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L5 · Expert: the human-agent workforce10 min read

Designing work for people and agents together

At expert level, the CHRO's question shifts from "where can AI help?" to "how should work be designed when people and AI agents share it?"

From workforce planning to work planning

Traditional workforce planning counts people. When agents do part of the work, you need to plan the work first, then decide the mix of people, agents and automation.

Moderna went furthest so far: in 2025 it combined HR and IT into one People and Digital Technology function under its former CHRO, Tracey Franklin, who became Chief People and Digital Technology Officer. In her words, the aim is to "architect the flow of work" and move toward "work planning" rather than siloed "workforce planning" or "technology planning".

Design questions for each team

  1. What outcomes does this team deliver?
  2. Which tasks can agents do, which do people do with AI, which stay human?
  3. What is the right human-agent ratio — how many agents, and how many people to guide them?
  4. Who owns each agent's performance?
  5. What new roles appear (agent supervisor, AI product owner, AI trainer) and which shrink?
  6. What does a career path look like when entry-level tasks move to AI?

Policy signals from CEOs

Some companies now make AI part of the headcount process. Shopify's CEO wrote in 2025 that before asking for more headcount and resources, "teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI," and said AI use would be added to performance and peer review questionnaires. Rules like this change job design overnight — HR should shape them, not just apply them.

Principles

  • Design for outcomes, not for keeping or cutting roles.
  • Keep accountability human: every agent has a human owner.
  • Make career paths explicit as tasks move.
  • Review designs every six to twelve months.

What this means for the CHRO

The expert CHRO becomes the architect of work, not only the steward of people. That means joint planning with the CIO or Chief AI Officer — whether or not you merge functions like Moderna.

Start with one business unit: map its work, design the human-agent mix, and use it as the model for the rest of the company.

Use what you learn to update job architecture, career paths and workforce plans together, rather than as separate projects. Expect this work to run continuously: agent capabilities change every few months, so designs need a regular review rhythm with business leaders and the CIO. Make sure each redesigned team has a clear human owner for every agent it uses.

Real example

In 2025 Moderna combined its HR and IT teams into one People and Digital Technology department led by Tracey Franklin, its former CHRO, now Chief People and Digital Technology Officer, who said the goal is to "architect the flow of work" and move toward "work planning" instead of siloed workforce or technology planning. Source: UNLEASH — Why Moderna merged HR and IT to better 'architect the flow of work' (Jun 27, 2025) ↗

Use it

Quick check · 3 questions

  1. 1.What does 'work planning' mean in Moderna's approach?

  2. 2.What did Shopify's CEO require before teams ask for more headcount?

  3. 3.Which principle keeps accountability clear with agents?

0 of 3 answered

Sources

Last reviewed 2026-10-01.