15Five gathered hundreds of HR leaders in Austin and virtually earlier this month for our annual Thrive conference. We dove deep into how organizations can be human-led and AI-elevated with a day full of interactive sessions with industry practitioners, thought leaders and 15Five leadership.
Our goal each year with Thrive is to help reignite the HR spirit of innovation and perseverance, especially now at a time when AI is changing so much about our workplaces and our work itself. It seems like change has become the only constant
While it was extremely difficult to whittle down a day full of insightful conversations into a handful key takeaways, here are five that stood out to us.
HR professionals need room to learn about AI without feeling behind.
SHRM Austin president-elect Mike Randolph took the stage with our CEO, Dr. Jeff Smith, for a fireside chat about practical ways HR can put AI to work. The two talked about the risks of handing too much over to AI and where it's best-suited to empower HR & people leaders, rather than diminish them.
Mike emphasized that we need to allow ourselves and our teams room to explore AI without feeling like we’ve fallen behind. He went on to share practical examples for capacity tracking that the audience could take back to their teams to try.
AI transformation is a people strategy, not just a technology project.
Dare we say it’s even more of a people challenge than a technology one?
This was a recurring theme throughout Thrive with speakers across multiple sessions emphasizing that successful AI adoption involves more than deploying a bunch of new tools. It requires managerial support, bringing employees along in the process of testing and deploying the technology and ensuring people remain at the center of changing workflows
Sometimes we need to go back to the basics.
We also heard repeatedly that managers could do a better job supporting employees by going back to basics. One example: making 1-1s more effective. That requires greater continuity both going into, and out of, the meeting.
In this spirit, we debuted Meeting Assistant at the event. Before a meeting, the AI-powered agent provides managers with an agenda, open action items from previous conversations and a summary of relevant changes since the last conversation. Following the meeting, it shares notes, outlines the key takeaways and lists recommended actions.
Over time, each 1-1 contributes to a more holistic record of employee progress so managers have a cohesive picture at their fingertips when it comes time for a performance decision.
We can’t shy away from talking about the hard parts of the job
Given the nature of our work, HR is often held to a different standard than other functions across the business. HR leaders are expected to absorb the strain of workplace challenges, while often not being given the space to express our own issues
In a session focused on mental health, Melissa Doman candidly spoke with our VP of People, Karina Young, about the pressure HR professionals face while supporting employees through organizational change and the need to acknowledge that we’re human, too. Using candor to level with people is the key here. For example, as Melissa and Karina explained, it’s okay to ask for patience, to let someone know you’re nervous about what you’re about to say (ever found yourself having to give hard news to an executive?) and to set boundaries for yourself at work.
15Five customers are awesome.
Our customers showed up big time at Thrive, and we’re so deeply thankful. They shared their authentic take on what they’ve gotten out of 15Five, how it has strengthened their people programs and how they’ve tapped our solutions to drive meaningful results for their businesses. 
More generally, they shared their take on where things are headed for HR leaders, how to meet people where they are on their learning journey, best practices for maintaining a people-first mindset and how to help teams evolve along with technology.
We hope you enjoyed Thrive as much as we did, whether you were in Austin with us live or you tuned in virtually. The session recordings will be available soon. If you have already registered for Thrive, you’ll be notified once they’re ready. If you haven’t yet, there’s still time: www.15five.com/thrive.
