The real value of AI agents in HR comes from connecting them to work across the employee lifecycle, not from deploying them on individual tasks. That's where most large organisations are getting stuck. Working in a fully agentic way means dealing with different systems and different data sources that often have no shared foundation.

The result is fragmented experiences for employees and managers, with the end-to-end potential remaining out of reach. Getting there requires some serious work in data governance, process design, and integration, the kind of foundational work that rarely gets mentioned at industry conferences.

So what needs to be in place before AI agents can work at enterprise scale?

My guest this week is Melissa Shelley Höjwall, Global HR Technology Lead at H&M Group. In our conversation, which we recorded live at HR Tech Europe, she explains what it takes to build a connected AI architecture across HR and why many companies are undermining their own progress.

In the interview, we discuss:

The approach to Agentic AI in HR at H&M
From niche agents to connected architecture
Process automation design and date integration
The role of data governance
Adoption in the enterprise
Shadow AI and over-governance
Why cutting jobs isn’t the way to get true value from AI
New roles for HR professionals
Breaking the silos in the Talent function
What to focus on for the future

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