HubSpot's Helen Russell on building trust in AI-driven workplaces

At the recent HubSpot GROW ANZ event, Helen Russell, Chief People Officer at HubSpot, delved into how organisations can effectively embrace artificial intelligence (AI) while fostering a culture of trust and adaptability.

Russell, who oversees recruiting, learning, talent management, culture, diversity and inclusion, and ESG at HubSpot, explained that her company took an open and encouraging approach to AI adoption from the outset.

"The first thing that we had to do was to make sure that all of our employees understood that we were encouraging this, that it isn't something that you have to hide," she said.

"We set out and said we want to be an AI company, we want to encourage it, we want to embrace it, and we want to share any lessons that we learn. We set out with a very, very high level of trust and high level of expectation around adoption."

Russell emphasised the importance of measuring AI adoption to ensure it becomes embedded in daily work.

HubSpot monitors tool usage regularly and supports employees with practical, bite-sized learning sessions such as the 'Monday minute' - a one-minute segment where team members share AI use cases.

"It really forces whoever's sharing their use case to be really, really crisp," she said, acknowledging the attention span of today's workforce.

"What started to happen, which was an unintended surprise, was as soon as one of our teams shared their minute, five others followed with, 'Oh my God, that's awesome, I did something similar.' It's become this 'all boats rise' effect."

Russell described other initiatives to galvanise the company around AI, including inspirational talks, live chats, and dedicated learning spaces, all aimed at inspiring commitment rather than enforcing compliance.

"It's all about inspiring commitment and also creating healthy competition," she said. "When I saw what each function had done, I thought, 'Come on team, we are getting our asses beat by legal, and that's not okay.'"

Russell highlighted the need to embed AI use in recruitment and onboarding processes. New hires are introduced to AI tools from their first hours, with clear expectations set that AI is integral to their roles.

"We're going to be testing for it during hiring and onboarding," she explained.

"Within our two-day onboarding, we're already giving you access to AI. We show you how it's relevant to your function, your team, and give examples of how you can use it."

Discussing the broader impact of AI on organisational structures, Russell pointed out that companies, particularly smaller ones, are experiencing slower headcount growth.

"What we're seeing is slower headcount growth because companies are starting to test if there's a different way to do things without adding an extra person," she said. "We're also seeing spans of control increase by about 20%. Managers can handle more people because AI helps reduce their workload."

This shift, Russell predicted, would lead to organisations becoming "a little more shallow" with fewer management layers.

"If a standard organisation has maybe nine levels, we could see that drop by a couple," she said.

"It will help communication, information flow, and drive efficiency and productivity."

Looking further ahead, she referenced World Economic Forum research forecasting that by 2030, 172 million new jobs will be created while 90 million may disappear.

"We don't yet know what we don't know," she added, acknowledging the uncertainty around AI's long-term effects.

Russell also spoke about the leadership qualities required to navigate the profound changes ahead. She emphasised clarity, context, adaptability, trust, and connection as essential traits.

"Clarity means being really crisp about what's expected, what changes mean for people's roles, and where to focus," she said. "Context is about understanding why decisions are made. Adaptability is key because the pace of change is unprecedented."

She added, "Trust and connection require us to work harder to inspire teams to join us on this journey."

Reflecting on trust, Russell noted its importance in effective leadership.

"The number one question leaders must ask is: do our employees trust us and our intent?" she said. "Creating a safe space for experimentation and incentives helps build that trust."

When asked for advice on reimagining work, Russell encouraged leaders to begin with trust and cultural readiness.

"Do we have an adaptive culture? Are we ready to move in the direction we need?" she asked the audience.

"These are the questions leaders should be introspecting on as they navigate disruption and change."