New Technology and Tools: Rethinking Productivity for Sustainable Success
BY Katie Chambers September 29, 2025The modern workplace can feel more hectic and uncertain than ever, with dispersed teams and a constant wave of new AI tools. But organizations that cling to old structures miss the chance to broaden employees’ horizons while improving productivity and outcomes.“Every organization wants to do more with less, but most aren’t doing it all that well,” said moderator Rebecca Knight, contributing writer for Harvard Business Review, during a panel discussion at From Day One’s September virtual conference. Panelists discussed best productivity practices for making the most of the latest tech tools and advancements.Today’s Greatest Productivity Roadblock: Burnout“Our biggest challenge today is burnout,” said Parise Hunter, VP of HR at Medable, Inc. While the shift to work-from-home and hybrid models has in some ways offered workers personal freedom, it also can be a challenge to “help people balance what’s going on in their lives and work, reducing the noise and protecting people’s energy.” Occasional in-person team meetups can help but, especially for large national or international corporations, “it can be expensive getting people together.” And of course, many people don’t want to return to the office, but are forced to anyway. “It’s really affecting people’s morale, which affects productivity” said Milena Berry, co-Founder and CEO of PowerToFly. Companies are generally facing uncertainty, she says, in these turbulent political and economic times, leading to hiring stalls and fears surrounding job security. Fortunately, many organizations are less focused on having employees show up for a typical 9-to-5. “Rather, they’re looking at enhanced productivity,” said Deepa Jagarlapudi, senior director, talent acquisition at Valtech India. “They’re looking at flexible ways of working, a lot more value alignment and a lot more learning and development opportunities,” she said. Adopting New Productivity ToolsTo help reduce burnout, Berry says that AI can “automate low-value tasks [like chatbots or note-taking], augment human decision-making with data, and strategically implement tools.” All of these, when used correctly, can “accelerate results” without threatening livelihoods. “The most successful companies are not thinking about AI as a replacement of humans, but more of AI as augmenting the human touch and the human capability,” she said. Advancements in productivity tools might help, but be careful: Shipra Malhotra, director, HR technology at Alta Performance Materials, cautions that they could also be a cause of burnout as workers struggle to incorporate “a flood” of new technology into their work lives. Panelists spoke about "The New Essentials of Worker Productivity That’s Sustainable and Attainable" during the virtual panel discussion (photo by From Day One)But advancements like AI aren’t going away, so organizations need to find ways to integrate them thoughtfully. “From a talent perspective, what challenges or opportunities are you seeing in terms of helping employees adopt AI and other productivity tools without overwhelming or scaring them?” Knight asked. Education, transparency, and setting a pace for change can encourage both early adopters as well as those with more trepidation, says Hunter. Surveying team leaders about their productivity and time management roadblocks can help you brainstorm the best ways to deploy AI to tackle those issues. Adoption of AI tools within HR departments has been a little bit slower, Malhotra says, in part because “HR is highly regulated. It’s compliance heavy, and we’re seeing many of the states publishing their AI regulations, and some of them even specific to [the] HR domain.” She hopes there will be a standardized governance structure for AI, so that HR departments will feel more comfortable using it. “What would help is laying down the rules, the processes, documentation, having a context to best practices, establishing guardrails related to ethics, bias, and anonymity. Those are the things that allow people to put in their trust, and that trust then [leads] to higher adoption.” The Changing Role of Managers In many workplaces, “managers [are] playing a different role now that they’re overseeing larger, more distributed teams, and sometimes team members who are AI agents, not humans,” Knight said. Developing a culture of “shared learning” can help managers feel more supported as workplace dynamics and processes change, Jagarlapudi says. Managers need to be trained on new technologies early, Berry says, since adoption will need to come from the top down. They should be given company time to experiment and “play with” the new tools to get more familiar. Having a strategy, and a budget, will give your AI initiatives structure and direction. Begin by defining your business goals, Malhotra says, then think about how AI can complement your existing workflow. Starting small with project-based initiatives, or adding one or two AI agents, can help the transformation feel more organic.“I’ve seen a lot of companies adopt some technologies in a very sporadic, haphazard kind of innovative way, but then have their hands slapped and have to roll things back because they were done in a non-compliant way,” Berry said. “[And] you have to put a little bit of budget toward it. It’s going to cost some money. If you want to do it for free, then it won’t happen as fast as you can do it otherwise.” Rapid evolution can feel daunting to workers–but it doesn’t have to be. “I encourage everybody to take more of an entrepreneurial approach to their career. I call it being like a ‘corporate-preneur,’ helping them create career paths that are really in tune to them,” Hunter said. Encourage workers to think about what skills they need to achieve their career goals and create opportunities to learn, lead, and grow, even if they are not within the traditional scope of their role. Jagarlapudi suggests tools like Confluence, Yammer, and LinkedIn Learning as “examples of how the workforce can kind of jam together on the same topic.” AI tools can even be used, Malhotra says, for “critical skills assessment” to help workers and team leaders understand which areas require further training and exploration. As with any new initiative, the success of AI implementation needs to be measured in order to encourage leadership buy-in. The definition of “success” will change by department, whether it’s increased sales calls, reduced customer wait times, or boosted monetary profits. “But if you’re starting to introduce AI automation, and all of a sudden your growth starts increasing, well, there you go,” Berry said. “Tha’'s concrete proof that nobody will have pushback against.” Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Top Think, and several printed essay collections, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photo by Panya Mingthaisong/iStock)
The Keys to Building Future-Ready Leadership, From Potential to Power
BY Ade Akin September 26, 2025Sonic Automotive, a major U.S. retailer with over 150 car dealerships, recognized it had a tremendous problem a decade ago. The traditional car-buying experience was fraught with pain points for consumers, negatively impacting sales. The organization decided to tackle the problem head-on and ran a customer focus group to understand what part of the sales process needed to be changed. Their findings were clear: the company couldn’t keep hiring the same type of sales reps they’d always targeted.“We knew we couldn’t hire the same type of people we'd been hiring,” Douglas Bryant, the vice president of talent management, training, and recruiting at Sonic Automotive, said.Bryant went on to describe how Sonic Automotive revolutionized its hiring practices during a From Day One webinar titled “The Keys to Building Future-Ready Leadership: From Potential to Power,” moderated by Rebecca Knight, a contributing columnist at Harvard Business Review. He was joined by Dan Miller, a solutions architect at talent intelligence firm SHL, which Sonic partnered with to transform its sales staff. The findings of Sonic Automotive’s focus group led to the launch of Echo Park, a used-vehicle retail chain built on a new customer-centric model. It also revolutionized how the organization recruited talent, moving away from gut feelings to a science-based approach that yielded highly profitable results. The Counterintuitive Path to SuccessSonic Automotive’s initial assumptions about what characteristics defined a successful salesperson were upended. Standard practice in the industry at the time was to hire based on demographic factors and previous experience, with the hiring manager’s intuition guiding the process. The company collaborated with SHL to conduct studies that defined what a “good” salesperson really looked like. They analyzed various factors like military experience, previous sales history, and college degrees. The result was startling. “Our hiring managers liked hiring through gut instinct. They think they know what good talent looks like,” Bryant said. “The silver bullet was the SHL assessment. That was the only thing that loaded and correlated to success.”Journalist Rebecca Knight moderated the session with Dan Miller of SHL and Douglas Bryant of Sonic Automotive (photo by From Day One)The surprises kept coming. When Sonic Automotive opened a call center to handle customer appointments, the assumption was that new hires should come from sales backgrounds. However, the data showed reps with sales backgrounds performed worse. “We found out there was an inverse correlation between those sales abilities and the number of appointments set,” Bryant added. “We were totally hiring the wrong folks.” Instead, multitasking and customer service skills were the true predictors of success.The Tangible Results of a Skills-Based ApproachThe impact of Sonic Automotive's move to a psychometric assessment-based hiring system was tremendous. By setting the cutoff score at the 30th percentile, Sonic’s small recruiting team was able to manage over 100,000 applications a year and present hiring managers with only the top two or three candidates. The benefits of embracing a data-driven approach were undeniable. One initial study revealed that salespeople who were in the top 70% on the assessment sold an average of five cars per month. “That may not sound like a lot, but if you extrapolate that out across 150 stores, it was $100 million net to the bottom line,” Bryant said.The benefits of the new hiring system also extended to employee engagement and retention, giving Sonic a significant advantage in an industry where turnover rates are usually around 60%. Sonic’s turnover rate plunged to as low as 20%, while employee engagement and customer service metrics are now at all-time highs across its divisions. Identifying the Skills That Actually MatterThe key to Sonic Automotive identifying the type of salespeople its customers actually wanted was focusing on enduring behavioral skills, rather than gut feelings. SHL measures 96 different behavioral skills in its assessments, which are grouped into 20 core competencies and 8 major categories.“When we think about the skills that we want to focus on in predicting long-term success, it tends to be best to focus on those skills that are more durable, such as things like collaboration or adaptability or critical thinking,” Miller said. These are more predictive than resume-based factors or self-reported skill levels.For example, a broad personality trait like extroversion is broken down into more specific categories like networking or presentation skills. “When we’re thinking about fit to a particular role, we tend to focus on those skills,” Miller added. “When we’re thinking about something like broad future potential, that’s when we focus more on those broad personality traits.”One of the most sought-after skills hiring managers look for today is learning agility, the capacity to learn from experience and apply those lessons to new situations. SHL developed a “re-skilling potential assessment” to measure this trait. “It’s designed to capture how quickly someone can learn and grow and improve in those areas,” Miller said. It helps identify individuals who can rapidly adapt and close skill gaps.Overhauling Culture and Overcoming ResistanceSonic Automotive’s transition to a new hiring system came with its share of challenges. The company had to overhaul its entire sales culture to reinforce the collaborative skills its assessments identified. “In a traditional car dealership, the salespeople are really pitted against each other,” Bryant said. The company changed pay plans, reporting structures, and incentives to reward teamwork over individual cut-throat competition.Convincing skeptical managers that it was time to change the hiring process required a data-driven approach. Sonic Automotive allowed for exceptions but tracked them meticulously. “I kept track of these exceptions, and then I’d watch our term list,” Bryant said. He would follow up with managers whenever they had to fire one of their “exception” hires, and the results spoke for themselves over time. Bryant says these managers will not hire anyone without an assessment score. The data-driven approach also helped eliminate personal bias from the hiring process, leading to a more diverse workforce. Bryant notes that recent engagement surveys show that female employees now score higher than their male counterparts, a reversal from past years. The Future: AI, Mobility, and Enduring SkillsMiller and Bryant both addressed the impact of artificial intelligence on the hiring process and skills sought. SHL is incorporating AI into its platforms and conducting research to identify who can use it best, says Miller. The study includes assessing both the technical and behavioral skills needed to leverage AI effectively. “The leaders of tomorrow are not going to be managing a solely human workforce,” Knight said. Miller agreed, emphasizing the need for skills that complement AI.The next step for Sonic Automotive is using these assessments for internal talent development and mobility. “We're starting to view the assessments and the data, using [them] more and more for development after you join Sonic,” Bryant said. SHL’s talent mobility platform allows employees to explore roles within the organization that might be a good fit, providing them with autonomy over their career paths and boosting retention.Bryant’s advice for organizations hesitant to embrace a skill-based approach to hiring is to lean on the data. Sonic Automotive’s decade-long transformation shows us that challenging long-held assumptions with concrete data creates a more efficient workforce that’s more engaged, more diverse, and more prepared for the future. Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, SHL, for sponsoring this webinar.Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photo by RealPeopleGroup/iStock)
