- The Work Ahead
- Posts
- ⏰ Indeed CEO: Stop doing these tasks
⏰ Indeed CEO: Stop doing these tasks
Interview scheduling, resume checking, shift queries—humans waste hours on what AI does better.
Today we expose radical org redesigns compressing 49-person teams to 7 while maintaining output, uncover why 99% of workers seek AI workplace companions as loneliness reaches epidemic levels, and show how one $20/month investment generated a $35k salary increase.
For Culture Leaders
Indeed CEO: HR Wastes Time on Tasks AI Handles Better—Strategic Shift Required
Indeed economists found 61% of skills listed in HR job postings have potential for AI transformation—well above the 44% average across all U.S. job postings. CEO Hisayuki "Deko" Idekoba returned to leadership three months ago working 15-hour days "obsessed with innovating the HR industry."
Interview scheduling coordination, resume detail verification, shift availability checking—these consume hours while adding minimal strategic value. Idekoba's new Talent Scout platform demonstrates the shift: AI delivers qualified candidate shortlists while advising HR leaders on improving talent pools through salary adjustments, location expansion, or experience requirement modifications.
Here's what winners do: Delegate administrative coordination to AI systems while humans focus on strategy development and relationship building. As Idekoba states: "There are things human beings are way more effective at. But as we dig deeper into the hiring process, there are things human beings should not spend time on."
Smart companies fundamentally redesign workflows around AI-first principles while competitors debate which chatbot to implement.
HR's Ten-Year Future: Fewer People, More Complexity—"More Human" Narrative Is Fiction
The easy narrative circulating HR conferences: "The future of HR is about being more human." The data tells a different story. OECD projects working-age population in member countries will shrink 8% by 2060. The UN notes 11,000 people globally hit retirement age daily. Fewer people must accomplish more work—and governments quietly hope AI bridges that gap.
Hackett benchmarks show "digital world-class HR" functions already support 65% more employees per HR staffer than median organizations, at significantly lower cost. The administrative tasks—payroll queries, basic recruitment flows, policy questions—automate away. What remains isn't easier, it's more complex: orchestrating systems of employees, contractors, gig roles, and AI agents.
The hard part? It’s not empathy. The problem lies in the interaction between humans and machines. How can we incorporate AI agents in a way that builds confidence, especially considering the EU AI Act, Pay Transparency Directives, and ESRS workforce standards?
The strategic choice is immediate: build competence in AI governance, data, and organizational design now, or watch Legal take compliance, Finance take workforce reporting, and IT take AI implementation. The ten-year outcome depends on what we do this quarter. Fewer in number, stronger in mandate—if we take the seat before someone else does.
For Career Builders
Generate Harvard-Quality CVs for $0 While Recruiters Pay $500+ for Professional Writers
Professional CV writing services charge $300-800 for executive resume development with multi-week turnaround times. Smart career builders use structured AI prompting to generate Harvard-standard CVs instantly while maintaining full creative control and unlimited revision capability.
Anisha Jain used a prompt that made ChatGPT use the same CV template as Harvard grads, a template known to get people hired at top companies.
Act like a seasoned career consultant and resume expert specializing in
crafting tailor-made resumes for job seekers.
Step 1: Copy the structure of the perfect CV from Harvard.
[Education section with university, degree, GPA, relevant coursework]
[Experience section with organization, position, quantified achievements]
[Leadership and Activities with role descriptions]
[Skills & Interests with technical, language, laboratory capabilities]
Step 2: Ask me the necessary questions so you can create the perfect CV.
Step 3: Create the perfect CV using the Harvard template strictly.
Present it as a table.
Pro tip: Use ChatGPT's "Thinking" model for superior results. The interactive approach—where AI asks clarifying questions before generating—produces more tailored outcomes than generic templates.
Automate Job Applications with Custom GPT for $20/Month—One User Gained $35k Salary Increase
One job seeker automated entire resume tailoring using ChatGPT's custom GPT feature, ultimately landing a role paying $35k more annually than their previous position. The six-month search used ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) to build custom GPTs, delivering unlimited resume variations.
Start by creating an "ugly resume"—comprehensive document listing every role, responsibility, software skill, and certification you've accumulated. Ask ChatGPT to expand each entry with common duties for that position type, building a master database of your complete experience.
Next, create a custom GPT using these exact instructions:
You are a career assistant specializing in evaluating job descriptions
against a candidate's resume.
Important: The candidate's master resume is already stored in this
custom GPT as an attached file.
Output Rules:
- Competitive Assessment (in chat): Begin with "Recommendation:
[Strong Pursuit / Conditional Pursuit / Low Pursuit]"
- Provide concise justification in 2–3 sentences
- Note gaps labeled as either Barrier or Preferred/Nice-to-Have
- End with Tailoring Suggestions
- Ask: "Would you like me to create a tailored one-page resume
and cover letter?"
