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Up Next @ Work

Up Next @ Work

By: WRKdefined
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When every day feels like a new adventure, Up Next @ Work delivers the insight and intelligence you need to succeed. Join HR influencers, Jeanne Achille and Katie Achille of The Devon Group, who believe better communications are vital for making sense of what’s happening around you. Listen in as Jeanne and Katie chat with the thought leaders, practitioners, and providers sitting at the intersection of people, processes, and technology to discover what’s Up Next @ Work.All rights reserved by WRKdefined Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Up Next @ Work, Episode 32 with Opal Wagnac, Global Head of Market Positioning & Strategy

    Up Next @ Work, Episode 32 with Opal Wagnac, Global Head of Market Positioning & Strategy
    Jun 26 2026
    What do electrical engineering and HR technology have in common? More than you might realize! As we kick off the next season of Up Next @ Work, Jeanne Achille chats with Opal Wagnac, the global head of market positioning and strategy at Darwinbox. No doubt Opal is already familiar to many listeners, as her previous roles include SVP at iSolved and VP at UKG. Opal brings fresh solutions to old problems and has her eye on the new challenges brewing over a very near horizon. You’ll enjoy Opal’s thought leadership as much as we enjoyed speaking with her, and yes, AI is mentioned. Connect with Opal on LinkedIn.
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    36 mins
  • Up Next @ WorkTech! When AI Systems, Startups, and Public Policies Collide

    Up Next @ WorkTech! When AI Systems, Startups, and Public Policies Collide
    Jun 16 2026
    In this "high velocity" edition of Up Next @ WorkTech, Kate Achille from The Devon Group and George LaRocque of WorkTech break down the critical intersection of legal friction, evolving corporate staffing strategies, multi-million-dollar government tech overhauls, and the sweeping shifts rewriting the rules of HR management. Episode highlights include: The IBM lawsuit: Age discrimination meets automated rejection People as product: The fractionalization debate at NY Tech Week Monopolizing federal HR tech: Oracle's massive OPM contract win The Department of Education's wage accountability crackdown (hear Kate misread Title IV as Title IX, oops) How to stand out when applying for a job at Anthropic
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    36 mins
  • Up Next @ WorkTech: Reading the Room on AI During Grad Season

    Up Next @ WorkTech: Reading the Room on AI During Grad Season
    May 19 2026
    Welcome to another packed episode of Up Next @ WorkTech, the crossover podcast featuring George LaRocque and Kate Achille. In this edition, George and Kate break down the rapidly shifting intersections of AI and the technological developments redefining the modern workplace. The Gen Z Dilemma: The hosts dissect a recent viral commencement speech where graduates booed a corporate narrative praising AI and billionaires. Forced Tech Adaptations: AI is reshaping academia. Princeton University has phased out its 133-year-old unproctored honor code to combat AI cheating, while a massive Instructure Canvas outage recently derailed finals week at Rutgers and other schools. The Benefits Scale-Back: Major employers like Zoom and Deloitte are cutting 401(k) matches and parental leave. Kate and George consider how leveraging the current employer market power to slash benefits risks cultural backlash when the talent market swings back. The Solopreneur Illusion: Reviewing the new Workday, Anthropic, and LISC accelerator, Kate and George argue that giving 15 solopreneurs just $10,000 and limited Claude AI credits is more of a corporate goodwill exercise than a structural business accelerator. Big Tech Infiltrates HCM: Intuit is making an aggressive move into the SMB payroll and HCM space with QuickBooks Workforce, posing a direct threat to legacy players like ADP and Paylocity. Meanwhile, AWS is entering high-volume recruiting with an agentic platform, though George warns they may underestimate the complex 12-to-18-month enterprise sales cycle. M&A and Funding Wins: Following key acquisitions by Greenhouse and Ashby, asynchronous Voice AI is overcoming historical candidate pushback to become a core recruiting interface. Finally, the hosts celebrate Kashable’s $60 million Series C round as a massive win for employee financial wellness.
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    45 mins
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