EP 62: People, Data and AI: Pain Points of Modern HR

September 15th

Human resources sits at the intersection of people, business, policy, technology, and some of the most difficult conversations that happen inside an organization. 

For Laura Azzarella, PHR, MS HRM, great HR is about understanding those complexities and turning them into something people can actually use. 

In this episode of the Pain Points Podcast, Lauren Lewis sits down with Laura to discuss her unconventional path into human resources, her passion for leadership development, the power of data in HR, the rapidly growing role of artificial intelligence, and why today's HR professionals need to balance business needs with empathy and sound judgment. 

Laura has built a reputation for making complicated HR topics understandable. Whether she is discussing employee relations, workplace investigations, AI, ADA considerations, FMLA, leadership, or professional development, her goal is simple: make HR make sense. 

An Unexpected Path Into Human Resources 

Laura did not begin her career with a lifelong plan to work in HR. 

A first-generation college student, she was studying media production and working at Subway when she came across an HR assistant position. At the time, her understanding of HR was fairly straightforward. She thought it involved payroll and figured she could learn it. 

That opportunity changed her direction. 

Laura discovered a profession that combined her curiosity, interest in people, problem-solving skills, and desire to teach others. After working for a small internet advertising startup, she returned to school for her master's degree and continued building her career in human resources. 

Over the years, she has worked across industries including manufacturing, higher education, and professional services. 

The environments may be different, but Laura has learned that one principle remains consistent: people are people. 

Different workplaces create different challenges, personalities, expectations, and hierarchies, but HR professionals still need to understand the people behind each situation. 

Using Data to Build Better Workplaces 

Laura loves data because it gives HR professionals something more meaningful than intuition when making recommendations. 

Instead of approaching leadership with "I think this is happening," data allows HR professionals to demonstrate what is actually happening and determine where they should investigate further. 

Turnover is a perfect example. 

If an organization discovers that a significant percentage of employees are leaving during their first year, there could be an issue with recruiting, onboarding, expectations, management, or the overall employee experience. 

Instead of guessing, HR can use the numbers to identify patterns and begin asking better questions. 

Laura discusses using tools such as stay interviews to understand what employees experience early in their employment. Asking what is working, what is frustrating, and what they wish the organization would change can provide valuable information for improving the experience of future hires. 

Employees do not necessarily expect every problem to disappear immediately. They want to know someone is listening. 

When organizations gather feedback and demonstrate meaningful progress, employees can see that their voices matter. 

Data gives HR professionals the ability to identify those opportunities, measure progress, and continually improve. 

AI Is Changing HR, but Humans Still Own the Outcome 

Artificial intelligence has become one of the biggest conversations in the workplace, and Laura has embraced the technology early. 

She sees AI as a tool that can remove repetitive administrative work and give professionals more time to focus on meaningful, strategic responsibilities. 

Instead of spending valuable time completing tedious data entry, organizing information, or manually performing repetitive processes, AI can help handle portions of that work. 

But Laura is equally clear about the other side of the equation: AI requires human oversight. 

Professionals still need the foundational knowledge necessary to recognize when an AI-generated answer is wrong. 

An HR professional who does not understand employment practices cannot simply assume that an AI-generated explanation of FMLA, ADA, employee relations, or another workplace issue is accurate. 

The same principle applies to AI-generated documents, reports, emails, dashboards, and analyses. You have to check the work. 

AI can make professionals faster, but speed without accuracy can create entirely new problems. 

Organizations also need to establish clear expectations around which AI tools employees can use, what information can be entered into those systems, and how confidential or personally identifiable information is protected. 

For Laura, AI is not about replacing good HR professionals. It is about allowing them to spend less time on repetitive work and more time doing the strategic, people-focused work where human judgment matters most. 

Employee Relations Requires Empathy and Accountability 

Technology may be changing HR, but the human side of employee relations remains just as important. 

Laura and Lauren discuss situations where an employee's performance or attendance problem may have a larger story behind it. Sometimes an employee is struggling with family responsibilities or another personal challenge and has simply never communicated what is happening. 

One honest conversation can completely change how an organization responds. 

Instead of waiting until a termination meeting to discover the underlying problem, managers and HR professionals can create environments where employees feel comfortable communicating earlier. 

That does not mean accountability disappears. 

Policies still matter. Expectations still matter. Performance still matters. 

But empathy and accountability do not have to be opposites. 

Laura also discusses how AI has complicated workplace investigations. Images can be generated, screenshots can potentially be manipulated, and information that once appeared straightforward may now require additional verification. 

Her approach is to trust but verify. 

HR professionals may need to examine timestamps, company records, IT information, image details, and other available evidence rather than relying on a single piece of information. 

The goal is not to create paranoia. It is to make thoughtful decisions based on the complete picture while remembering that real people are involved on every side. 

Great Leadership Means Helping Other People Shine 

Laura's leadership philosophy is refreshingly straightforward. 

She recognizes her own strengths, energy, and tendencies, but she also understands that she has blind spots. 

Rather than trying to be the person who knows everything, she surrounds herself with people who bring strengths she does not have. 

As Laura puts it, the secret sauce of leadership is to bring in people who are so much cooler than you. 

Great leaders do not have to be the best person in the room at everything. They need to recognize talent, empower people, listen when others challenge their thinking, and give talented team members room to succeed. 

That philosophy has influenced Laura's involvement with the Buffalo Niagara Human Resource Association, where she has worked alongside HR professionals with different skills, backgrounds, and perspectives. 

Education is also becoming an increasingly important part of Laura's work. She creates instructional content designed to make intimidating HR topics easier to understand and is developing an online Employee Relations 101 course covering areas such as investigations, progressive discipline, ADA considerations, FMLA leave, and difficult workplace conversations. 

She wants those resources to remain accessible, particularly for emerging HR professionals and departments of one who may be responsible for complicated employee situations without a large HR team supporting them. 

It all connects back to what motivates Laura most. 

She wants people to learn. She wants employees to succeed. She wants leaders to improve. And she wants workplaces to become better. 

The future of HR will undoubtedly involve more data, more technology, and more artificial intelligence. But Laura's perspective is an important reminder that the most valuable HR professionals will continue bringing something technology cannot replace: human judgment, empathy, curiosity, authenticity, and leadership.