Resume and Cover Letter (only if user says yes):
- Resume: One-page, ATS-friendly, results-oriented, measurable
achievements
- Cover Letter: Concise, role-specific, professional tone
- Output both in Canvas document titled "Application – [Job Title] –
[Company]"
The workflow becomes: copy job posting → paste into GPT → receive fit analysis → type "yes" → get tailored resume and cover letter in seconds.
The approach provides unlimited iterations for $20 monthly while you develop strategic thinking about positioning yourself effectively.
Value Creators Spotlight
What They Do: Vehicle financing company founded in 1972 serving consumers regardless of credit history through nationwide dealer network. With 2,445 team members, Credit Acceptance reports to three national credit agencies, helping consumers improve credit scores while making vehicle ownership possible.
What Sets Them Apart: While most finance companies focus solely on shareholders, Credit Acceptance operates with a "North Star" serving five constituents—dealers, team members, consumers, communities, and shareholders. CEO Ken Booth maintains a Listening Culture where all feedback gets categorized as "take action, state position, or more information needed." The company delivers at-or-above-market compensation while maintaining remote-first approach, letting team members "steer their own career" through individual contributor and leadership tracks.
Employee Intelligence: "Our culture sets team members up to change lives for our five constituents. Leaders believe culture is a significant business advantage." The 2025 Most Loved Workplace certification reflects their approach: creating a workplace where team members come with enthusiasm, relishing the opportunity to make a difference.
Current Opportunities:
Market Area Manager - Worcester East, MA (Remote)
Service Desk Analyst II (USA - Remote)
Bilingual Market Area Manager - Laredo, TX (Remote)
What They Do: Umbrella company of three home service brands—1-800-GOT-JUNK?, WOW 1 DAY PAINTING, and Shack Shine—transforming ordinary junk removal, painting, and house detailing into exceptional experiences across North America.
What Sets Them Apart: While most executives hide behind hierarchy, CEO Brian Scudamore shares his personal phone number with every employee, encouraging direct feedback. This transparency extends to daily company-wide "Huddle" meetings where leadership shares revenue numbers in real time. The company operates through a "Painted Picture" outlining the "what" but not the "how"—the team creates the future. O2E offers five weeks paid parental leave and hybrid work designed by team feedback.
Employee Intelligence: "Leadership is extremely accessible, even going as far as sharing personal phone numbers with EVERYONE. It shows such transparent and empathetic leadership and it feels exceptional." The company earned Most Loved CEO certification in 2024, plus awards spanning Career Advancement, Diversity, LGBTQ+, Parents & Caregivers, and Women.
Current Opportunities:
Business Intelligence Analyst (Remote, British Columbia)
Inbound Sales Agent (Remote, British Columbia)
Sales Enablement Coordinator (Vancouver, Canada)
What They Do: Award-winning Daytime Dining concept serving made-to-order breakfast, brunch, and lunch across 580+ restaurants in 31 states. Chef-driven menu includes Quinoa Power Bowl®, Farm Stand Breakfast Tacos, and signature Million Dollar Bacon.
What Sets Them Apart: While most restaurant chains grind employees through late-night shifts, First Watch operates exclusively during daytime hours with a vision to "create amazing opportunities from valued dishwasher to Regional VP." In 2024, they invited over 3,200 team members to 11 "Come Grow with Us" career events across five markets. Company goal: 60% internal promotions. CEO Christopher Tomasso champions "YOU FIRST" culture where employees get independence to make decisions. As they say: "We love our employees more than bacon."
Employee Intelligence: "This company works so well with my schedule. I love having my afternoons free and ready to spend time with my kids." The 2025 Most Loved Workplace certification reflects their mission: Make Days Brighter for both employees and customers through happy employees who pay it forward.
Current Opportunities:
Server - Front of House (Multiple Locations)
Busser (Independence, Missouri)
Cook (Tampa, Florida; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Special Announcement: These companies are competing for recognition in the upcoming Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces—celebrating organizations demonstrating exceptional employee experience and genuine commitment to their people.
3 Trends Reshaping Work This Month
The AI workplace transformation isn't happening the way anyone predicted. Three developments this month expose the real patterns—and the strategic opportunities everyone else is missing.
Trend #1: AI-Driven Org Charts Compress Teams by 85%—Role Architecture Fundamentally Shifts
Tom Tunguz's analysis reveals companies slashing headcount 85% while maintaining output through radical org redesigns. Two models emerge: "short pyramids" where managers orchestrate AI agents (85% reduction), and "rocket ships" where player-coaches manage both humans and AI (53% reduction).
For HR Leaders: R&D teams compress 85% given AI's code generation capabilities, sales maintains traditional structures where relationships drive revenue, customer success runs hybrid models. Position your organization to experiment with function-specific structures while competitors cling to one-size-fits-all pyramids.
For Career Builders: Your value shifts from task execution to AI orchestration—giving high-level direction and refining autonomous outputs into business results. The professionals commanding premium compensation understand which functions suit short pyramids versus rocket ships.