How Companies Are Tackling Employee Financial Instability With Emergency Savings
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza September 25, 2025As of 2024, 37% of American adults say they would struggle to cover an unexpected $400 expense. Financial precariousness shows up in the workplace as stress, disengagement, and turnover. Increasingly, companies are realizing that 401(k)s aren’t enough to ensure financial stability. Workers need short-term safety nets, too. That’s why a growing number of employers are experimenting with emergency savings programs.At specialty grocer The Fresh Market, a routine employee survey revealed that financial wellness—not physical or emotional health—was workers’ top concern. What followed was a pilot program that helped employees build lasting savings habits and avoid relying on costly paycheck advances.‘We See Emergency Savings as a Foundational First Step’Every year, Paula Stop, the director of total rewards at The Fresh Market, surveys employees about what benefits they would like to see in the coming year. In 2022, she asked which of the following forms of wellness was most important: physical, financial, social, or emotional. “We were surprised,” she said during a From Day One webinar about emergency savings at work. “The top selection overall was financial wellness.”Stop investigated and found that use of the company’s earned wage access platform was high—higher than she was comfortable with. Clearly, employees were struggling with cash, and they needed a better option than regular advances on their paycheck.That’s when The Fresh Market tapped their long-time partner Commonwealth, a national nonprofit whose mission is to make access to financial security and wealth-building common and accessible. Having an emergency savings account is the first step to financial security, said Charvi Gandotra, the organization’s senior director. Without that cushion, people overly rely on paycheck advances, 401(k) loans and hardship withdrawals, and predatory loans. For some, it shows up in tax levies and wage garnishments. “Because life happens, people tap into some of those longer-term retirement solutions, and that’s what we are trying to prevent,” said Gandotra, “We’re trying to help strengthen. We see [emergency savings] as a foundational first step.”Leaders spoke about "Emergency Savings at Work: How Employers Are Tackling America's Financial Safety" in the session moderated by Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza (photo by From Day One)Stop and Gandotra decided to add SoFi to the partnership. The Fresh Market had already been working with the digital bank for its student loan refinancing program, and Sarah McLemore, the senior director and business lead at SoFi, was ready to jump in and help. Emergency savings is often a great compliment to wage access, she says. “Earned wage access can be great in terms of avoiding going into deep debt. But on the flip side, you’re not teaching people how to save and prepare for big bills. They’re just going to get money when you need it. This is a nice one-two punch.” Rolling Out Emergency SavingsThey began with a pilot in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and the Florida Panhandle, areas where earned wage access was highest. The program let employees split their direct deposit at the time of payroll, and over the course of a campaign to encourage savings, the share of paycheck contributed to the program grew from 6% to 8%. Three months later, employees had retained their gains. The habit was sticking.When The Fresh Market rolled out the program to all employees, it matched a $75 direct deposit with a $75 company contribution. The incentive structure was a huge success for the grocer. Engagement is best when communication is clear and consistent and incentives are attainable, though McLemore noted that plenty of employers launch successful programs without a company match.The type of savings program that worked for employees at The Fresh Market may not work for employees at the next company, Gandotra says. “The starting point for employers is doing research, understanding what an employee’s needs and priorities are. Let’s identify some gaps in the financial benefits program, and then let’s figure out how to fill those gaps.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, SoFi at Work, for sponsoring this webinar. Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by designer491/iStock)
Managing the Embrace of AI, From the C-Suite to the Factory Floor
BY Jessica Swenson September 22, 2025A recent WE Forum study predicts that “39% of workers’ core skills are expected to change” in the next 5 years because of AI, with 92 million jobs expected to disappear and 170 million new ones created. While he doesn’t believe that AI itself will replace people in HR, Alessandro Prieto, says that AI will enhance HR, and there is a real risk of being replaced by professionals who effectively adopt AI tools and practices. “In fact, we are on it right now, but I don’t see replacements. I see enhancements, and that’s why we need to catch up really fast,” said Prieto, the managing director of HR for global operations, technology, and HR for the Americas at Analog Devices. Prieto spoke on the matter during a fireside chat at From Day One’s September virtual conference.With productivity gains caused by AI’s automation of routine tasks, interviewer Nicole Smith, editorial audience director for Harvard Business Review, asked “what will people do with this newfound time?” Prieto’s team will use it to focus on creativity and innovation, continuous improvement, and employee engagement initiatives, embracing a mindset shift from reactive problem-solving to forward-thinking, proactive strategic leadership.Helping managers learn to think strategically about using the extra time can be a challenge, but with AI freeing up capacity, leaders will have more time to just think. “It’s not just for giving more tasks. It’s really for ‘how can we really make things more productive and more effective through the tools that we are implementing across the organization?’” he said. Prieto estimates that with the company’s current roadmap, he’ll have 15-20% more time for reflection, innovation, creativity, employee engagement, and AI tool enhancements. Alessandro Prieto of Analog Devices spoke with journalist Nicole Smith of Harvard Business Review (photo by From Day One)As an early adopter of AI, Prieto’s personal experiences inform the development of workplace strategies, policies, and trainings. By digging into the technology in a low-stakes way, calendar management or recipe searches, for example, he learns about both its potential and its limitations.When it’s time to integrate AI into the organization, however, Prieto emphasizes the importance of reflection, structure, and collaborative planning. “One thing I really overemphasize is ‘start with the end in mind,’” he said. “If you’re bringing AI to your organization, what do you need it for? What are the big gaps that [you] have?” Once you have identified the problem to be solved, he says, build a strategy, involve the appropriate stakeholders, and create a roadmap with associated policy and training milestones.A clear problem statement and measurable goals help companies to evaluate the impact and efficiency gains that AI brings. Prieto’s HR team has used AI tools to create a skills-based approach to managing talent development and promotions. Detailed skill-mapping and predictive retention analyses that would previously have taken months or years and monopolized the time of multiple employees now take a fraction of the time. The company’s software team helped accelerate go-to-market product launches by using AI to reduce data compilation processes from months to hours.When implementing AI initiatives, he suggests balancing speed with change management to help build employee trust and minimize hasty decisions. “When you’re talking about AI implementation or adoption, it’s not just how fast you’re going but which direction you’re going, how transparent it is, and who you bring along the way for that journey,” said Prieto. Some phases of the process may take longer than others (or longer than expected), but this time investment can accelerate later phases by boosting employee engagement, or providing stronger, more comprehensive execution tools. The timeline isn’t always simple and linear, he says. “Slow [now] sometimes means faster afterwards.”He also warns against rushing implementation without proper change management. While early successes can inspire leaders to accelerate execution, it is important to adhere to a clear structure and roadmap to ensure the organization is prepared for its new tools and processes.Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer and proofreader based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at jmswensonllc.com.(Photo by imaginima/iStock)
Coaching as a Catalyst: Learning for Lasting Skill Development
BY Christopher O'Keeffe September 19, 2025As technology accelerates and workplace skills face rapid disruption, “there are still a significant number of current skills that are going to continue to become irrelevant or to be radically transformed by 2035. It’s not speculative hype,” said Jen Paterno, senior behavioral scientist at CoachHub, during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s August virtual conference. That shift isn’t just a matter of outdated knowledge. It’s a sign that new skills are rising faster than most organizations can absorb them. “It’s not that old skills die, it’s that new skills rise faster than most organizations can integrate them,” Paterno said.The stakes are high. According to the World Economic Forum, nearly 40% of workers’ core skills are expected to change by 2030. Employers are investing heavily in upskilling and reskilling programs, yet many find that learning still falls short of driving lasting change on the job.From Learning Events to Lasting ChangeToo often, organizations mistake training for transformation. “The most common mistake we see is we go from seeing learning as a process to seeing it as an event,” Paterno said. That means workers attend workshops or complete online modules, but the knowledge doesn’t stick.Jen Paterno of CoachHub led the thought leadership spotlight (photo by From Day One)Science backs that up. The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve reminds us that seventy percent of learning is forgotten within a day if not applied, and only 12% of employees say they regularly use what they learn on the job, according to research from Harvard Business Review. The result is a familiar pattern: companies spend billions on training that fails to produce sustained behavior change.What’s missing, Paterno says, is a bridge. “We aren’t facing a learning problem. We’re facing an integration problem,” she said. That’s where coaching enters the picture.Coaching, Paterno says, doesn’t simply teach skills—it helps employees embed them by unlocking the emotional drivers behind behavior change. Drawing on research from Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, she noted that humans make decisions emotionally first, even when they appear rational.Among the most powerful drivers of change are:Identity alignment: Change sticks when it reinforces a person’s self-image.Emotional relevance and urgency: What matters in the moment?Belonging: Employees shift when new behaviors have the potential to increase social standing or team cohesion.Hope and self-efficacy: Confidence from within.Emotional distress/friction: Sometimes discomfort or failure creates the urgency to change.Agency: People want to be in control of their own advancement. “Behavior change doesn’t happen in workshops,” Paterno said. “It happens in the messy, real-world moments of on-the-job application.” Coaching provides the psychological safety, accountability, and reinforcement that make those shifts sustainable.Advances in AI are making it possible to scale coaching across the workforce. CoachHub, for example, uses AI to match coaches with employees, expand coaching across time zones and languages, and provide measurable dashboards to track outcomes.AI tools, Paterno emphasized, are not a replacement for human coaches but a complement. “AI is going to allow you to touch larger populations,” she said. “It’s going to unlock coaching for your individual contributors as well.”From Theory to PracticeThe impact can be significant. Paterno cited a global manufacturing company that paired technical training with personalized coaching during a digital transformation. While the training explained the ‘what and the why,’ coaching focused on the ‘how,’ helping employees apply new skills, build confidence, and adapt to cross-functional roles.Within six months, the company reported a 25% increase in internal mobility within re-skilled roles, along with higher employee confidence and collaboration, says Paterno. Employees who initially resisted the transformation began mentoring peers and proactively contributing to agile projects.“The training gave them the ‘what and why,’” Paterno said. “The coaching gave them the ‘how’ to apply it."For organizations grappling with AI disruption and evolving skill needs, the message is clear: learning alone is not enough. Sustained change requires integration, reflection, and accountability—and that’s the role of coaching. "When coaching follows training," Paterno said, “It transforms insight into behavior and scales culture change from the inside out.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, CoachHub, for sponsoring this webinar. Chris O’Keeffe is a freelance writer with experience across industries. As the founder and creative director of OK Creative: The Language Agency, he has led strategy and storytelling for organizations like MIT, Amazon, and Cirque du Soleil, bringing their stories to life through established and emerging media.(Photo by JLco - Julia Amaral/iStock)
If AI Starts Replacing Entry-Level Jobs, How Will Future Leaders Get Started?
