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Desiree Aprekuma headshot

Desiree Aprekuma

VP of People

RisePoint

Episode 351·November 12, 2025·7:40

Beyond HR Admin: How Strategic People Leaders Drive Engagement with AI

0:00-7:40
Remote Work EngagementAI in HRHRIS StrategyTalent Acquisition

Thesis

Effective HR leadership is rooted in a deep understanding of both people and business metrics, leveraging technology and strategic adaptation to foster engagement and drive organizational success, especially in dynamic environments like remote work.

What you'll take away

  1. 1HR often 'finds' individuals, leading to fulfilling careers driven by curiosity about people and problem-solving.
  2. 2The biggest current challenge for HR is maintaining team member engagement, connection, and rapport in a remote work environment.
  3. 3AI presents a significant opportunity for HR leaders to automate administrative tasks, freeing up time for more strategic conversations and creative engagement initiatives.
  4. 4A critical HR tool is the HRIS system (e.g., Workday), requiring continuous adaptation and change management to ensure processes serve the entire business, not just HR.
  5. 5Top HR leaders must understand both the 'people' aspect and the 'numbers' (business acumen) to secure their strategic position at the leadership table.

What most organizations get wrong

    In Desiree's words

    HR is where my natural curiosity for people kind of met my ability to solve problems, and I've just been hooked ever since.

    This quote highlights the guest's passion for HR, stemming from an innate drive to understand people and resolve issues.

    working in a remote environment has posed a unique challenge for my current employer. And we are constantly thinking of ways to keep our team members engaged, to find meaningful, memorable ways for them to connect, to build rapport with one another.

    This identifies a core pain point and strategic focus for HR in the current work landscape.

    how can I use this technology as an HR leader to be more effective, whether it's leveraging it for, you know, all the virtual meetings that I have and note-taking or helping to summarize notes, but just ways to cut down a little bit of that admin that we have to do and spend it in more strategic conversations, right?

    ai-in-hr

    This showcases the guest's forward-thinking approach to leveraging AI to enhance HR's strategic value by reducing administrative burden.

    we're looking at not things just from an HR perspective, right? We don't want to build processes that only work for the HR team. They need to work for the business.

    This emphasizes the critical need for HR processes to be business-centric rather than purely HR-centric, ensuring broader organizational benefit.

    the best HR leaders know the people and they know the numbers. So if you can speak the language of both, you'll always have a seat at the table.

    This provides a concise, actionable piece of advice for aspiring and current HR leaders on how to achieve strategic influence.

    The problems this episode addresses

    • Keeping remote and hybrid teams consistently engaged and connected to foster rapport.
    • Effectively leveraging new and evolving technologies, particularly AI, to reduce HR administrative tasks and shift focus to strategic initiatives.
    • Managing change associated with implementing new processes or enhancements within HRIS systems (e.g., Workday) across the organization.
    • Ensuring HR processes are designed to benefit the entire business, not just the HR department.
    • Recruiting specialized talent, such as AI engineers and product managers, especially in a competitive nationwide remote hiring landscape.

    In this episode

    Built by People podcast features the stories and insights of world's top HR leaders

    Built by People: The Human Resources Podcast

    You say you didn't set out to be in HR

    What Led You To Your Career Path

    Working in a remote environment has posed a unique challenge for your current employer

    What's the Biggest Challenge in HR?

    Which tools or partners are most critical for your people function today

    HR Tools: Most Critical for the People Function

    Desiree says RisePoint will continue to grow and hire great people

    What's Change at RisePoint in the Next 12 Months

    What parting advice would you share with our community about HR

    A message from the

    Desiree Johnson joins us on Built by People podcast

    Building a Better World

    Topics covered

    Organizations and entities mentioned

    Full transcript

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