AI and people: The future of HR at Unleash World

Benifex’s Chief Innovation Officer, Gethin Nadin, attended Unleash World in Paris – the world’s largest HR tech conference – with an all-access “Influencer” pass. The event brought together thousands of HR and technology leaders to explore how work is changing. Here’s what stood out for reward and benefits leaders.

From the moment HR expert David Green opened the conference with a powerful reminder that people will continue to be key to the future, the tone was set: technology may be transforming work, but humanity must remain at its heart. A fitting message from the world’s biggest HR tech conference – and one that resonated throughout the sessions.

Across two packed days, one theme dominated: AI isn’t just influencing HR – it’s redefining it. But speaker after speaker reinforced a crucial point. This isn’t a story about AI alone, but about AI and people, together. The pace of technological change can’t outstrip the people who power our organizations. If it does, culture – the foundation of business success – will suffer.

From jobs to skills: HR’s foundational shift

One of the most thought-provoking moments came from Benifex customer Microsoft. In a keynote session, Chief People Officer, Amy Coleman, explored what she called the “second curve of the 21st century” and the rise of the frontier firm.

Her message was clear: HR must embrace a shift away from static models. We’re moving from jobs, tasks, and org charts to skills, statistics, and outcomes. From linear hierarchies to dynamic marketplaces. From IT-led projects to HR-owned, user-centric solutions.

These shifts call for experimentation and agility. HR teams need to adopt a “sample the curve” mindset – comfortable with testing and learning rather than waiting for perfection. That means collecting feedback at multiple stages of any initiative, improving decision-making, reducing bias, and recognizing that data-led decisions are key to reducing bias and driving better outcomes.

At Benifex, we’ve seen how this plays out in real-world projects: moving fast doesn’t mean losing control – it means building better experiences in partnership with your people.

That said, these approaches may be harder for organizations with less board-level support and smaller budgets than Microsoft. Can a 2,000-person firm embrace uncertainty and still maintain the trust of its leadership? While the challenge is real, the opportunity is just as powerful – something is often better than nothing, and speed can be a differentiator.

Reimagining HR as a product function

Another theme that gained traction was the need to reimagine HR not as a service function, but as a product function. That means moving beyond policies and processes to building solutions that solve business problems and deliver measurable outcomes.

This mirrors a model I built several years ago – a parallel approach to the one HR expert Perry Timms presented at the event – where HR shifts from designing for itself to designing around the employee experience. It’s encouraging to see one of the world’s biggest employers now adopting a similar model.

This mindset is especially important when buying or building HR tech. There are two users – the employer and the employee – and success comes when both are considered equally. Solutions must balance operational impact with employee experience.

AI will play a central role in future people strategies, but only if we design it with empathy and experience in mind. As one speaker warned, optimizing for efficiency loses empathy. That’s a risk HR cannot afford – and it’s especially risky now, as organizations face a once-in-a-generation shift in how work gets done.

Culture: HR’s ultimate competitive advantage

One surprising thread running throughout Unleash World was how often the topic of “culture” came up – especially in sessions focused on AI. This wasn’t just a conference about technology; it was a conversation about culture, people and wellbeing.

If there was one message echoed by CHROs from global brands – including Benifex customers IKEA and Lloyds Banking Group – it was this: culture beats strategy, but only if it’s protected.

AI will not succeed without the will and permission of employees. This reflects MIT research that found that 95% of GenAI pilots have failed – not because the tech doesn’t work, but because of employee resistance. Embedding AI means rethinking how we work, instead of just layering new tools on top of old ways of working.

Yet, in a conference so focused on AI and transformation, the absence of benefit and wellbeing providers was noticeable. This matters because many CHROs made it clear that culture, engagement and wellbeing will become be even more critical as AI accelerates.

McKinsey, for example, suggested that AI-driven workforce reductions will raise expectations among remaining employees – especially in how their employer supports them. The way employers support their people – through meaningful benefits and consistent, human-centered experiences – will be a defining differentiator.

Delivering consistency at scale

Another key theme raised in the CHRO talks was the importance of delivering more consistent employee experiences at scale.

McDonald’s shared how consistency has been central to both customer and employee experience globally. As a brand, McDonalds realizes the importance of delivering a consistent consumer experience. The same way a Big Mac tastes the same in Paris as it does in California, their HR teams aim to ensure a front-line restaurant employee has the same great experience as someone at head office.

At Benifex, we’ve long supported organizations in delivering consistent global benefits experiences – helping them scale personalization, simplify access, and align with local needs without sacrificing impact. This idea of designing with the end-user in mind – regardless of geography or role – came up time and again.

As McDonalds shared, consistency doesn’t mean compromise – it means clarity, quick wins and tech that meets people where they are.

The call to action: Technology needs people

As someone who works with HR leaders globally, I left Unleash World feeling energized by the re-emergence of culture as a key CHRO priority. And one strong message: the future of HR is bold, digital, experimental, and deeply human.

AI dominated the conversation – almost every provider referenced it somewhere in their messaging. But the real takeaway was this: AI must never dominate over culture, or we risk losing what makes organizations strong.

For reward and benefits teams, this is a call to act with intention. We must design and deliver technology with as much attention to people as to performance. The future isn’t just about smarter systems – it’s about more resilient organizations built on trust, empathy, and shared purpose.

The more we invest in AI, the more we must invest in our people – in their health, their wellbeing, and their lives. Because in the end, a tech first approach only works when it’s a people-first one.