Big tech changes usually sit with IT departments, but not this one, says a digital transformation expert
Digital transformation expert Sarah Balmer has helped many businesses navigate major tech transitions, but she believes the shift being driven by AI will be different for HR leaders.
“HR has a huge opportunity but also a massive change ahead in terms of their role and the function of people and culture in organisations,” Balmer told HRD.
“The thing that HR has ahead of it, which possibly hasn't happened in my lifetime, is that they have to really own the technology.
“I believe that AI lives in the HR ecosystem because it is effectively synthetic employees—it is effectively a co-worker for the employee. So collectively, I believe there is a large chunk of the management of that which lives within HR, as opposed to technology departments, which is where I think a lot of technology and change has sat previously.”
Balmer will delve into this issue and many more at HRFutureFest Australia in Melbourne on October 29, when she moderates a discussion on building brave leaders for an AI world.
Register now for HRFutureFest Australia
Joining her for the discussion will be Hanan El Sheikh, HR Director at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company; Pritho Saxena, Director HR, Australia, China and South East Asia at Amazon; and Kathleen Wilson, Executive - Leadership Capability at NAB.
Balmer, founder of Balmer Agency and Parently.ai, a platform to help busy parents manage family admin, believes brave leaders are the ones who are quick to adopt, learn, and even fail.
She believes there is a gap in organizations where leadership is pushing for AI adoption but employees are reticent due to concerns such as job losses.
“I want to understand, with these organizations that have leaders spearheading the charge, how are they finding that adoption? Are they finding everyone's on board?”
She also wants to know where businesses are seeing “the wins” with the best ROI on AI adoption.
“From a people and culture perspective, where are they finding that AI works beautifully within certain roles, and how are they redefining certain job titles?” she said.
The time to start is now
Balmer said she sees businesses in Australia waiting to see how their peers or competitors adopt AI and then be a “fast follower.”
“What I would caution businesses who are holding back from the change or saying it's not going to affect us is that getting ready for AI takes a lot of time.
“There are some fundamentals that, irrespective of what the technology does, if you don't have a CRM, if you haven't mapped your processes, and if you do not know where your data lives, that job can be huge depending on your tech stack.
“If you don't even just start now doing those little things, you are going to be miles behind, because when you decide to do it, closing the gap is going to be a lot harder.”
Harnessing AI
Balmer is not just identifying issues around AI implementation; she is also working on solutions.
She is developing a diagnostic tool for companies called Priority AI that she says will help businesses identify the AI projects that will deliver the highest rewards for the lowest effort, and Prolinks, an AI-powered smart documents product.
HRFutureFest Australia
The HRD HRFutureFest Australia 2025 will be a unique opportunity to build connections and learn alongside leaders and experts through Q&A panels, masterclasses, live demonstrations, and discussions.
Participants will be able to build their own event program with a choice of more than 30 sessions across the day, covering themes including:
- Human + AI: Smarter HR Decisions
- Work with Meaning: Align People, Culture & Impact
- Workplace Law 2026 and Beyond
- DEI in Action: Inclusive by Design
- Wellbeing at Work: Mind, Body & Beyond
- Leading + Learning in a Changing World
