Employee Experience Podcasts by EX Labs

The recruitment tech market is going crazy - there is one tool after the other, and all of them are AI powered. Most of them are competing on features and are implementing new features based on the technology available. You can even argue that they throw technology in without considering if this actually solves a problem. I had a similar conversation just recently with Jason from Workday. And so it is quite refreshing to speak with a start-up that is focused on the problem solving and comes from a rich functional background and experience.Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. And after some special episodes we are abck to basics: AI and Start-up. We are talking today about Theia Jobs. A start-up that is looking to simplify the recruitment process but also making sure you find the true best candidate. I could also say "CVs are so 90s..."  I had the pleasure to talk to Luis Luciani, the founder of Theia Jobs. You will learn quickly that Luis is an absolute Recruitment Professional and brings a rich experience to the table that is refreshing. We went deep into Recruitment and what are some of the main shortcomings today. And of course we went deep into AI and how it can enable better experiences and better outcomes.But why am I telling you everything already here and now: Listen for yourself: Luis Luciani, Founder Theia Jobs.Music by Bensound

What is the connection between the Emmies and AI? What is the connection between TV jingles and AI advisory? And how does film-school land you in Technology? - I could go on and on and on about this in today's episode. Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. But it is very different than what you have watched before. Today I am not talking to a founder. I am talking to an AI advisor, someone that helps company leaders drive AI transformation: Shelly Palmer, Professor of advanced media, one of LinkedIns top voices and AI advisor and coach to business leaders.Shelly has a very interesting background and path towards AI which illustrates how he got all his knowledge and experience. He was one of the early ones IN AI and continues to stay on top. We went deep on AI and how to transform your company with AI - and spoiler, Shelly has a hot take on the late mover advantage, so if you are not yet in with AI, you haven't lost anything yet.But what am I talking here - listen and watch for yourself: Shelly Palmer, CEO The Palmer Group...Music by Bensound

What is your key AI or Technology feature in your HR Technology? - and are you looking at it from the right angle? What is the most important aspect of your Technology? - and do you think it has anything to do actually with Technology? Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. It is still a bit of start-up but has morphed from there significantly - but it is still hardcore AI today. I am sure you will get a lot out of today's episode. I had the pleasure to talk to Jason Scheckner, AI Strategy GTM at Workday and former Chief Business Officer at HiredScore. Jason and I have talked about AI, featuritis and why adoption is more important than anything else.We went deep into AI and how it can be successful - and in that we went back to our in-depth conversations we had in France to not only talk about AI for HR, but the much bigger game of HR for AI - and how critical this is for success. Not only for the success of your AI transformation, but for the future of your company.But why am I telling you everything already here and now: Listen for yourself: Jason Scheckner, AI Strategy GTM at Workday and former Chief Business Officer at HiredScoreMusic by Bensound

How do being a Rock Musician with your own band, being a pilot, and being in the restaurant business lead to HR Technology? - and why are these capabilities actually just right to prepare you for a role as HR Technology Strategist?Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. It is less start-up and more AI - but the company we are talking about is still highly innovative and feels often start-up like.  I had the pleasure to talk Cliff Jurkiewicz, Vice President Global Strategy, General Manager CAB & Futurist at Phenom - a company that is at the forefront of Talent Technology, especially Talent Acquisition. Cliff and I have talked about his past experiences and how they formed his today's thinking, and of course we have talked about Phenom. The deepest we went on AI and what it will mean for HR Tech but also for employees and Talent Acquisition as a whole. Cliff shared some spicy views and paints a truly exciting future. But why am I telling you this?Listen for yourself: Cliff Jurkiewicz, Vice President Global Strategy, General Manager CAB & Futurist at Phenom.Link to Cliff's blueprint: https://www.myblueprint.workMusic by Bensound

From 1990s where websites were the latest and greatest to apps to designing the bridge of the future for ships...what a story - but from there to what next? - apparently wait a minute... Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. But I have to admit that the company we are talking about is not really a start-up anymore... but still a company I wanted to introduce and talk to in a bit more depth - because the topic and service this company offers should and rightly so is at the center of what we do in Experience: UK and UI. I had the pleasure to talk Dave Marsh, CEO of Monochrome - a company that designs the Experience into your ServiceNow platform. And how to do this and how not to do this is what we went deep into...and much more starting from video games and going into the discussion why a good process not necessarily brings a good user experience...But listen for yourself: Dave Marsh, CEO Monochrome...Music by Bensound.

