Revolutionizing Talent Acquisition: The Human Edge in an AI-Driven Era
BY Ade Akin June 03, 2025Pat Griffin, the chief revenue officer at Randstad Digital, didn’t get the smooth search improvement he expected the first time he tested an artificial intelligence screening tool on a live candidate pool. What Griffin noticed instead was that an entry that perfectly matched every data point, like degrees, keywords, and experience, was flagged as “low fit.” For Griffin, that moment illustrated the promise and pitfalls of AI in talent acquisition, a topic he spoke about during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s NYC half-day TA conference. The real advantage lies in “unique human connection” in a world focused on integrating artificial intelligence into everything, says Griffin. While AI can help to accelerate initial resume scans; it can also miss nuanced indicators such as tone, passion, and cultural fit that highlight a candidate’s true potential. “We can deploy AI agents to identify skill gaps or run pattern matching across hundreds of profiles, but only a recruiter can read between the lines,” he said. He cemented his argument by sharing a story about a top candidate who hesitated when asked to describe a professional setback, despite having impressive credentials on paper. An AI agent would have penalized the applicant for that, but a seasoned recruiter noticed her vulnerability and resilience, qualities many organizations find valuable. That recruiter's intervention showed that the human touch is essential in the screening process. Pat Griffin the chief revenue officer at Randstad Digital | Torc led the thought leadership spotlightGriffin says the use of AI in the recruitment process doesn’t replace recruiters. Instead, it empowers them by helping them to notice trends in application flow, pinpoint diversity gaps, and forecast hiring needs. “We’re using next-gen tools to model volume and quality of candidates, predicting when talent pools will dry up,” he said. “That lets us proactively build a digital community before roles even open.”Griffin highlighted a pilot program where Randstad Digital Torc used data innovation to identify emerging roles in software security. A targeted outreach campaign was created within weeks, with a 40% increase in qualified leads. “That’s not magic,” Griffin emphasized. “It’s a recruiter armed with insights, using AI in concert with their own expertise.”Griffin says the days of blackhole application portals and ghosting candidates are long gone and that having a smooth application process that prioritizes applicant experience is vital. He cautions against overreliance on AI as chatbots handle more roles like scheduling, answering frequently asked questions, and delivering personalized coaching tips for interviews. “We’ve seen AI agents misinterpret simple questions, leading to frustration. You still need someone monitoring those conversations,” he said. Randstad Digital introduced a hybrid recruitment process to combat the limitations of artificial intelligence. AI handles routine tasks, while human recruiters step in at critical touchpoints. “If a candidate expresses uncertainty, that triggers a handoff to a human,” Griffin said. “That balance improved our satisfaction scores by 25 percent.”Griffin tackled the role of AI predictions in the hiring process, noting that while machine learning excels at sifting through data and forecasting trends, it struggles with contextual judgment. “We saw false positives in early models, candidates flagged for 'overqualification' who turned out to be perfect fits after conversation,” he said. That led to the creation of new guardrails, such as all automated disqualifications requiring human review. Companies should view technology as a recruitment tool, not a replacement for recruiters, says Griffin. He highlighted three pillars for transforming any organization’s recruitment process. Organizations can integrate AI strategically by starting with pilot projects, such as improving search results for niche roles, and then scaling the models that prove successful. At the same time, it's essential to invest in upskilling by providing recruiters with training in data literacy and the ethical use of AI, ensuring that innovation is balanced with human judgment. Finally, fostering a digital community through ongoing engagement with potential candidates via social platforms and virtual events can help nurture long-term interest and relationships.Griffin urges recruiters to remember that the recruitment process is all about connecting with the right people. “AI agents are powerful, but they aren’t human,” he said. “When we prioritize unique human connection, we future-proof our hiring models and deliver an exceptional candidate experience.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Randstad Digital Torc, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
The Din of Stress: How Benefits Leaders Can Help Workers Cope With Instability
BY Ade Akin June 02, 2025When Rachel Marling moved to New York to study photography at Pratt Institute, a career in human resources was far from her mind. However, like many others working entry-level jobs, she discovered that career detours can lead to unexpected destinations.“I joke with my colleagues that it’s the natural segue into HR,” Marling said during a fireside chat at From Day One’s NYC half-day benefits conference. The unorthodox start gave her a deep understanding of the intersecting paths of life and work.Marling joined New York Presbyterian Hospital in 2018 after spending over 13 years at a management consulting firm. Less than two years later, she dealt with the disruptions that came after Covid-19. The world has been in flux ever since, forcing businesses and workers to adapt as best they can. “And we’ve come past that hump, but I’m not sure that all of the anxiety and the agita is gone,” she said. Marling, now the VP of total rewards at New York Presbyterian Hospital, shared insights and experiences about how leaders can help navigate instability and the unknown. One way she does so is by focusing on employee well-being. From a business perspective, it’s in the employers’ interests to keep their workers motivated. This is a challenging burden to bear at a time when businesses and people face hardships like soaring prices, high rents, and instability from ever-changing government policies.Rachel Marling, VP of total rewards at New York Presbyterian Hospital, spoke with Steve Koepp, editor in chief of From Day OneHealthcare providers like New York Presbyterian need their staff to be mentally present so patients receive the highest quality of care. “Nurses are a big part of our workforce, and nursing does still skew female in particular age brackets. So, thinking about the demographics of our employee body, we have invested a lot in what I will call family-friendly benefits,” Marling said. The benefits include daycare subsidies, college coaching for older kids, and elder care services. Such programs help lighten the load of caregivers, allowing staff to focus on patient care while at work. The programs pay off by reducing adverse outcomes like absenteeism, presenteeism, and employee turnover.While it’s tempting to view additional employee benefits as unnecessary overhead that organizations can avoid, Marling has a different take. “We can’t spend money we don’t have, but investing in your workforce is the same as investing in equipment that you need,” she said. “You can’t run a business without people, and those people need to be healthy, they need to be plugged in, they need to be engaged.”Marling suggests negotiating with service providers to manage costs. “We all in our organizations are looking at market volatility and costs and saying, ‘What does this mean for us?’ Your vendors are doing that too,” she said. “So don’t be afraid when you’re going to contract, or even if your contract isn’t up. If there’s something that you want or you need, ask for it. The worst they can say is no.”Some service providers guarantee specific outcomes or returns on investment, she says. “You can, of course, hold them to those terms. So that’s something that you should absolutely ask about if you’re going down that avenue.” Vendors also offer flexibility in their pricing models. Some accept annual retainers and charge clients for every employee who uses their services, while others charge a flat fee regardless of the number of employees who use their services. Employers should invest in models that work for them and their workers.Marling also addressed how AI is changing how we interact with data. “Because of HIPAA reasons, we’re not in our claims data,” she elaborated. This is where AI comes in, keeping patients anonymous while executing pattern recognition to predict and hopefully improve patient outcomes.Healthcare organizations can use the results to shape wellness programs for individuals who may benefit from such interventions statistically. To ensure HIPAA compliance, healthcare providers also use AI-powered tools to execute patient outreach functions.Ultimately, wellness and productivity tools are most effective when used with intention. Marling urges leaders to be purposeful in how they support their teams, offering encouragement while also recognizing the challenges employees face both at work and at home.“It really makes a difference in how people show up, right? Are they coming to work feeling supported, feeling that you get it, or is work becoming another source of stress for them? You can’t fix their financial problems, but you can make them feel heard and appreciated,” she said. Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
Building a Culture of Learning That Promotes Reskilling
BY Carrie Snider May 30, 2025The need for continuous skill development is essential for survival and growth in today’s world. Reskilling employees to meet evolving demands is no longer a one-off training initiative but a core part of cultivating a thriving corporate culture of learning. At From Day One’s Dallas conference, industry experts gathered to explore how organizations can embed reskilling into their core. Embedding reskilling into a corporate culture starts by reframing how organizations view talent—through the lens of skills. Kymberly Kuebler, VP of talent at Aimbridge Hospitality, shared how her company is shifting toward a skills-based workforce, beginning with redefining leadership.“One of the key competencies [for leaders] is ‘develop talent,’” Kuebler said. “That’s an expectation we set for all of our leaders.” But setting expectations isn’t enough. Aimbridge provides managers with practical tools to translate expectations into action. “We have an apprentice program to learn how to be a general manager of a hotel,” she said. “Part of the expectation is that their leader has a guide about how to check in with them, so we’re giving the managers the questions to ask so they can facilitate that learning along the way.”Kuebler stressed the importance of application over theory, citing the enduring 70-20-10 learning model where 70% of development happens on the job. Without embedding application, learning won’t stick.Technology also plays a pivotal role, she says. Aimbridge used AI to analyze and rewrite job descriptions based on top skills, accelerating what would have taken months into weeks. Their approach turns skills-based strategy from buzzword to business imperative. “What hasn’t changed is that 70-20-10 model, and 70% is application. If you’re not building that into how people are learning, then they’re not really learning.”Cross-Functional Alignment is KeyCreating a culture of continuous learning and mobility demands alignment across functions. Melanie Stave, SVP, career development & mobility practice leader, at LHH, emphasized that HR, talent acquisition, recruiting, learning and development, and organizational development must be synchronized. “They all need to know what everybody’s doing, so that the talent management process is defined from the top, and they have a plan,” Stave said.Clear communication, especially with managers, is vital. Managers are often the “lost population” in talent strategies, lacking visibility into their teams’ skills or clarity on mobility opportunities. Stave urged organizations to provide managers with better support to drive development effectively.Christine Perez, editor at D CEO Magazine, moderated the discussion Transparent communication helps alleviate employee fears around technology-driven change. Rather than a cold, impersonal process, mobility should feel like a “white glove service” that keeps the human element front and center.With alignment, organizations foster a culture where employees feel safe to express their career aspirations openly. It creates a culture where people don’t fear looking for a new job, instead they love it, but also love growth, she says. Retention Tied to Internal MobilityRetention isn’t about perks; it’s about purpose. Arthur Lucien, VP of learning and development for the Expert Engineer Program at JPMorgan Chase, highlighted internal mobility as a key retention driver often overlooked in today’s talent wars.“There’s this fantasy that if you’re good at what you do, someone will find you and give you what you’re looking for,” Lucien said. “That doesn’t always happen.”JPMorgan Chase targets mid-level performers who want to grow but are often neglected. “Your mid performer, the person who’s good but wants to be great, they get left behind all the time,” he said. Losing these employees means losing potential top talent.Lucien warned of the “deployment cliff,” employees earn new skills but managers are unprepared to help them apply those skills. Partnering with managers to provide tools, time, and transparency is crucial to avoid losing talent after development.Tracking Individual Development Plans (IDPs) is also key. “If we don’t know what people are working on, we’re on the clock until they leave,” he said. Leverage AI as a Tool for EfficiencyMike Sample, head of global strategic L&D at JLL, described how curiosity led him into AI and transformed his role. “I didn’t know what AI was,” he admitted. “I tend to be a late adopter. So I decided that I would learn a little bit about AI. I learned what a large language model was, and that helped me out a lot.”Sample sees AI not as a threat but a tool to create “white space,” freeing up time from mundane tasks to focus on creative, meaningful work.