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Virtual Conference Recap BY Katie Chambers | December 02, 2025

How Technology Can Enhance the Full HR Spectrum, from Recruiting to Retirement

Love it or fear it, AI is here to stay. In implementing AI and other new tech, leaders need to bring along the entire organization and drive a mindset shift, which includes an appreciation of how agentic AI will boost efficiency and productivity. Organizations must also consider the importance of anticipating risks and concerns about bias while utilizing these tools. During a fireside chat at From Day One’s November virtual conference, Kim Shockley, the VP of HR technology & automation at HP, shared how her organization is making the most of emerging technologies.  The Evolution of HR TechnologyDuring her 12 years working in HR technology, Shockley has witnessed rapid changes. Most companies had HR solutions “on prem” (meaning on a server on the premises) but now work mostly with cloud-based technologies. “HCM [human capital management] software vendors [have] become the standard, and companies [are] moving to really focus on an implementation of that across all capabilities” she said. “This huge explosion in the HR tech marketplace [is] focused on innovation and delivering best of breed technologies and really encouraging us to think outside of the box of what can I do beyond the standard of HR deliverables.”Many workplace software companies like Workday and Success Factors are acquiring and merging with others to provide all-in-one solutions, she says. “What’s happening now has the potential to leapfrog us and shift us significantly in a different direction, and that we in five years may look completely different than what we look today in our technology environments.” Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, business reporter at the Seattle Times, moderated the session with Kim Shockley of HP (photo by From Day One)The myriad of options can be overwhelming, so Shockley advises focusing on impact. Many HR tasks are “foundational [and] transactional, it’s the things that we have to do to help to run the business,” she said, referring to tasks like payroll and PTO. “And then there are other things in a business that HR delivers that have potential to deliver competitive advantage or strategic differentiation. A lot of these are in the talent space. They may be related to your employee value proposition,” she said. This is where technology beyond the core HCM can be beneficial in terms of talent support and development. Implementing Technologies That Promote Growth “Who do we want to be? We want to be an organization where talent is attracted to come to us, and then we are developing them, providing them the tools and opportunities to learn and grow so that they have choices in the future,” Shockley said. HP has implemented a talent intelligence platform that helped it become a skills-first organization and allowed employees to find new roles within the organization based on their skill-set, boosting talent retention. The tech also provides career pathing to help employees see how they can grow within HP. “I may see that I can switch functions where I may not have ever considered that before, because I have the skills to go there,” she said. Mentoring matches and stretch projects have all been optimized with AI technology. The software doesn’t just boost retention. “That same platform serves us on the recruiting side too, and helps us to find the right talent externally. It’s a skills platform. It allows us to find candidates based on AI algorithms and an AI model that does map candidate matching that has been a game changer for us in terms of us finding the right people, finding folks with the right skills, and moving them through the process,” Shockley said. While AI can certainly help HR leaders, they must be sure to use it responsibly, making sure systems “are designed and deployed in a fair, safe, and aligned manner with human values,” Shockley said. “HP as an enterprise has AI governance principles around trust, safety, security, and accountability. We have, on top of that, commitments for our people organization that take that a step further because of our responsibilities.” One of these is “human in the loop,” ensuring that a human is always involved and that AI is not solely making decisions related to humans. HR partners with employment attorneys and compliance departments to understand and define best use, high risk, and forbidden use cases.  Encouraging the Mindset ShiftAgentic AI offers opportunities to transform and automate business processes. “I can create an end-to-end workflow that drives more productivity into our processes, for both HR and for our employees and it also can impact the employee experience,” Shockley said. This rapid evolution is both exciting and challenging. “I have to be in the mode of executing, because I can’t wait for everything to be perfect. I need to be moving forward and learning and taking advantage… I have a bigger risk in not acting than in acting today,” she said. The information overload can be significant. Leaders need to encourage teams to be ready for AI, which Shockley calls a “mindset shift.” “With your average person, there’s still a lot of unknowns around AI—a lot of questions, maybe some anxieties and fears,” said moderator Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, business reporter at the Seattle Times. Shockley says encouraging experimentation is the best way to get employees comfortable with emerging technologies. “You have to actually put the tools in the hands of your people. It doesn’t have to be complex,” she said. Starting small with simple tools like Microsoft Copilot can help workers understand the value of AI. From there, you can expand into more complex company-wide technologies, like HP’s career mapping tool that lets employees dream and aspire to an exciting future. AI implementation is most effective when approached with purpose and clear intent, Shockley says. “It’s easy to say, ‘That’s cool. I want that.’ But if you start going at it that way, you often don’t get the outcome that you were after because you didn’t really define the outcome. And so, we always come back to, ‘What are we trying to accomplish?’ And let’s start there and then let’s figure out what’s the right technology to deliver on that.” Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Top Think, and several printed essay collections, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photo by Summit Art Creations/Shutterstock)

