When AI meets HR: Rethinking work and value

At a roundtable hosted by RMIT Vietnam and Deloitte, business leaders, HR experts, and academics explored how organizations can stay resilient while keeping people at the center of AI-powered change.

The event, themed "Human value & AI—Navigating hidden impacts & fostering growth & resilience," featured a keynote by Yun-Han Lee, Director of Technology and Transformation, Human Capital at Deloitte SEA. His message was clear: AI is revolutionizing work, but without a renewed focus on human value, organizations risk losing sight of what truly drives performance and engagement.

Promise and pressure

Lee opened the discussion by challenging the audience to rethink their assumptions about AI's role in the workplace.

"Your old value case isn't enough. You need a human value proposition for the age of AI," he said.

Yun-Han Lee, Director of Technology & Transformation, Human Capital at Deloitte SEA, delivering his keynote. Photo courtesy of RMIT

Drawing from Deloitte's 2024 State of Generative AI in the Enterprise report, Lee outlined six themes shaping the current AI landscape, including the speed of adoption, evolving barriers, uneven maturity across industries, a need to focus on core business value, shifting C-suite perspectives, and the rise of agentic AI—autonomous systems that act as collaborators rather than tools.

He highlighted the gap between technological potential and organizational readiness.

"Most firms are moving at the speed of organizations, not at the speed of tech," he said. "Key barriers to scaling and value creation are still widespread."

One of the most striking parts of Lee's keynote was his focus on AI's "silent impacts," the unintended consequences that often go unnoticed. These include burnout, loneliness, and the erosion of human judgment.

"AI improves productivity, but it can also increase workload and complexity. We must be intentional about how we design human-AI collaboration," he said.

His observation of the "silent impacts" came from his personal reflection on leadership in the AI era.

"I used to expect my team to produce in one hour what used to take three days. That caused stress," he said. "Now, we review AI-generated work together. It's a collaborative process, not a performance test."

Human skills matter

The panel discussion that followed brought together voices from Masan Consumer Holdings, STADA Pymerphaco, Janus Executive Search & Talent Advisory, and Deloitte. Despite the growing demand for AI fluency, panelists agreed that human competencies like empathy and critical thinking remain irreplaceable.

The panel discussion closed with a call to keep human needs at the center of AI adoption. Photo courtesy of RMIT

Vo Thi Minh An, Founding Partner and Managing Director, Asia Pacific region, Janus Executive Search & Talent Advisory, shared insights from her work in executive search across Asia.

"There is a lot of buzz and energy around AI. However, we haven't seen the same level of excitement when it comes to requirements, adoption, and implementation by businesses. In Vietnam, only two out of ten jobs we're hiring for require AI-related skills," she said.

"Empathy is the number one skill required across all levels; it will be hard to be replaced by AI."

She also emphasized the importance of analytical and critical thinking in a landscape where AI tools rarely acknowledge uncertainty.

"AI never says 'I don't know.' That's why we need people who can question, validate, and think critically," she said.

Pham Thi Quy Hien, Director of Human Resources at Masan Consumer Holdings, offered a practical perspective on building AI capabilities while preserving human values and privacy. Their strategy includes deploying internal Copilots for more than 5,000 employees, empowering leaders as champions, and conducting change management workshops.

"AI won't take your job; it'll only take the job if you don't know how to use it," Hien said, emphasizing the importance of psychological safety.

Ho Thi Bach Quyen, Head of Culture and People at STADA Pymepharco Vietnam, explained the evolution of her role from managing operational HR matters to Culture and People, reflecting a shift toward nurturing the right culture, capabilities, and talent. She introduced the organization's initiatives: growth culture, idea generation, and reverse mentoring.

She stressed the importance of leadership behaviors that foster trust and openness during AI-driven transformation. This includes training for new hires, cultivating a culture of appreciation and recognition, and tailoring approaches to different generations.

Vo Kim Thoa, Senior Manager of Organization Transformation, Technology & Transformation at Deloitte SEA, said while AI is transforming the nature of work, it cannot replace humans.

"Work is changing significantly," she said. "Some tasks can be performed more efficiently by AI, but when it comes to curating content or validating its accuracy, human judgment is still essential. People remain in the loop."

Breakout sessions explored how to make AI a time-saver, not a stressor. Photo courtesy of RMIT

Dr. Luong Thanh Thao, Interim Senior Program Manager of the Human Resource Management program, distilled the key takeaways.

"AI should be guided by human needs to support safer operations, better service, inclusion, and growth," she said.

"Its use must be transparent and responsible, with privacy protection and human oversight in key decisions. As AI fluency develops through real work—regular practice, coaching, and reflection—teams can build both technical skills and the judgment to engage with AI critically along the process."

Breakout sessions explored how to make AI save time without adding stress, redesign workflows for human-in-the-loop collaboration, and build trust. Participants discussed the need to rethink job design, including which roles AI might replace and which tasks within those roles could be automated or augmented.

The roundtable ended with a shared commitment to keep asking the right questions. As AI continues to evolve, the challenge is not only technological; it's deeply human.