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza September 17, 2025As AI expands across business operations, will the jobs of young workers be among the first to go? If that happens, how will the future leaders of tomorrow enter the talent pipeline? Those are questions that have many HR leaders worried. Headlines warn that AI will damage, or already has damaged, the first rung on the corporate ladder, where young workers start their careers and occupy an important and useful position in corporate hierarchy. Though the full effects of AI on the labor market remain to be seen, some employers are already rethinking their workforce strategies.With AI revolutionizing the most fundamental parts of work, employers must decide whether to regard AI as a substitute for early-career workers or as a tool to accelerate their growth. “If you are a head of HR and you are not jumping up and down and saying, ‘Hey, this is going to impact our culture and our business and our people, and me and my team need to be a part of it,’ then you’re not doing your job,” said Dan Kaplan, managing director of the chief HR officer practice at executive search firm ZRG.Kaplan, who has more than a decade of experience advising CHROs, believes most HR leaders do understand the moment. But he says not enough attention is being paid to the early-career stage, since managerial succession is built on solid entry-level talent.How Much Is AI to Blame?The working world in 2025 is looking grim to many early-career workers, especially for those with college degrees. It’s been a year of layoffs, hiring freezes, and ominous predictions about the obsolescence of entry-level roles under the weight of AI. Salesforce eliminated 4,000 customer-support roles this year, and CEO Mark Benioff told podcaster Logan Bartlett that with AI, he simply doesn’t need as many people. Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei told Axios in May that AI could wipe out half of entry-level jobs. Yet so far, there’s little hard evidence that AI is displacing young workers en masse. “A lot of this is just related to the fact that the labor market has shifted back to a low-hiring, low-firing labor market,” said Joseph Briggs, senior economist at Goldman Sachs, on the firm’s Exchanges podcast. While it’s true that, across many sectors, college graduates are having trouble finding work, “the relationship that the anecdotes have to AI is often a little bit overstated,” he added.Briggs did note some evidence of impact in tech industries, where unemployment among young workers is slightly higher than in other sectors. A working paper from researchers at Stanford University also suggests that widespread adoption of generative AI contributed to a 13% decline in the relative employment of early-career workers in sectors like tech and customer support.Whether AI alone will trigger widespread unemployment among young people remains unclear. Still, companies in key industries are bringing in fewer entry-level hires in 2025. And with large-scale retirements looming, the question becomes: How are they filling the leadership pipeline?Avanade Leans Into Early-Career TalentAt the IT professional-services company Avanade, Paul Phillips isn’t cutting entry-level hires—he’s reaching further upstream. The company targets college sophomores and juniors for internships, training them early so that graduates arrive ready-made for full-time roles.In professional services, it’s imperative that talent is qualified as early as possible, so that their work can be chargeable to clients. Phillips, who is the company’s global head of HR, talent acquisition, and onboarding, likes to know that when he makes a hire, it’s clear right away where that person will fit in the organization. Since expanding the internship program two years ago, Avanade converts roughly 80% of its interns into full-time employees.For those young workers, “the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn is going to be key,” Phillips said. “We have a number of academies that we’ve spun up across Avanade where we bring in talent from non-traditional backgrounds and non-tech backgrounds, or we bring people working in sectors that we do see becoming commoditized in the near term and retrain them on the new set of skills.”In other sectors, where companies might have an older workforce, the retirement of baby boomers has created a knowledge drain. For process industry companies, which includes everything from metals and mining to paper and packaging, retirements are an acute problem and recruiting the next generation is a challenge. In such cases, AI can be a talent attractor, with employers positioning themselves as places where workers can use the latest tools and tech with less toil. In fact, a study by Boston Consulting Group and MIT found that when employees see the value of AI, they feel “more competent in their roles, more autonomous in their actions, and more connected to their work, colleagues, partners, and customers.”AI’s Short-Term Gain and Long-Term ImplicationsBusiness Insider reported that professional-services giant PwC is scaling back on hiring entry-level talent by nearly one-third over the next few years, citing “the rapid pace of technological change.” More broadly, BI has reported in May that AI could reshape consulting at every level of the business.If companies do rely too heavily on AI instead of young talent, “it is going to be short-term gain and massive long-term implications,” ZRG’s Kaplan warned. “If we find ourselves losing out at the entry level, it’s going to have a compounding effect, and it’s going to ultimately affect leadership pipelines.”Some employers are betting big on the opposite approach. “We’re helping a ton of clients think through AI investment and bring AI experts across their portfolio,” Kaplan said. Law, consulting, and private equity firms are doubling down on entry-level hiring. They see today’s graduates as a rare asset: digitally native, agile, and curious about technology. “Private equity tends to really see trends. They see trends and they understand.”Some leaders in the tech industry share this philosophy. Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman called replacing junior workers with AI “one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard,” arguing that this segment is the “least expensive” and “the most leaned into your AI tools.”Publicis, the global ad and PR company, launched a program to help jump-start these junior workers by building foundational skills. Called Ignite, the two-and-a-half-day kickoff program for early-career hires focuses on communication, time management, and business acumen. “We used to wait, but that’s when Ignite came to fruition. The goal is to get them to greater impact quicker,” said Nikki Slowinski, the Publicis group’s EVP of talent experience and development, at a From Day One conference.Without young workers, corporate culture will suffer. “You want that youthful excitement that typically comes from having new college grads and young professionals starting their career,” Kaplan said. “They socialize, they go out, they’re the ones who show up to the office baseball game and the office run in Central Park. If you don’t have that, it will erode your culture.”Augmentation, Not Replacement Trent Cotton, head of talent acquisition insights at iCIMS, told From Day One that while he can’t directly link fewer entry-level hires to AI, the trend does reflect a broader workforce-planning shift. Employers are asking where new hires are essential, and where AI can augment existing teams.Because AI is boosting individual productivity, some companies are consolidating roles and rethinking headcount. They’re asking whether they really need as many full-time employees, focusing instead on where those roles add the most value.Cotton believes the future is in augmentation, not replacement. AI is going to supercharge the young worker, he says. It normally takes 90 days to ramp up a new employee, but with AI, an employer can help an entry-level worker apply their education and start contributing right away. “I mean, AI can help them almost from day one.”Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Featured photo by FG Trade Latin/iStock by Getty Images)
From Budget to Breakthrough: How Logitech Is Personalizing Benefits at Scale
BY Ade Akin September 16, 2025Julia McCarrel inherited a benefits system that included more than 30 different vendors when she stepped into her role as the head of benefits for the Americas and global programs at Logitech. New hires, herself included, were inundated with a confusing array of nearly a dozen benefit cards. The solution her team settled on was relatively simple: consolidate, standardize, and give people money they can spend on the things that matter to them. McCarrel shared how she transformed Logitech’s benefits landscape alongside Kathleen Harris, a solutions consultant at Forma during a From Day One webinar. The conversation titled “From Budget to Breakthrough: How Logitech is Personalizing Benefits at Scale” unpacked why lifestyle spending accounts (LSAs) are gaining popularity across industries and offered a blueprint for other HR leaders looking to personalize benefits programs for their organizations in impactful ways. Building the Business Case for PersonalizationLogitech initially launched its wellness LSA in 2021 to support over 5,000 employees across 43 countries during the pandemic. The company also sought to address inconsistencies in its offerings, such as gym subsidies that were only available in certain countries. “LSAs are an employer-funded spending account, so you’ll hear [them called] spending account, customizable account, personal benefit. [There are] all types of ways in which people describe LSAs,” said Harris. “There are a number of words that we use interchangeably, but in the end, they’re really spending accounts that are funded by the employer and used by the employee.” LSAs allow employers to define eligibility and policy, while employees choose how to spend their stipend via a store, a card, or claims. McCarrel says the main challenge she faced was that the program was designed to be manually managed through a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) system. “In six months, [our team] had received 761 tickets from employees,” she said. This administrative drag was the key to building a business case for change. McCarrel calls the move to a dedicated LSA platform a strategic investment in talent retention, productivity, and operational efficiency. The Power of Starting NarrowJulia McCarrel, the Head of Benefits for Americas & Global Programs at Logitech spoke about partnering with Forma (company photo)Logitech started transforming its benefits program with a tight focus on physical health because that’s where the data pointed. The initial goal was equality, since employees in some countries had gym subsidies, while others had limited options, says McCarrel. “We were really trying to just provide equity across the company for that access to physical health and well-being,” she said.That commitment paid off. Logitech reported a 12% increase in benefits utilization and a 7% increase in spend after moving the program to Forma, as employees used their stipend for athletic shoes, gym memberships, smart watches, and more. McCarrel advises companies looking to personalize benefits packages to avoid eliminating all existing programs at once. “I would definitely recommend starting narrow and then building out,” she said. “The last thing you want to do is build out too much, and then you have to start taking things away.”Logitech’s global wellness LSA started with a focus on physical health, which was a direct evolution of the gym subsidies its previous benefits package offered. This clear focus made the program manageable and aligned it with specific business objectives regarding preventative care and employee health, says McCarrel. Measurable Impact on Culture and OperationsThe quantitative results were crystal clear: its well-being LSA saw 88% utilization, tuition reimbursement utilization rose 150% after moving to the Forma platform, and the adoption/surrogacy program went from zero claims to its first active users.Qualitatively speaking, Logitech’s move to personalize its benefits program was a resounding success that helped boost employee engagement and satisfaction. Its positive impact was also clear in direct employee feedback. McCarrel quotes one employee who stated, “The wellness reimbursement is super simple to use,” and that it provided them “the freedom to find the health resources that work best for me.” This feedback is a core part of the return on investment for McCarrel. “If you look at that utilization at 88%, you can’t take that away,” she said. Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Forma, for sponsoring this webinar. Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photo by RealPeopleGroup/iStock)
What Unusual Jobs Taught Me About Hiring, Retention, and the Talent You’re Overlooking
