The HR Huddle

Cliff Stevenson sits down with Jeff Smith, CEO of 15Five, to talk AI, performance management, and what it really takes to build trust with employees in the age of automation. 🎙️ 

In this episode of HR We Have a Problem: 15Five's new Work Context connecting Slack, Teams, Salesforce & GitHub to performance data 
️ AI-assisted reviews that turn real workplace "moments" into 80-90% complete drafts 
Focus Briefs a weekly AI-generated guide showing managers exactly where to focus 
Why AI should elevate people, not replace them 
How 15Five is building trust in AI-driven HR tech (and keeping humans in the loop) 
Why recognition and "mattering" matter just as much as compensation 

Jeff also shares what got him fired up at SHRM this year, lessons from running People Services at Bandwidth, and how 15Five is working to kill the Sunday scaries for managers everywhere. 

Stacey Harris and Cliff Stevenson break down a scorching week of HR tech news. (Literally it's over 90 degrees everywhere.)   

On the M&A front, they dig into the Engagedly and Energage merger and what it means for talent management data and discuss a new strategic partnership between HiBob and    SLICE to connect HR and finance data, as well as HiBob’s new AI-driven resume screening approach, built around a “glass box” philosophy. They also cover Paylocity's acquisition of the leave management platform Aidora. 

Bigger-picture, Stacey and Cliff unpack the Supreme Court decision allowing the firing of FTC commissioners without cause and what this loss of independence could mean for pending FTC cases against major tech platforms and for broader AI regulation.  They also discuss growing workplace concerns around smart glasses and facial recognition and a major class-action lawsuit against Meta over child safety. 

Rounding out the episode: Oracle's $395.8M OPM contract win, which came after the government cancelled its contract with Workday (it pays to have friends in high places); Apple's trade-secret lawsuit against OpenAI; shifting trends in how people use AI (hint: relationship advice is climbing fast); and a sobering look at the looming labor shortage. 

The hosts also preview this year's HR Systems Survey, already tracking as the largest and most detailed dataset yet, with expanded questions on compliance, AI governance, and implementation and rundown where the Sapient Insights team will be this fall — including HR Tech Las Vegas and Workday Rising.

After years climbing the corporate ladder including stints at Fortune 100 companies and multiple runs in the C-suite as a Chief Marketing Officer Jenn Ravalli hit a wall. No matter how much she achieved, there was no finish line. So, she made the leap: she left it all behind to found Maverick Meridian, a go-to-market strategy firm for companies that dare to be different. 

In this episode, Jenn joins Teri and Susan for an honest conversation about what it really takes to walk away from stability and build something of your own. She talks about the fear of putting her family at risk, the "Happiness Plan" she built with a close friend to reclaim her time and sanity, why leaving behind a team was the scariest part of the transition, and how she found new ways to lead without giving that up. 

Jenn also opens up about learning to have an opinion after years of protecting a corporate brand, the importance of finding people who will challenge your thinking (not just cheer you on), and the unexpected personal shift that's surprised her most since making the change: laughing more than she has in years. 

Whether you're standing at the edge of your own pivot or just curious what it looks like to bet on yourself, this episode is full of hard-won lessons on courage, community, and building a career and a life on your own terms. 

Payroll data isn't just a compliance checkbox — it's one of the most valuable, real-time data sets an organization has. This week, we talk about why payroll data (unlike predictive data) reflects what's actually happening in your organization, and why that makes it a goldmine for AI-powered payroll applications — a theme that came up again and again during a recent UKG customer meeting.

We also dig into Cyndio's acquisition of Embrace.ai, a pay equity AI company, and what it means for organizations racing to keep up with pay equity regulations — especially with looming deadlines in Europe. With 400+ global enterprises already using Cyndio, this move puts them front and center in the compensation conversation.

Plus, a look at what's coming up: Cliff heads to the Learn event in Minneapolis to talk data with HR pros, and Stacey's co-hosting a webinar with Tim Crawford on how CIOs, CHROs, and CFOs can team up to build smarter AI strategies. Because if HR, IT, and Finance are working in silos, AI isn't going to get you very far.

