AI and Automation: Suresh Raman of Johnson & Johnson On How To Effectively Harness AI Technology In People Operations

An Interview With Finn Bartram, Editor Of People Managing People

Aim to attract a digitally savvy workforce by offering compelling digital employee value proposition and the chance to use data science, intelligent automation, and emerging tech for impact.

With technological advancements, particularly in the AI space, an increasing number of tasks can be either fully or partially automated. In this series, we are talking to People experts about how they’re utilizing new technologies to make their jobs easier and provide greater strategic value. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Suresh Raman.

As Head of HR Global Digital Solutions, Global Services, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Suresh is a leader in digital transformation. During his tenure at J&J, he has exceled across diverse functions and business segments. In his current role, he shapes and leads the implementation of HR Digital Strategy aimed at attracting top talent to J&J and accelerating their track into productive roles. Suresh leads the reimagination of HR employee experience for moments that matter and brings to life a connected digital experience for the employee lifecycle, from hire to retire.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Before we drive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I studied Engineering and started in the Information Technology (IT) field during Y2K. Over the years, I’ve worked in multiple industries playing different roles in IT system implementation and operational automation. Since joining J&J 20 years ago, I’ve had the opportunity to work different businesses and functions across the organization.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

This may not be the funniest mistake but a very humbling one. There was a need in MedTech, J&J’s medical devices’ business, to study utilization of different components of a product during surgery. I was overly enthusiastic to use the latest technology and led the development of mobile tech solution assuming field consultants would use it but it failed in the field on adoption and on solving the problem.

Lessons learned:

• I did not spend enough time understanding the problem and jumped to find a solution too quickly. The situation reminds me of an Albert Einstein quote: “If you have one hour to solve a problem, spend 55 minutes thinking and understanding the problem and five minutes to solve it.”
• Technology is not the solution — it’s a means to get to a solution.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

There are many people who have helped in my personal and professional life in so many ways. It’s hard to point out one story so I will share something from early in my career.

When I came to U.S. as a first-generation immigrant, I lived in Queens, NY, and I got my first job in a bank in Long Island, NY. I did not have a car and took two buses and a train to get to work every day. It was challenging; especially during the winter. One of my co-workers, Lalit, was so generous that he offered a ride to work and back even though it was out of his way. He did that for over a year even though it increased his commute by 30 minutes. I am so thankful and fortunate to have friends and co-workers like him.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason,” by Greek philosopher Epictetus. We need to listen a lot more than we talk.” In our personal and professional life we have multiple stakeholders that we interact and work with. It is important to actively listen to diverse points of view to make informed decisions.

Thinking back on your own career, what would you tell your younger self?

• Don’t sweat the small stuff.
• Be more grateful for what you have.
• Model the behavior you want to see.

Let’s now move to the central part of our interview. How have recent technological advancements such as AI made your job easier?

Most innovations in technology have created new value for society and improved our way of life. I see AI as another leap in advancement that will create a new paradigm in how we work. AI will be an assistant to humans in making decisions faster, automating administrative tasks and reducing errors.

Importantly, we place ethical considerations at the forefront of how we are applying AI. Across J&J, we are guided by Our Credo and are committed to ethical AI principles, which include shaping policy, ensuring appropriate data and AI use, and avoiding and monitoring for bias in our data sets and insights. Our ethical foundation for using AI requires that it be fair, private, responsible, secure, and transparent.

Here are examples from J&J Global Services Human Resources:

• Data and predictive analytics inform our recruitment and retention strategies. This includes assessing talent on multiple domains simultaneously, i.e., interviews, reviews and LinkedIn, matching candidate profiles to job requirements (and vice versa), predicting flight risk, etc.
• Employee relations case management: AI powered speech-to-text technology allows for the creation of conversation transcripts, saving 15–20 mins time on each case.
• People analytics: Predictive models on employee attrition based on industry trends, performance and career progression.
• Workforce planning: Utilization of a skills inference model based on employee profile data in Human Capital Management systems helps assess the state of skills in the workforce and plans for career development.
• Personalized development planning: An enterprise learning platform that helps employees self-assess their proficiency level in critical skills with a series of questions based on an AI model build a personalized development plan and learning curriculum towards targeted career goals.

In which processes do you utilize automation the most?

At J&J we have a methodical approach to drive automation and that has enabled us to mature capabilities systematically. In Human Resources, we started with automating rule based and high volume processes first. This includes employee personal data verification, learning administration tasks, employee verification document generation and approval workflow of flexible work arrangements.

What should people bear in mind when automating processes?

• The targeted process should have sufficient volume to justify automation ROI.
• Simplify and refine processes: Automating a cumbersome and broken process will not deliver a better outcome.
• Clear quantified business objectives: J&J Global Services’ measures against a “3Es” — Efficiency, Effectiveness, Experience.
• Process stability: Ensure the targeted process does not have too many changes on an ongoing basis, which leads to higher maintenance costs.
• Technology stack: Process automation is reliant on interoperable technologies, which is the ability for a software to connect and interact between systems securely.
• Data quality: Automation relies heavily on rules set around data, and data quality leads to exceptions and failures.
• Finally, have a fallback plan if automation fails.

What are your “Top Five Tips For Harnessing Technology to Propel People Operations”? Please share a story or an example for each.

1 . Institute enterprise standards on automation technologies.

2 . Aim to attract a digitally savvy workforce by offering compelling digital employee value proposition and the chance to use data science, intelligent automation, and emerging tech for impact.

3 . Improve data governance to increase data quality, which is necessary even if automation is not a focus.

4 . Reward employees who adopt technology to improve their experience and effectiveness of processes.

5 . Develop a mindset of continuous process improvement and set measurable targets to improve.

How do you see technology impacting the HR space in the future?

Technology will enable HR professionals to reduce/eliminate administrative tasks in the function, giving more time to spend on human interaction. We need to free up our time to put more focus on the empathy and relationship side of workforce management.

Technology will also help meet regulatory and compliance requirements, such as pay transparency laws, more accurately and in a timely manner.

We are very blessed to have some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have a private lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this.

Bill Belichick, the head coach of the New England Patriots. While the Patriots are having their challenges this year, he is regarded as one of the best head coaches in the history of the NFL and holds numerous coaching records, including the most Super Bowl wins (six) as a head coach. Given the intricacies of football, which require a leader to look at success and development from both sides of the ball. I would like to talk to him about his formula for teambuilding.

How can our readers further follow your work?

I periodically post LinkedIn comments on topics I follow and ideas that are of interest to me. I also highlight new capabilities my talented colleagues bring to life on an ongoing basis.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

1. What tactic or strategy is “the next big thing” for leaders in [insert niche] to be digging into? Building teams adaptable to changing business, technology and geo-political situations.
2. What do you hold a contrarian belief about in [insert niche]? (Could also word this as “What is everyone wrong about in?) Introverts
3. What’s your most important habit? Staying curious and asking more “WHY” questions.
4. What are you reading right now? Atomic Habits by James Clear
5. What product, tool, or service do you wish existed? An easier way to communicate across language barriers? In a globalized world we need a real-time language translator.
6. What product are you obsessively using right now? Generative AI
7. What are you bullish on? Human ability to adopt to fast changing technologies.
8. What are you bearish on? Reinforcing AI is about augmenting; not replacing human capabilities

About The Interviewer: Finn is the editor of People Managing People, an indie media publication on a mission to help build a better world of work. He’s passionate about growing organizations where people are empowered to continuously improve and feel fulfilled in their role. If not at his desk, you can find him playing sports or enjoying the great outdoors. To learn more about Finn’s work please go to https://peoplemanagingpeople.com/