Cornerstone OnDemand is a workforce intelligence and talent management software company that helps organizations develop, manage, upskill, and optimize their employees through learning, skills intelligence, workforce analytics, and AI-powered talent solutions.
Many tech leaders tell us that organizations focus too much on AI itself and not enough on the mindset shift required among employees and leadership. Do you also see this as a major bottleneck to AI adoption?
I believe it is the main bottleneck today. The technology is improving every day and will continue to get better, but organizations often lack clarity around what outcomes they want to achieve. One challenge is a breakdown of trust between employees and management. If people believe AI will eventually replace their jobs, they have little motivation to embrace it. Leaders need to be clear about the intended outcomes and how AI will support employees rather than simply threaten them.
The second challenge is the pace and nature of change.
AI is evolving in a non-linear way while technology, skills, and business models are all changing simultaneously. This creates confusion and often leads to unrealistic expectations around spending and results. Too many organizations are focused on AI usage metrics rather than developing employee skills, judgment, and decision-making capabilities, which will ultimately matter most.
You have described the relationship between humans and AI as a symbiotic one. What forms the basis of your belief, and how should organizations communicate that understanding to their workforce?
AI outcomes are only as good as the context provided to the model, and that context depends on human judgment. If you remove people from the equation, the results become inconsistent, expensive, and often ineffective. Human insight remains critical in determining what information matters and how AI should be applied.
Take product development as an example. Coding, testing, and documentation may increasingly be automated, but developers who understand customers, markets, competition, and product adoption will become even more valuable. The most successful developers in our organization are using AI to amplify their effectiveness rather than resisting it. Companies need to communicate that while certain tasks will be automated, judgment, context, and decision-making will become even more important.
Can you provide an example of how Cornerstone OnDemand’s customers are applying AI successfully in practice?
Our conversations with customers have changed dramatically. We no longer start with learning content or training programs. Instead, we ask what business problem they are trying to solve. Is it engagement, attrition, cost reduction, organizational change, or workforce planning? The discussion starts with outcomes and works backward from there.
One large technology company with 30,000 engineers told us they constantly hired and let go of employees because they lacked visibility into skills. They asked whether we could assess coding competency, managerial capability, and situational awareness using signals from sources such as code repositories and collaboration platforms. Within a month, we had the system running for 15,000 employees. By combining signals from multiple systems, organizations can make faster and more informed workforce decisions.
Many organizations struggle to predict which skills will be most valuable in the future. How does your new product, Workforce AI, help address that challenge?
The foundation comes from workforce intelligence. Through our acquisition of SkyHive, we ingest vast amounts of labor market data every day, including job postings, resumes, skills data, and workforce trends. We compare an organization's workforce against broader market realities by geography, industry, and role, creating a dynamic view of skill demand and supply.
For example, companies often discover that employee self-assessments are not always reliable. Workforce AI can evaluate competencies using objective signals and compare them to market benchmarks. In one case, a life sciences company wanted to understand why it was losing talent to a competitor. We were able to identify specific skills gaps and workforce trends at an individual level, enabling much more targeted talent strategies.
What has the early response been like since Workforce AI’s launch?
We officially launched it a few weeks ago and already have nine enterprise customers live on the platform. Customers include companies such as Cisco, along with several other large organizations. What excites me most is that customer conversations now begin with strategic business problems rather than software features.
Organizations are asking how to reduce costs, identify future skills, improve engagement, and prepare for major workforce changes. We use conversational models that help surface these insights quickly. What differentiates us is not simply access to AI models but the depth of workforce data and expertise we have accumulated over the past 25 years.
What are your expectations for market adoption of Workforce AI?
Our first priority is our existing customer base. We serve 7,000 customers and approximately 145 million users. We want to help those organizations navigate AI adoption by embedding intelligent agents directly into our platform. These include learning agents, coaching agents, and simulation tools that help employees develop new skills and prepare for important interactions.
Beyond our installed base, we see significant growth opportunities with new customers. Workforce AI can sit on top of existing systems such as SAP, Oracle, Workday, and ADP, allowing organizations to gain workforce intelligence without replacing core platforms. We believe there is a substantial opportunity over the next 12 to 18 months as organizations seek practical AI solutions.
Are there particular industries that stand to benefit most from this platform?
Historically, Cornerstone has been strongest in highly regulated industries where learning, compliance, and training must be fully documented and auditable. That includes life sciences, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, education, government, and the public sector. These industries already place a high value on workforce visibility and accountability.
Financial services and consulting are also major opportunities. Many consulting firms are rethinking their business models as AI automates activities that were previously performed by consultants. They are using our platform to help employees develop new skills and adapt to changing client demands. Manufacturing and retail are also important markets where workforce intelligence can drive measurable improvements.
Who should ultimately lead AI adoption within an organization?
I strongly believe it has become a CEO responsibility. AI is no longer simply a technology initiative. It affects business models, pricing strategies, company valuation, competitive positioning, and investor expectations. These are decisions that sit squarely with the CEO.
Today, markets evaluate organizations based in part on their AI strategy. Whether the issue involves governance, risk, productivity, or competitiveness, the CEO is ultimately accountable. While CIOs, CHROs, and other executives play critical roles, the CEO must provide the vision, direction, and organizational commitment needed for successful adoption.
Looking ahead over the next 12 months, what are your priorities for Cornerstone?
As CEO, I focus on three stakeholder groups: investors, employees, and customers. Investors need clarity around how AI changes revenue models, cost structures, and business performance. Employees need honest communication about how AI will affect jobs while also being empowered to develop new skills and remain successful in an evolving workplace.
For customers, success means helping them solve workforce challenges and feel confident they are prepared for the future. Twelve months from now, I would like our customers to say that Cornerstone helped them AI-proof their organizations for the next decade. I also want new customers to recognize that we solve workforce challenges by focusing on skills, intelligence, and people in ways traditional systems cannot.