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Feature BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza | November 20, 2025

Corporate America’s Retreat from the ‘Whole Self’ Era

Remember the time when workers were invited to “bring their whole selves to work”? When they were welcomed to zones of psychological safety and encouraged to speak freely? When they were given highly flexible work arrangements to suit their lifestyles? When dogs and cats roamed through Zoom meetings?Those days are over. While no company will exactly say, “return to the office, and please leave your whole self at home,” corporate expectations have changed. The breezy notion of colorful individuality now feels risky. But where exactly are we now?“The pendulum is swinging. This goes back and forth through the decades,” said Janine Yancey, founder and CEO of Emtrain, which creates workplace compliance and culture training. At the moment, Emtrain’s customers are focused on productivity, cost savings, and efficiency. “It’s really about the bottom line right now,” Yancey said. The employee experience and company culture has receded in importance. “That’s less of a priority.”The “whole self” concept became HR gospel during the first half of the decade, propelled in different ways by three events: the pandemic, the surge of support for DEI, and the Great Resignation. (One of the first explicit references came a few years earlier in a TED talk.) During the pandemic, when remote work offered glimpses into our colleagues’ homes and lives, and widely shared stress revealed new parts of ourselves. With schools and childcare centers closed, companies granted unprecedented flexibility for workers to care for family members. The social justice movement of 2020 also opened the door for self-sharing at work. Employers spun up employee resource groups (ERGs) and some invited employees to share their feelings in all-hands meetings. Some, like Walmart, even trained staff in mental health first aid to better recognize distress among coworkers.The Definition Is TrickyBut what exactly does it mean to bring one’s whole self to work? It depends, and that may be the challenge as the bar is reset. Some may feel that it’s a license to dissolve healthy boundaries. Want to pitch a fit in a meeting? Go right ahead. That’s your whole self. Others may feel relief that they can talk openly about being on the autism spectrum without fear of discrimination. Like most trendy terms, its definition is nebulous. While individual companies may have taken the time to define the term, there’s been no broader consensus.It’s unlikely that any employer ever wanted employees to bring everything to work. Insubordination was never welcome, even if it comes naturally. “Authenticity at work is guarded authenticity,” said John Higgins, who studies and writes about activism in the workplace. “Because at work, you can be fired. That’s the reality.” What really undermined the “whole self” movement was the backlash against DEI.  Some companies and universities have scrapped their DEI plans, closed diversity offices, and laid off chief diversity officers—once a fast-growing C-suite position. Following President Trump’s executive order to end all federal DEI programs, there have been state-level bans, lawsuits, and corporate roll-backs.The skirmishes are often public. Some federal employees were fired or put on leave for participating in DEI programs recommended by the first Trump administration. More recently, some employers fired or disciplined workers for social posts they made about the murder of right-wing political figure Charlie Kirk. According to a special report from Reuters, more than 600 Americans were “fired, suspended, placed under investigation or disciplined by employers for comments about Kirk’s September 10 assassination.” Several of those workers have since filed lawsuits against their employers.Where Should the Line Be Drawn Now?Especially for leaders, the idea of unfiltered authenticity is misguided, according to management expert Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, writing in Harvard Business Review. “Decades of psychological research studies show that power diminishes inhibition, weakens empathy, reduces self-control and any sense of obligation to others, and amplifies the toxic traits leaders already possess,” asserts Chamorro-Premuzic, author of the new book Don’t Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead). Instead, leaders should model values instead of performing them, protect their personal lives, and choose empathy over ego.Even the term “psychological safety” needs to be revisited. Amy Edmonson, the Harvard management professor who popularized the term, argues that bringing one’s whole self is precisely what we shouldn’t be doing. “Your ‘authentic’ or ‘whole’ self also includes the undesirable, unprofessional, and dark side dimensions of your character,” she wrote in a recent article for Fast Company.Venture capitalist Marc Andressen, a vocal critic of DEI, wrote on X in late 2024: “The one thing you should never, ever, ever do is bring your full self. Leave your full self at home where it belongs and act like a professional and a grownup at work and in public.”It’s arguable that “whole self” was never what workers needed. In a New York Times opinion piece, University of Pennsylvania economist Corinne Low wrote that “women, and especially mothers, don’t necessarily need remote work. We don’t need so-called flexible work schedules. What we need are plain old boundaries–jobs where work stops at a set time and allows other parts of life to exist without interruption.”But employers reach outside the workplace, where our whole selves live. In many cases, the comments about Charlie Kirk that resulted in terminations were made on personal social media accounts. It’s not the first time this has happened. A private-sector employee was fired from her job in 2020 after she called the Black Lives Matter “racist, claiming it caused segregation and alleging Black people were ‘killing themselves,’” according to the New Jersey Monitor. The employee sued, but a judge upheld the termination. While some may decry unprofessionalism in the workplace, others may be pushing back on expressions of personal identity that don’t align with with their ideological camp. For instance, the Trump administration wanted to ban transgender people from changing the sex marker on their passports, and the Supreme Court upheld the ban. We might ask, Is it that we don’t want people to behave unprofessionally, or that we don’t want people to feel safe and comfortable disclosing politicized aspects of their identity?When employers invite authenticity at work, Higgins said, what’s usually welcome are the traits that benefit the business. At its most mercenary, the message is really, “bring a socially acceptable version of yourself so I can use you.” Of course, what’s socially acceptable changes. What will be the next cycle? “Employers will overreach a little bit, and then employees will start to mobilize because that’s the only way you can achieve some leverage and power,” said Emtrain’s Yancey. Sometimes unions are formed or sit-ins are held. Who does the rabble-rousing has a great deal to do with who has the upper hand in the job market—or what ideology is in vogue. But the pendulum will one day swing again, she said. “It always does.” Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Featured illustrated by Dave Long Media/iStock by Getty Images)