“Look at what you do, and then see what AI can help you do,” he said. “Some of the fear just comes from the unknown. But what if I could show you a way to save time doing something you don’t even like doing?”All that said, efficiency isn’t only automation; it’s engagement. Sample stressed listening to employees and encouraging a learning culture based on inquiry. “Never tell what you can ask,” he said. “When people feel engaged, they learn more.”AI doesn’t replace human skills like problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration, he added. His advice for organizations? Start small, be consistent, and lead by example: “Learn the thing you know least about. Say out loud that you’re a little bit afraid of it. Go for it—and then teach someone else.”Learning as a Strategic ImperativeFor Molly McKinstry, VP of sales, North America, at Udemy, education is essential. “Learning is not a box check exercise,” she said. “It is a strategic, incredibly fundamental part of high performing, durable organizations that directly connects to business outcomes.”This starts with trust. Employees want to know their company invests in their future, not just their productivity. “If we are investing in their own skill development, I can't think of a more omnipresent way to show that trust,” McKinstry said.Learning must be personal, ongoing, and data-driven. It should be tailored to where employees are on their skill journeys and happen continuously—not just quarterly. Analytics should measure ROI through retention, mobility, innovation, and engagement.Digital access is vital. “People want to be able to learn when they want to learn, how they want to learn, where they want to learn,” she said. This empowers employees and addresses leadership’s gap in managing emerging technologies.“55% of employees do not believe their leaders are ready to bring Gen AI in a really intentional and strategic way,” McKinstry noted. Leaders must learn alongside their teams, foster vulnerability, and make learning fun.Reskilling requires a strategic, organization-wide mindset that incorporates skills-based development, aligned leadership, empowered managers, and smart use of technology. Companies that embed reskilling into their culture will retain talent, foster growth, and maintain competitive advantage in today’s evolving marketplace.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.(Photos by Steve Bither for From Day One)
Supporting Women’s Health Through Every Life Stage
BY Carrie Snider May 29, 2025Being a woman today often feels like balancing on a tightrope—juggling career, health, family, and societal expectations, all while navigating life's complex transitions. As women face these challenges, it’s up to companies to offer tailored healthcare and support that evolves with them at every stage.During From Day One’s April virtual conference, expert panelists shared how their organizations are supporting women’s health through every life stage in a session moderated by Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, reporter at the Denver Post.Traditional healthcare often falls short in supporting women through every stage of life. Kathleen Davin, director of people operations at Maven Clinic, the largest virtual clinic for women’s and family health, sees the difference a more personalized approach can make. “We talk a lot about really taking a one-size-fits-one approach to employee benefits and not a one size fits all,” she said.After a high-risk pregnancy, Davin returned from parental leave with a renewed appreciation for holistic support. Living with type 1 diabetes, she used Maven to meet monthly with diabetes educators and accessed lactation consultants and sleep specialists during postpartum. Through Maven’s internal Wallet program, she was reimbursed for costs traditional plans often ignore—like a wearable breast pump and acupuncture. “I didn’t have the stress of figuring all these things out with a new baby at home,” she said.This tailored approach highlights a broader shift in benefit design. “It’s not just about checking the box on ‘Yep, we offer these benefits.’ It’s really thinking about delivering care that is supporting employees in as many of their moments of need that are very different and complex,” Davin said.That includes supporting midlife transitions like menopause. Despite affecting half the workforce, only 22% of employers offer menopause support. “It’s a super stigmatized stage of life,” said Davin. “But it also leads to a lot of impact on engagement and productivity in the workplace.” Maven provides 24/7 access to specialized providers, community support, and clinically vetted content—giving employees trusted care and connection.Personal and Professional BalancePhyllis Stewart Pires, associate VP of employee support programs & services at Stanford University, brings a deeply personal perspective to the conversation around integrating career and caregiving. “I had three different pregnancy experiences, three different postpartum experiences,” she said. “I leveraged my part-time, extended leave, and gradual return. I’ve used all forms of childcare over the course of almost 30 years of parenting.” Her story of caring for her children while navigating elder care for her parents, all while continuing to build her career illustrates the often-invisible complexity many employees carry.That experience has shaped not only her leadership style, but the programs she advocates for. At Stanford, Stewart Pires has led the development of a holistic well-being approach, one that addresses physical, mental, financial, and career health throughout an employee’s time at the university. “We’ve created something we call Babble Back, after the baby bonding leave ends,” she said. “It brings together a cohort of people coming back from leave and gives them a safe place to navigate those early challenges.” The program offers resources ranging from childcare guidance to having conversations with managers about breastfeeding.Supporting employees through those intersections of work and life requires cultural change. “First and foremost,” she said, “it’s thinking about whether you have a culture in which people feel they can be vulnerable.” From Fertility to MenopauseFor Neha Yadav, director of total rewards at Weight Watchers, supporting women’s mental health means embracing their entire journey, from fertility to menopause, with a workplace culture rooted in care, flexibility, and proactive communication.Panelists shared insights on the topic "Supporting Women’s Health Through Every Life Stage" (photo by From Day One)“The entire spectrum of women in the work environment has changed,” Yadav said. “We’ve taken on more responsibilities, but we haven’t let go of any. It’s important to create an atmosphere where you feel safe, welcomed, and understood.”Yadav emphasized that support needs to be both cultural and practical. When her newborn was flagged for additional medical testing shortly after birth, the response from her team left a lasting impact. “I was in pain, emotionally and physically drained, and panicking,” she said. “But my team said, ‘If you need more time or access to benefits, we’ll help you.’ That’s the kind of support that builds retention.”Education around available benefits—before a crisis hits—is another critical component. “You can’t send a new mom a link and expect her to research while she’s in crisis,” she said. “Organizations need to push information out ahead of time, so employees are empowered when they need it most.”At WW, that proactive approach includes incentives for prenatal care, support for fertility and adoption, and even pet insurance. The company also offers community-based resources, including internal groups where new parents can connect and share. “A peer support network, trained managers, and benefit options tailored to different phases of life—these all matter,” Yadav said. Life Stage Support ProgramsFor GHD’s Global Benefits Manager Katy Bellmore, their mission to meet its people where they are is personal. “After I first had my children, I wanted to do it all,” Bellmore said. “I didn’t ask for flexibility at work, and that’s my biggest regret. I wish I had behaved differently.” Her experience now informs the way GHD supports employees, especially when it comes to life transitions like parenting, caregiving, or midlife health changes. To address these needs, GHD launched its Life Stages initiative, an effort driven by employee feedback. “People wanted more personalized support that reflects where they are in their life,” Bellmore explained. “Whether that’s starting a family, managing a chronic condition, or navigating something like menopause.”One example is GHD’s expanded midlife health and wellness stage, which includes menopause support through virtual care platforms like Maven. “We’re creating a space for open conversations, reducing the stigma, and normalizing this stage of life,” she said. Maven bridges gaps by offering virtual coaching and care navigation, she added. Education plays a key role. Employees are also given tips on how to talk to managers about their needs—from eldercare responsibilities to navigating childcare options.Ultimately, the goal is to create “a culture of support and awareness, where our employees feel seen, heard, and understood—no matter what stage they’re in.”Supporting women’s health throughout every life stage is about cultivating a culture of care, flexibility, and understanding. As companies listen to women’s needs and embrace individualized support, they ensure better health outcomes, higher retention, and a thriving workforce.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.(Photo by Paperkites/iStock)
How Companies Are Using Internal Mobility and ‘Good Friction’ in a Tough Labor Market
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza May 29, 2025The year 2025 has marked a change in the way companies have recently thought about workforce growth. Companies are laying off workers, shrinking management layers, and slowing down hiring to hedge their bets against an unpredictable economy. As employer caution changes the job market, it’s also changing workforce development.At From Day One’s NYC TA conference, leaders talked about how companies are handling a ballooning number of applications, making the best use of internal talent, and introducing “positive friction.”“Mobility is becoming more and more part of the recruitment conversation versus part of the retention conversation,” said Linda Marioni, head of US recruitment solutions at HR consulting firm LHH, who sat on an executive panel about how to improve the talent pipeline from end to end.“While it’s still a very important retention tool, companies are coming to us saying, ‘If we’re going through a transformation, how can you help us assess our internal talent and mobilize our internal talent so that we don’t lose that talent to the market,” she said.There are other ways to save on labor costs, of course. Previously companies used contract labor to patch holes in the workforce, hiring freelancers and part-timers for interim roles and non-core work, but that’s changing, says Marioni. Leaning on contract employees is financially more efficient for companies, and helps the firm stay more agile, able to dip into the market and pluck out niche skills when needed.Journalist and From Day One contributing editor, Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza, middle, moderated the discussionSerena Hutton, talent acquisition manager at Publicis Media says internal mobility is core to her company’s operations. Internal candidates go through the same process external candidates do, though current talent is given priority. The policy is still relevant when recruiting, though. Recruiters pitch Publicis to candidates as a place for employees who want to grow and move. “It’s about the growth that they can achieve while at the company.” And Hutton said it works–very well.When companies do hire from the outside, the number of applications is a consistent problem. Tom Brunskill, VP and general manager at Forge, which facilitates job simulations, says it’s especially a problem for those seeking early career applicants. “We’re seeing companies that typically receive two, three, or four hundred thousand applications increase by 50% over the last 12 months because of what AI has enabled early talent to do in terms of the sheer number of applications that they can send out.” The applications look remarkably tailored to the job, but the candidate behind them is often unserious. Finding applicants that are truly interested in the company is the old needle-in-a-haystack problem.Brunskill described the importance of what he calls “positive friction.” One-click applications make it all too easy for job seekers, whether serious or not, to apply to open roles. And thanks to AI, job seekers can easily and rapidly produce lots of applications that appear to be high quality. The result is piles of irrelevant resumes. Positive friction can slow down bad actors or lazy applicants. Job simulations are one way to do this.The number of applications is growing, but the number of recruiters to read those applications is not, Marioni noted. Hiring teams are being asked to do more with less.Tech is sometimes able to fill in the gaps where recruiters need help. Steve Koepp, From Day One’s co-founder and editor in chief, noted during the discussion that employers are electing for devices like asynchronous interviewing platforms and scheduling tools to manage application volume. Even though they’re simple to use, they can slow down hiring in ways it’s needed most, generating the positive friction that gives recruiters time to find the gems. “There are plenty of choices,” Koepp said. “That’s the cutting edge.”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.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
AI at Your Fingertips: The AI-Empowered Recruiter