In this episode:

The Future of HR Tech: Trust, Transparency, and Responsible AI

AI is changing how HR teams recruit, evaluate, and build trust with candidates — but is the technology keeping up with the ethics? In this episode, we sit down with Daniel Joplin, Chief AI Officer, to unpack what responsible AI actually looks like in practice.

Daniel walks us through the real challenges organizations face when adopting AI in HR — from candidate fraud and rebuilding trust, to the often-overlooked cost and complexity of token-based pricing models. We dig into the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and what it means for AI integration, explore why explainability is non-negotiable for responsible AI, and talk candidly about bias: as Daniel puts it, AI is biased because humans are biased.

Whether you're evaluating AI vendors, building internal AI policy, or just trying to understand what's coming next, this conversation offers a grounded, practical look at where AI in HR is headed — and what it will take to get trust right.

In this episode:

In this episode of Spilling the Tea on HR Tech, Stacey Harris & Cliff Stevenson dig into the market shifts reshaping how organizations buy, build, and use HR technology. From AI-first HRMS platforms launched by former Workday leaders to global expansion plays from companies like PrismHR, the competitive landscape is moving fast — and the stakes for HR leaders have never been higher.

We cover what's actually changing (and what's just noise), including the growing demand for trusted, clean data as the foundation for any meaningful AI application, the emergence of outcome-based pricing models, and why compliance and transparency aren't optional features — they're table stakes.

Plus, a preview of what's ahead in Sapient Insights Group's upcoming Annual HR Systems Survey and what the data is already telling us about where the market is headed.

In this episode:

AI-first HRMS platforms and the founders behind them

Global HR tech expansion — what it means for buyers

Why your data strategy determines your AI outcomes

Outcome-based pricing: hype or the future of HR tech?

Compliance and transparency in an AI-driven HR world

In this episode of The Pivot Effect, hosts Teri Zipper and Susan Richards welcome guest Amy Gerhartz, Founder & Lead Coach of A Higher Way Of Living, as they talk through what it actually looks like to leave a career you built from scratch - and why the hardest part of starting over is often convincing yourself you belong in the new space. Amy highlights the specific fears that came up when she transitioned into coaching and speaking, including the worry that people would write her off as "just a musician," and how she worked through them. Now, with a deliberate plan to blend both careers under her own name, give up her apartment, and head back on the road, Amy's story is a case study in what it looks like to build a life on your own terms without waiting until it all makes sense.

Key points covered include:

↪️ Amy describes how touring burnout crept in gradually over five years before the pandemic made the decision for her, and why she believes even the work you love will wear you down without intentional breaks.

↪️ She gets specific about imposter syndrome in a second career, including the fear of not being taken seriously and the choice to keep her two careers completely separate until she felt secure enough to merge them.

↪️ Patience is the skill she credits most to her pivots, and she makes a direct case for why moving too fast through early career stages would have cost her the depth she has now.

↪️ Amy shares the details behind her current decision to give up her apartment and tour indefinitely, including how she planned it financially and why a strong support network is what made it feel stable rather than reckless.

The 29th annual HR Systems Survey is now open through June 24th. Add your organization's voice to the largest HR tech survey in the industry at the link below.

LINK TO SURVEY

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In this episode of Spilling the Tea on HR Tech, Stacey Harris and Cliff Stevenson cover several notable moves in the HR tech market, including Betterworks acquiring Rypple and Rod Johnson joining UKG as Chief Revenue Officer, with broader observations about where the performance management and frontline worker markets are heading. The conversation turns to pricing pressure across the industry, with vendors and customers alike struggling less with the cost of AI and more with the unpredictability of usage-based models. They also discuss two research-backed arguments that push back on the assumption that AI is driving junior hiring declines, pointing instead to remote work and shifting knowledge transfer patterns as the more significant factors.

Key points covered include:

↪️ Misdiagnosis rates for women run as high as 50% in some categories compared to men, and AI diagnostic tools trained on historically skewed data are compounding that problem rather than correcting it.

↪️A class action lawsuit against Eightfold AI raises a question that goes beyond bias: when AI is screening and eliminating candidates without visible human oversight, do those candidates have a right to know?

