WEEKLY EDITION BY ZIHAN LYU

Welcome to your latest HRD Connect's Weekend Digest, your go-to source for the week’s top insights tailored for HR professionals.

Here’s what’s inside:

◾ How to work with AI—not for it—and why HR needs to aggressively micromanage

◾ Why automation is making work more human

◾ Why AI adoption is outpacing skills—and what’s holding HR teams back

EXPERT INSIGHTS

Realizing the Potential of AI; Welcome to Partnership, Co-Intelligence and Micromanagement agentic-style

AI isn’t a magic fix—or a threat. Used well, it’s a capable collaborator. Drawing on Ethan Mollick’s ‘Centaur vs. Cyborg’ framework, this piece lays out what effective partnership with AI looks like in practice: a clear division of labor, human-led direction, and ruthless editing.

Think: AI-assisted, human-led, AI-resourced, human-checked. Results improve with iteration, not delegation. The advice is blunt—“aggressively micromanage it”—but the outcome is sharper work and long-term career utility. HR leaders need to learn how to manage AI.

EXPERT INSIGHTS

Why the Future of Work Is Both More Automated – and More Human

The rise of AI is cutting admin—but it’s also amplifying what makes people essential. New data shows AI is most often used to summarize reports (41%) and draft documents (40%), freeing up hours for communication, mentoring, and collaboration.

Deloitte predicts two-thirds of all roles by 2030 will be soft-skill intensive, but 49% of executives still say entry-level hires lack those skills. AI can’t replace trust, empathy, or team cohesion—but it can make space for people to build them. The smartest companies are using that time to grow better humans.

NEW RESEARCH

HR Leaders Cite AI Benefits But Say Skills Gaps Are a Barrier to Effective Use, According to A New Research

HR teams are adopting AI at speed—but they’re hitting a wall. According to Capterra’s 2025 survey of over 3,000 HR leaders, 43% say their teams lack the skills to use AI effectively, and nearly half cite training as their top operational challenge this year.

Most companies now juggle four separate HR systems, yet only 42% prioritize recruiting software despite rising hiring costs. The result? Missed gains in efficiency, retention, and engagement.

Organizations that link AI adoption with skills investment are already seeing stronger employee satisfaction and better hiring outcomes—but most still aren’t there.