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza September 09, 2025Paddy Fanning never set out to become one of the best sheepdog trainers in the world. He was a cowboy working on a Canadian cattle ranch when he came across an old book on horsemanship that described the magical give-and-take between humans and animals. Back in Ireland, as he worked to recover from a drinking problem, he put those lessons into practice with a border collie on his father’s sheep farm, and, in the process, discovered a new sense of purpose.Twenty years later, Paddy has represented Ireland in international herding dog competitions and earned a reputation as one of the finest trainers alive. “I’m probably still a bit unemployable,” he told me, laughing. “You hear my job there, and I don’t really have one. And yet we do okay. Dogs have given me all that. I just feel glad with the way the whole deal turned out.”For the last six years, I’ve been writing about work. How people get their jobs and how they lose them, the relationship between employer and the employed, and how all of us find meaning in our work. I frequently meet people who are unhappy with their careers. But I noticed something: People who have unconventional jobs often are happy with their work.So I started searching for the people who have jobs they don’t tell you about in school, roles that don’t show up on job boards: the death doulas, sheepdog trainers, puppeteers, and Foley artists of the world. And I made a podcast about it, called How to Be Anything.Each episode tells the story of someone with an unusual job, and after interviewing 15 of them, I realized their lessons aren’t only for people whose careers take them off the beaten path. Their wisdom and experiences are relevant for anyone working today–including those in corporate America. Some of my findings: Self-Determination Is a Powerful Retention ToolFrom Day One contributing editor and journalist Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza takes you inside the world of unique and unexpected jobs in her podcastAlmost everyone I spoke with chose their job intentionally. Sometimes it took years (or decades) to find, but in the end they carved out space to do work they found meaningful. That self-determination is a powerful reason they stay.Puppetry artist Heidi Rugg built a career by weaving together all the art forms she loves, and her work became stronger once she focused on the environmental themes that deeply matter to her. On the TV Show Dimension 20, lorekeeper (kind of like a script supervisor) Skye Smith designed their own system for tracking the plot, a process they owned from start to finish. For Smith, the real satisfaction comes from being taken seriously. “If I have opinions, I get to say them and they get taken into consideration, which I think is a huge blessing, especially as someone who's young and I didn’t finish college,” Smith told me.And when veterinarian Cindy Otto worked at Ground Zero after 9/11, she saw firsthand the need for better medical care for search-and-rescue dogs. Backed by the University of Pennsylvania, she launched an entire research program to address it, and now is on the leading edge of working-dog science. When workers have the freedom to pursue ideas that matter personally to them, they’re far more likely to stick around.Everyone Needs to See the Fruits of Their LaborWork feels meaningful when you can see its impact.Forensic artist Melissa Cooper has seen her sketches lead directly to the capture of violent criminals, and she draws joy from knowing she’s giving power and a voice to survivors. Gavin Cox, a research scientist who works a mile underground searching for dark matter, described the satisfaction of spending a month designing a procedure to safely move liquified xenon gas, a high-stakes task that required precision and patience. “That’s when I feel proud of my work,” he told me.Employees don’t need a dramatic story to feel accomplished, but they do need to see that the outcomes of their contributions matter.I asked veterinarian Cindy Otto what she thinks of her career now that retirement is in sight. She told me that at a recent veterinary symposium, a presenter asked the crowd for a show of hands: Who had been affected by the Penn Vet Working Dog Center and the work they’ve done? Every single person in the room raised their hand. “I think about it a lot,” she told me. “I’ve made a difference. I’ve made an impact,” she said. Excellence Requires Freedom to FailNo one starts out as an award-winning sheepdog trainer or an award-winning Foley artist. You start as lousy, and then you become okay, and then you become good–and then you become great.That’s why the famous Jack Welch mentality of routinely cutting lowest performers (a practice now back in vogue in 2025) is so damaging. It sends a message to your employees that stumbling is a punishable offense, and eliminates the top performers of the future.Organizations that want innovation have to accept that employees will struggle, or even fail, on their way to mastery.Careers Are Built on Soft SkillsBrendon King has been climbing 500-foot cell towers for more than a decade. The hardest part isn’t fixing the electronics, it’s staying calm when the steel tower sways like a noodle in the wind. Patience, composure, and a little bit of thrill-seeking keep him safe. The technical skills, like repairing fiber optic cables and network switches, those are things he learned on the job. But the best part? “It’s a constant adventure, no matter how you look at it,” he said. “I’ve been in places where people have lived there their entire lives and they’ve never once seen the view that I get to see. It’s amazing.”Similarly, Erin Bishop spent two decades in market research before becoming a death doula. You might be surprised that running a focus group translates quite well to conducting community discussions about death and dying. “Having a career that helps me be a better person in the world—I never thought I would have that in my life,” she told me.Too often, employers seek out candidates who have direct experience, and miss out on remarkably talented people with unconventional career paths.Work Should Be EnjoyableBusiness leaders love to talk about purpose and meaning. They want employees to connect to the company mission, touting its ability to increase engagement and retention. It’s true, and there’s evidence to back it up. But purpose alone isn’t enough.The people I spoke with not only find meaning in their unconventional jobs, but enjoy them in the moment. An employee may love working at a company that saves lives with medical equipment or helps people afford homes. But if the day-to-day is tedious, they won’t stay. Meaning is important, but fun doesn’t get enough credit.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Featured photo courtesy of forensic artist Melissa Cooper)
The HR Metrics That Matter: Defining ROI in a People-First Culture
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza September 08, 2025In the rush to adopt the latest AI tools and maximize efficiency and output, employers may be overlooking the one factor that gives them a competitive edge: people.“It’s the unpredictable, varied creativity of humans that actually allows one business to leapfrog over another,” said Ken Matos, director of market insights at HR analytics platform HiBob, during a From Day One webinar. “When you’re people-first, you’re really looking for ways to get the right people to advance your business strategy most effectively.”Kenneth Matos of HiBob spoke during the webinar (company photo)A “people-first” culture, as Matos describes it, is one grounded in the belief that it’s people, not processes, not technology, that makes a business successful. That means designing the right roles for the organization, then ensuring the right people are in those roles. When employees feel well-matched, supported, and recognized, Matos says, “you get increases in creativity, novel ideas, and their ability to adapt and learn. That’s really valuable when you’re in a growth phase.”Flashpoint, a cyber threat intelligence platform, learned this firsthand. Several years ago, the company enjoyed a hiring surge. Headcount was growing at a steady clip and business was booming. But Lane McFarland, Flashpoint’s senior director of talent management, eventually hit pause. He began to question whether the pace of hiring was tracking closely enough with the company’s long-term goals.“We have a very complex and unique organization,” McFarland said. Flashpoint employs threat intelligence analysts from “three-letter” agencies like the CIA and FBI, vulnerability analysts who adopt criminal personas to draw out hackers, as well as accountants, HR partners, and other corporate staff. Each group brings its own professional culture and expectations about the working environment. “We want to make sure that we are matching both what we need and what they need,” said McFarland. “We don’t want to get to a point where it’s not a fit because it’s our fault.”So, McFarland redefined how Flashpoint approaches hiring, beginning with clear expectations. Job descriptions now outline outcome milestones for the first 30, 60, and 90 days, and checkpoints take place accordingly. Those check-ins aren’t just about evaluating employees, they’re also about ensuring the company is delivering on its side of the relationship.The company’s needs change, just as employees’ needs do–McFarland knows that. And rarely is someone so mismatched to a role that it can’t work. If a new hire lacks a requisite skill, McFarland can help them get it. If the role isn’t the right fit, he encourages pivots. Sometimes even outside the company.For some leaders, “people-first” suggests benefits packages and sentiment surveys, but Matos and McFarland encourage HR leaders to think deeper. “I always recommend HR leaders expand the scope of what they think of as well-being,” McFarland said. For him, it’s about whether employees feel fulfilled, valued, and recognized.Matos puts it this way: “What is a reasonable amount of work to give people before things break down? In an ideal world, we would say, ‘let’s measure their well-being. If their well-being goes down, that’s too much work. That’s not an ROI conversation. That’s an ethical conversation.”“Engagement is a symptom,” McFarland said. “We need to understand what’s the underlying problem, how we can impact that from an HR perspective, and whether we can expand our view of what HR leaders actually have the power to shape across the business.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, HiBob, for sponsoring this webinar. Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by courtneyk/iStock)
Skills That Stick: From Good Managers to Great Teams
BY Stephanie Reed September 05, 2025When managers check out, so do their teams. A recent Gallup’s survey found employee engagement fell to 21% in 2025, down from 23%, as manager engagement slipped from 30% to 27%.Meanwhile, effective managers create engaged teams that build skills, boost productivity, and show up more consistently. Comprehensive training programs can raise manager well-being, cutting disengagement down and driving stronger performance.During a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s August virtual conference, Priscila Bala, CEO of LifeLabs Learning shared research and tools behind turning good managers into great teams through skills-based, people-centered learning. Fostering a skill-resilient workplace means encouraging continuous skill development, focusing on practical behaviors rather than abstract theories to make learning stick, and using a skills taxonomy to provide visibility, a common language, and consistent assessment across the organization, says Bala.“First, we know that now there’s a big market shift towards prioritizing skills over degrees or tenure,” said Bala. “Whether it is to the latest software and technology or to ensuring that you can then apply all of these people skills to a next level of execution is going to be ever more critical.”This process involves identifying high-leverage skills and turning them into lasting behaviors. LifeLabs Learning, known for its leadership training, supports managers through monthly workshops where ideas and behaviors are shared, then reinforced as teams practice them together in a collaborative setting.Priscila Bala, CEO of LifeLabs Learning, led the thought leadership spotlight (company photo)Workplace learning becomes a shared experience, where managers apply their skills while teams build on that knowledge and uncover their own strengths. Bala emphasizes Tipping Point Skills, such as time management, adaptability, and conflict resolution, that drive productivity and profitability. Training programs blend theory with practice, ensuring these behaviors become second nature.“It’s one thing for me to simulate, in the peace, quiet, and safety of my private space, and it is another to actually be able to perform and support in a space that is communal and social,” Bala said. Lastly, a well-defined skills taxonomy helps managers give effective, constructive feedback by linking the skill being developed to a concrete business outcome, such as launching a new campaign or shortening sales cycles. Improving communication by avoiding vague words, and instead, using observable examples further reinforces pragmatic learning.What aids in making these in-demand skills stick is connecting to behavior and habits that prevent workers from slipping back into old practices. LifeLabs has over 100 behavioral and support tools, says Bala. It offers custom workshops, one-on-one program consulting, and a user-friendly platform that applies cognitive psychology, organizational design, and behavioral economics to practical program management.What Skills Matter, and Why? In 2024, 50% of the workforce completed training, reskilling, or upskilling as part of L&D initiatives compared to 41% in 2023. Continuous learning is in increasing demand, reports the World Economic Forum.Technical skills in AI and other newer technologies continue to rise in demand in the modern workforce. “The reality is that, while I wholeheartedly believe that it’s not necessary that AI is going to take people's jobs away, people with AI [skills and knowledge] will take people’s jobs away,” Bala said. “And I think that the ability to really use all of these tools effectively is really going to differentiate.”Soft skills like communication, teamwork, and emotional intelligence are transferable between jobs and industries, and will also continue to be in demand. Without a doubt, managers have their work cut out for them. Many feel under-resourced and uncertain about how to give constructive feedback during training, reskilling, or upskilling. Yet as Bala observes, managers are multipliers—role models who guide their teams through inevitable workplace changes. Supporting them with a communal learning environment ensures both managers and their teams are equipped to achieve business objectives.Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, LifeLabs Learning, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Stephanie Reed is a freelance news, marketing, and content writer. Much of her work features small business owners throughout diverse industries. She is passionate about promoting small, ethical, and eco-conscious businesses.(Photo by Vadym Pastukh/iStock)
From Day One to Year One: Building Cultures of Support Through Transitions in Organizations
