How ServiceNow Is Building the Agentic Future of HR
The Josh Bersin Company
Outro
Kathi and Brandon close with final reflections, advice for HR leaders, and thanks to listeners.
What does it look like when one of the world’s most innovative tech companies decides to write the playbook for agentic HR — from the inside? Brandon Roberts, Global VP of People Product, Analytics and AI at ServiceNow, joins Kathi Enderes for a conversation that crackles with real-world urgency and hard-won insight.
Under the bold leadership of CHRO Jacqui Canney – whose title as Chief People and AI Transformation Officer signals just how seriously ServiceNow is taking this moment – Brandon and his team have made a defining bet: empower every HR professional to experiment with AI, then ruthlessly prioritize based on value and feasibility.
The results are already turning heads. When an HR Business Partner came forward with an idea, it didn’t disappear into a committee. It became a live capability: HRBPs now work alongside a people data agent paired with Galileo, giving them real-time internal workforce data fused with external benchmarks, case studies, and research insights, all available in the moment a business conversation demands an answer. This is what it means to bring consulting-grade intelligence into the flow of work.
But Brandon’s story doesn’t stop inside HR. ServiceNow is also asking its HR team to do something far bigger: help lead the entire company’s AI transformation. That means building workforce AI capabilities and readiness at scale, redesigning jobs and work across the firm as AI reshapes what every role requires and writing the organizational playbook for AI adoption that others can follow. It is a mandate that puts HR squarely at the center of enterprise strategy, moving from support function to transformation driver.
Brandon’s own career arc captures this shift. His role evolved from a focus on people analytics – historically centered on reporting and data analysis – into enabling the business to use insights about people and organizations to make better decisions and drive better outcomes, all powered by AI. The people analytics function didn’t shrink but grew in strategic weight and importance.
This conversation is a must-listen for anyone trying to understand what agentic HR actually looks like in practice at one of the fastest-moving companies on the planet.
Additional Information
Podcast: Jacqui Canney, ServiceNow CHRO, Demystifies AI Transformation
Article: The Great Reinvention of Human Resources Has Begun
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