BY Stephanie Reed May 28, 2025What is needed to give companies the most accurate data to make better informed hiring decisions? How can they incorporate more holistic approaches to finding and guiding talent now and in the future?Cecil Plummer, CEO of Fastr.ai, is a passionate advocate for the continuous integration of AI with modern software. He finds that AI-assisted recruiting helps streamline hiring practices and allows more space for creating holistic talent pipelines. “It’s about working with hiring managers and recapturing their time by getting through that ever-growing haystack,” he said during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s NYC talent acquisition conference.Plummer provided insights for TA leaders and recruiters on the strategic use of AI with existing company data to refine hiring processes. “There’s no loss of productivity from toggling back and forth between applications,” he said. “So because you’re in your own ATS, you don’t lose that productivity, and you don’t have to experience a lot of the adoption issues that we hear TA leaders telling us about.”Cecil Plummer, CEO of Fastr.ai, led the discussionFastr.ai provides organizations with a potent AI agent, designed to work with their current ATS and other data software to further refine their recruiting and hiring processes.The AI recruiting partner quickly delivers data through a web browser extension; the AI reads through candidate profiles and individually matches them to specified job criteria, he says. Fastr.ai captures the nuances of talent profiles and job requirements, while companies still leverage talent curation to match strict criteria: specific skills, keywords, and qualifications of top employees, says Plummer. Furthermore, automated talent insights help TA leaders and recruiters make informed hiring decisions through candidate development updates. The insights show who is fit for specific positions and track their progress over time. The results speak volumes. Fastr.ai has reported that 92% of clients achieve quicker surfacing of qualified candidates. Additionally, 62% of clients also save time from reviewing unqualified candidates. “AI has specifically been designed to enable and empower you and your teams, not to replace them,” Plummer said.AI, along with data-driven tools and software, pinpoints specific criteria, but people must identify other immeasurable qualities to recruit the right people to the right jobs. This is the foundation of today’s most successful organizations. “We believe that recruiters need the time to do what only humans can do: and that's about the candidate experience,” he said.What Current Talent Acquisition Patterns RevealAccording to Fastr.ai’s survey of 50 TA leaders, a consensus view is that technology is integral in improving their current recruiting processes. Most TA leaders and recruiters also share similar perspectives that the best results harness an ecosystem of best-of-breed ATS, CRMs, and schedulers. A notable shared pattern among those TA leaders and recruiters is that their processes are based on concerns of unfit hires costing their organizations more money long-term. Yet, many still use LinkedIn as a popular repository of data, which also gets costly. Working with internal data and integrating AI recruiting is a solution to getting the right people and minimizing costs, says Plummer. Thus, companies can save money on LinkedIn licenses and staffing fees because they’re using all of their data.More importantly, the combination of AI-recruiting and internal data helps curate a more holistic and solution-oriented approach to the candidate experience, quelling unfit-hire fears. “I believe in the human spirit, I believe that any one of us here who might suddenly find ourselves in the job market is not going out there to try to trick an employer into hiring us,” he said. “We want to go somewhere where we can be appreciated, where we can make a contribution, and where we can make that organization better.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Fastr.ai, 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.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
How Talent Acquisition Leaders Can Navigate the Peaks and Valleys of Hiring Cycles
BY Jessica Swenson May 22, 2025By 2030, four in ten workers will have moved on from the jobs they hold today, according to a recent World Economic Forum report, underscoring just how rapidly the world of work is transforming.Paul Phillips, global head of business HR, talent acquisition, and onboarding for Avanade, believes that one of the biggest talent acquisition (TA) issues in his industry is attempting to hire for immediate performance rather than potential. To maximize longevity and value, it’s important to prioritize learning agility, adaptability, and courage to take calculated risks. These nuanced soft skills can be more challenging and time-consuming to teach than technical skills, so prioritizing them in the hiring process is key to building a resilient workforce, he says. In a business environment marked by economic and political uncertainty, growth for many companies has plateaued following significant post-Covid peaks. Avanade alone has seen a 50% global drop in hiring, with the U.S. market slowing more significantly than others. Phillips’ TA team has halved within the last 18–24 months, he said during a fireside chat moderated by Business Insider senior correspondent Emily Stewart at From Day One’s NYC half-day TA conference.“It’s the hardest part of being a leader,” said Phillips. “It’s really easy to be a leader when everything’s growing. The hardest part [of being a leader] is when you have to make some of those tougher decisions around the size and shape of the team.” He has since adopted more strategic hiring practices to better navigate these changes in demand. He keeps a core recruitment team in place to handle forecasted annual growth, and hiring needs beyond that are supported through scalable recruiting partnerships grounded in an on-demand recruiting model.Emily Stewart of Business Insider interviewed Paul Phillips of Avanade To effectively use TA team resources during those lower-demand periods, he redirects the team’s focus to increase billable hours by supporting client-facing teams through CV reviews, scheduling, and workforce planning. It is imperative to stay ahead of the curve and be positioned for future growth, says Phillips.While many organizations are being more prudent about their direct investments in technology and internal transformation, this leads them to partner with third-party companies like Avanade. To prepare for those peaks, his team embraces what he calls opportunistic conversations, which connect prospective candidates with recruiters and business leaders to discuss speculative roles. This proactively gauges mutual interest and capability, and creates an internal candidate pipeline to fuel future business growth.Phillips has established a team of talent pool managers to facilitate a regular communication cadence and cultivate relationships with external candidates. This helps eliminate candidate frustration and accelerates conversion once demand increases. “I always say ‘Clarity is kindness.’ I think it’s really important that you, up front, are very clear and set expectations about what this is and what it isn’t.” he said. Supporting relationships with around 2,000 candidates, this team helps create those ground rules and keeps both parties informed about progress until hiring ramps back up. Once it does, Phillips estimates that 30% of this pool will be interested in working with Avanade, greatly reducing the company’s time-to-hire.Fluctuations in economic and political conditions impact the candidate side of the labor market as well. While compensation pressure has eased for employers, he says, it can be harder to attract the talent they need or want because of reduced attrition and mobility.Additional coaching for TA teams may be needed to offset candidate uncertainty and job security concerns, and companies should look at any differentiators they can offer. For example, Phillips shared that since Avanade is a joint venture between Microsoft and Accenture, the company can offer technologists early access to emerging Microsoft technologies as well as exposure to interesting, complex projects at Fortune 500 organizations.Adaptability is always top of mind when managing a large global TA portfolio, says Phillips. Avanade offers multiple routes into the organization, as well as flexible, culturally sensitive hiring models. Its internal Avanade Academy invests in non-traditional talent to reskill them for the technology workforce, and then adjusts their exact entry path based on the customs and norms of their specific country or region.The company also embraces the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for its annual recruiting portfolio of nearly 300,000 candidates. Prospects can opt in or out of an AI-assisted experience, and Phillips says that nearly 80% of them opt in. Recruiters use AI to rate candidates on a letter-based system; humans still review the files and make the decisions, but AI insights help them prioritize candidates who may be better suited for specific roles. This platform has accelerated the recruiting process and freed up valuable time for the TA team, ensuring timely communication and an award-winning candidate experience.Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at https://www.jmswensonllc.com.(Photo by Hason Castell for From Day One)
Sustaining Your Workforce: The Business Case for Comprehensive Caregiving Support
BY Christopher O'Keeffe May 22, 2025Companies striving to retain top talent are discovering a powerful, often underestimated tool: caregiving support. While the strategic value of these benefits is clear, they’re too frequently overlooked, says Lisa Leighton, VP of strategic development at Cariloop, a platform specializing in caregiver support.During a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s April virtual conference, Leighton addressed that while employees often don’t self-identify as a caregiver, one in three within the workforce operate in a capacity of juggling significant caregiving responsibilities From coordinating childcare to managing aging parents, balancing workplace performance can become impossible. The corporate consequences of ignoring this reality can be severe. According to data presented by Leighton, nearly one-third of parents who take parental leave quit within 18 months of returning, while employees with caregiving responsibilities experience burnout at 2.6 times the rate of their colleagues without such obligations. Even generous compensation packages cannot solely drive employee retention in today's market where comprehensive benefits have become increasingly necessary for employee satisfaction. “As costs rise, key retention benefits like caregiving are getting cut. This is putting a tremendous strain on your people and the stability of your workforce,” said Leighton. Lisa Leighton of Cariloop led the thought leadership spotlight (company photo)As the childcare crisis has reached critical levels, working parents are struggling to navigate a shrinking supply of providers amid escalating costs of living, says Leighton. “Summer looming can create a pit of dread in my stomach,” said Leighton who previously juggled the demands of finding reliable childcare for her three children while vetting assisted living facilities for a family member. “Working parents are trying to figure out how to navigate two and a half months where everybody’s at home while still doing their jobs productively.” The growing number of aging Americans needing care now exceeds the supply of caregivers, adding pressure on workers caring for both kids and parents. Employers who recognize this dual burden see results by partnering with Cariloop to offer comprehensive caregiving support, says Leighton. “Best in class employers are leaning into the types of benefits that create a culture of care and offer that flexible, predictable support, for not just part of your population but your full diverse population at all those different ages and stages of life” she said. Cariloop stands out for its focus on measurable outcomes, helping employers track the impact of caregiving benefits through metrics like absenteeism and retention, says Leighton. This data-driven approach supports both employee well-being and organizational stability—an increasingly valuable combination as companies navigate tight labor markets and economic uncertainty.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Cariloop, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. 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 vorDa/iStock)
Learning to Talk Openly About the Challenges That Women Face at Work and in Life
