Embracing the Future of Work with Stephanie Manzelli

In this episode, we explore the evolving landscape of workforce strategies, AI integration, and talent mobility with Stephanie Manzelli, Chief People Officer of EMPLOY. Stephanie shares her insights on how HR can lead change, foster a human-centric approach amidst technological advancements, and adapt career evolution models to modern organizational needs. 
 

Timestamps: 

1:24 - Stephanie's Role and Company Overview 

2:11 - Workforce Trends and AI 

3:31 - Change Management and Culture 

4:25 - Recruitment and Candidate Personas 

6:13 - Unique Recruitment Processes 

8:07 - Addressing Skill Gaps 

10:50 - Guidance for Candidates 

13:02 - Caution and Boldness with AI 

18:49 - DEI Evolution 

 
Connect with Stephanie Manzelli: 

LinkedIn 

EMPLOY 

Connect with Christy Honeycutt: 

LinkedIn 

 
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Is your organization prepared for the Future of Work?
Learn more: https://www.pepelwerk.com/build-my-future-workforce/ 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I'm honored to present Chief People Officer of Employees Stephanie Manzelli. Stephanie leads with both heart and discipline. She enjoys aligning people strategy to business outcomes with significant clarity and impact. Stephanie specializes in scaling high-growth environments, driving culture transformation, and designing orgs that perform. She believes HR should lead the evolution of work, not follow it. Especially as AI, data and enablement redefine how teams operate. Stephanie takes a human-centered approach that focuses on driving outcomes rooted in strategic focus and accountability. She was awarded the 2025 Inspiring Leader Award from IWG. And once you hear this interview, I believe you will see why. We dive into forecasted workforce trends, the concept of career evolution inside modern organizations, and why the latter is no longer the only option within talent mobility. Let's jump in, shall we? People Work is proud to present Strategic Shift, a podcast dedicated to exploring the future of work. Thank you for joining us as we hear stories of bold decisions and workforce innovations. I'm Christy Honeycutt, and I'm your host. Stephanie, I am so excited to have you on the show today. And I know that my introduction did not do you justice. I would love, if you don't mind, could you introduce yourself and a little bit about your organization to our audience?

SPEAKER_02 1:24

Of course. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm Stephanie Manzelli. I am the Chief People Officer of Employ. And Employ helps companies hire smarter and faster and more humanly through our intelligent hiring suite. So we we have a series of ATSs, Jazz HR, Lever and Job Find, and our AI companions that enhance recruiter impact without uh replacing human judgment.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

That is a mouthful. And I am so grateful that you're here for this. So I know that you're a CPO, obviously. And I'm just curious, what signals are you seeing right now when you think about where the workforce is heading in the next three to five years? Because this is a really top question, I think, going into 2026.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

Yeah. Oh gosh. Well, so I think um, I think we've spent a good amount of time in HR and then just in society, sort of being afraid of AI, right? And uh, and I think, you know, I think we're moving out of that. I would say, you know, in the next sort of three to five years, and even as we think of the urgency of 2026, I think as HR leaders, we are now coming to terms with this. And we're saying, okay, what do we need to do to get people ready for this? And that's all about reskilling and upskilling and cross-skilling. That's all about your talent strategy, the make versus buy strategy of developing in folks internally. And how do we go to market to identify these skills? And um, has everything to do with how we deploy this to augment the workforce. And so I think we're moving out of fear and and that's employees as a whole. And we're moving into okay, how do we make this a reality? How do we upskill ourselves? How do we upskill our employees? And I think that's our new normal for the foreseeable future.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Uncertainty is our new normal. That's true, yeah. So, how how are you guys going about it? Because I know obviously you're servicing organizations, but then you have your employee population that you're looking after and over. So, how are you kind of helping with the change management, the the culture of purpose and engagement? What does that look like for you?