BY Katie Chambers September 04, 2025After five months of interviews, Shveta Miglani, Ph.D., was all-in for her new dream job. She moved her entire family to a new city, where she began working for “one of the best companies in the world” and immediately felt otherwise. “Within the first two weeks, [I was] thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, what did I do? What did I sign up for?” she said during a fireside chat at From Day One’s August virtual conference. She began questioning herself, thinking she was the problem. But she later came to understand she was not alone. As an organizational designer and people manager, she has seen firsthand how companies struggle to onboard new employees, provide helpful feedback, and offer opportunities for growth. Periods of transition in organizations can test even the strongest cultures, especially for employees stepping into new roles or adapting to change. Miglani’s new book, Navigate Your Career: Strategies for Success in New Roles and Promotions, is rooted in her Ph.D. research uncovering why certain employees succeed when transitioning in an organization, while others in the same role do not. She shares how leaders can build supportive environments that help employees succeed from day one through year one and beyond.Creating a Successful Onboarding ProcessNew talent generally comes from one of two pools: recent college graduates or mid-to-senior-level professionals transitioning over from other organizations. Most leaders, Miglani says, are competent in giving new hires a general overview of company culture, but struggle when it comes to offering more personalized insight. “We miss a chance to help these folks: to say, ‘Here are some additional tips that you can work on and create your own map of success,’” she said. New employees should approach their role with a strong understanding of how to best utilize their time. Miglani realizes this is where the problem with her dream job was: “I was in an organization where I was unable to find myself, and a lot of it had to do [with the fact that] I waited for the organization to tell me, rather than taking more responsibility for my role,” she said. In contrast, when she worked at Salesforce, she was immediately given opportunities that allowed her to prioritize better. “They knew how important it is to volunteer and to create networking opportunities,” she said, so the company offered a full-day session that allowed employees to connect with each other, engage with the organization, and serve their wider community in the process. That is not to say that employees should rely on their leaders alone to provide step-by-step guidance. “In my experience at a large organization, folks would come to me as a manager and say, ‘What are the elders on the top floor thinking about planning for me?’ Well, I said, ‘They’re not. They have other issues. You really need to be an agent in your own career,’” said moderator Steve Koepp, co-founder and editor in chief at From Day One. “I think companies should remind people that it’s not being uppity to be asking about what you could do next.” This tone can be set right during the onboarding process, ultimately encouraging ambition, creating an environment of psychological safety where employees can ask questions, and reminding them that their career is ultimately what they make of it. Many organizations prioritize the first 100 days as a measure of success, wherein HR leaders feel pressured to justify their new hire. “I would caution teams, especially HR leaders, to not do that,” Miglani said. “I learned through my research [that] companies like Amazon tell their team members, new hires, or newly promoted people, ‘You have a year to prove yourself,’ which I think is amazing, because then they’re saying, ‘It’s not short-term goals. We want you here for the long term, which means investing in that one year with you is important for us.’” Giving employees time to make an impact and encouraging their growth can foster a sense of belonging. Modern employees crave engagement with company culture. “Try to create programs or opportunities where peers get a chance to welcome their new hire or their new manager,” Miglani said. This is especially important for employees in a remote or hybrid environment, for whom these opportunities might not pop up organically.Providing Actionable FeedbackGiving feedback can feel awkward for managers and intimidating for employees, but it’s essential for smooth transitions and a growth-oriented culture. Miglani encourages employees to proactively ask for feedback when it’s not offered, to avoid misdirected development. She recalls an employee who completed a six-month communication course, only to learn afterward that their manager thought they were already strong in communication and should have focused on negotiation skills instead.Shveta Miglani shared insights from her new book, Navigate Your Career during the fireside chat (photo by From Day One)Structured, accessible feedback can help curtail problems before they get out of hand. “A good example [is] a car. You wouldn’t know what’s wrong in the car if you didn’t have a dashboard, if you didn’t have an indication that your fuel is running low or you need to do this, so that helps you to take actions,” Miglani said. “Similarly, an organization can provide better tools to leaders and employees to help them gauge and align themselves to the big goal.” Creating a structure for upskilling is one way employers can help keep their teams nimble in an ever-evolving market – especially since the goal should be to retain them for internal growth. “Why? Because they have tribal knowledge. They understand the company culture. And if you go out to hire people, it’ll actually cost you the same or more in many cases. So, it’s better to hold on to the talent you have,” Miglani said.Sharing data with leaders, such as career-mapping and skills gap studies, can help encourage CEO buy-in. Employers might consider investing in AI tools that can gather and measure this data and even contribute to succession planning strategies. Part of Miglani’s research involved studying how different groups in the animal kingdom assimilate new members into their groups. The best example? Meerkats.“One of the coolest things they do is job shadowing. They have [younger meerkats] follow the older meerkats, and they see how they hunt, how they protect themselves,” Miglani said. Meerkats also take turns looking out for each other, giving each other opportunities to rest, care for babies, and grow older. This culture of care, respect, and learning can easily translate to the modern workplace. “It is a skill that we all have,” Miglani said. “We just have to dial it up a little bit and be more intentional about it.”Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Top Think, and several printed essay collections, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photo by wenich-mit/iStock)
The Untapped Power of Caregiving Benefits: Unlocking Productivity and Retention
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza September 03, 2025As the cost of childcare and eldercare increases and U.S. workforce shrinks, “it’s going to be ever more important that those who have caregiving responsibilities, who need to or wish to stay in the workforce, have the support they need,” said Phyllis Stewart Pires, the AVP of employee support programs at Stanford University.Childcare and eldercare are increasingly out of reach for many households: Not only is care often cost-prohibitive, it’s not always available. There are often long waitlists for care centers and some rural areas may have no options at all. Companies are increasingly aware that the need for childcare support was not just a circumstance of the pandemic, but a workforce issue with consequences for employee productivity, retention, and equity.Caregiving spans from the highchair to the rocking chair, says Dave Jacobs, co-CEO of caregiver support platform Homethrive. “It doesn’t discriminate based on education or socio-economic means. Even if you have the will and knowledge to be able to find the support you need, it’s becoming more expensive, and most of it is private pay,” he said during a From Day One webinar on caregiving benefits. Without support, the stress of taking care of family members encroaches on employee well-being and productivity. The result is distracted employees, or worse: preventable attrition.Caregiver dropout affects the whole talent pipeline. “As people are offered opportunities to move from, say, individual contributor to manager, manager to director, director to VP, sometimes they will decline those opportunities if they have a really stable caregiving situation and don’t want to disrupt that,” Jacobs said. Some are forced out of the workforce entirely. “It’s not only about losing opportunities, it’s also about losing the dream job or sometimes just losing everything.” Caregiving is not only a matter of health and wellness, it’s a matter of equitable opportunities for everyone,” said Arturo Arteaga, senior director of total rewards at VCA Animal Hospitals. Panelists spoke about "The Untapped Power of Caregiving Benefits: Unlocking Productivity and Retention" during the webinar (photo by From Day One)Forward-thinking employers are experimenting with a range of support. At Stanford, on-site childcare centers provide access to care and create jobs in the community, many of which were wiped out by the pandemic. Pires sees the potential for public-private partnerships to fill gaps in care. At VCA, where 80% of employees work on-site, Arteaga has introduced backup care.Some employers are building networks of vetted providers in communities where employees live, said Jacobs, offering subsidies for regular care, keeping backup care options available, and making schedules flexible when possible. At international law firm Sheppard Mullin, senior HR director Thomas Adrian is focused on gender equity, as the burden on caregiving falls primarily on women. “Because of the partnership model, we really want to maintain that gender equality between male and female,” he said, so employees are afforded as much paid time off as needed. The firm also defines caregiving broadly. “We won’t define the word family. If you live with your brother and he needs help, or his child needs help, we’re going to extend it to them. If you are concerned about someone you define as family, it’s going to come back and affect your work.”Flexibility is paramount, says Erin Fitzsimmons, the global head of talent attraction at TE Connectivity. One of her U.S.-based colleagues works with teams in China, and after putting her kids to bed, takes calls with her overseas colleagues. Fitzsimmons herself relied on the flexibility last year when she returned from parental leave. Unable to travel, she took overseas calls remotely while her team made the trip. “Being a global company, not everyone is on your typical 9-to-5. It all comes back to culture,” she said. Communication is paramount. Adrian at Sheppard Mullin makes sure caregiving benefits are automatically highlighted in any conversation about leave. Fitzsimmons created comprehensive benefits packets detailing when and how leave is available, and Arteaga stresses consistency: “Not once a year or twice a year. Constant,” he said. Some benefits don’t matter much until you need them–often right away. When that happens, employees need information close at hand. Employers investing in caregiving, from last-minute backup help to community infrastructure are not only helping their own employees, they’re protecting the future of the business.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Homethrive, for sponsoring this webinar. Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by AleksandarNakic/iStock)
Supporting Financial Wellness Beyond the 401(k): Why Financial Stress Is a Workplace Matter
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza September 02, 2025A common misconception among employers is that high earners are financially stable. But as Mamie Wheaton, director of financial planning at LearnLux, points out, that isn’t always the case. “High income doesn’t necessarily equal peace of mind. Financial stress at any income level can lead to burnout, disengagement, and even turnover,” she said.Another common misconception: thinking that offering a 401(k) checks the box on financial wellness. In reality, employees are juggling far more immediate concerns, like credit card debt, student loans, or childcare costs. “If someone can’t manage today’s financial stressors, retirement planning is often the last thing on their mind,” Wheaton said.She and her colleague Jane Lund, who leads regional sales at LearnLux, a financial well-being platform tailored to individual needs, presented a From Day One webinar on how employers can support financial wellness beyond just retirement plans. In it they discussed the very real implications of financial stress on employee retention, engagement, and productivity.Uncovering the Source of Financial StressEmployees don’t always know what kind of help they need, or how to ask for it. “People often feel shame about their financial stress, especially if it’s tied to family building, life changes, or illness,” Lund said. Those needs often show up in hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts, upticks in personal loans, or rising absenteeism. “Sometimes all three,” she said.For HR leaders, this presents a challenge. Financial struggles are seldom obvious, but the downstream effects–like absenteeism, disengagement, and attrition–are very real. As Lund put it, “You don’t really see people raising their hands saying, ‘I need help,’ so how are leaders supposed to know what to prioritize?”Even when employees do schedule a call with a financial planner, like those at LearnLux, they might open with a question about retirement planning, but the real issue could lie elsewhere. That’s when licensed, certified planners like Wheaton dig deeper, looking for the root problem, so they can help employees feel empowered to make better decisions for themselves. Sometimes a single conversation can make a difference, while others will need regular touchpoints over weeks or months to find their footing. And for everyone, these needs may change over time.Why Financial Wellness Is a Workplace MatterThe implications of financial wellbeing are closely tied to safety, productivity, and retention. One LearnLux client, a construction company, launched a zero-injury initiative and discovered through surveys and conversations that employees’ financial stress was a key factor. “We see that a lot in frontline workforces,” Lund said. And not just in blue collar workplaces, the same is true in higher-earning industries, like healthcare.Journalist Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza moderated the discussion among leaders at LearnLux (photo by From Day One)By introducing financial wellness support, the company helped employees stabilize their personal finances, which in turn supported their safety goals. Retention improved, too. Based on their annual survey, “about 79% of employees who have used LearnLux for three months or more say they’re more likely to stay at their current job,” Lund said.“If we can be there to help new employees start off on the right foot, it’s going to help with retention,” Wheaton added. “It’s also going to help reduce 401(k) loans, credit card debt, and overall stress at work.” Small changes that add up to a healthier, safer, and more resilient workforce. Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, LearnLux, for sponsoring this webinar.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by Puttachat Kumkrong/iStock)