BY Katie Chambers May 22, 2025When the Trump administration announced on April 23 that The Department of Health and Human Services would be terminating contracts with all four research centers working on the Women’s Health Initiative, the largest research study of its kind, the backlash was so immediate and vocal that the administration reversed course the very next day. Women’s healthcare feels constantly under attack, but is crucial to more than 50% of our population. Whether they’re dealing with motherhood, miscarriages, reproductive choice, menopause, and more, women still face overwhelming cultural pressure to stay silent about their challenges. In her new book “Normalize It: Upending the Silence, Stigma, and Shame That Shape Women’s Lives,” psychologist and author Jessica Zucker, PhD, brings an unflinching new look at what needs to be said more openly at a time of backlash—and how employers can respond. She shared highlights during a fireside chat at From Day One’s April virtual conference.Breaking the Silence Women are impacted personally and professionally by the stigma around their healthcare—but this can be minimized by being open about “taboo” issues. “Telling our stories lets us know we’re not alone, [and] it also creates a collective pool of knowledge that can help us grow personally, and as part of that growth, learn how to get our feelings heard and our needs met,” said moderator Lynne Peeples, science writer and author.Zucker does this herself by being open about her own experiences: she had a miscarriage during her second pregnancy at 16 weeks, during which she had to cut the umbilical cord herself coached by a doctor on the phone, bring the fetus in a bag to the doctor’s office for testing, and undergo an unmedicated D&C.“This informed and changed my professional and personal trajectory,” she said. “I had been sitting for years with women talking about the isolation, the alienation, the feelings of disenfranchisement in the aftermath of loss. But until I went through it myself, I just couldn’t relate.” She learned from research that many women who experience a miscarriage blame themselves, feel ashamed, and experience a sense of body failure. To combat these mental health issues, she began the “I Had a Miscarriage” campaign with the New York Times. “That was a compassionate urging for women around the world to think about, ‘If you’ve gone through an experience like this and you haven’t shared it, why not?’” Dr. Jessica Zucker, right, spoke with journalist Lynne Peeples during the fireside chat (photo by From Day One)Our hustle culture glorifies the notion that we can do anything we put our minds to, Zucker says, but reproductive health is mostly beyond our control. It’s a dichotomy that often leads to frustration and feelings of failure. Zucker is pleased to see celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, who had a recent special on menopause, talk more honestly about women’s health. “I do think that the advent of celebrities and others being open about their stories does invite and hopefully urge people to think about their stories, share their stories, and to understand that this can happen to anybody,” she said. How HR Can Help In her book, Zucker shares a psychological study in which people watch two versions of a visibly uncomfortable woman giving a presentation while undergoing a hot flash. When asked if she’s alright in version one, she says she is just warm. In version two, she says she is fine, just going through menopause. Respondents noted that she seems like a more confident leader in the second version. So why aren’t women more empowered to be that straightforward in the workplace? HR can help, Zucker says, by encouraging employees to be open, asking caring questions, and checking in. “In a society where we think ‘productivity all the way,’ it’s tempting to push down our pain, but I think it does backfire,” Zucker said. “If HR was there to acknowledge what somebody's going through, it doesn't mean that they have to be a therapist, it’s just asking the question and holding space and acknowledging what somebody is going through [that makes a difference].” Workplaces should hold space for feelings of grief, despair, and vulnerability among employees, recognizing all the ways that might manifest. “Everyone is different in how they process and when they decide to share their story. How can we be sensitive to that?” Peeples asked. Know that your colleagues might not be ready to share in the same way you would be and proceed gingerly but directly to leave space for psychological safety without causing shame.“Just ask: ‘How are you doing? What are you going through? Is there anything we can do to support you? We are here for you,’” Zucker said. “Let them know there is this culture of openness and availability of support, even if the person doesn’t think they want it right now, or even if they never take it.” Focusing on Mental HealthIn her book, Zucker shares that when faced with someone else’s grief, 70% of us don’t know what to say. “We end up relying on platitudes,” she said. Instead, it’s better to be honest and caring, avoiding statements like “At least…” or other phrases of toxic positivity. It shuts people down, allowing shame to seep in. And shame, Zucker says, is what can lead to more self-destructive behavior, like addiction or dysfunctional relationships. The more space women are given to express themselves, the better their brains will function. “Putting feelings into words, rather than keeping them bottled up, literally changes the way the brain responds to stress by diminishing activity in the amygdala, the part of the brain that processes emotions like anxiety, fear, and stress,” Peeples shared from Zucker’s book. When given the freedom to share their feelings, people become more focused and more present. And with better brain function comes increased workplace productivity. “The more we keep inside, the less present and the less productive we are,” Zucker said. She hopes that the movement for more honesty in conversations surrounding women’s healthcare will become a positive cycle. “I can’t tell you how often I hear somebody say, ‘I shared such and such, and then this person told me the same thing had happened to them.’ And that exchange is so enlivening. It’s so validating,” Zucker said. “The person inevitably feels less alone. And hopefully it inspires them to keep talking about it, because if we keep talking about it, the stigma can melt away.”That cycle can begin in the workplace. “If we come to our work and our colleagues with a sense of openness, authenticity, candidness, it goes a long way. If we can model that as leaders, then the people who work for us may be able to do the same for those who work under them. Those people will become leaders too, eventually,” Zucker said. “Leading with empathy and heart, even if it doesn’t seem like it fits with the role, is very important.” 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 and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photo by SDI Productions/iStock)
Groceries as a Benefit: As Workers Struggle With Living Costs, Employers Help Cover Basic Needs
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza May 21, 2025As the cost of living in the U.S. has climbed sharply in recent years, Stevi Evans, the head of benefits at Weight Watchers, has heard more often from the company’s hourly workers who struggle financially. Salaried employees might be bothered by increases in their health-insurance premiums, for example, but Weight Watchers’ hourly workforce, many of whom are part-timers and work second jobs, have been pinching every penny. The basics are increasingly hard to come by: Food prices in the U.S. rose nearly 24% from 2020 to 2024, according to the Consumer Price Index, and the cost of transportation grew more than 34% over the same period. Credit-card delinquencies are up in every state since 2022, reports the Urban Institute, a non-profit research organization. Wellness benefits have been growing incrementally. Since 2018, Weight Watchers offered a $200 annual wellness reimbursement for its hourly employees to use on things like sneakers and workout clothing. Employees liked it and used it, said Evans, but as the cost of living increased, she realized needs were growing even more basic. Evans has stay attuned to the social determinants of health, the non-medical factors that affect health outcomes and quality of life, for example economic stability and access to healthcare and education. She wanted to help satisfy those needs. “We heard our hourly population talk about economic hardships,” Evans said. “That’s when I thought, ‘Why don’t we just include groceries in the wellness reimbursement?’” So last year, Weight Watchers added them to the list of reimbursable expenses, and requests “rolled in like crazy,” she said. Ninety-two percent of hourly employees now use the reimbursement, said Evans. And 77% of those use it for groceries.Evans expected to see receipts from specialty grocery stores, indicators that people might be using it to treat themselves to something novel (which, for the record, she would have no problem with), “but these are from Walmart,” she said. People need the essentials.The Basics Can Include Everything from Utility Costs to EmergenciesIn years when employers were hunting fervently for workers, many companies engaged in a spirited game of benefits one-upmanship, offering the most unusual–and often eyebrow-raising–perks to get attention and gain a competitive edge. Most recently, those benefits ranged from pet leave to ketamine therapy. Before that, it was in-office ping-pong tournaments and beer taps that flowed any time of day.Now, as companies freeze hiring and many costs continue to mount, employers are increasingly aiming at the base of the needs hierarchy, furnishing essentials like food, shelter, and expanded healthcare.Sometimes it’s an emergency. Companies scrambled to supply basic provisions to workers in Los Angeles after wildfires ruined huge parts of the city in January. And now that natural disasters are endangering areas not historically considered to be disaster-prone, like Asheville, N.C., companies are bolstering business continuity plans with disaster preparedness plans.Natural disasters, rising auto-and-home insurance premiums, and mass corporate layoffs mean that many people are anxious about their financial well-being and looking to their employers for help. When Gallup asked survey-takers in early 2025 to identify America’s problems, economic issues topped the list. Sixty-seven percent said the affordability of healthcare is “a very big problem,” while 63% said the same about inflation, and 53% pointed to the number of Americans living in poverty.Why not just raise worker salaries? Companies have to stay competitive on that scale, but that’s often not enough to improve multifaceted financial health. “If you want to become a stand-out employer,” Manisha Thakor, founder and CEO of MoneyZen Wealth Management, wrote recently in HBR, “one of the most effective HR benefits you can provide is a base layer of what I call ‘financial health,’” meaning that employees’ basic financial needs are met and they understand how their money choices affect their lives. Does Worker Financial Well-Being Affect the Bottom Line?Employers are linking financial health with mental health with workplace productivity. Energy tech company Enphase Energy makes financial benefits a pillar of its overall wellness strategy, which also includes things like healthcare.Others are linking it to retention and engagement. During a From Day One virtual conference in March, Jason Simmonds, the global head of employee experience at Morgan Stanley, noted that some employees have even gotten themselves out of debt thanks to the company’s financial wellness benefits—and highlighting their success has increased uptake of the program.One popular way to cover employees’ basic needs is a lifestyle spending account, or LSA. Tom Kelly, principal consultant in the health practice at benefits brokerage Gallagher, told From Day One that there’s been an uptick in companies opting for this benefit.LSAs are employer-funded accounts that allow employees to file for reimbursement for various expenses designated by the employer. The list could be very long, and full of necessities or luxuries, like groceries, gas or other transportation costs, childcare, tuition and education costs, financial counseling, running shoes, fitness classes, or nutritional supplements. While the list is created by the employer, it’s up to the employee to chose what serves them best. The “ecosystem” approach recommended by Thakor in her HBR article is one that considers employees’ unique experiences in favor of a generalized approach.Amanda Verdino, a director at Forma, which runs lifestyle spending accounts, told From Day One that the employers that do use them are rapidly expanding the list of reimbursable expenses. It’s not uncommon for employers to cover food and tuition assistance benefits through their LSAs. One of Forma’s clients, a sportswear brand, just added the cost of heating and cooling to its list of reimbursable expenses.According to Forma’s 2024 LSA benchmark report, food expenses ranked second in terms of number of transactions, right after fitness-related expenses. Verdino said tuition assistance is rising in popularity in both availability and utilization, as is commuter assistance and childcare. Regardless of category, utilization for LSAs is high. For every dollar an employer offers in the food category, employees spend 75 cents.LSAs aren’t all. At Gallagher, Tom Kelly noted that their clients are rolling out grocery savings programs as well as home and car insurance discounts to great success. “For discount marketplaces and purchase programs, we see really high utilization, to the tune of 70% to 90% of employees using these perks platforms on a regular basis.”Companies are conducting benefit gap analyses to understand the needs of their workforce based on their demographics, he said. And many confirm that employees need help with the basics.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.(Featured image by Cyano66/iStock by Getty Images)
The New Essentials of Worker Productivity That’s Sustainable and Attainable
