People are the most important part of any business, and to that end, the HR function can and must play a role in driving value, in its myriad forms, for businesses.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with consultant Jane Edgar (who has served in senior HR roles in numerous major Australian businesses) about the importance of HR's role as an enterprise value driver, what has held HR back from fulfilling certain functions over the years, why the current climate provides a window for HR to showcase its worth, and the questions HR needs to ask of itself in being an enterprise value driver.

Edgar also delves into the practical steps HR needs to implement to drive value, hurdles standing in the way of HR's success, navigating time constraints, lessons she's learnt from running a P&L, taking a holistic approach to creating value for the business, and what excites her about the prospect of HR being more of a value driver.

The Payday Super reforms are coming, but, troublingly, nearly half of Australian organisations are not properly aware of, or do not fully appreciate, how the new frameworks will impact them. Here, we unpack how HR can not only prepare their businesses for the looming changes but also implement practical strategies to ensure smooth processes moving forward.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Remote go-to-market lead in APAC Nick Martin about his background in the human resources and recruitment spaces, what the Payday Super changes are and why they are significant, the prospective impacts on businesses from those changes, and the extent to which Australian organisations are not yet across what's coming.

Martin also delves into the potential penalties for non-compliance, the questions that businesses and HR teams must be asking right now, practical steps to be taken, the role of HR in implementing those steps, and how HR can better design new workflows, and his message to those organisations that still have their heads in the sand.

In this special episode of The HR Leader Podcast, produced in partnership with Deel, we explore the shifting hiring landscape in the age of AI, and how employers and HR professionals alike can find and implement efficiencies.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Deel head of talent acquisition Alan Price about how the recruitment landscape has evolved in the last year or so, the significance of such changes and how workplace processes for hiring have shifted, improvements to the candidate experience and aiming to eliminate biases in the hiring process.

Price also delves into how recruiters can be empowered in the age of AI rather than being replaced, turning AI into a strategic and competitive advantage, ethical considerations around such platforms, what the future holds for recruitment and HR's role, and how best HR can grasp looming opportunities.

To learn more about Deel, click here.

In this special episode of The Legal Brief, produced in partnership with Kingston Reid, we unpack the recent changes to the bargaining landscape, lessons learnt for employers, and what will constitute best practice in the ever-changing industrial relations environment in 2026.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Kingston Reid partner Brad Popple about his background as a trade union official and why he loves the "problem-solving" aspect of industrial relations. With that lens, Brad talks through the extent of changes in enterprise bargaining over the last few years and their implications.

Against this background, HR professionals must now look differently at the bargaining equation, taking into account recent case studies from the courts as well as broader environmental factors driving change. Brad also anticipates trends in bargaining on the horizon, offering best practice guidance for employers and HR functions in 2026 and beyond.

To learn more about Kingston Reid, click here.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Carlos Tse speaks with Gartner advisory director Jonathan Tabah (pictured), who reflects on how the AI transformation is unrivalled among technological revolutions, why AI is losing on "human touch" but winning in creativity, and how the changing rates of entry-level hiring are reshaping organisational structures across the workforce.

Tabah also delves into three potential horizons for the AI transformation, why many organisations will be picking the "low-hanging fruit" of AI in the next few years, why ignoring the "workforce within the machine" can lead to disaster, the implications of attitude in AI adoption, why there is no one size fits all for AI adoption, best practice for AI adoption, and why having a "zero-sum mentality" on AI will stop organisations from getting ahead.

In this special episode of The HR Leader Podcast, produced in partnership with MoleMap, we unpack the prevalence of skin cancers among workers across the country and the duties incumbent upon employers to take a holistic approach to wellbeing.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with MoleMap chief business officer Jaime Schell about the work of the specialist provider, why it is so essential for Australians, the lack of dermatologists across the country, why employers have a duty to look after workers' skin health, how aware businesses are about such duties, and the barristers standing in the way of employers and HR teams offering better support.

Schell also delves into the findings of MoleMap's recent report into skin cancer risks and corporate responsibility in the wake of its findings, the ROI of better looking after staff, the impact of a box-ticking approach rather than genuine duty of care, the necessary practical steps to be taken, the relevance of ESG in such conversations, and transitioning beyond mere compliance.

To learn more about MoleMap, click here.

Often, team members will provide feedback to managers that the latter doesn't agree with, or vice versa. For the HR function, such disconnection provides an opportunity to turn conflict into connection.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with EMA Consulting principal consultant Ming-Lyn Hii about her work in implementing lawful and reasonable management action plans, the importance of ensuring more constructive interactions between managers and their teams, the drivers of such negative interactions, and what constitutes reasonable conduct.

Hii also delves into the need to go beyond legal compliance and implement cultural transformation, and how HR teams and professionals can put their best foot forward in supporting individual staff members as well as business objectives.

In workplaces where staff are exposed to higher levels of emotional distress from clients, the pressures upon HR are amplified. Here, we unpack how to manage those pressures and better support the workforce.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Resolve Divorce human resources manager Rebecca Kennedy about what it's like to manage the HR function of a family law firm, her perception of the challenges facing HR in 2026, how the role will shift in these 12 months, what constitutes a high-emotion workplace, and how such environments can amplify the pressure on HR.

Kennedy also delves into the issues that HR must grapple with in high-emotion workplaces, managing those issues alongside upskilling in new technologies and AI, taking a deliberate approach to such emotional workplaces, the need for proactivity, why proper management is so essential right now, practical steps that HR can and should take, and the need for a "bottom-up" approach, and what she's learnt about herself – personally and professionally – from managing a high-emotion workplace.