The HR Function Is No Longer Soft: It’s Time to Lead the Way – Roshan Thiran
I used to think HR was just about handling payroll, contracts, time and attendance. But listening to Roshan Thiran speak completely flipped that view. It felt like he gave me a peek behind the curtain. HR isn't just a support department, it's a war room. One that must deeply understand its people, strategically train and position them, and ultimately help win the future of work. His talk was funny, raw, real, and a wake-up call for all of us in the people business.
Roshan Thiran is the founder of Leaderonomics, a social enterprise dedicated to leadership development across Asia. Before that, he held senior leadership roles at GE, including regional and global positions in HR. His experience spans more than two decades across industries and geographies, giving him a unique vantage point on leadership, people, and transformation. In his keynote delivered in Penang, Roshan took the audience on a journey, not just through the evolution of HR, but through its identity crisis and its rebirth. He started by sharing how he stumbled into HR after leading GE’s aviation business and reaching burnout. A sabbatical led to a conversation with GE’s global CHRO, which sparked a challenge: “Go fix HR.” And with that, Roshan entered the space not as a traditional insider, but as a reformer.
From Admin to Analytics
Roshan’s talk mapped the phases of HR from an administrative function, to a center of expertise, to strategy, and now into analytics. He argued that HR must follow the path marketing already took: morphing from creative to data-driven, from messaging to insight. That shift, he believes, is non-negotiable. AI isn’t just another tool, it’s an inflection point. It will redefine the workplace, career paths, and what it means to be “experienced.” Where experience used to signal credibility, it now risks becoming a trap of outdated paradigms. The true value, Roshan says, lies in understanding and insight. “We need to know our people better than they know themselves.”
Complexity, Chaos, and the Need for Structure
The transformation of HR mirrors the broader evolution of work: from simple, to complicated, to complex, and now chaotic. Technology, gig work, and shifting employee values have fractured traditional company structures. Employees sell output, not time. Teams are networks, not hierarchies. The CEO no longer holds all the answers, information is decentralized. And then there’s the duality HR is expected to master: standardize and personalize, be strategic yet operational, care deeply and hit KPIs ruthlessly. HR leaders today are told to “push well-being” while “smashing the numbers.” Sounds impossible? Maybe. But Roshan believes tech makes it doable, if HR embraces it fully.
The Emergence of Employee Intelligence
At the heart of Roshan’s message is the idea that HR should transform into an “employee intelligence function.” Just like marketing now uses customer data to anticipate needs and shape behavior, HR should use workforce data to predict attrition, personalize growth journeys, and preempt performance risks. This isn’t a fantasy. Roshan shared how predictive tools already alerted him months in advance that one of his team members was going to resign, insight that led to a pivotal retention conversation. This kind of predictive insight, he argues, must become normal.
The Four Areas of Intelligence HR Must Master
Roshan outlined four intelligence zones that HR must develop:
1. Operational Intelligence – Automate everything repetitive.
2. Employee Experience Intelligence – Design moments that matter.
3. Business Model Intelligence – Reimagine team structure, reporting lines, and gig integration.
4. Service Intelligence – Integrate AI agents and automate internal support.
He emphasized the rise of agents, specialist AI co-workers that don’t sleep, don’t need pay, and collaborate with humans. HR will need to manage both. And in some forward-thinking orgs, HR and IT are merging, except in Malaysia, he hopes, where HR will take the lead.
Closing Advice for 2026
Roshan wrapped with four simple imperatives:
1. Immerse in technology and agents.
2. Build and capture employee insights.
3. Use those insights to automate personalized experiences.
4. Step up and lead the organization
Whether humorous or hard-hitting, Roshan’s message was clear: HR’s soft days are over. The future belongs to those who can standardize and personalize. Who can measure, anticipate, and act. And above all, who are ready to lead the way. If you're ready to shift from a support function to a strategic driver like Roshan envisioned, brioHR helps you get there. With solutions that let you understand, engage, and empower your workforce at scale. From personalized experiences to actionable insights, brioHR is built for the future-ready HR leader
Want to See It in Action?
To learn more about how brioHR can transform your HR processes, check out BrioHR’s website or request a demo.