BY Katie Chambers May 20, 2025“How do you stay productive?” It’s a burning question in our hectic modern culture, and one that moderator Alexa Reed, digital editor at Dallas Business Journal, posed to speakers during a panel discussion at From Day One’s Dallas conference. The varied answers were both practical and philosophical, everything from staying hydrated and responding to emails within three hours, to taking extreme ownership and finding purpose in your work every day. If you’re noticing disengagement within your workplace, it’s best to turn to the source before launching any new initiatives. “Have you addressed the factors in your organization that caused disengagement in the first place? Because if you’re not careful, you could drop your people back into the exact same environment,” said Jonathan Thorp, chief learning officer at Quantum Connections.“Make sure you take stock: Are the objectives of the work at hand clearly defined? Are the resources clearly articulated? And most importantly, is the culture aligned with what you're trying to do and what you’re [seeing] in your workspace?” he said. Once you better understand the cause you can then create a strategy to re-engage. And don’t view disengagement as a bad thing, he says, instead, use it as a signal to know when it’s time to act. Regular leadership communication with employees can help them better understand the meaning and impact of their work, says Anitha Ramesh, head of HR at Tech Mahindra. But don’t just talk. Listen to your employees to understand what best motivates them, then invest in their answers. “It may be developing in a new area [or] giving them a stretch opportunity. For some, it may be compensation,” said Lisa Jennings, global head of HR, news and media at Bloomberg. Leaders and managers should carve out one-on-one time for authentic employee listening in addition to surveys, says Je’Mone Smith, VP, HR and diversity at Agiliti HealthCare. “[Make it] about the employee: What’s working, what’s challenging, and how can I help you?” Smith said. “And if [leaders] stick to that consistently, studies show that’s probably the number one driver of engagement in terms of the tools that are afforded to a manager conducting those one on ones.” EAPs (Employee Assistance Programs) not only provide benefits but can also offer insight into where employees need the most support, helping you better direct resources to where they are needed most. “Engaging with your EAP vendor or your insurance vendor a little more than what you do currently [helps with] understanding the underlying issues. Ask ‘What are the top trends you are seeing from our workforce?’” Ramesh said. “Then roll out specific programs.” The Impact of Employee Well-being on ProductivityEmployees’ mental well-being is top-of-mind, especially in the post-pandemic era, and can have a marked impact on productivity and engagement: happier workers are better workers. Bloomberg has developed an interesting strategy that makes well-being itself a way to engage with the workplace through its Mental Health Advocate program.“We give all our employees the [optional] opportunity to be trained and certified in mental health awareness. We bring in an outside provider [that offers] a half -day rigorous training and an exam,” Jennings said. Then they can be the “eyes and ears” in the office to notice when someone might be exhibiting signs of needing professional mental health support.Alexa Reed, digital editor at Dallas Business Journal, moderated the discussion among leadersIt’s also crucial to help employees feel connected to their work, no matter how scattered they might be due to hybrid or remote circumstances. Ramesh says employees feel more connected when they know that their company cares about them. Tech Mahindra accomplishes this through a program that incorporates all different types of personal well-being, including mental, physical, emotional, financial, spiritual, occupational, and social. And location councils help to recreate larger programs from the corporate level in a more localized way for a distributed workforce. Happy, engaged, and productive employees are a boon to talent acquisition and attention. “If you have engaged employees, they’re proud of what they do, they’re proud of where they work. So they’re the best recruiters for the company,” Smith said. “About 20% of our jobs that we [at Agiliti HealthCare] fill are based on referrals, and typically, retention is improved when people are referred. Turnover is reduced when people are referred to the company by someone that they know,” he said. The Role of Technology in Productivity Technological advances such as AI have the power to greatly increase employee productivity when used effectively. Panelists suggest careful check-ins with employees throughout the product implementation process to understand exactly how new technologies are working—or not.“We want to make sure that when we communicate what the new technology, the tool, [or] the training is, we have a two-way dialogue to ask the users, ‘What’s your expected outcome and what you need in terms of resources, training and time to actually pull off a successful launch?’” Thorp said. “It’s not just about utility. It’s about the entire UX range. It’s about the holistic experience.” Cultivating the Next Generation of Leaders Employers should be looking to the future not only in terms of technological advancements but also workforce development, priming the next generation of leaders for success. Smith strongly recommends hiring from within whenever possible, not only to save on the cost during the hiring process but also because those employees already have “buy in” with the company culture. Smith identifies two key qualities of great potential leaders: those who can communicate effectively with colleagues at all levels (“from peers to direct reports to the C suite”), and those who can listen and be fully present despite all the usual modern distractions. To encourage internal growth and mobility, Bloomberg offers its Embed Program, which allows employees to try out different teams or departments. “It’s a way for us to drive retention, drive people to feel like we’re investing in them,” Jennings said. “We’re giving them an opportunity to explore something internally, and it also leads to internal mobility opportunities. It’s been a great motivator and a great way for people to explore different internal roles, instead of us losing people to the market.” The program is open to employees starting in their fourth year, the time when the company has noticed people often get ready to move on. Similarly, Agiliti Healthcare offers Talent Tuesdays, which let hiring managers present internal career opportunities to current employees to spark their interest in moving within the organization. Leaders are so important, not only for the company’s longevity but for encouraging culture and inspiring workers within. Supervisors, Thorp says, should make their team members feel seen, heard, welcomed, and appreciated as the unique individuals they are. “It’s making sure people feel valued, and that you see them as a human being that has issues, that they need flexibility one day, or they need support in another way. It’s about making people feel that you care about them,” Jennings said. “That you’re not just here to churn out work, but that you're viewed as a person, and that you're being invested in by the organization.”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 and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photos by Steve Bither for From Day One)
The Importance of Family and Wellness Benefits in a Highly Disrupted Industry
BY Ade Akin May 20, 2025Lucy Avsharyan, the vice president of benefits at United Talent Agency, knows firsthand how life’s biggest plot twists, like parenting twins, often overlap with your most pivotal career moments. At From Day One’s April virtual conference, she walked attendees through how UTA has transformed family support benefits into strategic tools for employee attraction, retention, and well-being. Avsharyan traced her journey as an employee back to the moment her twins were born. “During those first years, I was exhausted at work and home,” she said. That personal pinch point catalyzed UTA’s early experiments with gender-neutral parental leave and on-demand backup childcare. What started as a way to make life easier for working parents quickly became a competitive advantage for UTA: “When families are cared for, they can show up as their best selves,” Avsharyan said.While benefits served chiefly as a retention level a decade ago, they’re now non-negotiables for many prospective employees. Many now log into benefits portals with the same enthusiasm that was once reserved for salary benchmarks, she says.Employees Asking Harder Questions“Candidates now come armed with benefits spreadsheets,” said moderator Nicole Smith, editorial audience director at Harvard Business Review. “And they know exactly what they want,” Avsharyan added. “They’re asking, ‘What’s your global parental-leave policy? Do you offer mental-health stipends? How many hours of backup care are included each year?’”These changes in attitudes toward employee benefits inspired a portal overhaul at UTA, complete with personalized dashboards that show accrued leave, dependent care allotment, and wellness stipend balances in real-time. UTA also promoted closer partnerships between benefits, talent, and finance teams. “We needed to move beyond headcount metrics. Talent acquisition wanted enrollment rates. Finance wanted utilization and ROI,” she said. UTA now tracks which offerings drive applications, boost tenure, and reduce unplanned absences by developing a simple data analytics framework.Designing for a Global WorkforceThe conversation turned global when Nicole asked about benefits in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) markets. Avsharyan says a one-size-fits-all model doesn’t work in all regions. “In Europe, statutory parental leave can exceed 16 weeks, but mental-health coverage lags. In parts of Asia, it’s the reverse.” Avsharyan said.UTA solves this problem with a modular benefits platform that combines a core U.S. package (paid leave, backup childcare, and a wellness stipend) with region-specific add-ons, from fertility treatments in the U.K. to financial-wellness workshops in Singapore. Lucy Avsharyan of UTA spoke with Nicole Smith of Harvard Business Review during the fireside chat (photo by From Day One)“That approach lets us maintain equity—everyone gets a baseline of care—while respecting local norms and regulations,” Avsharyan said. Her advice to organizations struggling to find that balance is to “Listen first, then pilot fast.”The Baseline BenefitsMental health continues to be an essential part of a benefits package. “Well-being isn’t a perk, it’s a productivity imperative,” she said. Utilization of wellness benefits rose by 40% after UTA recently added no-cost therapy sessions, virtual mindfulness programs, and emergency financial planning services to its Employee Assistance Program. Job flexibility is also redefining work-life balance. “We trust our agents and creatives to deliver results,” Avsharyan said. “Where and when they work is secondary.” UTA’s hybrid model grants employees “deep-focus days” in the office and fully remote weeks. “Every team defines its norms, when to collaborate in person, when to block off a remote day, so people aren’t guessing,” Avsharyan said. But even with baseline benefits in place, Avsharyan continues to look out for trends and changes in the industry. “We’ll never be ‘done’—our people’s needs evolve too fast,” she said. She envisions next-generation benefits marketplaces, where employees can easily swap stipend dollars among categories, like shifting funds from gym memberships to backup childcare. The guiding principle remains constant: continuous listening. “We survey twice a year, but the real insights come from casual check-ins and manager hurdles,” Avsharyan said. “That feedback loop lets us iterate benefits in near real time, so when the next personal earthquake hits, our people know we’ve got them.”Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photo by Jacob Wackerhausen/iStock)
Culture That’s Real: Translating Company Values into Everyday Reality
BY Carrie Snider May 19, 2025What makes a company culture stick? It's simple enough to create a set of values, hang them on a wall, or tout them on a careers page. But how do you turn those ideals into lived experiences—something employees feel in their day-to-day interactions, not just during onboarding?That was the focus of a panel at From Day One’s Dallas conference, where experts explored how to turn company values into everyday practices. The discussion, titled “Culture That’s Real: Translating Company Values Into Everyday Reality,” was moderated by Will Maddox, senior editor at D CEO Magazine.When Jim D’Amico became VP of talent acquisition at Caliber Collision, the largest collision repair operator in the country with over 30,000 employees, he knew culture couldn’t be an afterthought. But he soon learned culture doesn’t change just because leadership says it should.“I thought I could set it and forget it,” D’Amico said. “I empowered my team to make decisions, even make mistakes, but didn’t account for the historic culture of the company. Changing culture takes effort. It’s not a quick turn, it’s a lot of work to right the ship.”Real alignment begins with what D’Amico calls a company’s “true north”—a clear mission and vision that resonates at every level. “Is it something the CEO just said on a whim, or is it something we can all align with and feel?” he asked. “Once everyone believes in that mission, it’s simply saying, ‘Great, follow me.’”Culture, he says, must be lived and felt. “People don’t want to be told. They want to be sold. And they want to see it in action.” When employees buy into company values, it shows in every customer interaction. When they don’t, leaders must act with intention.Embed Values into Daily SystemsCulture must be part of day-to-day systems, says Prisca Anuolam, VP of HR at Entegris. Early in her career, she saw how mergers often focused on structure, systems, and reporting lines, while sidelining culture. “We quickly learned you can’t just look at typical HR metrics,” she said. “We had to flip it—to put culture at the forefront.”That shift began with cultural assessments to understand how both acquiring and acquired companies worked. The goal wasn’t to enforce uniformity, but to help teams recognize differences and collaborate more effectively.When interviewing for her current role, Anuolam used culture as her litmus test. She researched Entegris’ values and paid close attention during interviews. “I gave myself 60 days to see how people are leading,” she said. “It’s coming from the top and the bottom.”Panelists shared insights on the topic "Culture That’s Real: Translating Company Values into Everyday Reality"Now, she works to bake culture into systems like talent management and organizational design. “If it’s not part of the employee experience, it might as well be a poster on the wall,” she said.She encourages managers to apply values in practical ways. When a new leader asked if he could use the company’s leadership profile in Excel to assess his team, she said yes—and co-created a tool he could use, which later became a potential best practice. “People should be empowered to translate values into their day-to-day.”Empathy Is Key to ChangeRebecca Degner, AVP of HR at Genpact, says that culture change is about learning, not fixing failure. “I don’t think we’ve had failure,” she said. “There’s always just learning lessons.”At a company focused on outsourcing and acquisitions, integrating diverse cultures is a constant challenge. Each team, generation, and leader brings different expectations and requires a unique approach. That complexity grew with Genpact’s recent CEO transition. After more than a decade under the previous leader, the new CEO needed to reintroduce vision and goals.