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What Our Attendees are Saying

Jordan Baker(Attendee) profile picture

“The panels were phenomenal. The breakout sessions were incredibly insightful. I got the opportunity to speak with countless HR leaders who are dedicated to improving people’s lives. I walked away feeling excited about my own future in the business world, knowing that many of today’s people leaders are striving for a more diverse, engaged, and inclusive workforce.”

– Jordan Baker, Emplify
Desiree Booker(Attendee) profile picture

“Thank you, From Day One, for such an important conversation on diversity and inclusion, employee engagement and social impact.”

– Desiree Booker, ColorVizion Lab
Kim Vu(Attendee) profile picture

“Timely and much needed convo about the importance of removing the stigma and providing accessible mental health resources for all employees.”

– Kim Vu, Remitly
Florangela Davila(Attendee) profile picture

“Great discussion about leadership, accountability, transparency and equity. Thanks for having me, From Day One.”

– Florangela Davila, KNKX 88.5 FM
Cory Hewett(Attendee) profile picture

“De-stigmatizing mental health illnesses, engaging stakeholders, arriving at mutually defined definitions for equity, and preventing burnout—these are important topics that I’m delighted are being discussed at the From Day One conference.”

– Cory Hewett, Gimme Vending Inc.
Trisha Stezzi(Attendee) profile picture

“Thank you for bringing speakers and influencers into one space so we can all continue our work scaling up the impact we make in our organizations and in the world!”

– Trisha Stezzi, Significance LLC
Vivian Greentree(Attendee) profile picture

“From Day One provided a full day of phenomenal learning opportunities and best practices in creating & nurturing corporate values while building purposeful relationships with employees, clients, & communities.”

– Vivian Greentree, Fiserv
Chip Maxwell(Attendee) profile picture

“We always enjoy and are impressed by your events, and this was no exception.”

– Chip Maxwell, Emplify
Katy Romero(Attendee) profile picture

“We really enjoyed the event yesterday— such an engaged group of attendees and the content was excellent. I'm feeling great about our decision to partner with FD1 this year.”

– Katy Romero, One Medical
Kayleen Perkins(Attendee) profile picture

“The From Day One Conference in Seattle was filled with people who want to make a positive impact in their company, and build an inclusive culture around diversity and inclusion. Thank you to all the panelists and speakers for sharing their expertise and insights. I'm looking forward to next year's event!”

– Kayleen Perkins, Seattle Children's
Michaela Ayers(Attendee) profile picture

“I had the pleasure of attending From Day One. My favorite session, Getting Bias Out of Our Systems, was such a powerful conversation between local thought leaders.”

– Michaela Ayers, Nourish Events
Sarah J. Rodehorst(Attendee) profile picture

“Inspiring speakers and powerful conversations. Loved meeting so many talented people driving change in their organizations. Thank you From Day One! I look forward to next year’s event!”

– Sarah J. Rodehorst, ePerkz
Angela Prater(Attendee) profile picture

“I had the distinct pleasure of attending From Day One Seattle. The Getting Bias Out of Our Systems discussion was inspirational and eye-opening.”

– Angela Prater, Confluence Health
Joel Stupka(Attendee) profile picture

“From Day One did an amazing job of providing an exceptional experience for both the attendees and vendors. I mean, we had whale sharks and giant manta rays gracefully swimming by on the other side of the hall from our booth!”

– Joel Stupka, SkillCycle
Alexis Hauk(Attendee) profile picture

“Last week I had the honor of moderating a panel on healthy work environments at the From Day One conference in Atlanta. I was so inspired by what these experts had to say about the timely and important topics of mental health in the workplace and the value of nurturing a culture of psychological safety.”

– Alexis Hauk, Emory University