Ajay Pimpalshende, HR transformation leader at JLL Technology, shares his five principles for fostering a culture of innovation in an AI-powered workplace.
Allyson Skene
Vice President, Global Vision and Experience
Workday
As the debate over flexible work continues to dominate headlines, Australian business leaders are increasingly recognising that a company's office space is more than just an expense. For CHROs, the physical workplace has become a powerful lever for attracting and retaining talent, fostering collaboration, and driving employee engagement.
Companies are now re-engineering their property portfolios to reflect this new reality. From flexible layouts that support diverse work styles to integrating smart technologies and real-time analytics, commercial real estate is no longer a passive asset — it's an active tool for shaping the employee experience.
We can see this shift in innovative new precincts like Sydney’s Tech Central, which will feature the world’s tallest hybrid timber building, and Singapore's Punggol Digital District, the country’s first 'smart district'. While these projects are defined by their technology and design, their true value lies in how they enable human performance.
For Ajay Pimpalshende, Director of Product Management at JLL, this is the core of his philosophy. "It's not a technology-first approach. It's a people-first approach," he says. He leads JLL's HR technology and innovation initiatives using five key principles that all CHROs should heed.
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While it’s easy to get caught up in the potential of AI, JLL’s success with tools like its 'Ask HR' chatbot, powered by JLL Falcon, comes from a simple premise: putting a human lens on a technical problem.
"We always start by identifying the challenge that needs to be solved," Ajay explains. "This is a regular process where we seek input from employees, clients, and communities about the top 10 problems they're facing."
This employee-centric design thinking ensures that technology projects address real-world needs, often uncovering insights that differ from what management assumes. The result is not just higher adoption rates, but technology that genuinely improves employees’ day-to-day lives.
By hosting regular innovation forums on a quarterly basis, JLL also encourages employees to think creatively within their roles.
Innovation isn't a top-down mandate; it's a cultural muscle that must be nurtured. JLL has fostered this through its annual hackathons, which have been running for five years. These events aren’t just about solving hypothetical problems; they're fertile ground for new ideas and a way to uncover hidden talent within the organisation.
"They help us innovate internally and implement ideas in a very short space of time," Ajay says. "In fact, many of the ideas have gone on to be funded as commercially viable products that we go on to sell to customers externally."
By hosting regular innovation forums on a quarterly basis, JLL also encourages employees to think creatively within their roles. This not only unearths new business opportunities but also energises teams and strengthens relationships, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
For CFOs, the ROI on technology investments is measured in dollars. But for Ajay, there is an equally valuable, if unquantifiable, emotional return. "Sometimes an innovation isn't about the dollar value," he says. "While we always prioritise tangible business outcomes, I also like to see how our innovations bring the team together in new ways."
This focus on impact is personally rewarding. "I love making my team more impactful," he shares. "My philosophy is that if you can make a 1% improvement in someone's life, then your life is successful. It’s about being a catalyst for someone to grow."
This mindset underscores the importance of meaningful work and recognition as key motivators, which are critical for employee satisfaction and retention.
Ultimately, it’s not the technology itself that drives success, but the human capital that builds it, adapts to it, and leverages it to create value.
In a rapidly evolving market, knowing when to buy a solution versus when to build one is a critical strategic decision. The team at JLL’s HR Centre of Innovation constantly monitors emerging trends to make these judgments.
"For example, we were about to build a natural language query tool, only to learn that Workday Assistant was already capable of doing this," Ajay recounts. "Instead of wasting time building something that already exists, we focused on other innovations, like our own JLL Falcon platform."
This pragmatic approach avoids costly and redundant projects, freeing up resources to focus on high-impact, proprietary solutions that provide a genuine competitive advantage. "Our teams can then use that extra time to focus on meaningful work," Ajay says.
Ajay likens an abrupt technological overhaul to giving everyone a 'flying car' without proper training. To him, the path to successful digital transformation is a gradual process of continuous improvement and a change in mindset.
"Put value in your people, and people will bring value to your business," he states. JLL proactively addresses employee concerns about AI, offering training and toolkits to ensure teams are motivated and equipped. This investment in human capital is paramount, as people are the ultimate catalysts for adoption.
As the C-suite navigates the future of work, I believe Ajay's final point is the most salient for CHROs. He believes that people, with their capacity for emotion and empathy, are a company's greatest asset. Ultimately, it’s not the technology itself that drives success, but the human capital that builds it, adapts to it, and leverages it to create value.
If we can't predict the future, how do we prepare for it? Explore the HR trends impacting Australian workforces in 2025, and discover strategies to help you improve strategic workforce planning and adapt to whatever comes next.
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