Summary
If your workforce runs 24/7, employees can’t wait until business hours for answers. DJ Campbell, Vice President and Chief HR Officer at Sanford Health (Bismarck market), shares how to use AI self-service to cut friction for a 60,000-employee system while keeping the experience human.
He outlines what must be true before greenlighting tools—readiness, education, and myth-busting—and how to run a focused 90-day pilot that actually proves value.
DJ explains the cross-functional table needed in healthcare (HR, IT, legal, clinical), the guardrails that are non-negotiable (HIPAA-grade security, governance), and the integrations that make or break adoption (HRIS, ticketing).
He also gets practical on reskilling without layoffs through attrition planning, individualized development, and elevating “soft skills” to “power skills.”
Expect specifics on measuring ROI and employee sentiment, where AI fits first (think performance management and coding), and why leaders should “be curious, not judgmental” as they guide teams through AI-driven change.
Timestamps
[01:21] – Why AI self-service for a 24/7 workforce; top employee pain points
[05:02] – What must be true to greenlight AI: readiness, education, and cross-functional buy-in
[07:42] – Designing a 90-day pilot: start with one use case and early adopters
[10:09] – Keeping it human: myth-busting, informal influencers, reassurance not replacement
[12:42] – Measuring adoption: usage, time saved, and smart feedback loops
[15:18] – Reskilling without layoffs: attrition planning, coding, and “power skills”
[18:53] – Guardrails and vendors: HIPAA-grade security, governance, and must-have integrations
[23:43] – Lightning round: automate performance reviews, 2026 metrics, leader advice
Takeaways
- Start with one high-friction self-service use case (e.g., benefits, requisitions, performance) and pilot with early adopters who will give actionable feedback.
- Build readiness first: educate on what AI is/isn’t, debunk myths, and position AI as support—not replacement—while recruiting informal influencers in every department.
- Measure what matters: track usage and time saved, then add targeted engagement-survey items to diagnose adoption barriers and iterate.
- Plan reskilling through attrition: map retirements/turnover, redesign roles, and fund individual development—especially for coding-adjacent functions.
- Elevate “power skills” (communication, listening, EQ) as the leadership differentiators in an AI-enabled workplace.
- Demand healthcare-grade guardrails: HIPAA-level security, AI governance, and seamless integrations with HRIS and ticketing from day one.
Sponsor
Wisq is the AI platform for HR. We built Harper, the world’s first AI HR teammate — designed to handle the judgment-heavy work that has historically consumed HR teams: job changes, performance concerns, leaves of absence, onboarding, and employee relations issues. Where HCM bolt-ons and chatbots deflect the easiest questions, Harper resolves full cases, end-to-end. The result is an HR function with the capacity and strategic bandwidth to focus on the work that moves the business.
Companies get Harper live in weeks, not quarters, with implementation support built on deep HR domain expertise. Wisq serves HR leaders at leading companies across industries, helping them raise the bar on employee experience and expand what their teams are capable of.
For more information, visit https://www.wisq.com.