What if... your workforce is significantly more productive from one day to the other? What if... all of your employees only do the stuff you have hired them for and can forget about all this admin stuff that take valuable time from them? What if...you can orchestrate all your admin employees with a push of a button and also have the guarantee that they will do their job exactly as outlined in your policies and process documentation?Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. And the AI start-up that I was talking to is just turning three - so is truly a start-up. But this does not mean that it isn't ready to rock the space they are in: Meet EMA - Enterprise Machine Assistants. A start-up focused on making the AI revolution reality.I had the pleasure to talk Swati Trehan COO of EMA. We talked deep around AI, what it can do and how to scale a workforce of AI agents. But we also talked about the hype around AI, the anti-hype around SaaS vendors, and how AI will actually also make BPO companies rethink their business model. And where we landed provide me with a very interesting perspective of the future. And quite frankly, if you don't yet think about your AI workforce, listen or watch our conversation - and even if you are already all hands-on deck when it comes to your AI workforce, you will find quite some interesting nuggets in here. But why am I still talking. Meet Swati Trehan, COO EMA...Music by Bensound.

Is AI just a hype? What makes the difference between companies that are successful with AI vs the companies that are not? Will AI replace work and specialized roles or will it enhance it and make existing workers just more powerful?Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. I invited a former guest back to talk about AI in practice because of the special insights he has in companies' AI usage and success. I had the pleasure to talk again to one of my early guests back to our podcast: Martijn from Datacamp. Datacamp is a company that helps companies and employees acquire critical skills around data and AI. What is he seeing in his work? What are his clients doing and what are the outcomes when it comes to AI? and where is this all leading towards? This and much more we were diving deep in. Listen for yourself: Martijn Theuwissen from DataCamp.Music by Bensound.

In a Bonus Episode of the EXLabs podcast I was talking just before Christmas to a good friend - GoGo - about the Tops and Flops of 2025. Of course we stayed close to AI, what else to be expected...but it was both, Top and Flop. Curious?We also talked about Floating Tanks (*nervous laughter* ), and were discussing AI Slop, however with a bit of a different view of it than Satya...probably for good reasons 😉. - and it is the first ever EXPLICIT podcast I was publishing...listen to it if you are curious about our view on the AI Bubble and if it will burst or not in 2026 - and what the implications might be? But all fun aside, we went deep into the failures of companies to adopt AI and drive towards AI-first operating models. Why is this happening and what needs to change. Will there be companies and people left behind? What do we need to do in order for not going to such a future?Go listen for yourself on. I am sure you will enjoy the conversation. Important links from the conversation:- Google AI Studio: https://aistudio.google.com/welcome- Loveable: https://lovable.dev- Antigravity: https://antigravity.googleAnd GoGo's Blog on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/gogo-s-ai-obsession-7331518811621249027/Music by Bensound.

Is Payroll a good area to apply AI? How would we feel about hallucinations in our pay when still almost 50% of employees live paycheck to paycheck? And thinking further - if not only in payroll but in more and more areas AI will replace humans to get the work done - how does this impact government tax income? And do we need to consider AI-labor taxation and social contributions in payroll?For this and much more I invited a former guest back into the studio, someone that is close to this space for quite some time and sees it all live, every day.Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. But as I had alluded to, it is a special one. We are focusing today more on AI than start-ups, although we are also recapping how some of the start-up ideas from 2 years ago have performed...or not. I was thrilled to talk again to Jeff Phipps, SVP and General Manager ADP Northern Europe. Jeff and I spoke about a variety of topics from gig economy, the AI bubble to payroll and taxation issues of the future. We went deep but always with a grain of salt. But before I say more, listen for yourself: Jeff Phipps SVP ADP and General Manager Northern Europe...Music by Bensound.

From being let go, to building an operating system for gyms that scaled to more than 3,000 locations - including the largest gym franchise in the world. After 10 years exiting and restarting the founding process in a similar field across Health & Wellness, running into a dead-end street. Learning through the future co-founder that even great CVs are not by default invited to job interviews but might still put you at the bottom of the pile - and thinking: There must be a better way... Welcome to a new Employee Experience Labs podcast episode from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. And we continue in the Talent space going back to Talent Acquisition. Through a joined connection I was introduced to Adam and after a short connect I was thrilled to invite him into my podcast studio. Adam has a great story to tell when it comes to his legacy - but an even greater story when we focus on today. Adam is one of the founders of TalentLlama - a skill-based, AI interviewer platform - and we talked in depth about the platform, the dos and don'ts, the how-tos and why this will ensure that the best talents are on the top of the applicant-pile - in a fair and fast process - and not the ones that applied fastest.Let's dive into a great story about how TalentLlama solves an issue many of us are facing...Adam Stokar Co-Founder TalentLlama...Musiccan by Bensound

Why do so many career initiatives in companies don't bring the value they were supposed to? How can we better empower employees to take ownership of their careers and development? And how can we help every employee with the right mentor to supercharge their career?Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. And we continue in the Talent space but this time with a different angle - not Talent Acquisition, but Talent Management, specifically career growth and development.I had the pleasure to talk to Parmod Ghatwal, one of the founders of CareerSuite.ai about their product and how it can supercharge careers. When Parmod and I first started talking, I was excited by his passion for career growth and democratization of development. I could feel it in his voice - but then he also showed me a very exciting functionality that makes CareerSuite.ai special. I won't get into the details here, but be ready to be blown away! - I just say "how do mentoring and digital twins get together?"Before I say more, listen to yourself...Parmod from CareerSuite.aiMusic by Bensound

