29 Sept 2026
AI readiness starts with business acumen at OnPoint Group
On The Human Element, Barb Bidan sits down with Dana Kellerman, Chief Human Resources Officer at OnPoint Group, for a practitioner's take on what AI readiness in HR actually requires. Dana spent more than fifteen years at GE, became a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, held COO and CHRO responsibilities at the same time at Adirondack Health and Frontier Psychiatry, and was recruited to OnPoint Group to redesign a legacy HR function. Her argument: buying AI software is not readiness, and the organizations that get real value from it will be the ones with the leadership discipline, data quality, process clarity, governance and learning infrastructure to absorb it.
She makes the case that most people problems are business problems first, that the skill gap AI will expose is business acumen combined with critical thinking, and that the HR leader of the future is a capability architect rather than a policy expert. She also rebuilds the function on a blank page around four priorities and names what she would cut. Essential listening for CHROs, VP People and HR leaders deciding where to invest next.
Chapters
00:50 Meet Dana Kellerman
02:30 Rigor is an operating system, not a slogan
03:20 What AI readiness actually requires
06:33 The discipline gap outside GE
09:39 Running COO and CHRO at the same time
12:09 People problems are business problems first
14:02 Getting an HR team into the business
16:19 The HR skill gap AI will expose
20:19 Redesigning HR on a blank page
24:00 Where a CHRO should start
25:50 Lightning round
29:04 Final word: embrace the change
Takeaways
- AI readiness is an organizational capability challenge, not a system implementation, and it depends on leadership discipline, data quality, process clarity, governance, learning infrastructure and cultural trust.
- The organizations that get the most value from AI are not the earliest adopters, they are the ones that built business acumen, critical thinking and adaptability before they needed them.
- Most business problems surface as people problems eventually, but most people problems start as poor strategy, poor structural decisions or poor processes.
- AI will outperform any HR professional at producing information, so the durable value sits in diagnosing business problems and turning information into decisions.
- An HR function rebuilt for this era organizes around workforce strategy, organizational effectiveness, capability development and people analytics, and stops measuring activity instead of outcomes.
Connect with the Guest
Dana Kellerman LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danakellerman/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/danakellerman/)
Company Website: https://www.onpointgroup.com (https://www.onpointgroup.com)
Forbes: How a strong company culture influences retention: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2026/02/25/how-a-strong-company-culture-influences-retention/ (https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2026/02/25/how-a-strong-company-culture-influences-retention/)
Forbes: Why HR burnout is a hidden crisis in people management: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2026/06/26/why-hr-burnout-is-a-hidden-crisis-in-people-management/ (https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2026/06/26/why-hr-burnout-is-a-hidden-crisis-in-people-management/)
Facility Executive: Your culture is your operating system: https://facilityexecutive.com/your-culture-is-your-operating-system-heres-how-to-actually-run-it/ (https://facilityexecutive.com/your-culture-is-your-operating-system-heres-how-to-actually-run-it/)
Top 10 Inspiring Women Leaders in 2026: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/top-10-inspiring-women-leaders-in-2026/ar-AA206Ri9 (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/top-10-inspiring-women-leaders-in-2026/ar-AA206Ri9)
CIO Views: Top 10 Most Influential HR Executives in Business 2022: https://cioviews.com/digital/2022/november/top-10-most-influential-hr-executives-in-business-2022-nov-30/ (https://cioviews.com/digital/2022/november/top-10-most-influential-hr-executives-in-business-2022-nov-30/)
Sponsor
Wisq is the AI platform for HR. We built Harper, the world's first AI HR teammate, designed to handle the judgment-heavy work that has historically consumed HR teams: job changes, performance concerns, leaves of absence, onboarding, and employee relations issues. Where HCM bolt-ons and chatbots deflect the easiest questions, Harper resolves full cases, end-to-end. The result is an HR function with the capacity and strategic bandwidth to focus on the work that moves the business.
Companies get Harper live in weeks, not quarters, with implementation support built on deep HR domain expertise. Wisq serves HR leaders at leading companies across industries, helping them raise the bar on employee experience and expand what their teams are capable of.
For more information, visit https://www.wisq.com (https://www.wisq.com)
(00:50) - Meet Dana Kellerman
(02:30) - Rigor is an operating system, not a slogan
(03:20) - What AI readiness actually requires
(06:33) - The discipline gap outside GE
(09:39) - Running COO and CHRO at the same time
(12:09) - People problems are business problems first
(14:02) - Getting an HR team into the business
(16:19) - The HR skill gap AI will expose
(20:19) - Redesigning HR on a blank page
(24:00) - Where a CHRO should start
(25:50) - Lightning round
(29:04) - Final word: embrace the change