Building Agility Through Skills-Based Learning and Development
BY Carrie Snider August 28, 2025Agility begins with a learning culture that values skills over titles. That shift requires both structure and flexibility, says Courtney White, head of HR, agricultural solutions, North America, at BASF.“We really tried to put out more resources and do more education sessions,” he said, “skills maps versus things that are hard coded to roles, because the organization is changing also at a fairly rapid rate. And so we need to have flexibility in the system.” Flexibility means meeting employees where they are and focusing on capabilities rather than rigid checklists. When someone asks, What can I do next? White reframed the conversation. “The first shift is, let’s step back and talk beyond the title. What does it represent for you?” he asked. “How do we get into the skills you currently have and those you want to build? The reality is, that’s what unlocks new career paths. That’s what supports internal mobility, and that also helps talent align to business needs,” he said during an executive panel discussion at From Day One’s August virtual conference. This skills-first mindset is especially critical as new technologies, particularly AI, reshape work faster than job descriptions can keep up. For White, success comes from creating clarity before adding tools: map existing skills, identify gaps, and align development to strategy. The goal is to build for relevance, not readiness, ensuring employees stay adaptable no matter how roles evolve.Data-Driven UpskillingFor Sukhmani Grewal, solutions architect at SHL, building organizational agility begins with evidence. “We are an organization that believes in objective assessment data. We drink our own champagne—using data to understand not only individual skills, strengths, and gaps, but also patterns across the organization,” she said. That philosophy is embedded in practice. At SHL’s annual commercial kickoff, every team member completed a sales competency and readiness assessment. The goal was not only to highlight individual growth areas, but also to reveal collective skill trends. This continuous feedback loop allows SHL to focus learning where it matters most and create targeted programs that drive results.But for Grewal, data-driven upskilling is all about empowering people. “The sweet spot is a balance where employees own their growth, while the organization supports them through structured approaches,” she said. With clear visibility into their skills and transferable capabilities, employees can explore career paths beyond traditional promotions. Lateral or “zigzag” moves often open broader opportunities.Looking ahead, SHL’s science team, which is backed by more than 300 IO psychologists, is researching the skills most critical for an AI-enabled workplace. Capabilities like critical thinking and learning agility prepare employees to adapt, ensuring organizations stay future-ready.Career Growth MindsetPreparing employees for long-term success requires more than just technical skills, according to panelist Shannon Fuller, VP of talent solutions at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma & Texas. True success requires a strategic mindset. “Fast moves bring you slow problems,” he said. “The move that you’re making now is not for the next promotion, it's for two promotions ahead.” By encouraging employees to think beyond immediate steps, Fuller believes organizations can foster energy, engagement, and a focus on long-term growth.This perspective also shapes how Blue Cross and Blue Shield approaches development. While credentials like degrees remain important, Fuller emphasizes the underlying skills acquired.Tania Rahman, the social media director at Fast Company, moderated the discussion (photo by From Day One) Eventually, “we’re going to be looking at, what did you actually learn in college? Not that you actually got the degree, but what are the skills underneath the degree that you actually learned?” To support this, his team is creating interactive career maps that outline skills gained over time and highlight multiple potential career paths.Fuller also urges embracing technology as a growth opportunity. “AI will soon be on a job description for a skill that you have to have to work,” he said. Just as employees adapted to social media and the internet, learning AI skills now increases value today and in the future.Finally, cultivating a career growth mindset means fostering psychological safety. “Encourage people to fail,” Fuller said. “Praise them that they failed and that they got back up… It’ll create a culture where people want to learn, fail, and grow.”AI Adoption & EducationWorkforce education is complicated by scale and structure. For Alexandra Bautista, SVP of employee experience at Harvard Services Group, that is certainly the case.“We have 10,000 employees. Out of the 10,000, about 9,200 are field employees,” she said. Many work in decentralized locations, such as building basements with limited internet access, requiring a multifaceted approach. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach here, some of them have to be paper trainings, others are QR codes, classroom sessions, or even considering equipment like iPads in the field. The philosophy of ‘meet them where they’re at’ is really what’s working best for us.”The same philosophy guides Harvard’s AI rollout. Leaders piloted ChatGPT before expanding its use, learning that balance is key. “This is used as a tool to make your job easier, to kick start certain things,” Bautista says. To address employee concerns, her team emphasizes education: “Employees are saying, is my job going to go away?” she said. “This is a supplemental tool, not one that will replace you.”Safety and efficacy are ensured through partnerships with L&D and IT teams, with training required before access to the platform. Looking ahead, Bautista highlighted the importance of early skill development: “They need to arrive with some of those skills,” she said. “Partnership with colleges and high schools is so important to the future of skilling and the future of the workforce.” Her approach blends realism with trust. Hire the right people, she says, and empower them. “They will create much better programs when you entrust them with that knowledge.”Building agility is critical for organizations seeking to remain competitive. Through data-driven assessments, interactive career maps, and thoughtful AI adoption, companies can prioritize relevance, adaptability, and long-term growth. Skills-based development empowers employees, unlocks career potential, supports internal mobility, and ensures the workforce is prepared not just for today, but for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.(Photo by FatCamera/iStock)
Constant Change in the Workplace: Getting It Right While Maintaining Employee Trust
BY Jessica Swenson August 27, 2025“CEOs in the U.S. are saying that they’ll likely have to reinvent how their company delivers value in the next three years,” said Kathya Acuña, head of strategy for LOCAL. The rapid advent of AI and ongoing reimagination of roles and skill sets prompts the question: “How does constant change impact us as humans?”The human brain craves stability Acuña shared during a From Day One webinar on navigating change. So, a constant sense of change decreases mental bandwidth, impacts emotions, and can make it hard to sustain focus on moving targets. Poorly sequenced change or unclear communication can cause employee overload, decision fatigue, and distrust. “If this is what’s happening at an individual level,” she said, “then the question becomes: what if we amplify it?” The potential for decision fatigue to scale company-wide gives organizations an opportunity to embrace employee-centered change practices to avoid the disruption of company culture.“The founding philosophy of LOCAL, and the thing that we preach more than anything else, is that employees are not resources. They’re customers. Really, they are the first customers for everything that you’re doing,” said Neil Bedwell, co-founder and president of LOCAL. “You have to win them over in order to succeed,” he said. LOCAL has reframed the concept of marketing into a change management tool that they call change marketing, which is used to drive employee engagement and help sustain internal change. With an innovative three-step process—insight, story, craft—the company created a culture of change readiness and accelerated action. During the insight phase, Acuña says, put your target audience at the center by gathering insights to understand their problem and associated perceptions. Next, she says, look at the story of how people will experience the change. Rather than just letting the change happen to them, offer opportunities for them to co-create with you and have a sense of agency. The final phase, craft, “is really about how do you [take the change] to people the same way you would [take a product] to market?” Create attention-getting experience content that drives engagement and adoption. Leaders from LOCAL spoke on the topic "Constant Change in the Workplace: Getting It Right While Maintaining Employee Trust" during the webinar (photo by From Day One)To demonstrate the impact of this process, Bedwell shared the story of a client that rolled a new training program out to its large employee population. Employees were already overloaded and the organization’s culture did not value the practice of learning new capabilities. So by repositioning the program from mandated learning to a career development opportunity, and breaking the content into manageable app-based modules with personal pacing and custom pathways, he said that the completed initiative was mentioned in the company’s annual report and “called out by the CEO as a standout initiative for the year, as something the company should do more of.”Another learning and development client found that only 44% of people managers have actually received any management training and opted to reflect on their company’s investment in leadership training. In partnership with LOCAL, they reviewed employee engagement surveys to understand the performance and support level of their management team. Through a series of focus groups and interviews with people leaders, Acuña says, the team learned that a lot of these leaders had been promoted due to their success as individual contributors, but not necessarily their leadership skills. Working with LOCAL, the company reviewed the team structure and established clear behaviors to define leadership within the organization and used immersive training techniques to distribute the information to people leaders. After one year, she said, the next employee engagement survey showed a 12% increase in leadership support, exceeding the enterprise-wide benchmark of 3%.To support companies seeking their own cultures of change readiness, Bedwell and Acuña offered ideas to incorporate change marketing concepts into established processes. In addition to the key elements of the insight, story, and craft phases, listen to employees to understand what they need and identify points of friction to ensure they are addressed. Keep change marketing communications simple and memorable, meeting your audience where they are and with respect.“Find your promoters.” Bedwell said. “Inside your business, there will be people who are already advocating for what you do. Find them and empower them. They’re a change network for you.” Once people are engaged, says Acuña, guide them through their next steps with clear calls to action.Acknowledging that consensus decision-making can overcomplicate change messaging, she suggested that cross-functional teams align early on the program’s objective and shared criteria. This helps reduce confusion across employee populations and improves the likelihood of success.Bedwell agreed, stating “Everyone should get the red pen out on the brief for the work, and then someone who understands the audience should write the communications. A brief allows all of the input to be gathered into a format that someone with objectivity can turn into communication that meets the audience’s need.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, LOCAL, for sponsoring this webinar. Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer and proofreader based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at jmswensonllc.com.(Photo by Umnat Seebuaphan/iStock)
How GE HealthCare Built a Multigenerational Learning Strategy From the Ground Up