Accepting her first CHRO appointment in a new company and new business - 11 months in. How does the experience compare to expectations? What is different becoming the CHRO from being a senior leader in HR? - and what are the most urgent tasks to focus on. What a great point in time for a sit-down and conversation!Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.We continue our most successful season so far "From the Workbook of an HR Leader" where I am talking to experienced colleagues in our field about their daily working routine and what and how they are going about the various challenges they have to face each day.I am a tireless believer that we can all be better if we learn from each other, but there are not many opportunities to actually do that - yes, there are conferences, but how often can you attend one in a year? yes, there are peer-to-peer connections, but how many do you manage to keep running?I am a firm believer that we can all do a better job if we learn from each other and so I am inviting seasoned HR experts from various fields and companies to tell us about their workday and how they go about the challenges of today.I was waiting 11 months to record today's episode as my guest had just decided to change employers and step up the final step in the HR career ladder - accepting an offer for a CHRO position - when we started to talk about having her on my podcast, talking about her experience. But today is the day and I am excited to speak with Sofie Mørch CHRO at Kamstrup.  Sofie and I go way back and have managed to stay connected and have regular exchanges over the years. I always value connecting with her and am really excited to have our latest conversation recorded. Sofie is not an HR practitioner by education. She started out in business before turning to the "dark side" - just joking. And her deep experience across multiple companies, HR and non-HR career stations makes her a great fit for the role she is in now. And so, after almost a year in role, I was keen to understand more. And it is truly interesting to get her perspective. We talked about what is as expected, what is different and how is she approaching this career step - and of course we talked about experience, technology and AI. But let me pause here - listen for yourself: Meet Sofie Mørch, CHRO at Kamstrup...Music by Bensound.

Where are we in the state of AI when it comes to enterprise adoption? How much around Agentic AI is hype and what is real - and how could it transform companies? What happened to all the AI investments in the recent years - and how do you make the most out of it for your company. And why is this not what you think?Let's talk about this to another veteran in the tech world. A veteran that has worked with many companies in the recent years on AI, but is also rooted deep in big data and the cloud transformation - she has seen and experienced it all and can share what truly matters.Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. But as I had alluded to, it is a special one. I was very lucky to get some time with Gloria from Google. GoGloria is the Lead AI Strategist at Google for CPG companies, but she is also an entrepreneur, founder and Angel investor. Gloria, or as many know her GoGo and I know each other for some time already and I was truly excited to have her on my podcast - and what can I say, the recording was even better than I could ever expect. GoGo and I not only talk about AI, big business, investments and how to get your AI transformation right. But we also talk about restaurant agents, protein agents and how AI can transform the way you live today. - and not to forget we have quite some fun on the way. Seriously, I can only recommend watching this episode...GoGo, Lead AI Strategist CPG at Google... Music by Bensound.

95% of AI experiments or pilots in companies are failing, investments into AI are climbing to new heights almost every day, we all get asked every day at work when AI will finally be implemented in a way to take significant work or create significant efficiencies. How does all of this fit together? How should we make sense out of this and find the right way as an HR and Tech practitioner in this jungle of opposing information? - I am sure I am not the only one confronted with this issue. So how to make sense?Let's talk to the experts on this. I was very lucky and grateful that a seasoned AI expert, practitioner and investor found some time in his diary to talk about this with me.Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. But as I had alluded to, it is a special one. I was very lucky to get some time back with Kevin Novak, founder of Rackhouse VC. A VC firm specialized in AI investments with the aim of actively coaching AI start-ups. It is not the first time that Kevin and I have spoken on this podcast. In fact, I recommend listenign to our first conversation abotu a year ago for some additional background and context. We took time this year to first look at what happened in the last 12 months when it comes to AI - and spoiler alert: A lot has happened, but also not much at the same time. Kevin and I also dived deep into the current capabilities of AI, specifically where Agentic AI is on the hypscale, as well as what is needed to bring AI to commercial success. Let me pause here - please see and hear for yourself. Here we go: Kevin Novak, Founder and CEO Rackhouse VCMusic by Bensound.

23 years in the same company, a seasoned expert in HR, Service Delivery, HR Technology, and of course Employee Experience - bringing his own lens with learnings and applied ideas. What a great conversation!Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.We continue our most successful season so far "From the Workbook of an HR Leader" where I am talking to experienced colleagues in our field about their daily working routine and what and how they are going about the various challenges they have to face each day.I am a tireless believer that we can all be better if we learn from each other, but there are not many opportunities to actually do that - yes, there are conferences, but how often can you attend one in a year? yes, there are peer-to-peer connections, but how many do you manage to keep running?I am a firm believer that we can all do a better job if we learn from each other and so I am inviting seasoned HR experts from various fields and companies to tell us about their workday and how they go about the challenges of today.I was waiting long to record today's episode as my guest is very busy and time-zone and business travels did not align for some time. But today I am talking to a good colleague of mine, the SVP HR and Global Business Services at P&G - Onur Karakus. Onur has started his career 23 years ago at P&G in Istanbul and has since then experienced probably any role the HR function has to offer -  and that across continents. Starting in Europe, moving to Asia, and landing finally in the US. Throughout each role and each station, Onur has left a mark and also learned a lot. He is like me a firm believer of a growth mindset - and as excited about innovation in our space as well. But also focused on the business case, deeply rooted in the understanding that our function is a supporting function and everything we do must be in service of the wider employee and company success. We have talked about his different stations, HR structure, and of course AI and innovation. But let me pause here - listen for yourself: Meet Onur Karakus, SVP HR and Global Business Services...Music by Bensound

