AI is moving fast—and when automation decisions happen without HR at the table, the workforce feels the impact after the fact. This session equips HR leaders and people strategists with the language, frameworks, and tools they need to actively shape automation decisions before roles, capabilities, and operating models are disrupted.
Participants will learn a practical, four‑step Technology Impact Assessment that translates AI‑enabled automation into clear workforce implications. Rather than debating technology features, the framework focuses on what truly matters to organizations: how work will change, which capabilities will shift, and how roles must be redesigned to strengthen performance and resilience.
Using a real‑world case study, attendees will analyze planned and reactive work, identify where automation creates (or erodes) value, and map technology decisions directly to workforce capability design. The emphasis is on role reinvention—not role reduction—and on enabling HR to move from downstream staffing support to upstream operating‑model design.
This session is designed for HR professionals and other workforce influencers who want to:
- Step confidently into technology and automation conversations
- Influence decisions that shape future work and workforce capability
- Move beyond headcount planning to strategic, AI‑aware workforce design
Key takeaways include:
- How to evaluate automation through a workforce lens, not a technical one
- A repeatable process to assess the impact of AI on work, roles, and capabilities
- A simple, practical toolkit HR can use to serve as a strategic advisor in automation decisions
This is not a technical dive into AI tools or systems. Instead, it is a workforce‑focused session that helps HR, policy setters, program developers, and people managers understand how to guide AI adoption in ways that build capability, reduce disruption, and future‑proof the organization.
If you’re ready to move from reacting to automation decisions to shaping the AI‑enabled operating model, this session gives you the framework to do exactly that.
If you’re ready to move from reacting to automation decisions to shaping the AI‑enabled operating model, this session gives you the framework to do exactly that.
Date: May 21, 2026
Location: VIRTUAL (The Zoom link will be distributed to registrants)
Zoom room opens and networking begins at 11:30 AM – Share announcements, opportunities, and insights with fellow professionals. Use the chat and microphone. Camera on, please!
Program begins at 11:45 AM – ASHRM updates and information.
Speaker presentation at 11:50 AM – Guest speaker will deliver a one-hour session, followed by closing remarks from the ASHRM President.
Objectives:
1. Apply a four-step Technology Impact Assessment framework to evaluate how automation, including AI-enabled automation, will change work and workforce requirements.
2. Analyze the intersection of projected workforce changes and automation opportunities to identify strategic workforce redesign options.
3. Develop a high-level roadmap that aligns technology investments with future capability needs.
About the Speaker
Melanie Bladow
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniebladow/
“Melanie Bladow is a digital transformation consultant who helps organizations turn automation and AI investments into real business results—aligning strategy, implementation, and change so teams build the capabilities needed for what’s next. She helped me understand how to manage AI from the HR standpoint.”
--Attendee at the 2026 Alaska State HR Conference
Melanie Bladow is an independent consultant specializing in digital transformation, connecting technology implementation with the business changes required to make it stick. She partners with executives and functional leaders to translate strategy into operating model and workforce impacts, then builds pragmatic roadmaps that deliver value. Her work spans automation and AI-enabled automation, process redesign, and risk-aware technology adoption. Known for bringing clarity to complex decisions, Melanie combines people-first facilitation with hands-on technical and business experience to help organizations improve performance, strengthen resilience, and build future-ready capabilities. She guides teams to align strategy, implement processes, and manage the reaction to change.
Continuing education credit approved: 1 PDC
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Serving Southcentral Alaska since 1974