“Culture is a lifelong change,” Degner said. “As we evolve, as humans and as technology changes, we have to keep changing.” For HR, the first step is aligning internal communication with that evolving vision.Not everyone will be on board with every change, she says. “We just have to make sure they’re on board overall.”Communication is critical, especially in a digital-first, hybrid world. “We have to communicate multiple times, multiple ways,” she said. With more than 150,000 employees globally, Genpact uses everything from bulletin boards to town halls with donuts and coffee to reach workers without email access. Empower Leaders as Culture CommunicatorsOne of Cyntosha Ervin-Drewry’s biggest lessons came from a failed acquisition. At a previous company with 52,000 employees, she was involved in acquiring a 100-person startup. While the larger company saw it as an exciting opportunity, the startup didn’t share that perspective.“We thought, how exciting for them to join our big company. They saw it very differently,” she said. The result was years of turnover and disengagement. “The lesson: think about culture during due diligence.”Now VP of HR at Flowserve, Ervin-Drewry works to shape culture proactively. As the company evolves into a higher-performance environment, it’s trying not to lose what makes it special—like kindness and helpfulness.But that niceness can sometimes hinder growth, especially around feedback. She’s helping employees reframe feedback as a form of care. “That constructive feedback is nice too—you’re helping people get better. You’re making our team stronger.”To drive culture, her team equips leaders with tools and messaging. “We do posters, emails, town halls,” she said. “But what’s most impactful is focusing energy on leaders cascading the message.”Leaders can translate corporate goals into context that makes sense, whether for a CFO or a shop-floor technician. “They become an army of communicators,” she said, “and the value is they can shape the message for their teams.”Authenticity and Inclusivity MatterAuthenticity is essential and should not be forced, says Hari Date, senior solutions consultant at Workhuman and professor of HR and business management. Recognition that is immediate and specific to what someone did has far more impact than generic praise.Inclusivity is also key. Recognition should include peer-to-peer moments—not just manager-to-employee. “Make sure everyone has a voice,” Date said. “Let peers recognize peers: ‘I saw you. You amazed me. You did great work.’” This reduces bias and builds belonging.Feeling seen and valued resonates across generations. Date teaches both traditional and returning students and sees the same priorities: “Will I be respected? Will I be valued? Will I be heard? Leaders who foster environments where people can bring their whole selves to work are better equipped to attract and retain talent.Ultimately, authenticity and inclusivity are cultural commitments. “Get it off the walls, get it out of the handbooks, bring it front and center in their lives,” Date said. That means making space for every voice and modeling the values your organization stands for.Ultimately, culture can’t be built in a day or by HR alone. It takes time, empathy, and leaders who live the values they promote. As the panelists made clear, culture transformation happens in small moments—in check-ins, coaching conversations, and how people feel when they walk through the door.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.(Photos by Steve Bither for From Day One)
Reimagining the Candidate Experience as a Strategic Advantage
BY Ade Akin May 15, 2025Jon Stross knew something had to change when a candidate confided with him about applying to 200 roles without getting any responses. Stross, the president and co-founder of Greenhouse, laid out how the company is tackling the grim realities of overwhelming application volume, ghosting, and the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the hiring process. As organizations race to develop the most efficient algorithms, Greenhouse is helping transform what has been a soul-crushing experience for many into an empowering journey. “It’s terrible out there to be a candidate,” Stross said during the thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s NYC talent acquisition conference. The current hiring market is one where applicants feel like their resumes weren’t even good enough for a response, he says. But things aren’t much better on the employer side, as recruiters find themselves sorting through thousands of resumes. Candidates who are worried about being ghosted end up sending generic applications en masse, while recruiters struggle to find desired signals in all of the noise. The new dynamic has led to employers increasingly relying on referrals or outbound sourcing, while candidates face a “black hole” of uncertainty. The result is a lose-lose scenario where neither side trusts the process. While AI's role in the hiring process is expected to expand in the next several years, Stross warns that matching AI-generated resumes with AI-scored profiles risks reducing everything to noise. Jon Stross, the president and co-founder of Greenhouse, led the thought leadership spotlightProviding transparency and giving candidates control is one of the strategies Greenhouse uses to combat ghosting and unclear deadlines. “It’s like walking into a deli with 200 people in line. You’d at least know your place in the queue,” Stross said.Greenhouse increases transparency and gives candidates control by introducing features like real-time application tracking and self-scheduling interviews—features that allow the application process to mimic the clarity of waiting in line at the deli. “If you see 200 people ahead of you, you might leave,” Stross said. “But at least you’re making an informed choice.”Greenhouse also introduced a Quick Apply feature that reduces friction in the application process, allowing candidates to auto-fill applications across Greenhouse-powered companies. This approach respects candidates’ time, reducing the repetitive data entry style applications. It’s a small but critical step in improving employer brand perception, says Stross.Surfacing Intent DataResumes capture a candidate, but they don’t always clearly reflect their intent. Greenhouse introduces data differentiation by collecting work preferences and a novel “dream job” marker. Similar to early admission in college applications, candidates may select one role monthly as their dream job. Recruiters can then filter applicants by their skills and passion, turning the data into a powerful differentiator for both sides. “Imagine sifting through 800 applicants and seeing five who marked your job as their dream,” Stross said. “It doesn’t mean they’re qualified, but it shows genuine interest.” Stoss suggests making the hiring process a race to the top rather than a descent into full automation. “Some companies are leaning in, building an employer brand that candidates remember,” he said.Organizations signal their commitment to talent by automating status updates and highlighting positive candidate experiences, reinforcing their brand and boosting candidate loyalty.Greenhouse is transforming hiring with tools like real-time application updates, centralized task checklists to guide candidates, and autofill capabilities that simplify applying. Personalized alerts and preference-based matching also help connect candidates to the right opportunities faster. These innovations give candidates a clearer path to their dream jobs while making the application process less unpleasant. Richer applicant profiles help recruiters to filter candidates more effectively and reduce their reliance on generic AI scoring that ignores human nuance. By embracing transparency, control, and meaningful data, organizations can attract and inspire talent while strengthening their employer brand, says Stross.Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Greenhouse, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
Proactive Caregiver Support: Making Data-Informed Decisions That Incorporate Whole-Family Care
BY Tabitha Cabrera May 14, 2025Caregiver burnout is “a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that happens while you’re taking care of someone else. Stressed caregivers may experience fatigue, anxiety and depression,” according to Cleveland Clinic.At From Day One’s April virtual conference, Sarah Begley, VP of content at Atria interviewed Kerri Costa, SVP of commercial & growth at Cleo, who shared insights on “Proactive Caregiver Support.” “A caregiver is really anyone taking care of themself through taking care of a child, taking care of an adult, loved one. It really branches across all of life’s journeys,” said Costa. Its broad spectrum makes it essential for employers to provide support. “Caregiving is everything from looking for resources, for education, to support, to finding loved ones, you know meals, providing meals, to being able to just simply help them with understanding how to set up their phone and to have support services that they need,” she said. Kerri Costa, SVP, Commercial & Growth at Cleo, led the thought leadership spotlight (company photo)Being a broad spectrum of people, caregivers face different challenges. But there are some that seem to be common in the workplace. “There’s a sense that if you identify as a caregiver, perhaps you’re less productive or you may have more absenteeism, which is usually not the case. But people don’t go to their HR representatives and say, ‘Hey, I’m a caregiver,’ for fear of that stigma,” she said. “What we find is that 67% of family caregivers struggle to balance their jobs in the caregiving role, and primarily, what we’re hearing from our employer clients is that there’s a lot of need for mental health and support around mental health.” Without proper mental health support for caregivers, there’s an increased risk of burnout. “33% of families that we have identified through our what we call our family health index, are at risk of burnout, and of those, 60% screen positive for our PHQ, which shows signs of depression. That affects not only the need for mental health support, but the loss of productivity on a large scale, as well as the retention of key employees.”Having cared for a parent with dementia and cared for a young child while working full time, Costa knows firsthand the kind of support needed. So what does support look like? Cleo has dedicated support services that provide guides to employees who need assistance with life challenges, says Costa. “Reducing the amount of time that’s spent on logistics can be so helpful in preventing burnout,” she said. “Working with a guide helped me to be able to step back and to once again think through ways in order to make my life easier.” The benefits for employers who are able to provide support are clear. First is mental health, where support is focused on preventing burnout by helping employees with the logistics of finding care and resources. Second is confidence and connectedness—53% of employees reported increased confidence after working with their guide, which improved their ability to manage everything on their plate. The third area is productivity, with high-risk members gaining back over 100 hours of work time, a significant outcome.Organizations can support their employees by first making their organization an environment where access to support is available and that honest discussion is not only happening but encouraged. “It’s hard for people to raise their hand to identify themselves as caregivers when it’s not a maternity leave or family forming situation. Having that conversation with their manager is crucial—it helps employees see the value of open, honest dialogue and gives managers a chance to offer the support that’s truly neededEditor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Cleo, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Tabitha Cabrera, Esq. is a writer and attorney, who has a series of inclusive children's books, called Spectacular Spectrum Books.(Photo by Obencem/iStock)
Balancing Cost Efficiency and Positive Outcomes in Employee Benefits
BY Katie Chambers May 14, 2025As the employee benefits landscape continues changing, it’s important for employers to identify what benefits their workers find most meaningful today. During the pandemic there was a big push for mental health support—and that’s still important given all the cultural and political uncertainty impacting workers in a variety of ways.But now, the physical, financial, and personalized offerings are returning to the forefront. At From Day One’s Boston benefits conference, leaders discussed the benefits that make the biggest impact for their employees. Here are the key takeaways.A Focus on Physical Health“With the advent of GLP-1s and medically assisted weight loss, one of the hottest topics we’re seeing in the industry is around weight management,” said Cody Fair, chief commercial officer at Noom. With GLP-1s, he says, “Think about the member experience first,” in terms of minimizing hurdles and prior authorizations. Consider alternative funding methods to access medications at a reduced cost to the patient through rebates, and add behavior change support in addition to the medication options for long-term success. “We’re [also] seeing a lot of talk around women’s health, specifically around menopause,” Fair said. Generally, he says, people are not just interested in living longer–they want to live healthy longer. Therefore, employers are best served by taking a holistic approach.