Trend #2: Workers Seek AI Companions as 45% Report Workplace Loneliness—Retention Risk Intensifies
KPMG research: 45% of workers report workplace loneliness, job pessimism hits decade worst, and 99% express interest in AI chatbots as workplace companions. The majority would trade 20% salary to work with close friends.
For HR Leaders: Leslie Hammer, director of Oregon Healthy Workforce Center, challenges AI companion solutions: "The personal relationships and psychological safety that people develop over time enables people to trust" in ways AI cannot replicate. Increase control, decrease demands, increase support. While competitors deploy chatbots as friendship substitutes, rebuild actual human connection infrastructure.
For Career Builders: As organizations rely on AI for routine questions and coaching, humans who provide genuine connection, mentorship, and psychological safety become more valuable. The workers who master this balance will command premium compensation as workplace loneliness intensifies.
Trend #3: OpenAI Jobs Platform Builds Labor Market Infrastructure Beyond LinkedIn Model
OpenAI's September 4 announcement of a Jobs Platform launching mid-2026 triggered "LinkedIn killer" headlines. FullStack HR's Johannes Sundlo argues OpenAI isn't building a CV-matching machine, but experimenting with fundamentally different infrastructure positioning between company needs and individual capabilities demonstrated through AI tool usage.
For HR Leaders: Sundlo's analysis suggests recruitment could transform to AI matching people to problems before job ads exist. If infrastructure shifts toward behavioral skill data, traditional hiring funnels become obsolete. Build relationships with high-performers now while competitors perfect traditional recruiting.
For Career Builders: Your demonstrated work through AI tools could matter more than your CV. The professionals who genuinely close skill gaps through AI collaboration versus those who collect credentials may face dramatically different algorithmic visibility. Labor markets are moving toward demonstrated competence over claimed expertise.
Tools That Work
Most teams struggle to track who owns what across scattered Slack conversations. Smart organizations use systematic analysis to surface task ownership, deadlines, and missed follow-through before projects derail.
AI Work Tracker™ analyzes Slack-style messages to detect task ownership, due dates, and missed follow-through, delivering weekly checklists, automated reminders, and leadership-ready reports that prevent dropped balls.
Upload conversation threads, receive structured task lists with clear ownership, make execution-backed decisions.
Competitors lose accountability in message threads—you track execution systematically.
Industry Pulse
Reference Checks Evolve From Gatekeeper to Onboarding Tool
A16z's recruiting framework reveals sophisticated organizations treat references as candidate-closing and management-preparation tools rather than final screens. Effective approach: open-ended behavioral questions revealing patterns across multiple sources, careful distinction between formal references and backchannel conversations, and bias recognition in subjective feedback. Best practice check: one month post-hire, ask "Is this job what you expected?" to validate hiring process quality. → Read the framework
AI Talent Wage Premiums Reach 25%—Creative Compensation Required
AI specialists command 25% average wage premiums globally, reaching 53% for database roles, according to Korn Ferry analysis. Bain projects AI talent shortages by 2027 as job postings surge 21% annually since 2019. Organizations unable to match premiums must emphasize flexibility, career development, passion project opportunities, and equity-based delayed compensation over immediate cash. → Compensation strategies
Forced Survey Completion Generates Worthless Data—Low Response Rates More Valuable
The Contrarian HR challenges standard practice of bribing or mandating engagement survey completion to hit 90% targets. Forced responses create illusion of data while masking real issues. A voluntary 20-30% completion rate reveals actual engagement levels and prompts critical questions: Why aren't people responding? Have previous surveys led to zero action? The decades-long stagnation in global engagement scores despite endless surveys suggests the theater itself is the problem. → Read the analysis
Perplexity Launches $200/Month AI Email Assistant Targeting Enterprise Workflows
Perplexity's autonomous Email Assistant for Max subscribers ($200 monthly) manages inboxes, drafts personalized responses, and coordinates meeting scheduling within Gmail and Outlook. The steep pricing—40x higher than basic subscription—targets high-value business users willing to pay for productivity gains. Early testing reveals AI agents handle routine tasks effectively but struggle with complex, multi-step negotiations requiring human judgment. The launch escalates competition against Google and Microsoft in the $50 billion productivity software market. → Implementation details
Strategic Generalists Replace Specialists in AI-Forward GTM Teams
Sapphire Ventures analysis of AI-native companies reveals versatile leaders who blend strategic thinking, technical AI fluency, and rapid experimentation are replacing traditional specialists. Davide Grieco, Head of Growth at Clay, notes organizations with functional silos cannot move as fast as cross-functional AI Deployment Squads empowered to experiment quickly. Marketing Ops and Engineering roles must evolve from ticket-takers to technical GTM Engineers or risk automation. The future belongs to those pairing coding fluency with real business acumen. → Read the trends
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?
Forward this email to a CHRO or ambitious professional who could use practical AI workforce intelligence. Or tell them to join The Work Ahead for fresh, actionable insights every month.
No hype. No vendor pitches. Just strategic insights and future trends that keep you ahead of the curve!