Advertise on podcast: Up Next @ Work

In this powerful episode of Up Next @ Work, Jeanne Achille sits down with employment lawyer, writer, and HR thought leader Heather Bussing for an unusually personal conversation about recovery, resilience, and the workplace. Marking National Recovery Month, Heather reflects on 31 years of sobriety, sharing her deeply candid story of addiction, from early experiences of abandonment and grief to self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, navigating the pressures of a demanding legal career, and ultimately, finding a path toward recovery. Heather and Jeanne also explore the workplace's role in recognizing addiction and recovery and offering people the support they need. Key Highlights: How and why addiction can become a form of self-medication when people lack the tools to cope with difficult emotions A remarkable story of an employer who recognized Heather needed help and gave her an opportunity to seek treatment The difference between knowing about recovery and actually doing the work A reminder that emotions, like the weather, are temporary and tomorrow can bring something completely different For more information about Heather and her work, follow her on LinkedIn and subscribe to her Substack.

What does it take to build a workplace where people - and the business - can actually thrive through transformation? In this episode of Up Next @ Work, Kate Achille joins Eric Knauf, author of The 56% Solution and founder of BelongHQ, to consider why human infrastructure might be the missing link in successful organizational change. Eric explains how the experience sparked his initial research and led him to identify (and quantify!) the five pillars of belonging. Kate and Eric's conversation also examines why these factors matter to the C-Suite, how they can help organizations assess their transformational readiness, and why companies rushing into AI may be skipping a critical first step: ensuring their people and managers are prepared for change. Key Highlights: The 56% connection: The science behind belonging and its relationship to business outcomes, including retention, innovation, and employee wellbeing. The CFO's perspective: Why human infrastructure can be viewed as a form of human capital investment - and even compared to CapEx. From reactive to generative: Eric explains his maturity model and what it takes to create teams capable of sustaining healthy workplace conditions on their own. Follow Eric on LinkedIn, learn more at BelongHQ.com, or pick up a copy of The 56% Solution: How Belonging Infrastructure Transforms Performance.

On this episode of Up Next at Work, Kate Achille sits down with Chris Harvey, Chief Research Officer at HR Technology Advice, to unpack the changing HR tech landscape, the often-overlooked factors that determine technology success, and what founders can learn from the unconventional business strategies of pirates. The conversation explores the HR tech trends shaping 2026, including the growing importance of EOR solutions for global hiring and the challenges mid-market organizations face when evaluating HCM suites. Chris also reveals the story behind his book, Blackbeard’s Laws for Founders, and how the pirate offers surprisingly relevant lessons for today’s tech founders, from defining ICP to knowing when to walk away from a deal. Key highlights: Why feature functionality alone isn't enough when selecting HR technology The danger of choosing a technology vendor that's too complex (or not complex enough) for your organization Why founders shouldn't pursue “anyone who will buy from us” as their customer strategy To learn more about Chris' work, visit the HR Technology Advice website and connect with him on LinkedIn.

In this episode of Up Next at Work, Katie Achille sits down with Chris Havrilla, Chief Advisor & Analyst at AI Alchemists, to explore what organizations need to rethink as AI becomes increasingly embedded in workforce decisions. With experience across the enterprise buyer, technology vendor, and analyst worlds, Chris explains why traditional governance models are no longer enough – and why companies need to start architecting consequences rather than inheriting them. Their conversation considers “systems of consequence,” the widening gap between AI adoption and accountability, and what happens when decisions are made at machine speed and scale. Chris shares guidance for organizations building “consequence architecture,” including how to map decisions, assess severity, establish ownership, and audit for the outcomes that actually matter. Key highlights: Why governance has lagged behind adoption The problem with "human in the loop" thinking The real cost of AI, especially with the kill switch as a strategy To learn more about Chris' work, visit AI Alchemists, follow her Substack, or connect with her on LinkedIn.