“As an organization, we focus on the overall happiness of our employees. That’s something that we practice very intentionally as part of our cultural framework. And because of that, we have programs which not only focus on physical health [and] mental wellness, but holistic well-being, which includes even things like financial literacy [and] how we plan for retirement,” said Shahina Islam, VP, HR at Zensar. To increase DEI initiatives for an increasingly diverse workforce, employers can also consider adding benefits for fertility and resources for parents and those involved in elder care, she says.Serving a Large Workforce While Staying on BudgetModerator Rebecca Knight, independent journalist and contributor at Harvard Business Review, notes the challenges of providing adequate benefits to a large, diverse workforce with varying needs while also “staying on budget.” Part of the answer, says Amy Claffey Widell, global benefits director at Akamai Technologies, is identifying point solutions that can cover several areas at once, such as musculoskeletal, fertility, cardiovascular, and cancer, and then being able to prove the cost effectiveness.Leaders shared insight on the subject of "In Employee Benefits, Balancing Cost Efficiency With Good Employee Outcomes"“I’m creating that business case to our senior leaders: if we implement a mental health benefit, we’re going to see a decrease in claims from our medical spend,” Widell said. “[For example], we implemented a point solution three years ago, and we’ve seen a 10% decrease in the claims in our medical plan.”To determine ROI, claims analysis paired with employee feedback is key. Employee surveys can help you understand which benefits employees are using, which they aren’t, what they want and, importantly, what they may not realize is already being offered. HR leaders should remember that the vendors themselves are constantly changing, so it’s important to stay flexible. “Every couple years, revisit the market, see who’s out there, [and] see if you can consolidate vendors,” Widell said. “I don’t necessarily want to have 500 vendors,” as that causes confusion for workers and a headache for HR managers. ROI can’t be pegged to one particular benefit, since wellness itself is holistic. “Look at the cumulative effect of everything you do. Are you managing cost and trend from everything you do, and are you reaching the maximum efficiency on those things you do?” said Scott Kirschner, senior director, global benefits at Greystar.Implementing Digital Solutions“Employees are increasingly looking for a more seamless experience,” Knight said. That’s where technological advances can help, especially when it comes to healthcare and wellness benefits. “With digital care, I’m noticing that we’re really able to take an ordeal that could take three hours and turn it into a 30-minute access thing,” said Dr. Bijal Toprani, senior clinical solutions lead and doctor of physical therapy, Hinge Health. Healthcare apps allow for easy provider follow-up and opportunities for patients to access care outside of traditional in-person office hours, she says.“How are we going to get people to use [a benefit] if they don’t know about it?” Kirschner posited. Digital solutions also offer centralized access to benefits for a workforce that is becoming increasingly dispersed as hybrid and remote setups become the norm. Additionally, Kirschner says, employers should take advantage of the fact that everyone is always on their phones. Place QR codes around the office for employees to scan for benefits, offer webinars to train employees on the benefits portal, send regular text updates with an option to opt-out, and embrace internal email marketing. To meet employees where they are, you might need to get even more creative with your communications. For example, Toprani was able to successfully reach her truck-driving workforce by leaving cards about benefits on their windshields, since they might not regularly check their email. Focusing on Positive Employee OutcomesThe best employee benefits programs take into account the entirety of the population they are meant to serve. For example, even if most of your employees are men, Toprani shares, sending them information about women’s healthcare is important since they may be married or have daughters.For workforces spread across multiple countries, it may be necessary for HR to seek out local vendors for certain benefits. Menopause care in particular, Widell notes, is more accessible in the U.S. but does not yet have prominent global solutions available in other countries. Ultimately, benefits programs are meant to do just that: provide benefits. “Everything that we are doing we need to ensure that we have a very happy and engaged workforce,” Islam said. “Our annual survey has a big section on how employees are feeling valued, and benefits are a big component of that.”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 and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photos by Rick Friedman for From Day One)
Employee Mental Health and Wellness: How Managers Can Be Empowered
BY Jennifer Yoshikoshi May 14, 2025More than 90% of American workers say it’s important to them that the organization they work for values emotional and psychological well-being, according to a 2023 survey by the American Psychological Association. Continuing the growing conversation around mental health and wellness, more companies are putting programs in place to support the holistic well-being of employees. During a From Day One panel discussion at From Day One’s Boston benefits conference, executives joined in on a conversation moderated by Boston Globe reporter Katie Johnston about how managers can be empowered to respond to employee needs. For Robert DiFabio, senior director of global benefits and mobility at Waters Corporation, being able to address the mental health concerns of his employees feels mutually beneficial. To be able to provide opportunities that help people which at the same time help the company is a “win-win,” he said.“The happier or healthier employee is someone who also would be more attentive, less absent, more productive at work, more motivated, just simply, even more grateful for their employer for giving them tools and resources,” DiFabio said.Managers who are engaging with their employees to support their well-being are driven by the passion to help others and deliver support with resources that are customized and personal. Although some leaders feel satisfied by being able to help their employees, others might struggle with some aspects of being prepared to engage in conversations about wellness and checking in with their staff. While managers may know when to engage in check-ins, they might not be comfortable with the support that needs to follow these conversations.Panelists spoke about holistic employee health and well-being“My concern is that managers are maybe ill equipped to deal with what then comes from those conversations. So I think it's important that we be prepared as companies to provide them the appropriate training if we're going to expect them to engage in those conversations,” said Anne Marie La Bue, vice president of compensation and benefits counsel at Assurant.CEO and Co-founder of LearnLux Rebecca Liebman added that discussions about mental health are also considered taboo for many communities and cultures. She emphasized that it’s important to start “breaking down barriers to let people at least start a conversation around these traditionally more taboo topics in the workplace.”The Main Drivers for Stress, Anxiety and DepressionMore than 80% of Americans are living with debt and 46% of people making six figure incomes are still living paycheck to paycheck, says Liebman. Financial hardships are an aspect of life that company executives recognize needs more attention within the corporate world. When it comes to supporting employees that are impacted by financial struggles, Holly Duvernay, director of benefits at Crane NXT, says it’s important for managers to leave the bias at the door and create a space that offers open conversations with the employee. Without any judgement, asking employees what they need and how they would like support can build strong relationships with workers. “The difference between a toxic work environment and loving your job is a razor thin margin,” said Ryan Kellogg, vice president of partnerships and sales effectiveness at Talkspace. He adds that communication is key in the workplace. Training for Managers Annual manager training is often seen as a hassle to many, but Duvernay says this requirement is a great investment. “You’re equipping your managers again with those resources that they need to understand, but you're also sending a message from the top down that it’s a business imperative, and it’s very important to the business success that everybody is able to develop their own well being,” she said. Waters Corporation makes discussions about important topics a part of meeting agendas, allowing the team to set aside 20 minutes to talk about things such as mental health and emotional well-being. “It’s a way to be helping them, giving them tips, educating them without making it feel like it’s this strong, stern requirement,” DiFabio said.The company also has an online resource that is available only to managers which include tips, suggestions, guides and employee assistance programs. It also partners with a EAP vendor which is open for managers to call for one-on-one private coaching sessions with a trained professional that can provide advice on any situation that a manager might find difficulties with.Talkspace, an online and mobile therapy company, makes sure that its organization’s leaders see that mental health is part of the workplace culture. Kellogg said the company has “mental health minutes,” which are one to two minute Youtube clips that give managers the mindset about mental health going into the day.Kellogg says that Talkspace also has mental health first aid training sessions where the company has a highly intensive one day block of instruction for either frontline managers, middle managers or senior leaders. “Following that training, those individuals are now force multipliers in your own workforce, and it's a resume builder, it’s something that they accomplish. They get a certificate and by doing that, you’re creating a culture that’s generating energy around mental health,” Kellogg said.In order to build a culture where mental health is prioritized, managers might be expected to be accountable for boosting wellness. Duvernay adds that the accountability piece is in the managers ability to have regular check-ins, collecting feedback and being able to act on what they are hearing from employees. As a form of accountability managers have to engage, be proactive and anticipate needs, she says. “If you create that environment as a manager, to have that open door policy and to anticipate challenges and how you’ll react to them, I think you create that environment where employees are accountable for their own well being, which I think is really the end goal,” Duvernay said. Measuring Wellness TrendsTechnological advances have allowed people to gain insights on trends and anticipated outcomes. Data driven tools can especially be useful for measuring mental health and wellness trends within a workplace. Talkspace analyzes data on who is leveraging mental health services as well as clinical assessments. These assessments can give a deeper look into whether the company is rating high on anxiety, depression, work-life balance and allows the company to understand where its employees stand and evaluate how the workplace is impacting them, says Kellogg.While data can be helpful, Liebman acknowledges that usually this type of information is not known to companies until they bring in a third party vendor. It’s insightful for human resource teams to understand what’s going on in their workforce at different levels to identify stressors within the company, she says. “Having those insights allows you to add better programs that are specific to what your company needs and what will improve their overall well-being,” said Liebman.Jennifer Yoshikoshi is a local news and education reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.(Photos by Rick Friedman for From Day One)
Agents of Their Own Growth: Encouraging Employees to Advocate for Their Career Development
BY Jessica Swenson May 13, 2025Non-linear career moves that may be deemed risky, like a lateral transfer with no increase in pay or title, can also offer unexpected benefits. Sumeeta Maxwell, chief people officer for Experian’s Global Functions and Centers division, took control of her growth early in her career by making a lateral move that diversified her experience and broadened skill sets that later proved invaluable. “Very quickly, I was able to demonstrate success and [show] that I can grow and have potential,” Maxwell said during a fireside chat at From Day One’s Dallas conference. She encourages team members and peers to value a breadth of experience over a traditional strictly upward progression, favoring opportunities to illustrate their capacity for change and learning. This is just one example of how employees can take charge of their career development at Experian. The company offers a variety of resources to attract, engage, and retain talent, but Maxwell says that one thing you cannot replace is the employee owning their development process. “Only the individual can actually seize the opportunity and then deliver on it,” she said. “You have to take charge of your development—constantly evaluate your strengths and find ways to leverage them through your development plan.”Given the current status of the US job market, is an emphasis on career self-advocacy a good idea right now? Regardless of the market, you can never go wrong by continuously finding ways to learn, gather expertise, and expand your skills, says Maxwell. One way to do this is to embrace stretch assignments or other opportunities for growth that are offered. In the midst of a transformation, Maxwell says, one Experian organization decided to further embed the tenets of its high-performance culture through an internal initiative focused on enhancing business goal performance. Senior technology leaders participated in a curriculum that combined learning activities with structured progress checkpoints to sharpen their skills in leadership, goal-setting, and communication. This program not only drove short-term impact to the business but prepared participants for high-level interactions through improved presentation skills.As a global organization serving around 150,000 clients and millions of consumers, Experian’s commitment to a flexible work culture is also crucial to the success of its 23,000 employees. Hybrid schedules have delivered high engagement and productivity, Maxwell says, allowing the company to “foster flexibility without sacrificing the value of in-person engagement.” Sumeeta Maxwell of Experian was interviewed by Steve