Ep 254 – The 4B Framework Every People Team Needs | Jessica Zwaan, Talentful

1. Don’t block AI use — design for it

Jessica shared a story from an event she attended last year, where someone asked how to stop employees from using AI. Their reasoning? “Clients are paying us for our ideas, not for ChatGPT’s.”

Her take: That’s the wrong way to look at it.

“It’s like saying, ‘we banned our team from reading books and listening to music because we don’t want them to get ideas from other things.’ There’s no difference.”

Rather than abstinence, companies should build frameworks that enable thoughtful, secure, and productive use. That starts with policies — and it requires org-wide and functional approaches. Give your team access. Just don’t be dumb about it.‍

2. Build vs. Buy vs. Bot vs. Borrow — use the 4B framework

Jessica breaks down how to make decisions on AI implementation using a simple but powerful lens:

• Bot: Can a tool like GPT solve this right now?
• Build: Can we create something ourselves with AI as a helper?
• Borrow: Can we use what another team has built?
• Buy: If nothing else works, do we need to purchase a tool or hire?

And this isn’t just about AI. She uses the 4Bs across her team’s workflow design — especially to challenge default thinking like, “we just need to hire someone.”

“People’s natural solution is often, ‘we need to hire someone or buy a new tool.’ But when they work through bot, build, or borrow, they usually solve the problem themselves.”

3. Building doesn’t mean you need engineers

Jessica gave a great example of how her team used Sana’s AI tools to design an interactive training module — by prompting it to turn compliance content into a quiz where tree leaves fall, glitter explodes, and correct answers bloom.

“Even if you never ship it, you learn what’s possible. Just try building. That’s how you figure out what your org is ready for.”

4. Your stack should be lean, but elastic

Jessica’s philosophy: Less is more — if your tools stretch.

Her HR team uses a combination of ChatGPT (enterprise), Sana (L&D and meetings), BrightHire (recruiting), and ODA (for Sales). But they’ve worked hard to avoid overload. The key is tool elasticity — helping people explore what each platform can do, instead of piling on more.

One favorite tactic: a team-wide “AI treasure hunt” that made learning the tools feel like a game.

“If you make exploration fun, people stop being afraid of the tech. They learn what’s possible.”

5. When to not use AI is just as important

Jessica was clear: Just because you can use AI doesn’t mean you always should.

Don’t feed it sensitive HR data. Don’t let it make decisions for you. And be careful when it comes to attribution — use it to help you work, not to outsource thinking.

“It’s not Ultron. It’s an Iron Man suit. You still need a person inside it.”

6. Want to bring AI to your team? Make it a game

If you’re leading HR or L&D and want to make AI adoption real — don’t start with a policy doc. Start with a challenge.

Ask your team to build something weird. Run a half-day workshop with no deliverables. Use it to plan a walk-and-talk work session. Jessica shared that she even has teammates who treat GPT like a daily assistant — prepping work before they get back to their desks.

“Even if you’re just playing with it for fun right now, you’re learning. And that’s the point.”

Thanks for reading. See you next time!

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