SPEAKER_02 3:31

Yeah, so full transparency. Earlier this year, um I I started to feel anxious about AI. Uh, I, you know, I I'd done all the things, you know, we have obviously we have AI in our products. Uh, and so I'm comfortable with it from that respect. But I started to think about, well, what am I gonna do as an HR leader and and what does the future of work really look like? And and what will I need to help our teams hire for? And so um I did a lot of research and um I actually enrolled in some programs with uh with some institutions, the MIT actually, about deploying AI inside of a business. And so spent the better part of the year really um educating myself in in these areas and putting those learnings into practical application in the workplace. And so um, you know, some of the things that we're doing is um from a recruitment perspective, uh, we are taking a look at the candidate persona. And so, you know, we are hiring for jobs that don't yet exist. We are hiring for jobs that are gonna change a lot in the next five years. And so, how do you identify those individual skills and behaviors that are gonna be critical and relevant in three or five years from now? And so um, we're doing a lot of that by really reframing our job descriptions to be focused on candidate personas. What are those skills and behaviors you need to be successful? Um, and as it relates to our internal employees, we are doubling down on education. Um, we are uh obviously identifying the tools and technology that we think will make our business successful and that we think can augment efficiency internally. We're spending more time on the front end defining what that success criteria looks like, which I think is something everybody's always said, but not always something people have done. Um, and then we're really thoughtfully implementing and really taking principles from agile to to implement things. So we do iteration loops, we roll a piece of it out, we test it, we collect feedback, we make sure that we're upskilling and educating so that folks are spending less time in the messy middle. So that's sort of the change curve, spending less time in the messy middle and more time kind of getting amped and excited about what they're working on and and what they're leveraging to support their day-to-day.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

That is beautiful. And I love that you're doing that internally. So, how how is employee taking that same methodology into organizations that are probably feeling the same fear and challenges?

SPEAKER_02 5:58

Yeah, I think, you know what, one of the things I always say to folks that are evaluating our product offering is um, you know, you have to take a look at your own individual process. So our tools are specific to the talent acquisition process. And so as I work with HR leaders who are evaluating our tool or others, is really take a look at your whole recruitment lifecycle from the time that you think you need to hire a role all the way, you know, through the actual onboarding process or pre-boarding process of those individuals. Where do you see your pain points in your process? And the reason I think this step is critical is because there's a lot of companies out here that are going to tell you you need to do X, you need to do Y, or this is the clear answer to your problem. All of it is hogwash. Uh, you have a unique organization, you have a unique culture, you have a unique way of working. As an HR person, I've been in so many different organizations that have seen me as an HR professional completely differently and the value that my team can bring. And that that leads into just the complexity of your recruitment process, too, right? Is it is it easily repeatable? Is there nuance? Do you have an overly complex approval chain? All of those things are relevant. And so I always tell an HR leader, um, you need to wipe the site clean. You need to identify your culture, your unique pain points, and you need to solve for that. And so the thing that we actually help organizations with is that we we can help them figure out the solution based on their unique pain point. Is it, is it in the volume of applications coming in? Is it the quality of the applications coming in? Is it the quality of the candidate feedback through the process? Is it the speed and pace at which you collect that feedback? And so that's, you know, that's the way that we think about it. And we leverage AI to augment and support the recruiter. Our goal is not to replace any roles, it's to help a recruiter do what they do best, which is human connection and candidate match.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

Yes, human connection and candidate match. I love that you said that, being a former talent person for 20 years, it is so important. And it's, you know, as we look at the candidates and as we look at, and you stated this that you're hiring or we're hiring for jobs that don't exist today, right? So there is that skill gap, and you alluded to a skill gap. So what is your how are you guys taking uh the approach with skill gaps right now? I know you're looking at roles, you're looking at future skills, but and you've you've invested and double down on training, but what are you doing differently to kind of identify and to start coaching towards those within employ?