Koepp, editor in chief and co-founder of From Day One However, with multiple generations, working styles, and sets of expectations in the workplace, Maxwell and team understand that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It is important for companies to consider the nuances of a diverse workforce, but employees can also advocate for what they need to advance their career. While universally appreciated, she says, flexibility can mean different things to different people, ranging from flexible work schedules to self-expression and inclusion. “Inclusion and belonging is a foundational value for us,” says Maxwell. It’s a critical element of the company’s culture as it strives to reflect its global customer base and encourage employees to bring their whole selves to work. Inclusion and belonging at Experian is supported by employee resource groups (ERGs) which are open to all employees regardless of identity. Maxwell says that Experian’s ERGs provide not only a sense of belonging and community-building, but they are a resource that helps employees develop leadership capabilities, communication skills, and career mobility. Oftentimes, she said, “people will find out about internal opportunities through their friends in the ERGs.”Another resource available to Experian employees is artificial intelligence. The company’s philosophy on AI is that if you don’t adopt it, you’ll be left behind. So they prepare their employees to use AI appropriately, says Maxwell. “We’ve put a lot of effort into ensuring our people are equipped and trained to know how, when, and why to use it,” she said. Their system includes an internal AI coach named Nadia, which Maxwell herself even uses to prepare for meetings or specific conversations. Nadia is trained on the company’s strategy and leadership principles, so leaders can interact with it as if they were an executive coach. To really put employees in control of their career and internal mobility, Experian will soon launch a talent marketplace tool, Maxwell says. The platform is educated with internal career frameworks and role criteria. Employees will be able to create personal profiles and be proactively matched to open internal roles based on that criteria, helping them find ways to grow within the company. “The idea is, we really want our people to be able to find their journey and find their development inside [Experian], and not have to leave to find it,” said Maxwell.When it comes to advocating for your own career development, Maxwell says, consistent effort, strategic action, and hard work are essential regardless of your work environment. “Good communication skills and the ability to present never go out of style.”Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at https://www.jmswensonllc.com.(Photos by Steve Bither for From Day One)
Immersive Learning for Realistic, Judgment-Free Skill Building
BY Matthew Koehler May 13, 2025Starting a new job or role often means facing a gap between what you’ve learned and what real-world experience demandsA newly licensed real estate agent might know the material but has never sat across from an actual client, and that first deal can be daunting. Or maybe a new manager is about to fire someone for the first time. What if you could practice those high-stakes moments before they happen?Virtual reality and AI are now making it possible, turning knowledge into confidence through realistic, judgment-free training. “I can’t imagine having to fire somebody for the first time and never having done that. It’s probably terrifying, emotional, and scary in a million different ways,” said Jack Makhlouf, VP of partnerships at Moth+Flame.“We try to build simulations for people so they can get a lot of practice. It’s also safe to fail. One of the secret powers of simulations is that you can mess up,” he said.Makhlouf spoke about the advantages of VR and immersive learning with Joe Reta, a partner manager at ArborXR and collaborator with Moth+Flame, during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Dallas conference. Immersive training has been around for a while. Think flight simulators, for example—something the military and airline industry has used for years. The benefit of this technology, says Makhlouf, is that “you’re physically doing something.” “You’re emotionally engaged in the experience. It’s interactive. It’s multi-sensory. You’re looking. You’re talking. You’re using your hands. It’s very realistic.” And, there are no real world consequences for making mistakes. “You can say the wrong thing and suffer the consequences. But you’re in a judgment free experience, so you’re safe to mess around,” Makhlouf said. Joe Reta, Partner Manager at ArborXR spoke with Jack Makhlouf, VP of Partnerships at Moth+Flame about immersive learningAI immersive learning has only become more intuitive and dynamic. Makhlouf calls it the perfect learning tool. “If I mess up in a giving feedback conversation, I’m going to know why and I’ll get to try again, and it’s going to assess me on tone delivery. It’s pretty advanced that way.”The military knows this and has long been a proving ground for the highest level of simulation-based training because they have “to keep their service members ready at all times,” Makhlouf said. It has also proven valuable in hands-on mechanical training. Makhlouf highlighted a program developed for the Air Force, which trains personnel on the precise steps needed to power up a C-17 cargo aircraft. Before using virtual reality, trainees learned through PowerPoint which led to costly mistakes in the field. “VR is a really great place to practice and fail,” he said. Thanks to immersive training, the Air Force cut errors by 85% and saved an estimated $1.7 million in fuel costs, says Makhlouf.While the upfront investment is significant, Makhlouf says that the ROI makes it worthwhile. “You’ve got to look at the return,” he said. Circling back to difficult conversations in the corporate space, Makhlouf says that both a popular and personal favorite module is in feedback. “Everybody thinks they're good at giving feedback, even positive feedback. But people don't know how to give proper positive feedback.”Building trust is another one. “We know that the relationship between [the] employee and their direct manager has a big impact on engagement. How do you build trust? How do you resolve conflict? How do you increase your emotional intelligence?”The big advantage immersive AI learning has in achieving better results in training, according to Makhlouf, is that people are using their voices, “not clicking answers in a scenario.” “Ironically, the first simulation I ever tried in my previous company was a firing simulation in VR. You’re sitting across the desk from an older guy who’s been inappropriate, and you got to call him in for a one on one, and it's the last straw. It can end badly, and it does end badly if you don't do it right. It can also end really well,” he said. He says they had people crying coming out of the simulation because it was so real.That is how this training is supposed to work, and why it feels so real; it’s immersive. “It is voice driven, whether you’re doing it in VR or tablet or mobile. You're navigating a conversation. You’re getting feedback on the fly—these avatars and actors are talking back to you. You’re in a conversation; it can go well, or it can not go so well. It’s completely up to you.”Wellstar Health System, a client Makhlouf’s company worked with, wanted to boost empathy among staff, so Makhlouf’s team created a simulation where participants’ answers were scored based on their level of empathy, prompting trial and error until they improved. “The first time through, people don’t get 80% or 100%,” he said. But with practice and targeted feedback on skills like empathetic paraphrasing, employees saw steady gains, much like building strength through repeated reps at the gym.What makes immersive training so effective, especially in a VR environment, is the combination of evolving technology and AI, and the fact that the AI avatars are based on real world actors. “So there’s not just some conceptual human prototype being used for AI avatars. They’re people...AI is mimicking facial expressions, their voice, body language and all that. They’re getting scary good.”Makhlouf's advice for companies and HR departments that want to modernize their training modules with immersion learning? “I would not recommend building something custom right off the bat. I would recommend you pilot with content that’s already made, and there’s a lot of content out in the field that’s ready to go off the shelf. So find a piece of content that aligns to your use case or business goal. Pilot it out, prove it out, build your business case. VR or immersive really shines when the use case is very, very strong.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, ArborXR, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Matthew Koehler is a freelance journalist and licensed real-estate agent based in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Greater Greater Washington, The Southwester, and Walking Cinema, among others.(Photos by Steve Bither for From Day One)
Why Focusing on Early Talent Is a Critical Need for All Seasons
BY Ade Akin May 12, 2025Giselle Battley, the head of global emerging talent arrived at Yahoo in 2024, bringing along a background in tech recruiting for what she calls “emerging careers.” Instead of limiting early-career hiring to university pipelines, Battley and her team have reshaped hiring policies to welcome talent from diverse backgrounds and life paths. It’s worked well for Yahoo as Gen Z now represents 45% of its search users. Battley says that many of the brand’s young users are drawn in by its vintage tech appeal, which helps to forge deeper connections with recruits. She spoke about winning over the next generation of talent during a fireside chat at From Day One’s February virtual conference. “The next generation values transparency and authenticity more than any before,” Battley said. Brookings Institution projects that the U.S. will be a “majority-minority” society by 2045. 48% of Gen Zers entering the workforce today identify as nonwhite, which means inclusive hiring practices aren’t just about ethics any longer; they’re essential to attract younger talent. Talent acquisition teams should be ready to have candid conversations about corporate challenges and successes during the recruitment process. “Candidates will ask, ‘What has your company done about XYZ?’” Battley said. “If you can’t answer authentically, you’ll lose them.”Contrary to the myth that Gen Zers despise working in office spaces, research suggests they crave in-person collaboration and mentorships without heavy-handed mandates, says Battley. “They want autonomy to choose when and where they work,” she said.Yahoo’s approach gives employees the flexibility they crave while co-working days are built around team workshops and project sprints. This leads to early-career hires feeling empowered in shaping their work-life balance, which fosters loyalty. Traditional recruiting metrics, like time-to-fill, source value, and pass-through rates, still matter, but that’s not all Battley uses to gauge success. “My personal measure of success for our team is how much value we’re bringing to the business outside of just the talent that we’re bringing,” she said.Building a community is also imperative. Yahoo’s “Intern Alumni Program” aims to cultivate lifelong relationships with interns rather than only offering guaranteed roles post-internship, which isn’t always feasible amid industry-wide hiring slowdowns. “We want our alumni to be ambassadors,” she said. “So, when more roles open, they come back with us top of mind.” It’s a strategic hedge against talent shortages, ensuring a warm recruiting pipeline even in lean years.Battley embraces artificial intelligence and new tools as valuable assets for early talent recruitment. Yahoo partners with Hello Hive to provide candidates with AI-driven résumé coaching, helping potential hires articulate their achievements.Nicole Smith, editorial audience director at Harvard Business Review, interviewed Battley of Yahoo (photo by From Day One)This allows applicants from under-resourced backgrounds to polish their résumés as well as those with professional résumé services. The AI résumé coach also helps non-native English speakers refine their written communications, reinforcing that language support is itself a diversity initiative.But even with the use of AI, foundational skills continue to matter, she says. “Leadership, critical thinking, adaptability; AI can’t replicate those,” she said. She encourages candidates to showcase their campus leadership, part-time work, or volunteer impact achievements during interviews. She says these human attributes differentiate candidates in an increasingly automated selection process.Rethinking Early TalentBattley says one of the reasons why Yahoo’s Global Emerging Talent teams have been successful is the absence of an age or education bias. “Think skills-based recruiting,” she said.Early career doesn’t necessarily mean fresh out of college. It includes candidates transitioning between industries or roles. Broadening the definition of “emerging talent” allows companies to tap into hidden talent pools, enriching teams with diverse perspectives. Two key points stand out for skeptics questioning the ROI of early-career programs: strategic alignment and cost efficiency. Battley recommends first linking talent directly to business objectives, like market expansion, product feedback, and brand engagement, so leadership sees hires as growth drivers, not perks. Secondly, she advises reminding stakeholders that “building” talent early is more cost-effective than “buying” seasoned professionals on the open market. Starting with small pilots can help demonstrate long-term retention rates and cultural benefits. “Don’t limit yourself to traditional hires,” Battley said as the conversation came to its end. “Seek out skills, not just résumés. Prioritize diversity of thought to drive real innovation. And most of all, stay authentic because the talent you attract tomorrow will shape the brand you’ve built for 30 years today.”Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photo by Alessandro Biascioli/iStock)