All 2025 Conference Sessions

Gartner Opening Keynote: Transforming How Work Gets Done: HR's New Domain in the AI Era

Speakers:

• Harsh Kundulli, Vice President Analyst, Gartner
• Katie Sutherland, Director, Advisory, Gartner

Key take-aways

• Despite increased investment in AI, Gartner data shows only one-in-three AI initiatives boosts productivity, one-in-five delivers measurable ROI, and just one-in-50 delivers disruptive value.”
• "Business units that redesign how work gets done, rather than just deploy AI and encourage employees to use it, are twice as likely to exceed revenue goals."
• “To build an organization fit for the AI era, CHROs need to shift their focus from the workforce to the work. HR needs to help their organizations decide what work needs to get done, how it gets done and where.”
• “Work is changing in three ways:
  • Augment: Make existing work better
  • Reengineer: Redesign workflows and functions
  • Invent: Create new AI-based ways of working”
• “HR has a huge piece in all three work changes:
  • HR’s role in augmenting work is to help the organization get to value faster by being more directive and guiding AI adoption.
  • For reengineering work, HR can ensure redesigns happen responsibly, by getting ahead of talent and organizational ripple effects.
  • To help their organization safely move into inventing new ways of working, HR should focus the conversation on timing, bridging the gap between now and the future.”

The Culture Strategy Reset: How to Help Your Culture Evolve and Stay Relevant

Speakers:

• Jessie Knight, Vice President, Research, Gartner 

Key take-aways

• “Only 43% of employees believe that their culture helps them succeed.”
• “To stay relevant amid continuous change, organizational culture must keep pace with changing operational realities.”
•  “Leaders need to shift the focus of their culture strategy from helping culture endure to helping culture evolve.”
• “When organizations focus on helping culture evolve, employees are:
  • 1.6 times more likely to produce high quality work
  • 3.5 times more likely to successfully implement new ideas”
• “When moving from an ‘endure’ to an ‘evolve’ cultural strategy, HR leaders should do three things:
  • Challenge cultural norms: Analyze emerging trends to anticipate where their impact will challenge the current culture.
  • Role model from dynamic jobs: Identify and activate culture role models in the organization’s most dynamic jobs, not just senior leaders.
  • Equip employees to navigate emotional discomfort:  Process the uncomfortable emotions that are a natural part of culture change.

Combat Candidate Fraud With Smarter Hiring Strategies and Technology

Speakers:

• Hiten Sheth, Director Analyst, Gartner

Key take-aways

• “Gartner predicts by 2028, one in four candidate profiles worldwide will be fake and contain material identity misrepresentation.”
• “To combat candidate fraud, most organizations are turning to video interviews (81%) and in-person interviews (74%), which may help catch fraud, but won’t prevent it.”
• “To proactively prevent candidate fraud, organizations should follow the 3D framework:
  • Deter: Signal integrity early by mentioning things like background checks and using fraud deterrent phrasing
  • Detect: Strengthen early recruiter screenings and deploy next-gen tools such as interview AI agents, identify verification, and antifraud controls
  • Defend: Build a system that learns and responds and make cybersecurity a part of HR culture”
• “Applying fraud mitigation tools and tactics does not deter candidates from applying to jobs; 62% of candidates said they are more likely to apply to a job when the interview is conducted in person and only 16% said they are less likely to apply if the assessments are monitored.”
• “To protect their organizations from candidate fraud, CHROs should:
  • Map where fraud risks concentrate
  • Audit tools you already own
  • Collaborate with IT and security”