Your best people are burning out. Your culture initiatives are failing. And the company’s blind faith in AI
is creating more chaos, not less.
According to Andrey Zhurauleu, it's a systemic
problem. As an HR Director for tech innovators like
BotConversa and BGaming who applies a CPO's process-driven mindset, Andrey has a brutally honest take on the
real challenges facing HR in 2026. We sat down with him to understand why.
1. What are the three defining HR trends this fall? What’s fading, and what’s gaining traction?
- Mental health as the bedrock. Call it what you want, but motivation and efficiency are built on our emotional state. The fallout from geopolitics, market challenges, and every Mercury in retrograde is shattering that foundation at a speed the human psyche was never designed for. This hits everyone: leaders, managers, candidates, and clients.
- The death of long-term "win-win" strategies. This is a big, painful subject. The short version is this: simple, working transaction mechanisms are now far more valuable than complex philosophical structures like "values" or "culture." It’s an unfortunate feature of any "interesting time" because we don't rise to the occasion; we fall to the level of our training.
- A pandemic of incompetence, fueled by AI. The blind trust in AI output has already dwarfed the old faith in a Google search. Everyone is doing things "correctly" because an AI said so, but few are taking responsibility when these simple solutions prove to be utterly useless.
2. What new or intensified challenges are you facing in people operations?
I'm not going to list the symptoms everyone already knows by heart: AI fakes, generational drama, cancel culture. That’s all there. The challenges I see run much deeper, and you used the right word: "intensified." This one was always there, but we used to get away with it. I call it the "cargo cult" of HR.
It’s what happens when no one, including HR itself, has defined the meaning and value of their work. It's a hard question, so we avoid it by just running through the motions of "setting up processes" and “following "strategies." Is it any wonder the results don't meet anyone's expectations? Not employees, not leaders, not even HR. It's a huge risk for the entire profession.
3. How has AI impacted your HR processes? Where are the biggest benefits and hidden risks?
"For now, AI is your slowest, most junior intern. It demands brilliant skill in delegation and, above all, control."
AI is a fact of life now. And honestly, I welcome it, though I see all the risks. As with any new technology, the first to master it are usually the least scrupulous—for scams, forgeries, and outright crime. This ties back to why those "win-win" strategies are collapsing.
On one hand, routine work gets done at incredible speed. It's easier to process huge amounts of data or to "consult a smart person." That’s fantastic. But you must always remember, consciously, that AI is a tool. It’s a very fast, very powerful one, but still just a tool. It's not a person who understands context. It's just aggregated data within the frame you provide. You can't offload your responsibility onto it.
And that's where the trouble starts. You have to dig deeper, read between the lines. A simple linguistic analysis will miss all the irony and sarcasm in open-ended feedback. For now, AI is your slowest, most junior intern. It demands brilliant skill in delegation and, above all, control.
4. Which HR metrics are you watching? What’s your main indicator of success?
I’m a classicist: eNPS, referral program participation, engagement in surveys and events. But the peak of the pyramid is execution efficiency and the ROI on personnel costs. I still believe employees and the business can win together. That "personnel costs" line item isn't an expense, it's an investment. It’s strategically essential, and it must pay off.
5. Your dual CPO/HRD role is fascinating. How does product strategy influence HR?
To say I fully perform the CPO role is a massive overstatement. But I have immense respect for the product mindset. My guiding principle has always been that HR is, first and foremost, marketing. A business is selling itself to its employees, not just to candidates.
I always keep one question in my head: In this age of freelancers and open information, why do our employees need us—the management, the business? What value does the "superstructure" bring if the "workers" are the ones creating value? That question stumps most leaders.I believe every HR process is a product that must serve its customers: the business, candidates, and employees. The biggest mistake is to build cool features without ever talking to those customers. That's how cargo cults are born.
"The biggest mistake is to build cool features without ever talking to those customers. That's how cargo cults are born."
6. How do you identify the right people for BotConversa?
It's constantly changing, because we are constantly changing. We evolve as professionals, our work changes, new ideas meet new client needs, and the product transforms. That's why we look for people with an "internal spring", meaning that coiled potential. People who are wired for movement and curiosity. The job of our leadership is to nurture and direct that potential. And I have to admire the company’s leaders—they are young, but they are wise enough to listen, truly listen, to their people without abdicating their role. I rarely feel like the smartest guy in the room, and it's a magnificent feeling.
7. AI products require constant experimentation and the freedom to fail. How do you create a culture where people aren't afraid to take risks?
Through a culture of intentionality. Every employee knows their idea will be run through a simple framework of questions:
- How does this benefit the customer?
- The product? The company?
- How does it help us grow?
We run business simulations where employees step into the customers' shoes. This builds what you could call "customer empathy" and provides a clear direction. When your focus is that finely tuned, there's nothing to be afraid of.
8.Your product automates communications. In your opinion, which routine HR tasks will die out in the next year or two?
AI doesn't forget important details and gives thorough answers to routine questions. People find it easier to be candid with an AI, which means you get more relevant answers. The clearest example of this is onboarding.
A well-configured bot can replace a process that's broken in most companies. I'm talking about the one that's poorly designed, hasn't been updated in years, and is badly executed because no one has the time. The result is that new employees are essentially thrown in at the deep end without the information they need. Everyone suffers. And that's just the most basic example.
9. What is the main difficulty in hiring AI specialists in 2025?
"Just like in any gold rush, excitement and speed are winning out over actual results."
The core difficulty is the hype. Just like in any gold rush, excitement and speed are winning out over actual results. Trendy features are being built that don't align with real needs, and there's often not enough expertise to properly evaluate these projects. The outcome is that companies are just throwing money at the problem out of a fear of being left behind.
As for what motivates developers, I won't generalize. The industry is young, and I don't see any established trends yet. So in this climate of uncertainty, we just try to be ourselves: honest and true to our values. We're hoping to find a match based on mutual respect, not just a paycheck.
10. What functions do you feel are missing in the HR tech market?
My main pain point is the lack of flexibility and adaptability in HR products. Every company builds its own unique HR ecosystem, but customizing off-the-shelf solutions is either impossible or insanely expensive. These products aren't designed as tools for line managers, who are the real customers of HR services.
What we need is seamless integration into daily workflows, intuitive design, and tools that genuinely help develop people.
11. What is the most underrated HR competency in the AI era?
A service mindset. Very few HR professionals can walk that fine line without falling off one side or the other: either becoming the "union rep" who just wipes everyone's tears, or the "gatekeeper" bureaucrat for whom "correct" processes matter more than people or business goals.
How do you train that? On one hand, it's self-work, which is free. On the other, it's the hardest work there is. My best advice: take responsibility for someone in your life. My own training ground? A family with four kids and two cats. No technology can replace my role there—and it is a role of service. You have to learn to enjoy it.
12. By 2026, the HR teams that survive and grow will be…
- Empathetic. The world is getting more diverse, people cherish their individuality, and the industrial "cog-in-a-wheel" paradigm is failing.
- Charismatic. There must be a core Idea, a value that everyone feels and understands without needing a poster on the wall to explain it.
- Calm and constructive. Otherwise, they simply won't survive.
To my colleagues in the trenches: take care of yourselves. You are all brilliant.
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A powerful call for empathy and calm in a chaotic world. Andrey’s insights prove that in the age of AI, the most crucial HR competency remains profoundly human. Take care of yourselves. — The HarmonyHR Team