What comes to mind for you when you think "Succession Planning"? Do you believe you have this under control? Is this something you don't think about much? Or are you in desperate need to find a solution to a growing problem. I tell you where I sit - in the last seat. Desperate need to find a solution. And so I was extremely excited when I got a tip about a company called The Succession Plan. A few messages back and forth and I was set up to talk to Alex, Founder and CEO of The Succession Plan. And I have to tell you that these conversations were quite interesting, and so I decided to ask Alex to come onto my podcast.Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. And we continue in the Talent space but this time with a different angle - not Talent Acquisition, but Talent Management, Succession Planning. Alex, is an experienced Talent veteran with over 30 years of experience, but he gave up his secure job to found The Succession Plan - because he identified a need, could not find a solution for it, and so he decided to build it himself. And that was the beginning of a very interesting journey - and I learned a lot on the way talking to Alex. But let me stop here and let you listen to Alex directly: Alex Cheney, Founder and CEO The Succession Plan... 

How is AI influencing not only HR but transforming the whole enterprise? Why is now HR's time to shine and command the table, rather than just sitting on it? And how is it HR's inherent destination to widen its scope from just the human workforce to the human and AI workforce?Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.We continue our most successful season so far "From the Workbook of an HR Leader" where I am talking to experienced colleagues in our field about their daily working routine and what and how they are going about the various challenges they have to face each day.I am a tireless believer that we can all be better if we learn from each other, but there are not many opportunities to actually do that - yes, there are conferences, but how often can you attend one in a year? yes, there are peer-to-peer connections, but how many do you manage to keep running?I am a firm believer that we can all do a better job if we learn from each other and so I am inviting seasoned HR experts from various fields and companies to tell us about their workday and how they go about the challenges of today.For today's episode I have something special. I was talking to a seasoned HR expert that has not only seen it all but worked and shaped HR in multiple roles across multiple regions in multi-national corporations throughout decades. In her last role she was the CHRO to Africa's biggest retailer - Shoprite  where she successfully transitioned the company into the age of Digital HR. We have of course talked about that - but much more. We have talked about her experiences and learnings but also went deep into the future of our function, especially in the light of technology. Meet Athene van Mazijk.

Who holds stronger bias? People or AI? and why do we accept different answers to the same question from different human colleagues but not from GenAI? And are we actually realising the speed of change that we are undergoing in our HR world currently? There are so many new and influencing factors in the HR and HR tech space currently that we just run with and because of this speed we hardly see how quick we are changing our environment - but when we look back in 3-5 years we will probably have a Wow effect, and have potentially built the HR organization of one - meaning we can segment our employees to deliver personalized services.Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.We continue our most successful season so far "From the Workbook of an HR Leader" where I am talking to experienced colleagues in our field about their daily working routine and what and how they are going about the various challenges they have to face each day.I am a tireless believer that we can all be better if we learn from each other, but there are not many opportunities to actually do that - yes, there are conferences, but how often can you attend one in a year? yes, there are peer-to-peer connections, but how many do you manage to keep running?I am a firm believer that we can all do a better job if we learn from each other and so I am inviting seasoned HR experts from various fields and companies to tell us about their workday and how they go about the challenges of today.For today's episode I was speaking with a close colleague of a big insurance company here in Munich: Roland Kern, Chief Operating Officer HR at Allianz Insurance. Roland and I dove deep into the HR structure at Allianz and how he makes project success happen in this environment. But we also went very deep into AI, GenAI and how it will significantly change the way how we can service our employees in the future. But before I talk any further, hear for yourself: Roland Kern, COO at Allianz Group HR.Music by Bensound

From Surinam, through the Netherlands, the UK, the Americas, and to the world. Shaped by many diverse experiences in the HR space for 20+ years. A serial entrepreneur in the HR space. What is the story behind that?Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series we are running. And we continue in the Talent Acquisition space as there is so much going on. But we look at it today from a very different angle that I haven't seen before and am very happy to have had the chance to learn more about. I had the pleasure to speak with the Founder and CEO of INOP: Meet Aniel Mahabier. Founded in the space of Talent Assessment in 2022, INOP has pivoted significantly to meet the needs of their customers while staying true to their original idea and identified gap in the market. Not only is the pivoting story fascinating, but also where Aniel saw the need to found INOP in the first place: Culture fit. But before I talk any further, let's jump right in: Aniel Mahabier, Founder and CEO INOP.

