Suzanne Lucas

Position: Evil HR Lady
Organization: Independent
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Suzanne Lucas, better known as the Evil HR Lady, has spent the last 25 years in HR, working to make lives better for employees by making HR better. Suzanne’s company, Improve Your HR, focuses on improving HR for everyone, through writing, training, and speaking. In 2024, Suzanne partnered with Victoria Purser of Conquer-HR to launch HRLearns, a training company focused on real-world HR. Suzanne is a regular speaker at conferences and retreats and conducts team-building exercises that people actually look forward to. Suzanne had a wealth of experience in guiding people through complex legal scenarios and providing support and coaching to those who had lost their jobs, enabling them to strive toward success once again. With a background in judicial politics, Suzanne coaches and trains HR departments to comply with complex regulations and regularly translates legalese into Human. Suzanne jumped on the AI revolution early and has conducted research into the practical uses of AI technology and its impact on HR. Additionally, her work demonstrates the difficulty of overcoming bias within tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI interfaces. Following the launch of the Evil HR Lady Website, Suzanne’s impact multiplied exponentially as she trained thousands of individuals, delivered speeches on an international stage, and published articles in prominent outlets such as Inc Magazine and CBS News. Not only is Suzanne passionate about her profession, but she also has a delightful sense of humor. In 2019, she decided to pursue training to become an improv comedian. Honing her skills at the renowned Groundlings School, she began performing with a local ensemble, bringing laughter to diverse audiences, from local bars to academic conferences.

Session Overview

Taking Control of Your HR Life
You have two options: Let things happen to you or make things happen.
Letting things happen is easy! Just wait for others to act and follow their lead. You will
definitely end up somewhere, but probably not where you want to be.
But if you want to make things happen–even as an HR professional where you don’t have all
the power people ascribe to us. (No, Jane, I didn’t choose to give you a 2 percent raise. Talk
to finance.) Here’s how you can take control even when you feel like you can’t. This keynote address will be highly interactive, with audience participation.
Participants will learn the following:
  • What to do when you’re unhappy with a policy
  • Identifying hills to die on and battle to fight
  • Interactive skill: FIVE THINGS brainstorm
  • Interactive skill: YES, AND vs YES, BUT
  • How to take control of your career
  • Mapping out a career path
  • Decide if the tradeoffs are worth the pain
  • How to make the job better
  • How to move forward and never look back
Why AI Will Not Take Your HR Job
AI is everywhere. Almost all HR and Talent Acquisition software is “powered by HR.” And
you have announcements from companies that AI will do their recruiting and a bot will
answer all employee questions.
It’s enough to make any HR or TA person a bit nervous that AI is coming for their jobs.
It is not. Sure, you need to learn to use AI, and there will be shifts in the marketplace as
there is with any new technology. But AI will not take your HR Job.
Participants will learn the following:
  • How ChatGPT and other AI work
  • What AI technology can do
  • Shortfalls of AI technology
  • Examples of how AI ultimately fails in people management
  • Techniques for maximizing their own productivity using AI tools
  • Using prompts to get the best and most accurate answers
  • Areas where ChatGPT and other AI technology excel

Buy Tickets

Team Tickets (Minimum of 5)

R11,995

P/P – PRICE EXCL. VAT

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Individual Ticket (1 Ticket)

R13,995

P/P – PRICE EXCL. VAT

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Alternatively, please email sales@eventfulpeople.com for quote, invoice or any queries and we’ll be glad to assist.

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Find out more about Planner’s School

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Suzanne Lucas, better known as the Evil HR Lady, has spent the last 25 years in HR, working to make lives better for employees by making HR better. Suzanne’s company, Improve Your HR, focuses on improving HR for everyone, through writing, training, and speaking. In 2024, Suzanne partnered with Victoria Purser of Conquer-HR to launch HRLearns, a training company focused on real-world HR. Suzanne is a regular speaker at conferences and retreats and conducts team-building exercises that people actually look forward to. Suzanne had a wealth of experience in guiding people through complex legal scenarios and providing support and coaching to those who had lost their jobs, enabling them to strive toward success once again. With a background in judicial politics, Suzanne coaches and trains HR departments to comply with complex regulations and regularly translates legalese into Human. Suzanne jumped on the AI revolution early and has conducted research into the practical uses of AI technology and its impact on HR. Additionally, her work demonstrates the difficulty of overcoming bias within tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI interfaces. Following the launch of the Evil HR Lady Website, Suzanne’s impact multiplied exponentially as she trained thousands of individuals, delivered speeches on an international stage, and published articles in prominent outlets such as Inc Magazine and CBS News. Not only is Suzanne passionate about her profession, but she also has a delightful sense of humor. In 2019, she decided to pursue training to become an improv comedian. Honing her skills at the renowned Groundlings School, she began performing with a local ensemble, bringing laughter to diverse audiences, from local bars to academic conferences.