↪️Usage-based pricing for AI tools is producing a measurable drop in adoption, with users saying the issue is not the price itself but the inability to budget for something unpredictable.

↪️Two separate research papers argue with data that the real driver behind reduced junior hiring is remote work cutting off informal apprenticeship pipelines, not AI displacement.

The 29th annual HR Systems Survey is now open through June 24th. Add your organization's voice to the largest HR tech survey in the industry at the link below.

LINK TO SURVEY

Don’t miss this exciting thought leader conversation! Follow the hosts and companies mentioned below:

Sapient Insights Group

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Stacey Harris

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Cliff Stevenson

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In this episode of HR, We Have a Problem, Cliff Stenvenson and guest Sudeep Cherian, VP Product Marketing at Cornerstone dig into what it actually means to bring agentic AI into the workforce technology stack. Sudeep walks through how Cornerstone's updated platform architecture layers a context graph and pre-built agents on top of the learning, talent, and skills infrastructure customers already use, giving those capabilities more workforce context to work with. The conversation gets into the accountability questions that come with agentic workflows - including who owns the decisions these systems make, where humans need to stay in the loop, and why HR is better positioned than most to answer those questions. 

Key points covered include:

↪️ Cornerstone's Galaxy architecture has evolved to include a context graph and skills engine that give the platform more understanding of the workforce, making existing capabilities more useful rather than replacing them.

↪️ HR leaders need to be asking the right questions about AI agents before deployment, including who is accountable for decisions, whether there is traceability, and where a human needs to stay in the loop.

↪️ Rather than shifting customers to usage-based pricing, Cornerstone is offering agent packs within a subscription model to keep costs predictable for buyers who can't yet forecast AI consumption.

↪️ Sudeep sees the next six to twelve months as the window where Cornerstone moves from HR-only conversations to the broader C-suite table, with the people graph driving larger workforce decisions.

The 29th annual HR Systems Survey is now open through June 24th. Add your organization's voice to the largest HR tech survey in the industry at the link below.

LINK TO SURVEY

Don’t miss this exciting thought leader conversation! Follow the hosts and companies mentioned below:

Sapient Insights Group

Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn

Cliff Stevenson

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Sudeep Cherian

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The HR Channel 

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WRKdefined 

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In this episode of Spilling the Tea on HR Tech, Cliff Stevenson and Allison Williams, Director of Research Programs at Sapient Insights Group, Anthropic's acquisition of Stainless, the SDK and MCP server tooling company, and what that consolidation means for organizations building on agentic AI. They also dig into the growing tension around AI cost structures, particularly the unpredictability of usage-based pricing and what that pressure is producing across vendors from Cornerstone to Paychex. 

The hosts also cover workforce entry challenges for young workers, a significant expansion of Pell Grant eligibility to short-term trade certifications, and a fintech CEO who fired his entire HR team and then claimed the problems disappeared.

Key points covered include:

↪️ AI usage-based pricing is creating real budget stress for organizations, with data showing eight in ten IT leaders reported unexpected charges from consumption-based models. The unpredictability of costs, not the costs themselves, is the core problem.

↪️ Cornerstone's Workforce AI and Paychex's WISE platform both reflect a shift away from transactional queries toward intelligence layers that connect skills, learning, and workforce data to business outcomes.

↪️ Anthropic's acquisition of Stainless consolidates SDK and MCP server tooling under one roof, which raises vendor concentration risk for any organization building on agentic AI infrastructure.

↪️The U.S. Department of Education's expansion of Pell Grants to cover programs as short as eight weeks signals a meaningful shift in how workforce entry pathways are being supported at the federal level, with a goal of reaching an additional 100,000 students within eight years.

The 29th annual HR Systems Survey is now open through June 24th. Add your organization's voice to the largest HR tech survey in the industry at the link below.

LINK TO SURVEY

Don’t miss this exciting thought leader conversation! Follow the hosts and companies mentioned below:

Sapient Insights Group

Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn

Cliff Stevenson

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Allison Williams

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The HR Channel

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WRKdefined

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