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Yeah, it's a great question. Uh, you know, for us, I think um some of this, we are flying a plane and fixing it at the same time. So I wouldn't want to tell you, I am an expert and we do it the best, right? I we do the best we can with the information that's available to us. Um, but what I would say is there are core basics that I think define success no matter what is changing in the world. That is your agility, that is your resiliency, that is your ability to be nimble and learn new things and and um and lean into that. I I had this leader once, that um CEO that I worked for once that uh was telling me when when he interviews executive candidates and he tells them the the goodness honest truth, all of the worst, all of the problems, do they sit back and ask pensive questions or do they lean in and get excited and can and literally the the physical lean in or lean back? And I thought that was such an eloquent way to say it. And I would translate that into your question. It is, it is there are innate skills that somebody brings to the table that have the ability for us to ascertain whether they are adaptable in the face of change. And that I think is the biggest piece of it because, you know, how things are coded, what tools are used, what technology, is it intuitive, is it not intuitive, that's gonna change. But it's somebody's ability to look at that challenge and say, all right, I'm willing to learn, I'm excited to learn about this. That I would say is that that's the first early indicator for us is identifying those people that that jump in both feet when something is murky or nuanced. Um, and and I so I think that for the for the most part, and then there are the other, the other side of it. There's somebody that has to educate our employees, there's somebody that has to help them through the process. And so on the opposite side of the fence, I look at people that can be comfortable in chaos, but also really have sort of this instructional design mindset. Um, have this ability to really look at a complex situation and broke break it into its component parts, really, honestly, right back to that agile mindset. Really being able to say, this is consumable for this audience at this time. Great. Let me measure the success of this, let me alter my approach. Now, this piece is what's consumable for this audience at this time. So, really going back to the principles of agile.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

I love that. Now, same question, but with a different perspective. If we look at candidates that are out there that are looking to make a move and they see that the future of work is changing and their skill set is not where it needs to be, what guidance would you give them to take an approach that you're taking with your internal teams? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:09

It would be no different than in my advice 10 years ago to a candidate or to an employee. You know, I think back again, earlier in my career, I worked for a major retailer and and one of they were very focused on development. Every employee had to have an individual development plan. And what frustrated me at the time was you built your own development plan. Now your boss supported and coached and guided. At the time I hated it. I thought, well, aren't you supposed to see in me what I'm gonna be and tell me all the things I need to do to be successful? Well, now I know different, right? Now I know that we own our development, right? Like we own where we want to go and how we want to get there. And so what I would say to any candidate who is seeing that there is a gap and seeing that the world is gonna shift is start to do a little bit of research on your space of interest, where whether it's your current uh experience or whether it's in sort of a new sector, and start to identify some of those emerging trends. Use AI to your advantage. Ask, ask Chat GPT what you know, what are some emerging trends with sources? Please use prompts that ask, they provide you sources so that you can continue your own education. But um to really get out there and see what things are changing. What are the things that you should learn? There are so many free resources available to us all right now because of how fast things are kind of evolving that you're not always going to hit a paywall, right? There's there's plenty of resourcing out there, whether it's on platforms like LinkedIn or Udemy or, you know, various locations, or if you are willing to invest, I took an MIT course, right? So um, it really depends on your your level of interest. But I do encourage people to get out there and see what the emerging trends are.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

I I love the guidance. It's so tactical and just on point. So let me ask you another question. Obviously, we're we're doing a pop quiz questions today. Yeah. Where do you feel HR leaders should be cautious with AI? And where do you feel they should just lean in boldly?

SPEAKER_02 13:05

I like this. I like this. Um, okay. So um uh I would say governance and compliance, which is not a thing that uh that is my favorite part of my job. And I don't think it's many HR folks' favorite part of their job. I think the place they need to be cautious is in the evaluation process. You need to understand what these technology providers and software providers are gonna offer you for safety. Um, you know, there are many of them that partner with uh with organizations, employ themselves. We we partner with IBM Watson X, and they have a wraparound in our product that, you know, it's always on uh, you know, safety monitoring and it's always on bias detection. Um, and so it flags problems for you before an annualized audit, right? Uh and so that's something that we offer our customers to give them that kind of safety and security. But we as HR leaders should be evaluating every tool against that set of criteria. And if the organization that you're going with doesn't offer you any safety or protection, you need to have a plan for that internally. Are you going to conduct audits? What are those audits going to look like? What are your benchmarks and expectations internally? And how will you remediate any challenges that you identify in your process or in your tool utilization? That is the cautious part. Um, the lean into it part is the world is changing. We have been pounding on the table to be strategic, to be seeing a valuable asset for so long, the whole time I've been in HR, this is the time. This is the time to prove it. Uh, you gotta lean into it. You gotta learn as much as you can about it. You got to figure out the change management plan for it. You have to be the people that are there talking about success criteria, supporting ideas for measuring it, figuring out how to enable people on it. This is our one time in my whole career that I would say to you, this is our time to shine. This is the the one time for us to prove that we are as valuable as we know we are.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

