Should AI Agents Be Managed Like Employees? Should AI agents be managed inside the same systems and processes we use to manage people?
In this episode of The Future of Less Work, host Nirit Cohen sits down with Sarah Franklin, CEO of Lattice, to explore whether organizations now need to manage their human and AI workforce as one connected system.
The question is not whether AI is human. It isn’t. The question is whether some of the management processes we built for people now need to extend to AI agents too. If an agent is doing real work inside the organization, should it be onboarded? Given goals and permissions? Managed against outcomes? Given feedback? Evaluated on performance? And eventually removed when it no longer performs?
Nirit and Sarah explore what it means to build a system of record for the full workforce, while keeping humans and AI clearly distinct. They discuss accountability, performance, business outcomes, cost, governance, and why organizations may need a much clearer picture of who or what is doing the work before they can make good decisions about where to invest.
At the center of the conversation is a practical question leaders can no longer avoid: Can we keep managing people and AI in separate systems when they are increasingly working toward the same outcomes?
Want to dive deeper into this topic? Read Nirit’s Forbes article, ”Managing AI Agents Like Employees: 6 Processes To Rethink”, to explore these ideas further.
Guest Information:
Sarah Franklin is the CEO of Lattice, leading the company’s mission to make work meaningful. With over 25 years in technology, she has a proven track record of scaling businesses, driving innovation, and building high-performing teams.
Sarah spent more than 15 years at Salesforce in executive leadership roles, including President and Chief Marketing Officer, EVP of Platform and Trailhead, and head of developer initiatives.
Sarah holds a dual degree in chemical engineering and biochemistry from Virginia Tech.
Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahfranklin/
Chapters:
00:00 Should Humans And AI Be Managed In One System?
02:10 Why Lattice Tried To Give AI Agents Employee Records
04:00 Why AI Agents Need Accountability And Governance
08:17 Should AI Agents Have Managers, Goals And Permissions?
10:03 How Do You Onboard And Manage AI Agents At Work?
12:16 Why Companies Need To Manage The Total Workforce
14:12 How Humans And AI Work Together Inside Lattice
18:07 Should AI Be A Distinct Workforce Entity?
19:00 How Do You Measure AI Agent Performance?
22:23 How Do You Know If AI Is Delivering Business Value?
23:59 Why AI Still Needs Explicit Human Direction
25:56 Why AI Agents Should Not Be Treated As People
27:24 What Can Humans Know That AI Cannot?
29:29 How Should Leaders Manage A Human And AI Workforce?
31:20 How Can Technology Benefit People At Work?
