HRTech Interview with Jimmy Adams, President, National Account Services, ADP
Jimmy Adams, President of National Account Services at ADP joined us for a short conversation to discuss the latest trends in HRTech and the process optimizations that HR teams should focus on to be ready for an AI driven human resource management era:
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Hi Jimmy, tell us about yourself and your journey at ADP and within the HR Tech realm?
In my role as President of National Account Services at ADP, I lead a global team responsible for the products and services that support some of the world’s largest organizations in managing their people. Our goal is to provide innovative, AI-powered solutions and expert guidance that make work easier, smarter and more human-centered.
Since joining ADP in 2006, I’ve had the opportunity to lead across both technology and service organizations, which has given me a unique perspective on the challenges our clients face every day. I’ve spent time understanding client needs firsthand, helping organizations navigate workforce complexity, accelerating solution design, and bringing products to market that address an evolving business landscape.
Prior to my current role, I led ADP’s global product development organization, where we advanced our technology strategy and drove initiatives such as the rollout of GenAI developer tools. Throughout my career, I’ve been passionate about connecting product innovation with service excellence because the best technology isn’t just built well; it’s experienced well. That perspective continues to shape how I think about delivering solutions that solve real client challenges and create meaningful business outcomes.
What’s trending in HR technology today? What adoption trends and challenges have you been noticing?
One of the biggest shifts we’re seeing is the move from artificial intelligence (AI) as an assistant to AI as a more active participant in work. We started with systems that could answer questions. Now we’re moving toward agents that understand context, complete tasks and eventually identify something that needs attention and help take action.
The next phase of AI will be less about stand-alone models and more about trusted, contextual intelligence embedded in the flow of work.
There is a tremendous amount of routine work in HR and payroll, from identifying patterns and anomalies to checking information and handling follow-up, which technology can do very well. The opportunity is to give people more capacity for work that requires judgment, creativity and human connection.
We’re also seeing a shift in how organizations think about their people. AI may change the mix of tasks within a role without necessarily changing the job itself. Looking at the work rather than simply the job title helps leaders identify which responsibilities AI can augment and which continue to depend on uniquely human capabilities.
At the same time, adoption creates new challenges. AI adds another layer of complexity to an already complicated HCM environment. Organizations need to think about data quality, security, compliance, integration and governance, but also about how they prepare people to work differently.
We’re seeing AI move into everyday interactions as well. In our fiscal year 2026, 3.1 million unique active users had 12 million conversations with ADP Assist, ADP’s intelligent, chat-based HR assistant. That reflects a shift from AI being something organizations experiment with to something employees are engaging with in their normal flow of work.
Take us through some of ADP’s recent enhancements.
We’re continuing to embed intelligence into the places where HR and payroll work actually happens, rather than treating AI as a separate destination.
ADP Lyric HCM is a good example. Through our expanded relationship with AWS, cloud and AI capabilities are helping power Lyric, which brings together global HR, payroll, talent and workforce management. ADP Assist is integrated into Lyric, along with customizable workflows, real-time analytics and more personalized employee experiences. Through collaboration with AWS, ADP also implemented a generative AI-driven client onboarding process that reduced certain critical steps by greater than 50%.
We’re also expanding what ADP Assist can do. It’s moving beyond simply answering questions to helping HR and payroll professionals automate routine processes, identify and correct payroll anomalies, generate reports and work through more complex questions. ADP Assist agents are designed to think, plan and take action with human oversight.
The important distinction is the expertise behind those capabilities. Every ADP Assist agent is grounded in earned expertise AI alone can’t replicate. That includes ADP’s workforce data and decades of experience with payroll, HR processes and compliance. The goal is to make AI useful in the context of work rather than simply adding a generic AI capability to an HCM system.
We’re also focused on making the broader HCM ecosystem more connected. Through ADP Marketplace, APIs and our developer ecosystem, clients can connect ADP with the technologies and specialized solutions they already use. ADP Marketplace is a connective tissue between platforms, partners and outcomes. It gives organizations more choice while helping them avoid creating disconnected systems around their core HCM environment.
So, the common thread across these enhancements is not simply adding more AI. It’s making technology more contextual, connected and useful in the flow of work.
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As AI transforms human capital management, what optimization tips would you share for teams upskilling and adapting to new AI-based processes and AI-powered HR tech?
I would start with the work, not the technology. Leaders should look at how employees spend their time and identify which tasks are repetitive or process-driven, which AI could automate or accelerate, and which require experience, judgment, creativity or trusted relationships.
Instead of asking whether AI is going to eliminate a particular job, look at how the work within that job is changing. Once you understand that, you can have a much more productive conversation about what employees need to learn and where they can create value.
Upskilling also shouldn’t mean simply teaching people how to use an AI tool. AI literacy is important, but as technology takes on more routine work, capabilities such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration and ethical decision-making become even more valuable.
There is also a confidence component. People want to understand how their roles are changing, what skills they’ll need and how they can continue to grow. ADP Research found that workers who strongly agreed that they had the skills needed to advance their careers were five times more likely to say their job was safe. Those who felt that their employer invested in their development were 5.3 times more likely to feel secure.
Finally, organizations need to build human judgment into the process. AI can handle
patterns, anomalies and repetitive work, while people continue to handle judgment, relationships and change. In HR and payroll, that human-in-the-loop approach is essential.
What are your thoughts on the future direction of HR technology?
I think the future of HR technology is going to be less about individual applications and more about how technology works together around the needs of the business and the workforce.
We’re moving toward a world where AI is embedded in the flow of work rather than something employees have to consciously go use. Over time, it will become more natural for systems to understand context, surface what matters and help people accomplish their tasks. Though while AI is reshaping how work gets done, that doesn’t eliminate the need to manage it.
Partnerships will also be central to that evolution. Companies are modernizing their cloud infrastructure, data environments and AI capabilities at the same time. They need the flexibility to adopt new technologies without creating a collection of disconnected systems. Partnerships can bring specialized capabilities while a consistent architecture, integration approach and governance model can help keep the experience connected.
Standardizing the foundation, expanding the ecosystem and governing the experience can allow organizations to modernize without creating more fragmentation. The important thing is how well those technologies, data and capabilities work together while keeping the experience simple for the users.
And underneath all of this is trust. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in HR and workforce decisions, governance can’t be an afterthought. AI governance must be built in from the start. That means transparency, explainability and auditability are non-negotiable, along with appropriate human oversight.
Ultimately, I think the future of HR technology is about creating more capacity for people, not simply automating tasks. The technology should help people work more effectively, develop new skills and spend more time on the decisions, relationships and problems that require human judgment. As AI takes on more of the work, that human contribution is more important, not less.
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ADP has been shaping the world of work with innovation and expertise for more than 75 years. As a global leader in HR and payroll solutions, ADP continuously works to solve business challenges for their clients and their workers, from simple, easy-to-use tools for small businesses to fully integrated platforms for global enterprises, and everything in between.
Jimmy Adams, is President, National Account Services, ADP
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