This episode is sponsored by People Work. People Work is reimagining how people connect to work by focusing on skills, not resumes. The platform brings together employers, educators, and job seekers to create clearer pathways from learning to real employment. Whether it's hiring, workforce development, or career mobility, peoplework helps organizations make smarter, more human workforce decisions. Explore more at peoplework.com. Now, back to the episode.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

Again, I love what Stephanie's saying, guys, because I have walked beside you. I have been in your shoes, and you don't get the credit you deserve. It's I see so many leaders of HR that are just so busy and inundated in the day-to-day, keeping the ship moving, that what they do, they don't even have time to come and do a recap to C-suite to say, here's all the things that we did, and this is what how we moved the needle, and here's our impact and our value. So I think the storytelling aspect, which you do a very good job of, is important. But I love everything that you said because the time is now. Like put your money where your mouth is. We've been complaining, like lean in. Yeah, that's fantastic. So another topic, just I know that you've come up in HR and and you shared with me just prior before recording that you actually started in finance and kind of kind of made a merge over here. I'd love to know a little bit more about that because I don't think everyone realizes that the path to HR is always HR.

SPEAKER_02 16:36

Yeah. Well, I didn't, I I didn't even know what HR was. You know, I think it was a caricature of a television show, right? Like it's just um HR was just the policy people, the police. They were the ones that like did your paperwork. And and that was the beginning and the end of it. And so I never really had any interest in people. Um, I wanted to be an MA. I I loved that. I loved the the analysis, the identification process, the the the the whole kit and caboodle. I loved it. Um, and I realized pretty quickly, I did it for a couple of years, and I realized that there was some pretty significant gaps in uh, you know, in in in all of our models sort of coming to fruition and and and it working smoothly. And I saw the problem was in the integration process. It was in that end of the sale process, post-sale uh integration process that was a mess. And I realized pretty quickly after just talking to a couple of people that the solution to the problem was HR. They could help. If they were allowed to participate in this process more proactively, they had the ability to really mitigate some of these challenges. And I just loved it. And so um, I didn't know anything about HR. I spent about two years temping every major company in Boston trying to figure it out. Um, and then I found a little niche in HR strategy, and that's really where I've lived my whole career is sort of in this HR transformation bucket where, you know, I look at really messy, challenging uh environments, and I and I love chaos and I I love speed. And so I sort of make a concert out of chaos and um and help businesses really find calm in that storm. And yes, of course, post-acquisition integration, big scale leadership changes, business shifts, AI, trying to figure out how to how to do that. And so really my background is in HR transformation and strategy.

SPEAKER_01 18:31

Which is why you're a really good person to have on the mic to talk about HR lean in. Like this is your time. You've got your strategy HR person on the on the line saying this. So, Stephanie, I know you're also very passionate about culture, D, D, E, I, and B, depending on which alphabet soup we're playing today. I'm and I am very, very passionate about this as well. I'm curious in the next era of D E and I, because we've just lived through, and I think we all know where we are today, what do you see that's evolved over the past couple of years? And what do you forecast is going to be the change with all this tech and um all the leaders talking about remaining human? Do you think we're gonna actually become more human with all this tech?