BY Ade Akin August 22, 2025When a corporate giant spins off a division, the new entity doesn’t just inherit legacy systems; it inherits a multigenerational workforce with vastly different learning needs. Gisele Fox, the chief learning officer at the newly independent GE HealthCare, welcomed the challenge. It was an opportunity to build a modern, agile learning culture from scratch.“When you move out of your parents' house, you have to all of a sudden pay for your own phone and your own mortgage,” Fox said, describing the 2023 spin-off from General Electric. “That is how the organization had to see this whole change,” she said during a fireside chat at From Day One’s August virtual conference. Interviewed by Kim Quillen, business editor at the Chicago Tribune, Fox explored how to design training programs that resonate with everyone from Baby Boomers to Gen Z, across 183 countries.The move pushed her team to rebuild GE HealthCare’s learning infrastructure, shifting from outdated methods to a hybrid approach tailored to a five-generation, global workforce.Building a Learning Culture for Every GenerationThe old learning playbook GE HealthCare inherited from GE was to funnel employees into multi-day, in-person classroom sessions. The pandemic shattered that model, forcing a rapid shift to 100% virtual training. However, Fox’s team quickly realized that a purely virtual approach was also insufficient. The solution they found was not choosing one over the other, but instead embracing a flexible hybrid model, “We didn’t find that one way or another is the best way,” she said. The key was recognizing that people learn differently. Some are hands-on, some need time to process information, and others are note-takers. An effective program must cater to the individual, not just their generation.Gisele Fox of GE HealthCare spoke with Kim Quillen of the Chicago Tribune during the session about "The Multigenerational Approach to Learning in Today’s Workplace" (photo by From Day One)To meet these varied needs, Fox’s team designed a multi-stage learning journey. It starts with pre-training online modules that allow self-starters to absorb foundational knowledge on their own time. A live virtual or in-person session for deeper dives follows this. Afterward, learners can access frequently asked questions and talk to experts. GE HealthCare’s new learning model was developed with the understanding that bombarding new hires with information they won’t use for months isn’t optimal for learning. “If you provide too much training too early in the process, it can be overwhelming,” Fox said. Instead, GE HealthCare focuses on “just-in-time” learning, providing a resource library that employees can access the moment they need to apply a new skill.This concept of “just-in-time” means different things to different people. A seasoned veteran might need a quick refresher on a new product feature, while a new graduate might also need training on how to interact with clients or negotiate deals.Innovating With Micro-Learning and Listening to the BusinessStaying relevant means constantly experimenting with new formats. Fox says that the classic 100-page employee guide is obsolete for much of today’s workforce. “The generation that we see coming into the workforce will not survive by giving [them] a 100-page booklet,” she said. Instead, her team creates micro-learning videos: quick, TikTok-style presentations that grab attention and allow users to dive deeper if they’re interested.Fox’s team uses a multi-pronged approach to identify skill gaps, which includes an annual employee survey, close partnerships with business leaders, and direct feedback from frontline staff. “My team very often will call and send texts directly to the sales team, marketing teams, and just ask them, ‘What can I do for you? What can I make or share that will make your job easier?’”Ultimately, the success of any L&D program is inextricably linked to company culture. At GE HealthCare, the culture encourages non-linear career growth. Employees are supported if they want to pivot to a new role, and managers actively partner with L&D to provide the necessary training, says Fox. This creates a powerful sense of relevance and value. “People want to be relevant,” Fox said. “If you provide the opportunities for them to increase their knowledge and their skills, it will provide satisfaction to the workforce.” Fox offered some advice for learning professionals looking to implement a more generationally aware strategy: listen before you act.She recalls her experience training diverse audiences, from engineers to salespeople. Engineers require methodical, detailed presentations, while salespeople need information delivered in 30-second, visual bursts. “We are very quick as humans to apply our previous experience and utilize that going forward,” she added. “My takeaway would be, take a moment to listen to your audience. Learn what the business needs before you quickly come up with a solution.” By doing so, L&D leaders can build the agile, responsive programs that a multigenerational workforce needs by prioritizing listening over preconceived solutions. Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photo by SDI Productions/iStock)
Handling the Flood of Job Applicants: How Employers Can Escape the AI Feedback Loop
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza August 19, 2025When Alexandra Magaard applies for a job these days, the problem isn’t about having to wait long for a response. In fact, it’s usually only seconds before she’s invited to be interviewed. “You submit your application, and then immediately you get an automated text saying, ‘Are you available for a short call with a recruiter?’ It’s instantaneous.” Magaard, who has eight years of experience in public policy, is eager to get back to work. She has been applying for tech policy jobs in mid-size companies and consultancies since late 2024. But when the call comes, it’s not a recruiter on the other end: It’s an AI bot reading a script. “The AI was like, ‘How long have you worked in policy? Where are you based? Are you open for a full-time role? Are you open to remote?’” she said. Answers to all of these questions were clearly laid out in her application.Despite selectively and thoughtfully applying to roles for months, Magaard believes she’s is a casualty of the AI arms race taking place in the job market right now. With fewer open positions and more people competing for them, job seekers are using AI-powered tools to churn out applications at an unprecedented rate. Employers, in turn, are adding AI to their recruiting stacks to keep up with the avalanche of resumes that arrive by the thousands. At New York Life, recruiters receive as many as 100,000 applications for 1,400 open roles. Based on those numbers, “it’s easier to get into Harvard than it might be to get a job at New York Life,” said Glenn Padewski, the firm’s head of experienced-professional hiring and executive search, during a From Day One conference earlier this year. HR analyst Josh Bersin told From Day One a similar story via email: One of his clients posted a banking IT job at midnight and clocked more than 1,000 applications by 12:05 a.m. While not quite on the level of requests for Taylor Swift tickets when they go on sale, most employers aren’t equipped to thoughtfully consider that many applications.Job postings are proliferating as well, even though actual hiring is sluggish in many industries, because companies still want to stock their talent pipeline or test the current talent pool. Recruiters are now juggling 56% more job postings than a few years ago, said Steve Bartel, founder and CEO of recruiting platform GEM, during a From Day One webinar. Applicant numbers have tripled for many roles, yet recruiting teams aren’t growing. “In fact, 20% of our customers see thousands of applicants for a single role,” he said.“How can an employer deal with these floods,” Bersin wonders, “and what possible good is this ‘AI-war’ doing for job seekers?”‘The Process Has Become So Automated. Who Do I Follow Up With?’Layoffs, hiring slowdowns, and a fresh wave of college grads has made looking for a job feel like a slog, especially for the class of 2025. “The labor market for recent college grads in 2025 is among the most challenging in the last decade,” Jaison Abel, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, told NPR last month. Job searches are getting longer for everyone, and candidate morale is dipping.To sift through the mountain of applications, companies are leaning hard on AI: one-way video or voice interviews, skills tests, and automated chatbots, especially at the top of the hiring funnel. Some candidates appreciate the instant screenings, saying they feel it finally gives them a shot at jobs they might otherwise be overlooked for.But there’s a downside to the deluge for both employers and prospective workers. Many applications aren’t from genuinely interested candidates, and others contain fudged credentials or skills tests completed with AI. Fake and fraudulent job applications have employers arming up even more, with identity verification and deepfake detection software.For candidates, the process has become exhausting: long applications, multiple interviews, unpaid test projects, and then often radio silence from the hiring company. “The process has become so automated, that it’s like, Who do I follow up with?” said Magaard. After AI-powered screening calls with three different companies, she’s never received a human response.Why Some Recruiters Are Going Old-SchoolWhile employers add layers of friction and sophisticated screens to sift out casual (or outright fake) applicants, AI alone won’t solve the problem.“I think there’s going to be more recruiter-led sourcing, more hiring-manager-led sourcing, and more referral work, so that someone is vetting the candidate organically before you’re filling the role,” said Ken Matos, director of market insights at HR tech platform HiBob. To some degree, tech is out. Analog is in. In other words, recruiters are going old-school. Companies like Cisco and McKinsey are bringing back in-person interviews after years of defaulting to phone calls and Zooms. Recruiters are relying on word-of-mouth referrals to surface good candidates actually interested in the job. “Many hiring leaders tell me the quality of candidates has gone down, so there’s even more effort going into human sourcing and recruiting,” Bersin said. And rather than take-home projects that are easily faked, some companies are hiring top candidates for a day so they can “try out” for the job.To free up more time for human contact with top candidates, HR teams are using AI to handle the tedious tasks of recruiting, like interview scheduling and outreach. The goal: to build a smaller, higher-quality pipeline from the start. Bersin notes that in the current climate, “careful, deliberate job seekers are more or less ‘left out’ in this mess,” and employers have to work harder to make their employer brand, values, and workplace expectations clear up front. Honesty about workload, flexibility, and culture can help filter out candidates before they apply.As for the job seekers, Matos suggests that the ability to apply to hundreds of jobs in minutes may be hurting more than helping. Volume doesn’t produce results, and there’s only so much rejection one can handle. People will benefit by applying to fewer jobs, getting fewer rejections, and being more likely to get an interview, “rather than this black hole of dumping effort and energy, then just feeling unwanted.”Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, a podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo-illustration by Montri Uaroon/iStock by Getty Images)
The Culture Comeback: How A Telecom Giant Transformed Employee Connection
BY Jessica Swenson August 18, 2025With employees—and information—more widely distributed than they’ve ever been, it’s crucial for companies to support their shared identity and culture while facilitating positive engagement. Purpose-built systems may not maintain relevance across growing teams and diverse functions, and fragmented communication channels add complexity that can cause low participation rates and communication fatigue.This was the situation that prompted Canadian telecommunications firm TELUS to seek a new corporate communication ecosystem. During a From Day One webinar, leaders shared how the major telecom company Telus, facing low engagement and communication fatigue, partnered with LineZero to use Workvivo and bring its culture back to life. With rapid employee growth and numerous disparate systems, internal communication had become “much more complex than it ought to be, or than anyone thought it was. Trying to maintain that suite of services, trying to ensure that everyone had access, was really proving a big challenge,” said Jennifer Shah, VP of communications at TELUS. Once the organization identified its communication challenges and the problems it needed to solve, Shah says, TELUS developed a vision and criteria for its target experience and sought a platform partner that could meet both its current and future demands. She and her team wanted a dynamic, social-first design that could securely integrate with existing systems, deliver personalized, relevant content, and enable employee-driven connections while offering built-in flexibility to grow with the company’s evolving needs.Caroline Mikhail, a Prosci® certified change practitioner and director of advisory services at Linezero, moderated the discussion with Jennifer Shah of TELUS (photo by From Day One)“We wanted to partner with a platform that we knew was invested in continuing to be ahead of the curve,” said Shah. As TELUS continued to evaluate options and refine its criteria, Workvivo emerged as the clear solution—it met all their functional requirements and had a long-term commitment to ongoing feature development. That’s when the real work started.For a change of this magnitude, socialization is critical. “There was a big stakeholder exercise to ensure that our needs assessments were encapsulating everything and then understanding what is absolutely necessary, what is nice to have, what might be okay in the future,” she said. To ensure engagement and adoption of the new platform, her group facilitated countless pre-launch roadshow presentations tailored to demonstrate its economic value and show how the new system would address the needs and pain points for each team.Early adopters and change champions were key partners in the success of the launch. Through early access, extensive use, and continuous feedback loops, this team helped TELUS prove and refine the platform’s capabilities. By choosing people who were experts in some of the company’s most widely used existing platforms, Shah says, TELUS was able to make vital changes within the new system. “I think that really helped us, because people became much more familiar with it, and we were really open to their feedback, while also really pushing them to try it out and build things and learn how to do it for themselves.”To build anticipation for the platform’s launch and ensure day-one engagement, Shah mentioned that communications and business teams were asked to submit content plans for their individual team spaces. “We really worked rigorously to ensure that there was a ton of great content there on day one.” Their partner, LineZero, helped them prepare for the launch by providing examples, learnings, and case studies from similarly sized companies.Early post-launch events helped demonstrate that this platform offered a whole new way for TELUS to interact as a team. Immediately after its April launch, TELUS gave employees an immediate sense of ownership by hosting an on-platform naming contest. The interest and involvement generated by this contest helped “showcase the platform in a really engaging way.” During the company’s annual Days of Giving volunteer event in May, global teams were able to share their local community engagement in real-time. “To very easily show the breadth and depth of the commitment to campaigns like that, I think really showed people that this platform was a place for them,” Shah said.The homepage of TELUS’s internal platform was designed to be the starting point of an employee’s day by including links to the most commonly used systems and resources, she says. To complement this design and ensure its use as the main corporate communication hub, the company issued a clear mandate that it would no longer support or communicate via legacy channels.New hires are automatically enrolled into corporate-mandated channels and their business group-specific spaces. Beyond that, employees are given a loose framework and rule set with the flexibility and freedom to join, post, follow, and engage as they see fit. Engagement “looks different to everybody, but we give you a lot of options to structure it in a way that feels relevant and engaging for what you're looking for.”In the three months since the platform’s launch, TELUS has already achieved 52% adoption and 70% monthly active engagement rates, and over 80 employee-driven interest groups have been created, says Shah. The company needs to continue offering new and value-added content and use concentrated campaigns to attract slower adopters, she says. They are already focused on their next goal, increasing mobile adoption, and are developing new features to better tailor content to specific audience segments.For companies contemplating a communication overhaul of this size, Shah offered a few suggestions. First, identify the problem you are trying to solve and what is most important to your organization. Then get input and feedback from affected teams and do the internal work to know what is needed and what you can deliver. Be very clear about your goals and meticulously plan your roll-out, but keep it flexible. And don’t be afraid to delay a roll-out to conduct additional stakeholder engagement and ensure broader team readiness. You might be ready and know that everything is going to work, says Shah, “but it only works if everybody believes it's going to be a success and feels good about it.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, LineZero, for sponsoring this webinar. Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer and proofreader based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at jmswensonllc.com.(Photo by mesh cube/iStock)
