If your org chart is built from yesterday’s data, your workforce plan may already be wrong.
Most companies still treat the org chart, workforce planning, position management, and organizational data as static paperwork. Tom McCarty argues that approach breaks down almost immediately because organizations change every day. AI adds another layer: agents and agentic work now need to be considered alongside people when companies plan how work gets done.
In this episode… Tom explains why static org charts fail, how real-time organizational data can change workforce planning, and why HR needs to start thinking about where AI agents belong, who manages them, and what knowledge they carry.
Key Takeaways :
An org chart can become outdated within 24 hours. Tom points out that turnover and organizational changes can make a spreadsheet describing today’s structure increasingly inaccurate during a 60- or 90-day planning cycle.
Workforce planning needs live organizational data. Real-time changes allow HR to plan against what the organization actually looks like, rather than constantly rebuilding yesterday’s picture.
AI changes what an org chart represents. As agents and agentic work become part of how organizations operate, Tom argues that org charts need to account for more than human employees.
AI agents still need management. Development, onboarding, monitoring, and ongoing learning don’t disappear simply because the worker is an agent. Someone still needs ownership.
Institutional knowledge now has another home. When AI systems retain information and perform work, organizations need to understand where those agents sit and who is responsible for them.
The org chart can become a workforce-planning tool. Instead of showing only names and reporting lines, Tom describes layering in performance, critical skills, key-talent status, promotability, and other workforce insights.
This episode was recorded live at SHRM Annual 2026
The Heroes of HR podcast is a limited series sponsored by isolved.
isolved is an HCM platform that modernizes HR, benefits, and payroll across Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and more.
Learn more about isolved: https://www.isolvedhcm.com/
Guest : Tom McCarty
CEO at OrgChart, Tom McCarty focuses on turning the org chart from a static organizational picture into a live tool for workforce planning, organizational design, and understanding how work is changing with AI
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-mccarty-9709426/
The Heroes of HR Podcast is hosted by
Amy Miller, Product Evangelist at isolved
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amycmiller/
Ryan Leary, Co-founder at WRKdefined
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/
William Tincup, Co-founder at WRKdefined
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/
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