SPEAKER_02 19:13

Yeah, I do. Um, so I do. I absolutely think so. I think, you know, from 2020 to 2023, I think there was a real focus on out front and out loud DEI. And and and um, you know, what I mean by that is employee resource groups, um, public posts, uh different icons and and logos during Pride Month. There was this loud, um, this loud focus on DEI and and and it was great. But as an HR leader, I still looked at it and I said, is this real or is this performative in many of these organizations? Because um, you know, I have a very unique background. It I may not appear that I do, but I have a very unique background and DEI is something that's extremely important to me in my personal life. And and I started to really quickly realize that, you know, we've always said racism is is is institutional, it's systemic as it as our biases. And so I think what we're gonna start to see, and and what we've started to see the groundswell of this year with a lot of companies publicly pulling back, is really taking a look at the process, the full process, the full employee life cycle, and say, oh my goodness, these are all of the failure points. These are all of the areas where we have an unconscious bias, where we have a breakdown in our process where we haven't accounted for X. And so what I think you're gonna see uh next year, and and we're starting to hear more and more about is folks focusing on actually solving the problem of creating equitable and inclusive work environments in a more quiet way, but more deliberate, more intentional, more impactful. We're seeing many organizations putting out their metrics with respect to how their org has moved the needle when doing more of these quiet activities. Employ ourselves. We have exponentially improved our representation internally just by focusing on the right things and not focusing on the PR ad that goes aside aside the activity, right? Just focusing on doing the right thing. And so I think that's what we're gonna see. We're gonna see a resurgence of DEI and HR leaders focusing on areas of DENI where it matters. And that's that's in the hiring process and that's in the promotion process, and that's in the education, training, development process. It is in the very fabric of how we create equitable, inclusive work environments.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

I am here for it and I can't wait to see it. It's gonna be a great, and I also have a diverse background as well that doesn't always show up. So it is fun when you receive those unwanted comments that we sometimes experience in organizations. Um What do you think employees today want to see from companies that they weren't asking for five years? Years ago.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

Oh, goodness. Well, so I think the immediacy of information is at our fingertips, right? We have fast things we can scroll, little videos with dancing and music, and information is available to us at our fingertips all the time, right? And so I think there's an immediacy of information. Our candidates, our employees, are expecting the same fast turn. There are higher expectations on employers to create experiences for people that are meaningful so that they can bring them their best selves to work. And so I think that's going to continue. I think we're going to continue to hear employees raising their voices about the things that they think that they should have in the workplace, whether those are developmental, internal mobility programs, what have you, compensation. We've heard that for eons. That's not new. Um, so I but I think employees are gonna feel more comfortable being vocal. And as HR folks and as leaders, whether you're an HR or not, we have to get really comfortable having those conversations with people. And that is not something that has been a major focus years ago.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Yeah, I definitely agree with you on that. I mean, we're seeing it in everything, in everything. And there's apps for apps and you know, tools and technologies for everything. And it's that instant. You know, I was telling a story. Um, I was actually got stuck in travel coming back from HR Tech. And did you? There oh, yes, I did. And there was a um American Airlines, well, it was more than American Airlines, it was a bunch of airlines. But basically, all these flights got canceled. So I was at the airport and it was flight after flight after flight, got canceled. I got rebooked, got canceled, got rebooked. And you see lines and lines of people at waiting to talk to an agent. And the agent saying, please call the number or please use your chat bot. And people are staying, what he doesn't realize is people are standing in line on hold with the call center or working on the chat bot. I I looked at that and I went and sat down, I got on, I went after AI chat bot. I was done, I was figured out, I went and got a hotel for the night. But it's that instant you do want that instant. Sometimes it's urgent, you need it urgently, but we've moved to more of this instant gratification, instant information. So I align with what you're saying so much. And it's how do you recommend organizations lean into that, knowing that's where we're going and where we've kind of been?

SPEAKER_02 24:20

Yeah. Well, uh, so the technology component first, and then just the tough love component second. Uh, you know, you gotta you gotta identify how are you gonna get people information? And so an easy answer to that is an internal chat bot. Lots of companies are doing that. But how do you look at your information architecture internally and ensure that everything is updated, everything is accessible, and you're properly onboarding people into that, right? The second piece of that is your communication strategy. Um, yes, everything is it needs to be easily accessible and is instantaneous, but you also have to reiterate things multiple times with your employees because guess what? They have a full job, and that one thing that you said to them that one time is maybe not stuck in their brain, right? Uh and so you got to get comfortable repeating things. So that would be the practical piece is take a look at your information architecture, whether you have a wiki or a Jira or a Confluence or a SharePoint or a chatbot. Um, there are so many good AI chatbots out there. Uh, you know, just do a Google search. There are so many great ones, and I've I've implemented a few. Um, and that's so that anybody can get on there and say, where's my benefits card? How do I elect X? Uh, I don't know how to open an IT ticket, whatever it is. Um, and then the tough love piece of this is you gotta get comfortable being uncomfortable. Uh, the tough conversations are gonna come. Somebody is gonna ask you about compensation ranges and they want the information right that minute. And and you need to be comfortable having a difficult conversation with somebody about compensation or a policy or a process. Um, and that isn't something we've had to do in the past, right? In the past, we've, you know, it just hasn't been a primary and chief discussion. And now it is. People have an expectation of information about themselves, about others, and about the approach a company takes. And so as HR folks, we just really have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. And it's not just HR, it's managers too, right? It's the managers, managers that buffer it. They gotta get real comfortable really understanding and responding to some of these requests that our employees have.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Yeah, that first line of defense can keep anybody from spinning out if handled appropriately. If not, they're gonna be coming to see you and your team, I'm sure. So we've we've talked about so much today, Stephanie. I'd like to finish off on talent mobility because I know that that's a huge thing and it's it's one of your sweet spots and your organization's sweet spots. How I'm just curious, how is the concept of career, the term career, evolving inside modern organizations?

