- Talent hoarding is out. Internal mobility and cross-functional gigs are in, and they’re unlocking hidden skills and saving serious costs.
- Skills-based strategies are business imperatives that drive growth, agility, and innovation.
- AI can supercharge workforce planning and decision-making, but only if you start small, stay curious, and lead with purpose.
Let’s be honest: unexpected cleaning fees on your Airbnb can derail your vacation. But in our world, unexpected resistance can derail even the best-laid transformation strategies.
That’s how we kicked off the July Talent Table conversation — with a laugh about Airbnb cleaning fees and a shared understanding that disruption, in any form, can change how we feel about things. The same is true for organizations tackling the messy, important work of skills transformation and AI adoption.
I was joined by two brilliant minds: Neeta Saggar, Head of Talent and Skills Practice at Jiva Solutions, and Pramukh Jeyathilak, CEO and Co-Founder of TalentLign. Together, we tackled one of the biggest questions HR and business leaders are facing today: How do you get your whole organization on board with the seismic shifts happening around skills, internal mobility, and AI?
Here are five key takeaways from our conversation.
Pramukh Jeyathilak talks about why understanding relationships within an organization are key to reframing the skills conversation as a business imperative.
1. Reframe skills transformation as a business imperative
One of the most common traps HR falls into is talking about transformation like it’s “an HR thing.” Saggar nailed it when she said the work we’re doing isn’t just about people strategy. It’s about enabling business outcomes like growth, productivity, and innovation.
Jeyathilak shared a helpful mindset shift: HR doesn’t own resources — the business does.
“We are enablers,” he said. “Our job is to make sure the relationship between employee and manager works well.”
When HR approaches transformation through the lens of cost optimization, risk mitigation, and revenue growth, it resonates far more with business stakeholders than traditional HR language.
Want your CFO to listen? Swap out “career architecture” for “cost savings.” Translate skills mobility into “operational agility.”
As Jeyathilak put it, “If you want to drive change, speak the language of the people you need to influence.”
2. Show the ROI and make it real
If you’re trying to get the budget for a talent marketplace or AI-powered workforce strategy, start by getting laser-focused on the business problem you’re solving.
Saggar gave us a few powerful examples: Are you struggling with visibility into existing talent? Losing high-potential people because they don’t see growth opportunities? Rehiring former employees because you didn’t realize you already had those skills in-house?
She’s seen organizations quantify cost savings by tracking “unlocked hours” — the time employees spent on internal gigs that not only developed their skills but got real work done. Compared to hiring a contractor or launching a lengthy recruitment process, this kind of internal resourcing delivers instant value.
And here’s the kicker: it’s not just practical—it’s empowering.
“When people can see opportunities, they feel seen,” Saggar said. “And when they feel seen, they stay.”
Neeta Saggar discusses the reason she thinks most managers try to hoard talent.
3. Tackle talent hoarding with enablement, not just policies
If you’ve ever heard a manager say, ‘I can’t afford to lose my best person,’ you know how hard internal mobility can be.
But Saggar challenged a common narrative: maybe most managers aren’t hoarding talent out of selfishness. They’re simply limited by their own networks.
“They want to help their employees grow,” she said. “They just don’t know how.”
By enabling managers with the tools, visibility, and processes to support internal mobility — think talent marketplaces, short-term gigs, and cross-functional projects — you create a win-win: development for employees and fresh perspective for teams.
Jeyathilak emphasized the value of virtual teams and cross-border experiences. Whether it’s a three-month project rotation or a skills-based side gig, building a culture of flexibility and reciprocity is key.
4. Ditch the unicorn — hire for potential
As someone with a background in talent acquisition, this one is close to my heart: we’ve got to let go of the idea of the “perfect hire.”
Instead of chasing unicorns, both Saggar and Jeyathilak encouraged hiring managers to look at adjacent skills, potential, and learning agility.
One of my favorite stories came from Saggar, who helped a bank struggling to hire customer service reps by launching a campaign called ‘Good engineers become great bankers.’ They found that many of the problem-solving and communication skills required for success in customer service already existed in the engineering population.
Jeyathilak also recommended showcasing internal success stories to build trust.
“Talk about the [employee] who joined with 70% of the skills and became a star,” he said.
Real people, real results — that’s what changes minds.
5. Use AI as a force multiplier, not a threat
AI doesn’t have to be scary. In fact, when framed properly, it can be a strategic partner that helps HR and the business move faster with more clarity.
Saggar described AI as “the back end of the kitchen” — an enabler of better decisions, smarter planning, and faster execution. Think strategic workforce planning, skills gap analysis, and talent forecasting, all powered by data and automation.
Jeyathilak gave us a brilliant metaphor: AI is like walking into a grocery store with 20 types of cereal. You don’t buy them all. You pick one, test it, and go from there.
“Try one thing, run a pilot, and see what works,” he said. “If it works, scale it. If not, try something else.”
That mindset of start small, learn fast is what will help HR stay ahead of the curve.
Where to get started
We closed the session with one last question: What’s one piece of advice for HR professionals looking to take action?
Jeyathilak’s answer was simple but powerful: Talk to people. Talk to other HR leaders, talk to the business, talk to your skeptics.
Saggar reminded us not to underestimate the power of change management. “This is about winning hearts and minds,” she said. “And that takes time, storytelling, and strategy.”
Change doesn’t have to be perfect to be progress. It just needs a plan, a purpose, and a few bold leaders willing to start.
Let’s be those leaders.
Watch “Championing change: How to mobilize team leaders around AI and skills” on demand now.
Rebecca Warren is a Director with our Talent-centered Transformation Team. Before joining Eightfold, she held multiple talent leadership roles with large CPG, agri-biz, restaurant and retail organizations.
