AI Gives HR Time Back. Todd Bertsch Says Don’t Waste It | SHRM ‘26 | WRKdefined Podcast Network: Conversations Pushing The Boundaries of Work

The real opportunity with AI isn’t doing more work. It’s giving HR the time to become more human again.

AI can automate the questions, paperwork, and repetitive tasks that keep HR buried. But human connection, leadership, empathy, listening, and difficult conversations are still the work that matters. Todd Bertsch argues that AI’s biggest HR benefit may not be productivity at all. It may be giving people their time back.

In this episode… Todd talks about why HR needs to lean into the human side of work, how AI can free HR professionals from task-heavy work, and why organizations need to rethink what they do with that reclaimed time instead of simply filling it with more work.

Key Takeaways :

AI can give HR its time back. Routine questions and administrative tasks can increasingly be handled by AI, freeing HR to spend more time with employees.
The goal isn’t more work. If AI creates capacity, organizations need to rethink how work gets done rather than simply adding another layer of tasks.
Human skills become more important, not less. Empathy, listening, conflict management, authenticity, transparency, and difficult conversations are becoming central leadership skills.
HR should lean into the human. Todd argues that HR may have less reason to fear AI because the function’s core purpose is still about people and how organizations move forward.
AI agents could become part of the workforce. The conversation around “workforce capital management” expands the idea of work to include AI agents operating alongside human employees.
Institutional knowledge is changing. Some knowledge has always lived inside people. As AI agents take on work, organizations will also need to understand what knowledge and capabilities live inside those systems.

This episode was recorded live at SHRM Annual 2026

The Heroes of HR podcast is a limited series sponsored by isolved.

isolved is an HCM platform that modernizes HR, benefits, and payroll across Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and more.

Learn more about isolved:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.isolvedhcm.com/⁠

Guest : Todd Bertsch

Mental Fitness & Positive Intelligence Coach, Todd brings 14 years of HR experience into his work as a speaker, marketing leader, and mental fitness coach, with a focus on helping people and organizations become better.

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

The Heroes of HR Podcast is hosted by

Amy Miller, Product Evangelist at isolved

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/amycmiller/⁠

Ryan Leary, Co-founder at WRKdefined

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

William Tincup, Co-founder at WRKdefined

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

Connect with WRKdefined :

Site:⁠ http://www.wrkdefined.com⁠

TikTok:⁠ https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined⁠

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