172 | HR and AI: How One Company Helped Employees Embrace AI (with Laura Maffucci)

Laura Maffucci has played a key role in helping her organisation embrace AI. The surprising part? She doesn't actually like AI.

In this episode of HR Coffee Time, Laura, Head of HR at G-P, shares her honest perspective on AI, how her organisation has approached adoption, and the practical lessons she's learned along the way.

We discuss everything from creating AI champions and governance processes to helping employees feel comfortable experimenting with AI. Laura also shares her thoughts on job loss fears, the importance of human oversight, and why the reality of AI at work can be very different from what many leaders expect.

Whether your organisation is already embracing AI or you're just starting to think about what it might mean for your workforce, this conversation is packed with practical insights and thought-provoking ideas.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why Laura has mixed feelings about AI despite using it extensively at work
• How GP approached AI adoption across the organisation
• The role of AI champions and internal advocates
• Creating psychological safety around AI
• How to encourage experimentation without creating fear
• The importance of governance, security and guardrails
• Why prompting skills matter
• The risks of relying too heavily on AI outputs
• The growing importance of discernment and critical thinking
• The disconnect between executive expectations and employees' experiences of AI
• Practical examples of how AI is being used within HR and across the business

Chapters

[00:00] Why I Finally Decided to Cover AI

[01:57] Meet Laura Maffucci

[02:51] Laura's Surprising View of AI

[04:45] How AI Is Being Used at G-P

[05:37] The AI Council and Governance

[06:40] AI Champions, Training and Adoption

[09:09] What's Had the Biggest Impact?

[10:05] Finding Your AI Champions

[11:33] Addressing Fear of Job Loss

[11:47] Creating Psychological Safety Around AI

[13:41] The Disconnect Between Leaders and Employees

[16:06] The Number One Skill – Discernment

[16:27] Cautionary Tale

[17:19] The Right Way to Introduce AI

[17:54] The Benefits of AI Adoption

[18:57] Using Gemini Gems and AI Workflows

[23:13] Creating AI Personas for Senior Leaders

[24:17] AI Security and Confidential Information

[26:15] Book Recommendation: Dare to Lead

[28:13] Key Takeaways from the Conversation

Useful Links

• Connect with Fay on LinkedIn
• Learn about Fay’s Essential HR Planner
• Learn about Fay’s Inspiring HR Leadership Programme
• Connect with Laura on LinkedIn
• G-P article:Why your best 2026 AI strategy is still human

Helpful HR Coffee Time episodes to listen to next

• Ep 181: HR in the AI Era - The 5 Foundations Every HR Leader Needs (with Charlotte Goulding)
• Ep 171: How to Build Trust & Get Buy-In Through Brilliant Employee Communication

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