ServiceNow’s Jayney Howson on the Power of AI in Workplace Learning

Roula Amire
2025-09-19T16:11:14-04:00
Podcast
Great Place To Work

Jayney Howson, SVP of global learning and development at ServiceNow, joined the Better podcast to discuss how artificial intelligence (AI) in workplace learning can boost talent mobility, leadership, and overall growth in organizations. Traditionally, companies have focused on what employees should learn, but Jayney believes it's just as important to think about how they learn.

She compares the future of learning to Netflix, highlighting AI's ability to tailor content to individual needs:

“It does feel like a Netflix experience. It does know that I have shown a particular penchant for agentic AI, so it will serve me up those recommendations. But it also can see that for the job I'm doing right now, the proficiency level I've got on a skill is a one and it needs to be a four. So it serves me up that training, too. It really does deliver you that personalized experience.

AI-powered platforms like ServiceNow University personalize learning by analyzing user preferences, proficiency gaps, and job requirements. This means that a Gen Z salesperson in India would get different content recommendations than a mid-level product manager in Canada, for example.

Democratizing growth and mobility

ServiceNow University creates a “credentials wallet,” which allows employees to record skills and certifications they received through the platform, which you can share internally or externally on LinkedIn or social media.

These credentials not only position employees for success within their current roles but also open doors to new opportunities. She shares inspiring stories of early-career professionals who have used ServiceNow University to chart unexpected paths:

“People come in thinking they want to grow in sales and then end up in HR or product development.”

It also helps create for-all cultures: “ServiceNow University is open to our whole ecosystem and it creates that true mobility. So everyone is welcome and everyone can grow. We can lock everyone's superpowers, unleash all their potential, all of those great things that we talk about is true because of skilling.”

Creating a culture of psychological safety

Howson talks about how organizations thrive when employees feel empowered to take risks and embrace experimentation: “Create an environment where we can all fail fast and move on.”

She challenges companies to adapt to the shifting demands of an AI-driven world by creating “sandboxes” where employees can stretch themselves and try new approaches without fear. She says businesses embracing these cultural shifts will lead the way in talent transformation.

Advice for others: Talent transformation through data and storytelling

Howson says we should reframe the challenge leaders face: “This isn’t about learning and development. This is about talent transformation,” she says. “I think it's about leveling up the conversation from something that's about training to something that's about talent, and that conversation deserves a seat at the main table of any business.”

Her No. 1 tip: Use data and storytelling to make sure that you’re around that main table.

“Businesses that invest in talent and the AI transformation that needs to happen — they're the ones that are going to succeed.”