JLL's HR leaders, Megan Kleinick and Jane Curran, are strategically integrating AI to enhance employee experience and efficiency, emphasizing strong processes and data quality. They use AI-driven recruitment to manage high applicant volumes and are leaning into generative AI tools and personalized AI agents for various HR functions.
Julie Colwell
Principal Strategist
Workday
In the sprawling global landscape of real estate, where JLL manages more than 100,000 employees across 80+ countries, its human resources team serves as the crucial backbone to enabling the employee experience. Within this complex operation, an AI transformation is underway, orchestrated by HR leaders Megan Kleinick, head of HR technology and Jane Curran, head of HR operations. Their work offers compelling insight into the strategic integration of artificial intelligence, framed not as a sudden leap, but as a continuous evolution anchored in fundamental principles and a grounded understanding of human behavior.
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"Robust processes lead to better data and that leads to really good AI."
Jane Curran
Head of HR Operations, JLL
At the heart of their approach is a shared goal to establish strong processes that set the stage for successful technology rollouts. "Robust processes lead to better data and that leads to really good AI," says Jane Curran. Even the most advanced AI tools are only as effective as the data that feeds them. For JLL, HR's role extends beyond administrative tasks. It’s about enhancing the employee experience, ensuring efficiency, and delivering accurate information with every interaction. "We want to make sure that when people come with questions, they get their right answer the first time," Jane notes, "Now our focus is doing that through technology."
Megan Kleinick, a seven-year veteran at JLL with a background in deploying HCM systems, brings the technological acumen to this partnership. She oversaw the development of JLL's internal capabilities for their global system and now manages a portfolio of over 30 HR technologies. The synergy between her team, focused on building optimal technology, and Jane's, championing its adoption and enablement, is a cornerstone of their strategy.
"We meld into one in terms of delivering on and thinking holistically through the product and people processes," Kleinick explains. This collaborative spirit is vital as JLL seeks to scale efficiently. As Curran adds, "Our growth in the future should come from operational excellence rather than constantly thinking we need additional headcount." This underpins their push for leaders to actively leverage existing technology. "We have top right quadrant technology. So we need our leaders to be asking, ‘How did you use AI today? Encourage dialogue and idea sharing to inspire the team to work different and leverage the technology we have to get the work done.”
"We need our leaders to be asking, ‘How did you use AI today? What did you do to take advantage of the technology that you have?."
Megan Kleinick
Director, Global HR, JLL
JLL’s journey into AI in HR predates the recent explosion of AI into mainstream discourse. The company has been investing in AI since 2019 and was an early adopter of generative AI. In 2024 the firm launched JLL Falcon, its foundational AI platform that integrates vast proprietary data with cutting-edge AI models to power the smartest, most accurate applications and agents for business and Commercial Real Estate leaders.
Their first significant foray into innovative, forward-thinking AI-informed hiring began with HiredScore. This adoption was driven by a tangible challenge in India: an overwhelming influx of job applicants, making it impossible for recruiters to get through the hiring process quickly. In 2021, JLL rolled out HiredScore in India, using its Spotlight feature for candidate shortlisting and Fetch for candidate rediscovery—a mechanism to reconnect with applicants already in their system who had previously expressed interest in JLL.
The initial deployment, involving approximately 20 recruiters, ran for about a year before gradually rolling out to other global regions. The broader expansion saw recruiters embrace the tool with positive feedback, building momentum for a global rollout in 2022.
Introducing new technologies on this scale necessitates meticulous change management, a point both Curran and Kleinick emphasize. Curran identifies "change speed and scale" as critical considerations. While senior leaders might anticipate immediate productivity from AI, she cautions that real scale is going to take more time. A pivotal aspect involves shifting ingrained work habits.
"Operational excellence is an engine of growth. We use top-tier technology to improve workflows and ultimately transform the employee experience."
Jane Curran
Head of HR Operations, JLL
"People need to change their behaviors and work differently to use AI," Curran emphasizes. This counters the misconception that AI is a substitute for its human staff. As she puts it, "Everyone thinks it's just going to turn itself on and do the work for you. But that’s not how it works. It’s another tool we use to work better. We are the humans in the loop. It doesn’t work without us, and we have to do our part.”
For HiredScore, Curran’s team implemented ongoing communications and training, extending beyond the initial launch. They also monitored adoption levels, integrating this data into recruiter metrics, sometimes with HiredScore's support. Kleinick notes that user acceptance of evolving AI tools is high, with users expecting to try out new capabilities as they become available.
While measuring the precise enterprise-wide statistical impact of HiredScore across JLL remains challenging, user feedback is overwhelmingly positive. "Our recruiters love it. The recruiter sentiment is high, and if you were to take away a tool like this now, it would be really hard for them," Kleinick reports. HiredScore has also contributed to managing advertising spend by improving candidate rediscovery.
Another key lesson JLL learned was from the initial tendency to offer too many options to recruiters, which, counterintuitively, hindered adoption. "We thought that would make it easier to adopt," Kleinick recalls, "But I think sometimes it's better to be prescriptive and tell them exactly how to get the most out of the tools."
Looking ahead, both leaders envision a deeper HR transformation through AI. Early in 2024, JLL introduced "Ask HR," an award-winning generative AI tool that provides instant answers to HR policy questions. The goal is to deliver simple answers through automation and minimize manual interventions for routine inquiries. For recruitment, the future involves a more segmented approach, recognizing that not all types of recruitment are equal. This entails tailoring AI tools and processes for high-volume roles versus specialized senior-level positions.
The broader aspiration is to develop AI agents or assistants capable of intelligently supporting various HR functions, from recruiting to employee onboarding. Internal mobility is another area of focus, with JLL leveraging HiredScore to enable employees to flag their interest in internal roles and receive AI-generated job suggestions. Future efforts will also center on skills development, empowering employees to identify and acquire new competencies aligned with JLL’s evolving needs. Through these thoughtful and strategic initiatives, Megan Kleinick and Jane Curran are not merely implementing technology; they are actively shaping a future where JLL's HR functions operate with enhanced efficiency and human insight.
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