Redesigning Work in the AI Era: What HR Needs to Do Now
AI and automation are no longer side projects. They are changing roles, rewriting processes, and resetting what great performance looks like. At the 24th Leadership & Human Resource Management Conference by PwC, leaders made one thing clear: HR has to move first, not follow.
The focus was simple: close skills gaps, build adaptability into hiring and development, and lead with clarity in a market that changes by the month. Below are the signals and the moves HR teams can act on today.
Key signals from the conference
The panel, "Humans at the Helm: Redefining Work in an AI-Driven Future," centered on jobs, skills, and org design. It offered practical ways to build skills pipelines and hard-wire flexibility into how companies hire and grow people.
Leadership under pressure
Philippos Soseilos, CEO & Chairman, PwC Cyprus, was direct: companies must keep reinventing or risk losing relevance. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are now core productivity tools, not experiments.
- Make AI literacy a baseline for all roles; go deeper for managers and data-facing teams.
- Run short AI pilots inside real workflows (service tickets, reporting, knowledge search) and measure time saved and error rates.
- Update policies on data use, accuracy checks, and approvals; make them easy to follow.
- Set a quarterly review rhythm for talent, tech, and org design to keep pace with change.
Shipping as a live case study
Chrysostomos Papavassiliou, CEO & Chairman of the Board, Island Oil Holdings, described ships as "floating offices" with always-on connectivity and full integration with shore systems. AI is already improving collaboration, productivity, and training in high-stakes, distributed teams.
- Redesign roles as human + machine systems; write SOPs that include digital tools step by step.
- Build simulation-based training for safety, maintenance, and logistics decision-making.
- Formalize 24/7 comms protocols and handovers across time zones and bandwidth limits.
- Use performance data to refresh skill requirements and certification cycles.
Demographics meet technology
Philippos Mannaris, Head of Aon's Wealth Solutions (Cyprus & Middle East), flagged a major shift: more workers over 65, and many Gen Z employees expect personalization. AI can help create individual employee experiences that boost engagement.
- Move to multi-stage careers: sabbaticals, phased retirement, returnships, and role shifts tied to skills.
- Personalize benefits and learning paths by life stage, not just level or tenure.
- Adopt skills-based pay ranges and internal marketplaces to match work with capability.
- Pair cross-generational mentoring with clear growth ladders and badges that signal real progress.
Cyber risk is a business risk
Christos Onoufriou, CEO, Odyssey Cybersecurity, emphasized that a cyber incident hits the entire business model. HR has levers that reduce exposure and speed response.
- Make security part of onboarding and quarterly refreshers; include role-based modules.
- Run phishing drills and share the results openly; reward reporting, not perfection.
- Tighten access by role and event (promotion, transfer, contractor start/end).
- Publish incident playbooks with who-does-what; rehearse with executives and team leads.
- Screen vendors for training and access controls before they touch your systems.
Build a skills-first engine
Titles don't move work; skills do. Shift your talent model so you see, grow, and deploy capability in near real time.
- Create a shared skills taxonomy for priority roles; link it to levels, pay, and learning paths.
- Run a skills inventory using self-assessment plus manager validation and work samples.
- Apply the 4B model to each gap: Build (train), Buy (hire), Borrow (contract), Bot (automate).
- Post internal gigs and projects to redeploy people in weeks, not quarters.
- Report skills supply/demand to leadership monthly; set targets for critical gaps.
Hire for adaptability, not just experience
If the work shifts every quarter, hire people who can shift with it. Make adaptability visible and testable in your process.
- Use structured interviews with scorecards for learning speed, problem framing, and collaboration.
- Swap generic questions for short work samples: case prompts, data interpretation, or writing tasks.
- Add a 30-60 minute job trial where candidates use your actual tools (with synthetic data).
- Include a "learning contract" in offers: first-90-day skills goals with time reserved to hit them.
Learning as a system, not an event
Training days help, habits win. Build a learning loop that sits inside the work.
- Run two-week learning sprints tied to business metrics (cycle time, quality, NPS).
- Teach AI tool use where the work happens: ticketing, docs, finance, sales ops.
- Create peer circles for weekly practice and feedback; keep them small and consistent.
- Protect two hours per week for focused learning; managers model the same behavior.
- Track outcomes: content reused, time saved, defects avoided, and internal mobility.
90-day HR action plan
- Days 1-30: Pick three high-volume workflows. Baseline current time/quality. Launch AI literacy for all managers. Draft guardrails and data-use rules.
- Days 31-60: Pilot AI in those workflows. Stand up a skills inventory for two critical job families. Update interview scorecards and add one job trial per role.
- Days 61-90: Expand pilots based on data. Publish a skills dashboard and internal gig board. Run a cyber tabletop with execs and update the playbook.
What leadership needs to hear
HR can reduce risk and lift output at the same time. The play is clear: clarify the skills that matter, rewire hiring and development to build them, and treat AI and security as everyday practice.
Resources
- World Economic Forum: Future of Jobs Report - useful benchmarks on skills demand and role shifts.
- Complete AI Training: Courses by Job - curated learning paths to upskill teams quickly.
The discussion was moderated by Cleo Papadopoulou, Head of Connected Tax Compliance Managed Services, Chief Learning Officer and Chief I&D Officer, PwC Cyprus. The message across the board: keep people at the center, and make change a habit, not an event.
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