What fresh he-l is this?
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35 replies (most recent on top)
As a Director with lots of eyes on AI, I can say emphatically that yes AI capabilities will enable NM to reduce employee count dramatically across multiple functional areas. This is tip of the iceberg stuff for NM. Heck, my own job will likely become extinct or dramatically change within 2 years. AI is insanely powerful, and I've been blessed with the ability to leverage at NM. But here's the thing....AI is going to very dramatically reshape the workplace for ALL companies. NM is not alone in this. Every company is moving just as fast as they can to evaluate and adopt AI capabilities.
Why wouldn’t we? Easy. We’ve seen the result after many attempts by HR to make a big tech or data play at NM. It results in most of the HR team being booted out of this place.
We are to be jealous of HR’s amazing tech capabilities? So, running Workday (SaS) and publishing amazing PowerBI reports? Yeah they’re right up there with the best tech companies in the world. If HR is so amazing with AI, why do they continue to employ more and more people? Shouldn’t the numbers be going the other way? Let me guess - HR is about to use quantum computing to figure out who’s more likely to leave the company in the next year. Amazing actionable stuff, as always. It’s a miracle they’re still around. If they weren’t able to mandate silly company-wide data collection efforts they would have been fully outsourced to some HR provider.
I’m fairly new to the NM HR space (about 2 years), but I strongly echo the previous poster’s point. We’ve just hired a new SD and will soon be adding a VP of AI.
Now is the time to update your skills you’ll likely be working for HR sooner than you think. If you look at our internal careers page, HR actually has more tech embedded in it than any other department. Why stay in AS or TC when you can move to HR, get the same pay, and avoid many of the rigid rules and pressures of traditional tech roles?
I love working in our HR organization! We’re the clear leaders in AI across the company, leaps and bounds ahead of any other department. We get to operate at a truly technical level without the burden of managing pipelines, budgets, or operational risk. We’re empowered for speed and innovation, supported by some of the strongest leaders in the company. That combination is exactly what gives us our agility and stature in the company.
Our group is hearing that LJ will be taking over technology for the company. This is exciting news, finally bringing a dedicated tech leader who reports directly to the CEO and properly embeds technology into the HR function, just like other top 50 companies.
When you have no jobs for young and old, that’s the opportunity for the military recruiting. They need you to fight for woke Ukraine borders. Your lives are in the hands of Russians people
Well, here's the thing. Massive restructuring and cuts are coming. And yes, the company is seemingly trying to support it's people proactively so. So go into it eyes wide open and take advantage of what assistance, etc. is being offered. Regardless if it's not being packaged honestly. Serves no productive purpose to call it out for what it really is.
@26j+1kqsmn4s1 Seconding this as a former M2. There has always been a view amongst SLT and Board that NM is too large of a company and that part of the reason for that is there are so many moving parts to manage. Even before AI, there has been a plan to automate tons of processes with part of the goal being to remove people. The company has already invested a ton in digitizing all paper documents to get rid of people who manage those and the push to PX for the field is part of these efforts. AI has just made it go much faster.
The most I know about is the call center replacement. The goal is eventually many policy actions that require a call will become just a process through a chat bot, and for the rest call center agents will be guided through processes by AI so they are more productive. The goal still remains that they want to reduce customer service's toolkit from 11 tools to 3 or less. Thus, they will be able to cut a huge chunk of the customer service workforce, which is Union so it'll also be less overhead on that front.
AI will ramp down tech workers at NM but the tech org is already rolling out tech that will replace HR, Accounting, Customer Service, and yes even actuaries.
They're coming for all of you.
Tech had a good run. NM had 5,000 employees pre-pandemic. Exploded to 8,000 in recent years, mostly in tech. These were not meant to be forever jobs. It makes sense to cut from IT if they have to, especially if AI can do more with less.
it all makes sense logical sense. the big thought leader of hr - lj - has promised that ai and other magic can magically get rid of the need for 25% of IT staff. after all when you want experts in AI you always look to HR and a former talent acquisition person first.
so she is running the hr data world and needs to deliver on that promise so she needs data to make decisions. she convinced kc to put together the latest silly workday and hr process to drive everybody to add their skills to workday, which she surely wants to use to rack and stack everybody.
the answer is clear. add any and all skills to your workday profile as you can. give hr all sorts of data to use. what are they going to do, test us?
meanwhile hr continues to bloat bigger and bigger. the most ripe department for complete oursourcing and ai yet that still hasnt been done.
@1qq LJ thinks she is an expert in AI but she just spews strategies that AI tells her to do. She got the keys from KC because they are buddies and she's blindly steering a bloated course of a company into a future she has no knowledge of.
In an earlier company meeting this year, *J described herself as the company’s foremost expert on AI and workforce replacement strategies for the coming 12 months. The organization is actively working to reduce headcount to pre-COVID levels a targeted reduction of about 25%. She made it clear that HR does not represent employee interests in this initiative and encouraged everyone to update their skills so their status in the plan can be assessed.
As an “intern” at the company, one of the tasks I was given involved reviewing Canada payroll setup options. We were told it was for LJ, a friend of KC. The team asked if we could accommodate one person, leadership said yes, and the tax group took at least a look at it. In the end, I believe they paid her through a vendor instead. It was pretty uncomfortable and felt off even at the time.
LJ was later hired as a VP, which gave me a much clearer view of how decisions actually get made inside the organization. This wasn’t an isolated lapse it was a window into the culture.
If you read the recent Guardian report, it all fits together. TG needs to make real changes.
