SVP and CHRO Ivory Harris discusses how AGCO is building a future-ready workforce that is equipped to handle a shifting workplace landscape.
By Debbie Bolla
HRO Today: What’s the biggest challenge you are currently facing and what are your plans to overcome it?
Ivory Harris: At AGCO, the biggest challenge we’re facing right now is the rapid evolution of talent needs connected to the quickly evolving business environment and our ambitious goals to serve farmers and advance agriculture. We’re hearing 70% of skills for most jobs may change by 2030, meaning we need to reshape the capabilities and expectations required to thrive in our workplace. And AI is accelerating the shift.
We’re responding by embedding strategic workforce planning into our decision-making at all levels of leadership, integrating these insights into business and budget planning as well as connecting the dots on development by opening up learning opportunities to everyone. That way, employees take an ownership role in their development, and our talent strategies can evolve in real time to meet the demands of a fast-changing world.
But it’s also about how we equip our people. We recognize that today’s talent often arrives with a new set of expectations and a strong understanding of how AI integrates into their daily work, so we’re making sure our systems and culture support that. We’re helping our HR teams upskill in AI so they can be more efficient and focus on strategic priorities. We’re also using automation and AI to standardize and swiftly manage many of the processes HR teams used to handle manually – freeing them up to concentrate on developing the workforce and driving long-term planning.
Ultimately, our goal is to build a future-ready workforce that’s equipped for today’s challenges and prepared to thrive in tomorrow’s opportunities.
HROT: How the company’s “learn through experimentation” approach to AI transformed talent acquisition, employee engagement, performance management and career growth?
Harris: AGCO integrates AI across all our functions. We use AI and machine learning in our precision ag solutions to help transform farmers’ equipment into more intelligent and efficient machines. Our finance team is using AI to drive greater accuracy in demand planning. HR is no different. We use it to attract, engage, and grow talent, and we’re constantly empowering our HR teams to test, learn, and iterate—because we know experimentation and ownership drive AI implementation.
Today, over 60% of our HR tools are automated with AI, which reflects just how deeply experimentation is embedded in our ways of working. For example, in talent acquisition, AI helps us streamline repetitive tasks like resume screening and candidate communications, freeing up our teams to focus on building meaningful relationships, assessing cultural fit, and crafting compelling candidate experiences.
In employee engagement, “Barny,” our AI-powered onboarding tool, connects new employees with others across the business as they begin their journey with AGCO, while “Maizy,” our 24/7 AI assistant, responds to HR queries instantly. We use AI to aggregate sentiment data in “VOICES,” our employee feedback survey, giving us real-time insights into how our people are feeling. In learning and development, “Nadia,” our AI-powered coaching platform, consolidates advice from multiple platforms, allowing not only employees to seek guidance and advice, but also enabling leaders to interact and coach their teams through critical topics such as change and performance. And LinkedIn Learning, with over 21,000 courses, automates course recommendations and coaching to match individual goals and learning styles, putting career growth firmly into our employees’ hands.
We have also partnered with Infosys, a managed service provider, to execute HR operations activity across important work processes globally—leveraging process rigor and technology integration, including AI and automation.
Finally, our contract renewal process sets a standard for system and technology progress, leveraging AI and automation to improve efficiency and employee experience through our tools and systems.
These AI applications and partnerships not only enhance efficiency and accuracy but also significantly improve our HR team’s ability to focus on strategic initiatives and employee development. By continuously experimenting with and refining our AI tools, we ensure our approach remains innovative and adaptable, driving better outcomes for our employees and the organization as a whole.
HROT: With AGCO automating 60% of its HR tools, what is not automated and why? How are you measuring the success of the tools that are automated?
Harris: Automating many of our HR tools has been transformative for AGCO, but not everything can—or should—be automated. There are some areas where nuance really matters, and human connection and insight is irreplaceable. Examples include sensitive employee relations matters, leadership coaching conversations, and strategic workforce planning… basically where trust matters.
To measure the success of AI in HR, we look at both quantitative indicators—such as adoption rates, response times and efficiency gains—as well as qualitative indicators like employee feedback from listening tools. We also assess how these tools are freeing up our HR teams to focus on strategic work, rather than repetitive tasks. This ‘time bonus’ also applies to people leaders across the organisation.
Ultimately, success is about impact, not just automation. Are we helping employees grow? Are we making their experience better? Are we enabling our teams to focus on what matters most? That’s how we define value.
HROT: What is your favorite way to spend free time?
Harris: I’m a foodie! My Instagram feed is overflowing with restaurants I want to try, although the list is definitely longer than the time I have to get through it. When I’m not discovering new foods, I’m spending time with my Goldendoodle, Hammy. He’s full of personality, loves long walks (I do too), and keeps me on my toes!
