Reimagining HR and the Future of Work 

Jen Basco, IBM Consulting’s global lead for Oracle HR, discusses how AI is repositioning HR from a back-office function to a core strategic driver. She walks through IBM’s “eliminate, simplify, automate” methodology and explains why process clarity must come before AI deployment. Recruitment and talent management are the areas seeing the most adoption today, with practical AI agents — handling policy questions, payslip explanations, and leave balances — serving as strong starting points for building organizational momentum. Jen closes with a forward-looking view: within 18 months, single-task agents will evolve into fully orchestrated, cross-platform agentic workflows where employees ask a question and AI handles everything behind the scenes.