What is the connection between long lines at the men's and AI? How did working as an investment banker at Wall Street lead to founding an HR tech Start-up?  And I think we all can agree that studying foreign policy and Chinese are good foundations for a job in HR - but how about founding a Recruiting Start-up?Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.We continue our most successful season so far "From the Workbook of an HR Leader" where I am talking to experienced colleagues in our field about their daily working routine and what and how they are going about the various challenges they have to face each day.I am a tireless believer that we can all be better if we learn from each other, but there are not many opportunities to actually do that - yes, there are conferences, but how often can you attend one in a year? yes, there are peer-to-peer connections, but how many do you manage to keep running?I am a firm believer that we can all do a better job if we learn from each other and so I am inviting seasoned HR experts from various fields and companies to tell us about their workday and how they go about the challenges of today.Today I am proud to share another special episode of the season where my guest and I have of course talked about HR, and specifically Talent Management and Recruiting - but even more about Technology and AI and how AI is not only transforming our work in HR but whole companies and what special role HR plays in this fascinating transformation we are witnessing but also are a part of. For many of us AI is the 2nd or 3rd big technology-caused transformation in the workplace. And for this one even more than for the others it is true that it is not about technology but it is actually about HR, and it highly depends on HR if a company is successful with its AI transformation. I am extremely excited to had the chance to have Athena Karp, Founder of HiredScore and now part of Workday as guest in my podcast studio. Athena and I met only last year when I had the honor to be part of a panel discussion she moderated. But from the first moment on it was clear to me that I needed to have her as guest in my podcast as she has significantly influenced AI Tech in the HR space already, but I am certain that she will do so much more in the months and years to come. And so we of course talked about the past and what led to today - but we even more talked about the future and how HR work will radically change; not tomorrow but already starting today. I have to admit that we would probably have talked much more then the hour we booked if it were not for busy diaries as there is so much to talk about. But the 50 minutes that are to follow are packed with interesting viewpoints and thought starters. But let me stop here and you can listen for yourself: Athena Karp GM of HiredScore at Workday...

How does wine-making connect with HR Technology and how is the oldest bear company of the world involved in HR innovation? And why do we have to thank juggling for getting a state of the art HCM system? In this episode of our Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio I am talking with Dave Sohigian, CTO at large, Workday. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.We continue our most successful season so far "From the Workbook of an HR Leader" where I am talking to experienced colleagues in our field about their daily working routine and what and how they are going about the various challenges they have to face each day.I am a tireless believer that we can all be better if we learn from each other, but there are not many opportunities to actually do that - yes, there are conferences, but how often can you attend one in a year? yes, there are peer-to-peer connections, but how many do you manage to keep running?I am a firm believer that we can all do a better job if we learn from each other and so I am inviting seasoned HR experts from various fields and companies to tell us about their workday and how they go about the challenges of today.Today is a special episode as I am talking not really to a peer but to someone that has influenced how we think about technology and how we experience technology today. I am extremely excited to had the chance to have Dave Sohigian CTO at large at Workday as guest in my podcast studio. Dave and I realized that we still remember the days of html-coding and how far someone could get with these skills 3 decades ago - and where they could lead up to. Dave was one of the first hires at Workday, joined in 2010 and over the course of the next decade has significantly influenced Workday as well as the overall HCM tech eco-system. Him and I we talked about that, the early days of Workday but also and with even more excitement about what comes next. If there wouldn't be the constraint of time, I think we would have never stopped but don't worry we have tried to stay on topic as well as shared one or the other anecdote. If you want to learn more, listen to Dave Sohigian, CTO at large Workday...Music by Bensound

Growing up in India, studying Finance, working for more than 7 years as an HR Business Partner and then setting up Global HR Shared Services for a traditional German manufacturing company. What sounds like a crazy idea is the actual story that we will dive into today.With Karun Mathew we continue our most successful season so far "From the Workbook of an HR Leader" where I am talking to experienced colleagues in our field about their daily working routine and what and how they are going about the various challenges they have to face each day.I am a tireless believer that we can all be better if we learn from each other, but there are not many opportunities to actually do that - yes, there are conferences, but how often can you attend one in a year? yes, there are peer-to-peer connections, but how many do you manage to keep running?I am a firm believer that we can all do a better job if we learn from each other and so I am inviting seasoned HR experts from various fields and companies to tell us about their workday and how they go about the challenges of today.In this episode , I am speaking with Karun Mathew - Global Head - People Experience (HR Shared Services) & HR Digitalization at BSH Home Appliances. Karun and I first met way back and we managed to stay in touch over quite a period of time and I am really happy to have him as a guest in today's episode. Karun has experienced a lot in his career across different interesting stations in the HR space - and also multiple different countries & cultures. Karun and I will dive deep into the specific set up that he has established at BSH and how he manages the variance of countries and local business demands while still focusing on global standardization. And of course we will also talk about how Gen AI drives our work today and tomorrow. Music by Bensound