Embracing Inclusive Care With Menopause and Midlife Health Benefits
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza August 14, 2025When menopause became a regular topic among benefits leaders it “validated the experiences of millions of women who previously suffered in silence,” said Dr. Toni Morrissey, an OB-GYN practicing at Maven Clinic.“We’re seeing more open dialogue, improved resources, and inclusive policies that recognize menopause as a workplace health issue and not just a personal one,” she said during a From Day One webinar on embracing inclusive care. It’s made a difference for so many women, but there’s still distance to travel.Dr. Morrissey laid out the ways employers can design a menopause care plan that supports women, and the business, holistically. “Menopause symptoms can significantly impact productivity, retention and morale, and supporting this phase of life shows respect for longevity and loyalty in the workforce–especially when women are at the height of their careers.”The Barriers to Menopause CareOne significant challenge is that there’s no shortage of information about menopause available online, “but the quality is a different story. We see everything from outdated advice and one-size-fits-all solutions,” Morrissey said. Not to mention miracle cures and snake oil. “I’m so glad the conversation is being held in public,” she said. “It’s time for that. But our research shows that over a third of women see menopause related ads at least a few times a week, and more than half of them say it makes them feel so overwhelmed.”Employees need evidence-based guidance delivered by board-certified providers trained specifically in menopause care, and this is where employers have a huge opportunity. A 2023 AARP survey found that 54% of women said employers need to do more to support workers experiencing menopause. In fact, 73% of employers agreed. If companies can offer clinical, board-certified care with peer-reviewed education, “that kind of support really cuts through the noise and helps employees make confident and informed decisions about their health.”The internet is full of myths and misinformation, like the notion that menopause lasts only a year, when in reality symptoms can last up to 10 years, Morrissey says. The biggest and most damaging myth, she said, is that “menopause marks the end of productivity. And in reality, many people hit their career peak during this stage of life, and this phase really deserves support and not stigma.”Where Employers Can Get Started with Menopause Care Dr. Morrissey encouraged employers to start by listening. What are your employees struggling with and where do your current benefits fall short? Build upon the needs and gaps. For instance, menopause-specific care isn’t available in some areas, and employees may need remote access to providers. Additionally, “transgender, non-binary, and intersex people experience menopause too, and they often face even greater gaps in care,” she said. Another group who often gets overlooked are those experiencing medically induced early menopause.Journalist Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza intervirwed Dr. Toni Morrissey of Maven Clinic (photo by From Day One)This is just another reason menopause care should never be siloed. It can be a meaningful component of an overall health strategy that comprises mental healthcare, reproductive care, and other midlife considerations, like caregiving benefits and career development. And because it supports high-value workers like those at the peak of their careers—consider it a retention strategy that protects institutional knowledge and leadership.To make it work, a clear, well-communicated rollout plan is essential. “It doesn’t just offer support, it sends a powerful message, which is that your health is a business priority.” Seeking Help for Menopause SymptomsBy the time Dr. Morrissey sees a patient, they may have been experiencing symptoms for years, symptoms that have gotten in the way of daily functioning in life and at work. “What’s heartbreaking is how many of them say they’re no longer able to do the very work that once brought them success and confidence,” she said. Proper care can make the difference. “The moment that always sticks with me is when people will say, ‘I feel like I got my life back.’ That’s what good care can do. It doesn’t just manage symptoms. It restores identity, energy and self-belief.”Of course, stigma around menopause stands in the way of many seeking care. ERGs can be a powerful tool for forming connections, but they should be optional, and they can’t be the only avenue for support, she said, especially where cultural norms discourage open conversation about healthcare. Employers can help normalize talk about menopause by making it a part of company-wide health education and communication. Appoint leaders as menopause champions talk about their own experience and help break down stigma. “Employees should never feel pressured to speak about their menopause experience broadly, but they should have a place that they can easily go for support, and building a supportive culture starts at the top.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Maven Clinic, for sponsoring this webinar.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by SDI Productions/iStock)
The Isolation Gap: Understanding and Addressing Male Loneliness
BY Katie Chambers August 12, 2025When Courtney White, head of HR at BASF, was growing up, he never saw his father cry. “He was the type of person who just kept going, what I would call ‘the model of strength,’” White said during a From Day One webinar on understanding and addressing male loneliness. But later in life, White had a conversation with his father that rocked his worldview.“He said, ‘I don’t want you to carry it all like I did. I want you to live differently.’ And when he said it, it kind of cracked open something in me.” White started discussing his feelings more openly, with his brother and his lifelong friends, and they started prioritizing their time spent together. “We made a decision: no more waiting, no more pretending. While the world tells men to be strong for everyone else, real strength is also knowing when to be honest with yourself, and we’ve stayed true to that since then.” As men move from the built-in social structures of youth and into adulthood, many experience a growing sense of isolation. White and a panel of experts explored the causes of the modern challenge of male loneliness and shared strategies for how men can intentionally foster friendships and community bonds across life stages. They also explored how allies, employers, and organizations can cultivate environments that encourage authentic male connection and well-being.How Loneliness Became an Epidemic In 2024, the U.S. Surgeon General declared a national loneliness and social isolation epidemic, citing that nearly 50% of Americans are feeling the effects. In our post-pandemic society dominated by an individualistic, work-from-home culture, this has a particular impact on men, who often relied on their workplace to fill their social needs. For many people, these relationships, which White calls “situational friendships,” have evaporated.A Gallup poll found that one in four U.S. men under age 35 report feeling lonely. Jay Swedlaw, LMHC, LPC, LPCC, LCMHC, and therapist at Talkspace, says this is due in part to societal norms that encourage men to tamp down their feelings. It’s also a result of our increasingly hectic personal and professional lives. “How much free time do most people have these days? How many times we find ourselves saying, ‘Oh, I have absolutely nothing to do, nothing at all. I guess I’ll hit up some friends,’” Swedlaw said. The answer: not much anymore.Panelists spoke about "The Isolation Gap: Understanding and Addressing Male Loneliness" during the webinar (photo by From Day One)Ironically, the latest innovations in communication technology may be isolating us further rather than bringing us closer together. “This especially became amplified during the pandemic, because then we were all forced to essentially have our only communication with anyone be virtual. And we got used to it,” Swedlaw said. “We’re more connected than ever,” White said, noting that cell phones and social media allow us to be in touch with everyone we know and love at all times. “But somehow, we’re still more alone. It feels like we’ve somehow replaced proximity with productivity, and it’s starting to cost us connection even more.” Especially among older generations of men, showing emotion or vulnerability can be seen as “weakness.” “But I’m human. I have feelings. That doesn’t make me a weak person; that makes you stronger–getting those things out and talked about on the table,” said Gary Levingston, chairman & CEO at Gary Levingston Productions. Baby Boomers can become vulnerable to loneliness if they cling to the notion of shoving it all down, says Levingston. “As we get older, our circles get smaller because people are passing away who we once depended on, who we could go to [with our feelings]. Thinking, ‘I can do it alone,’ that’s the last thing in the world that you want to do,” he said. Combatting Loneliness in the WorkplaceThe loneliness epidemic can impact workplaces and larger social groups. “It reverberates in organizations. And it’s not good for people’s health,” said moderator Stephen Koepp, co-founder and editor in chief at From Day One. “It involves all of us,” he said. We don’t need to be together every hour of every day, Swedlaw says, but loneliness can become a chronic problem impacting health and productivity when it stretches on for weeks or months. “That’s when loneliness causes us to isolate and withdraw. We just sort of shut down and have issues with self-worth,” Swedlaw said. That negative thought spiral can dangerously erode our mental health, leading to anxiety, depression, addiction, heart disease, and even early death. It can be challenging to identify loneliness in a corporate environment. “We think we know that loneliness looks a certain way, like sadness,” said White. “The reality is, it can look different. In the workplace, it can look like over-functioning, or it can look like silence.” When men go quiet in the workplace, it’s not always a sign of peace, he says: “It’s pain.” Culturally and socially, Levingston says, we need to “level the playing field” for men when it comes to expressing emotions. The earlier we can do this with boys, the better. “Storytelling in that regard is a powerful thing,” he said. Creating community “can bring people together with not just a structure, but a purpose,” Koepp added.Levingston encourages men “to be a light for others.” When men are open with each other, it can inspire the rest of the group to do the same. White notes that the rhythm and ritual of community organizations can create a sense of safety where men can build trust, feel vulnerable, and foster a sense of belonging. Helping Yourself, and Helping Others Workplaces can build this sense of psychological safety through ERGs and other community groups. And leaders should be mindful of setting an example for others. They can set the tone by prioritizing their relationships, and practicing work-life balance, and even occasionally sharing their feelings. While relationships are meaningful, not all are created equal. Swedlaw advises men to treat their relationships like an investment. “We should be able to quickly and easily say, ‘I am getting a return on that investment.’ I feel that I’m investing ABC and I’m getting XYZ in return, then that’s a pretty even exchange. I know this person cares about me, and I know that this person enriches my life in this way,” Swedlaw said. Because your time is precious, you should only spend it on relationships that are beneficial to you. But we can’t rely solely only on our relationships with others to lift us out of loneliness. A rich, balanced life should be grounded in self-care. “At the end of the day, no one’s going to look out for us the way that we’re going to look out for us,” Swedlaw said. “And if we want to be the best version of ourselves for friends and other people in our lives, we’ve got to make sure that we’re taking care of ourselves.” Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Talkspace, for sponsoring this webinar. Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Top Think, and several printed essay collections, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photo by Jacob Wackerhausen/iStock)