Assuming the facts about the silver fox hiring his nieces, isnt that an actual violation of nm's nepotism rules? They are spelled out on the DC. HR is apparently so busy trying to get you to follow their latest soon-to-be-forgotten workday goof that they didn't notice a blatent violation of the rules they are charged with enforcing.
Surprised? Nope.
Just listen to KC talk. She’s not polished or even a smidge of polish. If you’ve known great leaders, you can spot the opposite a mile away. She’s incredibly disingenuous. Bad leadership cascades downwards as bad culture and more bad leaders.
Thank you for shinning a light on this things now make more sense on why she’s the CHRO.
KC and LJ have fostered a hostile environment, driving talent out of the HR department. Their leadership, combined with a suspect, non-competitive hiring process for a high-level VP role, highlights a clear case of nepotism involving KC. I advise extreme caution in trusting the current HR team.
When our CHRO stands up and talks about success, growth, and merit, it’s hard not to roll my eyes. She conveniently leaves out the fact that her uncle was the previous CHRO. He hired his two nieces and shipped them into his succession plan, then turned around and handed this role to her.
We all see it. You’re not here because of your outstanding track record or leadership abilities—you’re here because of nepotism. Just acknowledge it. At least own the truth instead of preaching about growth and workforce disruption while benefiting from family favoritism.
Even further look at her leadership, makes you wonder what leadership looks like, your closest friends.
@195 Same price as the corporate structure.
This “career development conversation” push through Workday feels completely farcical. It’s just more corporate busywork designed to justify the existence of layers of HR bureaucracy and middle management whose main skill is exploiting humans for rich 1%, not producing value.
Let’s be honest — these programs are rarely about helping the people actually doing the work. The same leadership promoting “growth conversations” today would cut employees tomorrow if it improved quarterly numbers or protected their own positions. Loyalty only flows one way in corporate America.
Most workers already know the reality: performance, dedication, and institutional knowledge often matter less than politics, optics, and managerial self-preservation. These initiatives feel less like genuine development and more like another branding exercise to make leadership appear people-focused while employees carry the extra administrative burden.
@195 That wasn't their point though? They were complaining that there was no parking, when there is.
@129 paying $11 a day to park sounds fair
Y’all need to chill out. I’ve been working downtown for 20 years and have never once felt unsafe, even walking to my car at 10 p.m.
There are 1,200 spots in the Art Museum Center Parking Structure (formerly O’Donnell). I park there everyday and it is not even remotely full, even on Mondays. Another 265 spots next to the War Memorial - same situation. Chill out.
@sq The downtown shuttle was often used by employees as free transportation to downtown NOT as a shuttle betewwn campuses for meetings. I worked with one of these employees. Someone dropped her off at the Franklin campus or she parked there when it was free. Then she took the shuttle to work downtown and back again to the Franklin campus. I could count on it like clockwork. 'Sorry, Ihave to leave now so I can catch the last shttle home.'
DontParkHere You are about as clueless and naive as Cavalier. Keep selling that downtown fantasy when reality is very different.
Just so you know the free Franklin campus shuttle was to address downtown parking. It was a problem back then and a bigger problem now.
There are two Walgreens stores in downtown Milwaukee. Neither of them are closing. The Walgreens you say is "downtown" - the one on North Avenue - is closing. The two downtown locations which are both closer to NM than the one that's closing - remain. Nobody who has any clue as to where "downtown Milwaukee" is would say North Avenue is "downtown."
Perhaps you should spend less time walking around campus manually counting the number of desks and more time looking at a map.
On the other hand I think you just solved your own problem, as you are concerned about downtown parking. Using your definition of downtown, there's a great lot with cheap space on west Fond du Lac and north avenue - right next to the popeye's chicken.
There is no public transportation. Park and ride lots are gone and MCTS has cut nearly half of their routes. Summerfest had the same problem and hired their own busses.
The cafeteria situation was cited by NM themselves in their lawsuit against the IRS over meal deductions. NM said there are not enough restaurants to serve their staff. NM can’t even service the people they have now.
There are not enough desks in the new building and telling people to work on a couch or table for 10 is a joke. This was poor planning and no solution.
Walgreens is joining the list of business leaving downtown. With over 200 calls to 911 they are done. Columbia St Marys hospital had a nurse nearly ki-led this week after a street person walked in. Downtown is out of control.
@gm How can you say there will not be enough desk space once the new tower is done? Cafe space - many EE's work from home & that will continue despite the moanings. I am witing for those currently at the Franklin campus to complain and try to bring back the free shuttle they all abused back un the day.
Public transportation is an option. Several county bus lines drop off right at the front door of the downtown campus. I see NM people using it every day.
Significant cuts are coming. There is not enough desk space or capacity in the cafeteria downtown for the Franklin people. There is also not enough parking in the vicinity and public transportation is not an option. Campus safety is also top of mind but won’t be discussed publicly. SLT is aware of how dangerous downtown is but will not acknowledge it. It should have been obvious it was all lies and BS in the town hall. McKinsey is going to help solution what to do.
There is a clear path forward. Everybody needs to add any and all skills they can possibly imagine to their profile. Use the LinkedIn standard: if you’ve heard of it, you are an expertn.
Tell everybody you know to do the same. Spend a few hours at work doing this. They want you to own your career so it’s time you showed them what that means.
This is a joke of the century. Eye wash.
it is the latest iteration of HR trying to be important
meanwhile it is no secret that mckinsay is back in town and they have promised all sorts of savings to the ge hack,the uptalker,and smooth ms. it is likely that they will use the info they are forcing everybody to provide to determine who gets cut and who does not