What is a strategy-theologist? and what does this have to do with Employee Experience? - and why is thinking and focusing on Employee Experience good, but not enough? - and how does Trust fit into this?In the latest episode of our Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio I am talking to Amelia Dunlop, Chief Experience Officer at Deloitte Digital. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.We continue our most successful season so far "From the Workbook of an HR Leader" where I am talking to experienced colleagues in our field about their daily working routine and what and how they are going about the various challenges they have to face each day.I am a tireless believer that we can all be better if we learn from each other, but there are not many opportunities to actually do that - yes, there are conferences, but how often can you attend one in a year? yes, there are peer-to-peer connections, but how many do you manage to keep running?I am a firm believer that we can all do a better job if we learn from each other and so I am inviting seasoned HR experts from various fields and companies to tell us about their workday and how they go about the challenges of today.Today is a special episode as I am talking to someone that is probably even more excited and energized by Experience than I am, and someone that loves her job maybe even more than I love mine? - well, judge for yourself when you listen to my conversation with Amelia Dunlop, Chief Experience Officer at Deloitte Digital. When you are curious about the Trust concept, I can only recommend Amelia's book: The Four Factors of TrustYou can also find out more on the specific webpage here.Anlast but not least, would like to recommend Amelia's first book about the Human Experience: Elevating the Human ExperienceMusic by Bensound

How can AI and automation lead to a more human experience in Recruiting? How can you make AI work for you - at an RoI that you can afford? And what is the difference between AI being an add-on to your technology platform vs. being an AI first platform. Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast Studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.Today's episode is an addition to our Start up and AI series. I am not sure if you can call an 18 year young company still a start-up, but for sure my today's guest plays an interesting role in AI in Talent Acquisition. I had the pleasure to speak with the CEO of Vonq - my first CEO guest, and it was a really exciting conversation: Meet Ritu Mohanka from Vonq. Founded as a job marketing platform in 2006, Vonq became so much more over the years - always focusing on their key area of Talent Acquisition, and supporting recruiters doing a better and more efficient and successful job. Ritu has joined Vonq as their new CEO last year to focus on customer engagement and ensuring that Vonq and its products continue to stay relevant for Recruiters. Ritu and I talked about being a CEO, as she was my first CEO guest - but also went deep into Talent Acquisition and of course my favourite topics of Experience and AI. But before I talk any further, hear for yourself: Ritu Mohanka from Vonq.Music by Bensound

What is the connection between y2k and Employee Experience? How do you land spanning almost three decades in deep HR Technology when you started out as a teacher? And as an experienced HR Tech professional how does your day look like?Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.We have started a new season that we call "From the Workbook of an HR Leader" where I am talking to experienced colleagues in our field about their daily working routine and what and how they are going about the various challenges they have to face each day.I am a tireless believer that we can all be better if we learn from each other, but there are not many opportunities to actually do that - yes, there are conferences, but how often can you attend one in a year? yes, there are peer-to-peer connections, but how many do you manage to keep running?I am a firm believer that we can all do a better job if we learn from each other and so I have invited seasoned HR experts from various fields and companies to tell us about their workday and how they go about the challenges of today.Today, I am talking to Lisa Patten - VP of HR Technology at Otis. Lisa and I first met at one of these conferences and immediately thought that we must connect and exchange ideas and experiences. I always enjoy talking to Lisa - and when you listen to the full episode you will understand why. Lisa talks about her work with passion as well as a strong growth mindset. The best of to worlds. Lisa and I have of course talked about collaboration between HR and HR Technology, strong guiding principles to get to a competitive tech stack - and of course Gen AI. Lisa has tried and tested many different ideas on the way and therefore can provide her views and directions rooted deep in actual experience which is great to learn.But why am I telling you about it anyways - let's listen to Lisa, VP of HR Technology at Otis...Music by Bensound

I am thrilled to finally share the Predictions Review 2024 episode. In this episode Davis Aguilar, Prateek Kumar and Volker Schrank talk about 2024, re-watching 2023 predictions for 2024 and assessing the reality against it. You will see that many of our 2023 predictions guests were quite right about 2024.But this is not where we stop. We also talk about 2025 and what will shape the Experience year 2025.Music by Bensound

