This series was recorded live at HR Tech 2025 inside the HR Executive studios on the expo floor in partnership with the WRKdefined Podcast Network. Make sure you’re subscribed to the full series and visit HRExecutive.com for the news, analysis, and insights shaping the future of work.

HR leaders are staring at louder demands, faster change, and more legal landmines than ever. Jocelyn King breaks down how compliance is shifting from reactive to proactive and why most HR teams still feel behind. Real talk on tech, complexity, and what HR needs next.

In this episode we talk about AI roadmaps, HRIS integrations, compliance automation, risk mitigation, and the tech skills HR can’t avoid anymore.

Key Takeaways

HR leaders lack clarity on AI strategy and need real frameworks
Integrations flip compliance from reactive to proactive
Locality coverage is a massive differentiator in labor law
Embedded compliance in HRIS workflows reduces risk instantly
Automation frees HR for people strategy instead of research
Partnership channels will drive most future growth
Credible data models beat open source in compliance every time
Change management is the missing skill in most HR teams

Chapters

00:00 Why HR struggles with AI roadmaps

00:20 The integrations that change compliance

00:37 HR’s invisible emotional labor

01:26 What Virgil HR actually does

02:45 Why compliance needs automation

03:34 The heart and team behind the company

04:34 How Virgil HR is scaling

04:47 Global expansion, AI roadmap, and integrations

05:41 How embedded compliance actually works

06:02 Direct vs indirect sales and partnerships

07:02 The new AI trained bot

08:07 Why locality law is a major differentiator

09:25 Automating critical pay and compliance tasks

10:11 HR’s real value and strategic shift

11:34 Jocelyn’s animal rescue work

13:12 Her deeper mission behind HR for HR

14:31 Why HR must be tech ready now

16:04 Building a real AI roadmap

17:08 How to pick the right tech on the HR Tech floor

18:44 Vetting, alignment, and involving CIO/CTO

20:10 Implementing tech with real change management

21:02 Jocelyn’s favorite thing to do in Vegas

Guest Info

Jocelyn King,CEO & Founder, VirgilHR

Website: https://www.virgilhr.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jocelynking/

Host

Christy Honeycutt, Host Inside the C-Suite Podcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-henika/

Connect with WRKdefined

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WRKdefined

Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

The Compliance Shift HR Didn’t See Coming with Jocelyn King, CEO VirgilHR