In this episode of Up Next @ Work, Kate Achille returns to talk to industry analyst Pete A. Tiliakos about why payroll is so often misunderstood, undervalued, and left out of strategic conversations - and what Pete is doing to try to shift that narrative. Pete shares how his career journey, from auditing payroll data in the U.S. Marine Corps to leading HR transformations at major organizations, shaped his mission to elevate the profession. The conversation also dives into the 2026 Payroll Profession Confidence Index (PPCI), an open-source research initiative designed to give payroll professionals a collective voice. Key highlights include: Why payroll data can be an organization's most valuable source of business insight The case for bringing payroll closer to comp and benefits to create a more holistic pay experience What the PPCI is measuring and why it matters To learn more about Pete's work, visit payrollinfluences.com, connect with him on LinkedIn, listen to his podcast HR & Payroll 2.0, and take 10 minutes to complete the 2026 Payroll Profession Confidence Index.

What happens when organizations rush to adopt AI before fixing the processes underneath? Jeanne Achille is joined by Jay Polaki, CEO and Chief Gecko at HR Geckos, to talk about why the real risk begins there. In this episode, Jeanne and Jay discuss why successful AI adoption starts with clarity, rather than tools. Drawing on more than 25 years of HR leadership experience, Jay explains why organizations need to rethink workflows, governance, and human decision-making before expecting AI to deliver transformational results. Episode highlights include: How to determine which HR tasks should be automated and which require human judgment Why governance and AI policies are essential before scaling adoption Why workflow-first thinking leads to better AI outcomes than simply buying new tech The story behind the name HR Geckos and why adaptability is HR's greatest strength Listen in to learn more about Jay Polaki and HR Geckos, and be sure to follow Jay on LinkedIn for her thoughts on AI, HR ops, and more.

You might not realize that you’ve been a follower of Lance Haun for years. Founder of Beacon Turn, he’s a researcher, writer, and advisor to B2B companies focused on work tech and leadership. A featured contributor to Reworked, he’s considered one of the leading market insights pundits in how work gets done. Jeanne persuaded Lance to join her on the latest episode of Up Next @ Work to discuss the industry, life as a girl dad, and what’s next on his horizon. According to Lance, good work starts with the right question, not the perfect answer. Our perfect podcast is presented here for your listening pleasure.  We unpack Lance’s career path, which includes his stint as an HR leader The life-changing impact of being able to offer someone a job Of course, we discuss AI and whether the world of work is truly ready for it Connect with Lance on LinkedIn and subscribe to his Substack.

Elaine Orler has been designing and implementing global Talent Acquisition and Recruiting solutions as a practitioner and a consultant for more than 25 years. Her hands-on approach has enabled multi-national organizations to transform and optimize complex recruiting strategies and processes through contemporary technology-driven talent acquisition practices. In this episode of Up Next @ Work, Jeanne Achille and Elaine discuss the evolution of talent acquisition technology and how those products come to life. As one of the founders of Talent Board and the Candidate Experience Awards – as well as an entrepreneur and founder of Talent Function – Elaine has more street cred in the recruiting space than others aspire to. Listen in as they discuss: The success (and timing) of the CandEs and why they were embraced by top-tier employers. The role of AI and the guardrails needed to protect corporate data. The importance of ascertaining both soft skills and hard skills, and how parallel soft skills can result in a candidate match. Raising a young family while starting a business with a major shoutout to her supportive spouse. Connect with Elaine on LinkedIn to follow along with the Match2 journey.

What do electrical engineering and HR technology have in common? More than you might realize! As we kick off the next season of Up Next @ Work, Jeanne Achille chats with Opal Wagnac, the global head of market positioning and strategy at Darwinbox. No doubt Opal is already familiar to many listeners, as her previous roles include SVP at iSolved and VP at UKG. Opal brings fresh solutions to old problems and has her eye on the new challenges brewing over a very near horizon. You’ll enjoy Opal’s thought leadership as much as we enjoyed speaking with her, and yes, AI is mentioned. Connect with Opal on LinkedIn.

