AI is no longer a future concept. It is already reshaping how organisations lead, plan, and compete. The real question is not whether AI will change the world of work, but who will lead that change.
In this episode of The People Agenda podcast, we unpack Visier’s latest report, The Business Case for Humans in the AI Era, exploring five key trends that show why HR, powered by data and generative AI, is stepping into a central role in business transformation.
Host Chris Howard is joined by Andrea Derler, Principal Researcher at Visier, and Dibyendu Sharma Mondal, Head of People Analytics at Unisys. Together, they discuss how organisations like Unisys are using generative AI to augment human capability and drive better business outcomes.
What are the five workforce and AI trends leaders must act on for 2026?
The five essential trends focus on the critical role of managers, human-led AI, strategic workforce planning, democratised analytics, and a value-driven tech stack overhaul. These trends are based on an analysis of 25,000,000 employee records and thousands of hours of customer research. They include:
How is Unisys implementing AI to transform its operations?
Unisys is an early adopter of generative AI by using the Visier Vee platform to provide prescriptive, action-driven insights that empower business leaders to make real-time decisions. The company uses AI tools in different ways including:
How can AI support rather than replace humans?
Humans remain accountable for decisions; AI accelerates insight and execution. AI excels at pattern detection, summarisation, forecasting, and speed, while humans excel at judgement, ethics, context-setting, and accountability. In practice, this means:
Why is workforce planning now a critical business capability?
Workforce planning has moved from a niche HR activity to a core strategic function. Effective workforce planning now requires:
Without this, organisations risk building tomorrow’s strategy on yesterday’s workforce. Clearly mapping the skills of your workforce allows you to identify which skills are “sunsetting” or “sunrising”.
What should leaders do next?
Leaders must treat AI-enabled people data as a strategic asset, not an HR tool. The next steps that should be on HR leader’s list are:
If you want real-world insight into how these trends are already playing out, from Visier’s research to Unisys’ hands-on experience, listen to this episode of The People Agenda podcast. It goes beyond theory and shows what AI-led, human-first transformation looks like in practice.
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