So, welcome back to Don’t Tell Me About Yourself podcast. We are at the Shaker booth at Unleash America in Las Vegas, and we are sitting with Rosie Parra. Hi Rosie. Can you tell us what role you’re in right now and the company you’re with? Yes, I am the corporate HR director for Caesars Entertainment. That’s amazing. Yeah. Yeah, here I mean we’re close to home, right? I mean very close to home. >> Like literally across the street. Is your office? That’s amazing. Yeah, you’re definitely our most local guest. I know that for sure. Um I’m curious to know um if you could start by just talking to us about what’s something in your industry that most people completely misunderstand. Something in the industry that people misunderstand. Can be a lot of things. I think it’s uh right now how the industry’s moving too fast and maybe it’s more of the lack of awareness of what’s going on. So, not necessarily to misunderstand, but to to fully capture where the industry’s moving along right now. >> Sure. Yeah. And I a lot of people don’t work um in your specific industry, right? So, like well, some of us are outsiders, and so we’re curious to know like what are the challenges that your industry is facing right now? I think we hear a lot on the news that things are not going well, but you all you have to do is walk into any of our casinos and you’ll see tons of people there. So, it’s not necessarily what the news are reflecting. Uh it’s not the way we feel. It’s not the way we sense that things are going. Um I think the difference is uh pretty much that the news sometimes can exaggerate things a little bit, but uh things are going fairly well. >> Well, that’s good that you’re seeing that things are going fairly well. I’m not sure if I would have known that on my own, so that’s pretty interesting. I was going to ask if is there anything in particular that you’re looking forward to or, you know, vendor or type of uh technology you’re looking into while you’re here at the conference? And just in that you ask and I’m sure everybody has answered AI all over and all over again. Um it has been very interesting talking to people live more cuz you can only research so much about a company or what somebody else is doing, but when you’re talking to different people and what everybody’s doing, it’s amazing how we passed the conferences that we would go to before that we would hear AI’s coming, AI’s coming. Well, AI’s already here and if you’re not on it, you’re way behind. So, it’s very interesting to have the opportunity to talk to people and and hear out what other companies are doing. >> Yeah. So, is there anything that your team, you or your team are leveraging AI for currently that’s that’s working well for you or you looking to do that? >> A lot in the works. Okay, a lot in the >> works. I’m not sure if I can Okay, no >> there’s still things that are on the works that are kind of like a surprise Okay. for everybody in the company, but a lot in the works. Are there any particular functions though? Like I mean we’ve heard a lot about We were just talking with someone about how a guardrail for them is that AI shouldn’t be making hiring decisions, right? But it can help with other aspects, like other parts of a process within HR. Is there anything in particular there that you’re eyeing up in terms of function or piece that you’re looking to make more efficient? Sure. I think the most important thing right now is to identify people is not going away. There’s a lot of fear about when you talk about AI and people thinking that it’s just a technology replacing people. Yeah. >> Not necessarily. Uh you still need people to manage the AI portion. We have a lot of areas that we’re considering how do we automate, how do we how do we we make things faster and better. Sure. Um but not necessarily getting rid of the human aspect. It’s just to enrich the human aspect. That that has been a big component. Can there be things that we can leverage AI and technology? Definitely. Um a lot in the works still. Yeah, that’s great. We were actually talking to someone earlier and he described it this way, which I think fits into what you’re saying. He said a lot of people think of AI as like the Terminator, like it’s like this thing this bot that’s replacing you, but it’s more like an exoskeleton. It’s something that you you know, helps you become better and it goes over the top, right? Yeah, people versus like being something that replaces you. So, that was feeling like similar to what you were saying. Yeah, it’s a lot of teaching people how to use it more than anything because there’s a lot of tools and a lot of um technology out there, but not everybody knows how to make the best out of it. So, it’s a lot of educational component in it. Yeah. And curious to know um I’ve heard companies talking about this too. Where does that education come from in your company? Um cuz sometimes it’s driven by the employee, sometimes it’s driven from the CEO. Like I mean, where does that innovation or that curiosity mostly come from in your company? Who’s driving it, you know? Uh I think it’s a little bit of everywhere and everyone. Uh it’s coming from the outside, it’s coming from the inside. It’s a Nolan close completely. Yes. Okay, yeah. Um are there any specific metrics or data points that you rely on the most right now in your work? There are a lot of metrics. Not not sure if I follow if you want to tell me a little bit more specifically on what aspect you’re asking. Well, um what’s one of the most like important responsibilities that that you’re focusing on right now? Is I mean, in your role? Is it Is it hiring or like what’s one of the big buckets you’re focused on right now? My role encompasses everything cuz we have uh a property skin in Las Vegas. So, we have a team that dedicated specifically for the talent acquisition. My team specifies on everything else aside from that. So, we have all the employee and labor relation side, all the corporate aspect that oversees all of the HRs around the company. So, it’s a pretty major side of things. We also have our Caesars Digital side as well. So, it it’s a lot to encompass and a lot to support, but never a dull moment. Always amazing things. A lot of metrics that we have in place like making sure that we have a healthy amount of people that stays with the company, the workforce that we’re looking into, that that’s truly engaged, that is not leaving and and always looking at turnover numbers and and where things are with the company and how can we ensure that we have the right amount of people and and engaged enough to continue working and enjoying what they do. Yeah. I love that you’re thinking about the current employees, too, cuz so often we look for who’s coming in and we those people that are currently there might not necessarily get all that attention. >> Yeah. Yeah, I’ve been with the company for 19 years. So, I want to make sure that company that people that’s joining our company can be there for long enough. My boss has been there for 20 years and and it’s been we have a a very tenure amount of team members around us. >> That’s amazing. Well, you’re coming up on a big anniversary then. 20 years is right around the corner. Yeah, it’s right around the corner. Looking forward to it. Do you get like a plaque or like a nice corporate gift, I assume? Something. >> some very nice perks. Shout out. Yeah. Yes. Um well, one question I have is what’s the number one thing that talent leaders need to know like or be thinking about in the year ahead from your perspective? Well, I think we go back to the AI. Okay. It’s the big component right now. How do we jump on board? How do we make sure that we are not hindered at any point? Any data that could be considered as confidential from employees on how you’re using that data and and how do you support the information that you’re handing out? What’s coming in? What’s going out? So, cuz you need definitely the both components to ensure. And it’s kind of the wild, wild west right now for AI, right? It’s kind of reminding me of when the internet first, you know, became There wasn’t a lot of guardrails. There wasn’t a lot of understanding of what we could do, what we shouldn’t be doing, right? And we just had to learn over time. And that’s kind of where we’re at with AI. It’s very wild, wild west, but I think it’s important companies like yours are thinking about guardrails before you’re forced into them, right? Like so, kind of with that ethical or moral compass to start, right? Cuz eventually those the things you’re referencing will be, you know, against the law, right? Yeah. Um but they’re not yet. And so, until then, what are you doing to prepare? I think that’s really, really smart. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for your time. This has been so fun. Where can people find more about you or follow along with you and your career or your journey? Thank you. I have a LinkedIn profile. I have all the information there. I try to be active on it. Have a over 20,000 followers. So, I’m a >> gosh, Rosie. I try to be active on on LinkedIn. A lot of people that you get to know that aspect and that you reach out and then you continue with some type of keeping track of each other. So, that’s definitely a great way. I didn’t know we were in company with fellow LinkedIn influencer, Alana. How exciting. >> 20,000. I mean, well deserved. And I’m excited to see what what you put up there. Absolutely. Thank you ladies for spending time with both of you. Enjoy the rest of the conference. >> Thank you. You as well.