How important are Managers for a superior Employee Experience? How critical is it to have the latest technology vs. knowing how to utilize what you have? And why is it important as an Employee Experience practitioner to forget about HR? In another episode of our season "From the Workbook of an HR Leader" I had the pleasure to talk to one of my peers, Nicole Sloane about these things and much more.  In the "From the Workbook of an HR Leader" season of our EX Labs podcasts I am talking to experienced colleagues in our field about their daily working routine and what and how they are going about the various challenges they have to face each day. I am a tireless believer that we can all be better if we learn from each other, but there are not many opportunities to actually do that - yes, there are conferences, but how often can you attend one in a year? yes, there are peer-to-peer connections, but how many do you manage to keep running?I am a firm believer that we can all do a better job if we learn from each other and so I have invited seasoned HR experts from various fields and companies to tell us about their workday and how they go about the challenges of today. In today's episode, Nicole and I go deep on how to best understand your employees, how important a cross-functional approach is when it comes to experience and why complexity is in every aspect the wrong way to go - and not to forget how to measure if you are successful or not. Further, we talk about how the HR function continues to stay relevant and how it might look like in 3-5 years from now. Enjoy. Music by Bensound

Imagine you can not only listen to your employees, but you can actually understand them. Imagine that you not only understand their sentiment, but you can get insights on a deeper more emotional level? Imagine you don't only rely on your annual engagement survey but have a system that helps you listen and truly understand your employees in a 360 degree fashion. And now let me tell you that this is not just in your imagination but there are Start-Ups that are working on it with the help of scrapping multiple sources of information and using AI to listen on a more deeper level. Isn't that great? I had the opportunity to speak with another Start-Up founder: Theo Davey from WebXB. Theo and I met on LinkedIn and I quickly saw the potential of his idea and was intrigued. It took us a while to get together for this recording, but I am excited that we finally managed. Theo's idea and service looks at Experience from a few different angles as we will explore during our conversation. First and foremost, he looks at better understanding how employees feel, how Experiences are landing within a firm. And such an understanding is key to further improve your Experience, so needs to be at the foundation of any Experience Strategy. But also the way how Theo thinks about getting to this knowledge is about experience as one of his tools is an AI supported voice assistant that is capable of doing live, partially unscripted employee surveys or interviews to really engage and understand what your employees say, mean and feel. This is truly exciting, but of course also a bit scary when you think about it. But nonetheless this is a true glimpse of how the future of Experience understanding could look like.

Adoption rates of 90%, localized implementations with global standardized processes and technology - and a desire from the HR leadership to do more. If these are your messages at the end of an HR Transformation you can call it a win for sure. However, of course this is difficult to achieve and doesn't come by itself but only through rigorous CI on the way to a transformed HR organization and strong leadership. Wouldn't we all like to be there and have achieved that? Well, we can if we learn the best practices from our peers and adapt them for our journey. Welcome to another Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio. Employee Experience Labs Podcasts are about HR Tech, Employee Experience, Shared Service and other interesting topics around HR at the workplace.We have started a new season that we call "from the workbook of an HR Leader" where  I am talking to experienced colleagues in our field about their daily working day and what and how they are going about the various challenges they have to face each day. I am a tireless believer that we can all be better if we learn from each other, but there are not many opportunities to actually do that - yes, there are conferences, but how often can you attend one in a year? yes, there are peer-to-peer connections, but how many do you manage to keep running? I am a firm believer that we can all do a better job if we learn from each other and so I have invited seasoned HR experts from various fields and companies to tell us about their workday and how they go about the challenges of today. Today, in the first episode of the season I am talking to Johnny Vega - head of HR Transformation at Reckitt. Johnny and I go way back and have also managed one transformation jointly some ten years back. In our conversation I wanted to understand from Johnny how they managed to bring the transformation at Reckitt to such a big success, but also which challenges he faced and how he solved them.

Have you ever wondered what Nuclear Science has to do with Venture Capitalism? - and no, I am not talking about Amazon or Microsoft investing in nuclear power plants to have sufficient electricity to power their Gen AI models. That is though probably also worth a conversation - but not today. Or would you have expected the fact that the Higgs-Boson discovery happened at CERN in Switzerland led to the Uber surge pricing algorithm? And not only that.  If you want to hear more, please join me in talking to Kevin Novak, founder of Rackhouse.vc talking about the VC universe, AI start-ups, and how AI will impact the decade to come.

Imagine the year 1996, the internet exists, but only for researchers and geeks. Dot com wasn't known to anyone and Sam Altman just turned 11. Amazon doesn't exist and neither does Google. Microsoft is a well established company, mostly known and successful because of Windows 95. At the same time a mathematics student writes his thesis about Neural Networks. You think this was early? The beginning of AI - well, not really. It was already the 2nd phase of the AI evolution. AI is much older than most of us know and think - and that also means it is much more established today than we might think. I had the pleasure to talk to Wolfgang Hauner, an experienced Technology & AI expert. Wolfgang is a long standing AI veteran & enthusiast. He has already in the 90ies researched about AI and wrote his diploma thesis about AI and data. Talking to someone that is already that long in this business is rare and a first for me in this podcast series. Wolfgang and I are diving of course deep into AI and Gen Ai today, but also go back to the infancy states - and why this matters. But this is not where we stop - Wolfgang has for a long time lived the enterprise life in big global companies but recently switched to the start-up life. Why he did this, what he has learned - but also, what recommendations he has for both, small start-ups and big enterprise to better collaborate and benefit from one another is an interesting theme we will explore. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. Let's get going with Wolfgang from Link Intelligence. Music by Bensound

What does Windows 95 have to do with AI? Why is there a direct line from company-mail paper envelopes to AI? And how does this lead to a brilliant start-up idea that potentially we should not have shared in this podcast to build it ourselves first? In this episode of the Employee Experience Labs podcast from the Munich Podcast studio I am talking to Jay Clem about AI, Gen AI, and how to think about it best for HR.