In this "high velocity" edition of Up Next @ WorkTech, Kate Achille from The Devon Group and George LaRocque of WorkTech break down the critical intersection of legal friction, evolving corporate staffing strategies, multi-million-dollar government tech overhauls, and the sweeping shifts rewriting the rules of HR management. Episode highlights include: The IBM lawsuit: Age discrimination meets automated rejection People as product: The fractionalization debate at NY Tech Week Monopolizing federal HR tech: Oracle's massive OPM contract win The Department of Education's wage accountability crackdown (hear Kate misread Title IV as Title IX, oops) How to stand out when applying for a job at Anthropic

Welcome to another packed episode of Up Next @ WorkTech, the crossover podcast featuring George LaRocque and Kate Achille. In this edition, George and Kate break down the rapidly shifting intersections of AI and the technological developments redefining the modern workplace. The Gen Z Dilemma: The hosts dissect a recent viral commencement speech where graduates booed a corporate narrative praising AI and billionaires. Forced Tech Adaptations: AI is reshaping academia. Princeton University has phased out its 133-year-old unproctored honor code to combat AI cheating, while a massive Instructure Canvas outage recently derailed finals week at Rutgers and other schools. The Benefits Scale-Back: Major employers like Zoom and Deloitte are cutting 401(k) matches and parental leave. Kate and George consider how leveraging the current employer market power to slash benefits risks cultural backlash when the talent market swings back. The Solopreneur Illusion: Reviewing the new Workday, Anthropic, and LISC accelerator, Kate and George argue that giving 15 solopreneurs just $10,000 and limited Claude AI credits is more of a corporate goodwill exercise than a structural business accelerator. Big Tech Infiltrates HCM: Intuit is making an aggressive move into the SMB payroll and HCM space with QuickBooks Workforce, posing a direct threat to legacy players like ADP and Paylocity. Meanwhile, AWS is entering high-volume recruiting with an agentic platform, though George warns they may underestimate the complex 12-to-18-month enterprise sales cycle. M&A and Funding Wins: Following key acquisitions by Greenhouse and Ashby, asynchronous Voice AI is overcoming historical candidate pushback to become a core recruiting interface. Finally, the hosts celebrate Kashable’s $60 million Series C round as a massive win for employee financial wellness.

Kate Achille and George LaRocque are back after taking time off for travel and industry events, ready to dissect the complex, often contradictory state of the modern workplace. This latest episode of Up Next @ Work Tech dives into April's "layoff season," considering the different strategies companies are taking; the rise of token maxing and AI leaderboards; the potential impact of recent changes at DOL; and an exclusive breakdown of the Q1 WorkTech funding and M&A report. Episode highlights include: Recent observations at industry events The "AI of it all" amid more tech layoffs George's "Market Squeeze" model Considerations for the balance of the year

In the latest episode of Up Next @ WorkTech, Katie Achille and George LaRocque navigate another packed week of industry turbulence, from Workday's ongoing age-discrimination lawsuit to Senator Hassan's public rebuke of data-broker practices reaching HR Tech. Episode highlights include: Meta's recent acquisition spree, followed by rumors of major layoffs New research from Brookings forecasts profound AI disruption, with a recommendation of how to adjust the path forward The potential for 30 percent unemployment for new grads entering the job market What corporate jargon really signifies, according to a study out of Cornell One of the biggest TA tech funding rounds in recent memory - Series B secured by the folks at Juicebox

In the latest episode of Up Next @ WorkTech, Katie Achille and George LaRocque dive into the latest updates impacting the world of work, from companies like Accenture tying promotions to AI usage and Burger King's voice agent Patty tracking upsells and friendliness scores to the security risks of OpenClaw and the soon-to-be omnipresence of the AI native everything. Episode highlights include: AI‑driven performance management enters the chat, or in some industries, the headset. Agentic security risks escalate with the introduction and rapid adoption of OpenClaw. Reverse recruiting surges, revealing predatory practices in a down market. HR tech funding continues to accelerate with new capital flowing into a variety of solutions and regions.

Katie Achille and George LaRocque are back with a fast-moving breakdown of the changes over at Workday, the hype and hazards of vibe coding as it relates to the software market at large, findings from the latest Corporate Equality Index, and more. Episode highlights include: Does Workday’s CEO transition signal deeper strategic and market pressures? Vibe coding might be accelerating, but remains risky, lacking compliance, scalability and security AI adoption is shifting from “build” to “buy,” with enterprises rapidly increasing investment HR’s role is transforming (again!), requiring new skills to manage AI agents, automated workflows and hybrid human‑machine teams Early‑stage HR Tech funding remains active, while mid‑stage companies face pressure