SPEAKER_02 26:51

Ooh, that one's meaty. Um, okay, so I think, you know, I think that there for many, many years has been an expectation of just moving up, right? I get a I get a bigger title, I get more compensation, I just move up, right? I I did my time, it's been two years, let me let me have an inline promotion. I think that's changing. I think internal mobility and career is evolving that sometimes you move sideways, sometimes you move up, sometimes you move diagonal. Um, and we we need to get comfortable with that. I even look at my own team. I have this really incredible um VP who leads my growth and readiness function. She spent a turn leading customer ops. Uh, and now under growth and readiness, she has enablement underneath her. And so those experiences leading customer operations have helped her um guide a team to be developing customer content, customer education content or internal team education content for our customers. And so I think the world is evolving to say, what experiences do you have within a business that can support a business strategy elsewhere? Um, so I think the the definition of career is changing, that it's no longer sort of this lateral sort of hierarchical movement. And sometimes you're moving all over the map to get to where you want to go. And um, you know, I think just enjoy the ride and always be open to new opportunities because they will open your eyes to a whole new world of experiences.

SPEAKER_01 28:26

I that's so interesting because what you're talking about is replacing the ladder, right? The ladder that we're so used to climbing, um, and hopefully not stepping on others to get to, but we're replacing that ladder and really looking at each individual's purpose and strengths and how can they leverage that into a different area? Like we're in a new frontier with tech and with the way we're thinking. It's such a wonderful place to be. Well, Stephanie, I have thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and am honored to get to know you. Is there anything that I might have missed that you'd love to share with the audience? Any final thoughts or thought leadership?

SPEAKER_02 29:03

No, I think I just reiterate what I said earlier. I just um, you know, HR can be hard sometimes, right? When you when you're in the day-to-day, it's it's challenging. And I don't always think everyone knows that it's challenging. Um, this is our time. This is our time to shine. This has really been um the first time in a long time that I have been so excited to bring people into this space and to make impacts on businesses and to help guide leaders in making the right decisions and and and in developing employees. And it's a really exciting time to be in the workforce. And it's a really exciting time to be in HR. And I would just say, you know, find a way to lean into it in a way that feels authentic and comfortable to you. Uh, because I think no matter whether you're dipping your toe in or you're diving, you know, cannonballing into the to the lake, uh, you will find it rewarding and and and it will pay off in dividends.

SPEAKER_01 29:59

Oh, that was such a beautiful last statement. Well, Stephanie, if anyone in the audience has just been awed and delighted by your brilliance, how should they get in contact with you? How can they get in contact with your organization?

SPEAKER_02 30:11

Yeah, please reach out to me on LinkedIn. Uh it's just my name on LinkedIn, Stephanie Manzelli. Uh, and if you're interested in learning more about Employee, please visit employinc.com and uh fill out one of the request forms, and our team will be back in touch with you, ASAP.

SPEAKER_01 30:26

Love it. Well, thank you again for holding space for our audience and for the wisdom that you shared. We greatly appreciate it. Thank you for having me. My pleasure. Until next time. Thank you for listening. I'm your host, Christy Honeycut. Be sure to subscribe to Strategic Shift so you never miss an episode. Tune in next time as we continue to explore innovation in the future of work. Until then, keep shifting.