Why is it important for innovation and technology to know how many cups of coffee you had today? And why do grown companies but also start-ups fail on successfully turning ideas into value-generating innovations?  In another Employee Experience Labs podcast episode I had the honor to talk to Chris, an expert in business and experience innovation who is currently leading CEO Co-Innovation Projects at Microsoft, but formerly being in many different roles in the start-up and innovation universe where he learned a lot about what it takes and where innovation goes wrong and helped turning ideas into successful innovations. We talked about what capabilities are required and are often forgotten in the process, for example how important networking is. Listen to our conversation to learn more and what all of this has to do with how many cups of coffee you had today? Music by Bensound Image by DC Studio from Freepik

In this episode of our Start-up & AI season I had the pleasure to talk to Martijn from DataCamp. DataCamp is not really a start-up anymore with 10 years of being in business, but it has kept itself agile and innovative. Its purpose of democratising Data & AI was intriguing to me to invite Martijn Theuwissen, a Co-founder for a conversation. We will talk a lot about the data and AI as you can imagine - with a big focus on how anyone can be enabled to utilise both easily at work. And if you want to learn more, visit www.datacamp.com Music by Bensound.

How good and ready for actual use is #GenAI today? and what are the pitfalls and watch-outs from an #Employee workflow perspective you need to take into consideration. I talked about this and much more with Allan Sabol from #ServiceNow in my recent podcast episode. If you want to find out more about this - as well as what "the dirty little secret of HR" is, go and listen for yourself.

How can you rethink Employee Listening to be about more than just #Engagement or #EmployeeSatisfaction? And how can you truly get all of the voices of your company heard? Steven Frost from #Workbuzz has founded his company to do exactly that and more. Listen to our exciting conversation around Employee Engagement, Employee Listening and why the whole C-Suite will be keen to understand more about #Workbuzz. Music by Bensound

Recently, we completed our predictions episodes and Jeff was one of the viewers. When we met, we started to have a very interesting conversation about predictions and decided to record it. Enjoy the conversation. Music by Bensound

Continuing our predictions series with the final episode where I was talking to David Gartside about Employee Experience, focus and of course AI. Music by Bensound.

As part of the predictions 2024 series, I was talking to Sofie from Vestas. As always it was a great conversation centred around what should be the most important for us HR and EX practitioners - people. But to have that chance we must embrace technology. Listen to what Sofie has to share about AI and HR Readiness.

I had the pleasure to attend ADP's ReThink 2024 conference. In this video I am sharing interesting topics and call outs from an Employee Experience lens. Music by Bensound

Join and listen in to Sonia sharing her specific lens into what is important in 2024. Music by Bensound

In this episode of the EX Labs #Predictions 2024 I am speaking with a non-HR person to understand the external perspective. Bill is with Microsoft and deeply involved in Technology and of course AI. We are talking about what AI means for employees - and the employee-employer relationship. Enjoy the episode.  Music by Bensound.

Excited to share the 3rd episode of the EX Labs #Predictions 2024. Yojana Hidalgo is sharing her views around what #AI can do for us in HR and how it can help us finally reaching the state of strategic Business Partners. Music by Bensound.

In today's episode I am speaking with Richard Doherty from Workday about #AI in the workplace - more specific in HR - and what otters trends are important to watch out for in 2024, like talent scarcity.

This is the first episode of our "Predictions 2024" season where I am talking to Davis Aguilar, head of HR Operations at Diageo. Listen to what he has to say about what will be important for HR in 2024 and how it will impact the way we are operating.

EX Labs has conducted podcast interviews with leading HR, Tech and Experience experts to gain insights for the 2024 agenda. Over the course of January we will release these episodes - this episode is a short teaser of the interview with Davis Aguilar.

In this interview Sofie and I talk about Employee Experience, Shared Services and the evolution of technology in our industry. And of course the Metaverse and AI will be discussed as well. Music on this episode credit to Bensound.com

In this short clip, Sofie shares her view on AI and HR Tech in the next 5 years and how dramatically it will change our function - with a great twist at the end. For the full interview, please come back to EX Labs podcasts next week. Music by Bensound.com

In this short clip, Yojana shares how important it is to keep unlearning and learning and what an impact it has in business and private. For the full interview, please come back to EX Labs podcasts. Music by Bensound.com

In this interview Yojana and I talk about Employee Experience, Shared Services and the evolution of our industry. And of course the MEtaverse and AI will be discussed as well. Music on this episode credit to Bensound.com