And for all the listeners out there who

are looking to future-proof your own

681

organizations and your own HR functions, I

hope you took some nuggets of insight from

682

this conversation here with Amaan Hussain.

683

I certainly did.

684

And good luck as you future-proof HR.

685

See you on the next one.

686

Bye now.

687

Thanks for joining us on this

episode of Future Proof HR.

688

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689

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690

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691

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how we can all thrive in the age on AI.