Talent Bytes - March

?? How is it already March?!

It feels like we blinked and suddenly, we’re speeding through the year. But hey, at least we’re getting a front-row seat to some game-changing AI and tech that’s shaking up the business world (even if some companies are quietly hitting the brakes…).

This month, I’m diving into how AI is reshaping HR – especially when it comes to hiring and automation. Meta and Salesforce have unleashed AI-powered customer service agents, changing the way businesses interact with customers. Plus, I’ve pulled together a list of 100 tech tools that actually work for growing businesses – because let’s be honest, not all of them do.

And on the podcast, I sat down with Simon Mounsey , Chief People Officer at Agilysys , to talk about how his team is building their own AI solutions to automate hiring, streamline HR processes, and actually make AI work for them. If you’re wondering what HR looks like in an AI-powered world, this episode is a must-listen.

Have a read, let me know what you think – and if you’ve found a tech tool that’s actually making life easier, I want to hear about it!

Nibbles

?? Anthropic quietly ditches its AI safety promises

Here’s one to file under “things that make you go hmm.” Anthropic, one of the big names in AI, has quietly scrubbed a bunch of trust and safety pledges from its website. These were voluntary commitments they made back in 2023 under the Biden administration, covering important stuff like how to handle AI risks, bias and discrimination.

Now, these pledges weren’t legally binding, but they were part of a broader push to show that AI companies care about building safe and responsible tech. The fact that they’ve vanished - without so much as a heads-up or explanation - feels a bit... off.

To add a bit more context, these promises were aligned with an executive order on AI regulation that President Trump has since repealed. So maybe Anthropic felt the pressure was off. But still - when you're shaping the future of AI, quietly slipping out the back door of the "trust and safety" party doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

My take: Look, AI is complicated enough without companies pulling a disappearing act on the safety front. If anything, now’s the time to double down on transparency, not quietly walk away from it.

Unlike a car, AI doesn’t come with a manual you can pop open to check what’s going on under the bonnet. And if companies aren’t upfront about how they’re building these systems, how are the rest of us supposed to trust them?! As AI becomes more powerful and embedded in our daily lives, we need more visibility, not less. Otherwise, we’re all just passengers in a very fast-moving car, hoping someone remembered to check the brakes.

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?? AI is taking over onboarding – and HR is loving it

AI is swooping in to save HR teams from drowning in onboarding admin. Companies like Hitachi and Texans Credit Union are rolling out AI assistants to handle all the boring bits – paperwork, system access, endless back-and-forth emails – so new hires can actually get stuck into their jobs from day one.

Hitachi, with its whopping 300,000-strong global workforce, built its own AI assistant that shaved four days off onboarding and cut HR involvement per hire from 20 hours to just 12. Over at Texans Credit Union, they automated login setups – turning a tedious 20-minute task into something that now takes less than a minute. Not bad, right?

But AI isn’t just making HR’s life easier – it’s making onboarding smoother for employees too. These tools can answer new-hire questions in real time and make sure everything (from laptops to logins) is sorted before day one. The best part? HR and IT teams are working together to customise AI solutions, proving that automation isn’t just about saving time – it’s about creating a better first-day experience.

My take: AI in onboarding isn’t just a fancy extra – it’s becoming a no-brainer. If your company is still stuck in a paperwork nightmare, maybe it’s time to see what AI can do for you.

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?? Meta and Salesforce unleash AI agents for customer service

It looks like 2025 really is shaping up to be the year of the AI agent. Meta has just launched a pilot programme bringing AI-powered customer service agents to Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. These agents can chat with customers in real-time, helping with everything from returns and product recommendations to actually processing purchases - right there in your DMs or on ad pages.

What makes them extra clever is that they pull in data from your business’s existing Meta activity - past posts, customer service chats, and more - to give customers instant, relevant answers (and, let’s be honest, probably sell more stuff).

Meanwhile, Salesforce is getting in on the action with AgentExchange, a shiny new marketplace for AI agents in enterprise software. It’s launching with over 200 partners (think Google Cloud, DocuSign, Box, Workday) and is full of plug-and-play AI solutions for businesses that want the power of AI without needing an army of developers. These aren’t just chatbots either - they’re designed to handle complex tasks inside business systems, potentially freeing up a lot of human time.

My take: AI agents are moving beyond clever chat - they’re about to become real workers inside businesses. If you’re not already exploring how these tools could streamline customer service (and beyond), now’s the time to start thinking about it.

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????Tech Spotlight

If there was a one-size-fits-all tech tool that did everything a growing business needs, I’d be out of a job (and you'd be out of headaches).

But even the biggest companies with sky-high tech budgets are still figuring things out. So for mid-sized businesses? You’ve got to be smart, scrappy, and pick tools that actually work - without melting your credit card.

Because I know how overwhelming the tech landscape can be - here are 100 more tools we’ve actually used and recommend for mid-sized businesses: LINK

If you’ve got any tools you swear by, drop them in the comments - always keen to learn what’s working for others!

??? Podcast Spotlight

For the last couple of years, businesses have been experimenting with AI—testing the waters

But 2025? This is the year things get real.

AI isn’t just a cool experiment anymore - it’s becoming part of how we work, hire, and make decisions. Some HR teams are still figuring it out, while others are diving in headfirst.

One of those teams is Agilysys , and in the latest episode of We Need to Talk About HR, I sat down with Simon Mounsey, Chief People Officer, to talk about how they’re not just using AI - they’re building their own AI solutions.

We covered some big questions: ?? How will AI reshape HR teams in 2025? ?? What role does AI play in hiring, and what are the risks? ?? Is AI actually boosting productivity, or just shifting workloads?

Simon shared some incredible insights - including how they’ve saved a full day per week in HR admin time just through AI automation. (Yes, really!)

If you’re working in HR - or just curious about AI’s growing role in the workplace - this episode is a must-listen.

?? Check it out below, and let me know: how is AI changing your work right now?

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#AI #HR #Automation #FutureOfWork #Podcast

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