The Human Element

The Human Element, presented by Wisq, is a podcast hosted by Barb Bidan where CHROs and senior HR leaders share candid stories and practical perspectives on how AI and innovation are shaping the future of HR. In this episode, Barb sits down with Maggie Ruvoldt, CHRO at LEARN Behavioral, to talk about what most companies get wrong about AI adoption — and what to do instead. [Listen to the full episode here.]

Most companies are asking the wrong question about AI.

They want to know which tool to use. Maggie Ruvoldt, CHRO at LEARN Behavioral, wants to know something else entirely: how is the work actually getting done, and who's doing it?

That reframe is the foundation of everything she shared on a recent episode of The Human Element.

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The tool-first trap

"People are starting with the big shiny tools, right? What's the newest thing? What's the latest model?" Ruvoldt observes. The problem isn't curiosity about new technology. The problem is treating the tool as the solution before understanding the problem.

The best tool in the world doesn't help if people don't use it, if the work isn't redesigned around it, and if it isn't solving the right problem in the first place. HR teams fall into this trap when they let technology lead change management, instead of the other way around.

Stop measuring job cuts

Many organizations frame AI ROI as headcount reduction. Ruvoldt calls this subtraction, not strategy. "How do we get exponentially better? How do we just build better organizations?" she asks.

The metrics she wants HR teams tracking instead:

Workflow impact: How many AI or automated workflows have been implemented?Automation coverage: What percentage of a specific workflow is now automated?

Fluency: What is the organizational, team, and individual understanding of what these tools can do?

That last one matters most. Ruvoldt points to a "collective imposter syndrome" she sees at every industry event. Everyone assumes everyone else is further along. By focusing on fluency (real comprehension and not just access) HR teams can help people see AI as something that makes their work more satisfying, not something that threatens it.

The magic wand question

Skip the word "efficiency." It's too vague to motivate anyone. Instead, Ruvoldt opens with a more useful question: "If I could wave a magic wand and make your job better in one way today—a repetitive process, a manual task where you feel like you're not contributing at the top of your capabilities—what would that look like?"

Then she follows it with a second question: if that task were gone, what would you spend that time on?

That second question does something the first one can't. It gets people out of defensive mode and into imagination mode. She describes a resistant team that, when asked what they'd do with a free workday, immediately started talking about proactive projects they'd never had time for. When they understood that embracing the tool meant time for those projects, their engagement shifted completely.

The prize wasn't removing pain. It was creating room for the work they actually wanted to do.

Why HR has to go first

AI adoption is often led by IT or operations. Ruvoldt thinks HR should be driving it instead — and should start by doing it internally, with their own teams.

"When HR does it in our own teams, it creates credibility," she explains. Walking into another department and prescribing an automation strategy only lands if you've been through it yourself. Going first also builds something else: empathy. HR teams who've navigated the process can share what didn't work, not just what did, which makes the change management conversation more honest and more effective.

Why talent acquisition is the wrong place to start

Despite being an obvious target for automation (high volume, lots of repetitive tasks) Ruvoldt warns against launching AI efforts in talent acquisition. Her reasoning is straightforward: the candidate experience is the beginning of the employee experience. A jarring, impersonal AI-first interaction sets the wrong tone for a relationship that's supposed to last years.

She also flags a specific risk in how these wins get communicated. When companies celebrate TA automation by announcing they "don't even have recruiters anymore," the message employees hear isn't efficiency. It's elimination. That's a trust problem that follows every subsequent AI initiative inside the organization.

There are automation opportunities inside TA. But they shouldn't be the first thing people experience.

The place to start is simpler than it sounds

Ruvoldt's closing advice for HR leaders at the beginning of their AI journey: use the magic wand on yourself first.

Figure out what you'd eliminate from your own job. Then do it. Then bring that experience to your team. The credibility comes from having done the thing.