SHRM24 Interviews: G-P's Head of HR Laura Maffucci Talks AI & More

Laura Maffucci is G-P’s Head of HR, and she leads the company’s global workforce, talent, and employee experience. She operates from a people-first mindset and strongly believes that diversity of thought is paramount for a healthy workspace. We chatted about AI in HR and their new AI powered onboarding tool.

Laura previously held leadership positions in the Global Total Rewards team at G-P, from Sr. Director to VP. Before this, she led Total Rewards & HRIS at Progress, a tech company focused on products to develop, deploy and manage high-impact applications. Prior to Progress, she held roles of increasing responsibility with Ocean Spray Cranberries, where she was awarded HR Award for Innovation and Creativity (2016). Her tenure at Ocean Spray Cranberries was preceded by roles with an emphasis on compensation and HR practices.

In her 20+ year career in HR, Laura has spoken on global and national platforms about compensation, employee well-being and mental health. She’s a staunch advocate for the employee experience and creating a culture of inclusivity. Laura is passionate about the future of work, normalizing the value of work everywhere, and enabling employees across the globe to be their best selves and add value wherever they go and whatever they do.

Recorded live from the G-P booth in Chicago at SHRM24.

RecTech Media Travel Sponsored by Jobcase

Messaging - What HR Wants to Hear from Vendors

The following is an excerpt from my latest ebook entitled the Essential Marketing Guide for HR Tech Vendors and Startups.

Recruiters and HR people are arguably the busiest people at any company today. They are managing multiple reqs or putting out fire after fire while trying to please management.

I think the four messages that resonate most with them in general are;

• Save me time

• Save me money

• Make my job easier

• Get me quality applicants

Be sure your messaging has elements of some or all of these. Integration with other technologies like an applicant tracking systems is also a key feature request from HR. If your product doesn’t play nice, that’s a hurdle you need to be aware of. Expect questions about possible integrations when demo’ing your tool.

NOTE: Josh Bersin, the HR Tech analyst calls it “integrated talent management”.

When it comes to HR software there is a big push from employers to have  integrated suites that do everything. We are seeing a big push from vendors who offer well rounded set of features.

Take Snagajob for instance, the job board company just bought PeopleMatter a HR system for managing hourly workers. For years, CareerBuilder was just a job board. But even they have broadened their offerings. Now they serve employers needs from soup to nuts.

Because of this if your product does not integrate well into these new and powerful HR systems your product may struggle to gain acceptance until you do.

Tout your numbers if you have them. I was speaking to an exec at an entry level job site recently who asked what he should lead with as far as wording on his marketing and landing pages. “What are your numbers?”, I asked. “2.5 million profiles of college students and recent grads”, he replied. “Lead with that”, I said. Those are the kinds of things recruiters like to hear.