Pregnancy Loss Is One of the Most Overlooked Forms of Grief. It Needs to Be Recognized in the Workplace
BY Lisa Jaffe October 29, 2025When I suffered a miscarriage just 10 weeks into my first pregnancy, I was left to deal with the emotional consequences on my own. I was expected to go right back to work and operate as if nothing had happened. It’s not as if it was a baby, people said. Better it happens now than later, they said. It seemed not just unhelpful, but cruel. An estimated 10% to 30% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Yet most families face that loss in silence, with little acknowledgment from their communities or workplaces.That silence is starting to break. Empathy, a leading technology company transforming how the world plans for and navigates life’s toughest moments, is expanding its Loss Support product to include a program dedicated to pregnancy and infant loss.“Pregnancy and infant loss are deeply personal and often invisible forms of grief,” said Sophie Ruddock, Empathy’s chief operating officer. “It’s one of the most common experiences employees face, yet it remains largely unrecognized in workplace policies.”Empathy’s latest Grief Tax Report (2025) highlights why this issue matters, not just emotionally but organizationally:54% of those experiencing a loss used their own funds to pay for post-loss costs, even if loved ones had plans in place; out-of-pocket expenses per loss average $12,500.92% of people experiencing loss report health consequences such as panic attacks, weight changes, or anxiety.Out-of-pocket costs average $12,500 per loss.Work disruptions can last more than a year, often leading to absenteeism or resignation.78% of employees who suffer a loss don’t feel supported at work.“Our research shows that employees who experience pregnancy loss report similar concerns, including thoughts of leaving and fears about job security,” Ruddock says. “This is not just an emotional crisis; it is a workplace one.”A New Kind of Support“People were using and finding comfort in our Loss Support platform program to cope with pregnancy losses,” Ruddock says. One HR leader who had used the program after an early miscarriage reported to Empathy that the experience “validated my grief and reminded me I wasn’t alone,” she said. Recognizing this need, Empathy set out to create dedicated resources tailored to this experience.The new Pregnancy and Infant Loss program builds on Empathy’s existing infrastructure of care managers, mindfulness tools, and digital resources. After enrolling, employees receive a personalized care plan, daily guidance to help rebuild structure and confidence, support for workplace communication, and one-on-one sessions with trained care managers.Expert resources were developed in partnership with Jessica Zucker, PhD, a leading psychologist specializing in reproductive and maternal mental health. The program also includes dedicated tools for non-carrying partners, a group often overlooked in traditional bereavement support.“Our approach recognizes that pregnancy loss affects everyone involved,” Ruddock said. “Any parent or parent-to-be has imagined a future that suddenly feels taken away. Each deserves care and space to process that loss.”Compassion Meets TechnologyAt Empathy, technology and human care go hand in hand. As Ruddock explains, technological innovation like AI allows Empathy to deliver “deeply personalized care at scale. Our technology helps tailor each care plan based on the user’s experience, stage of recovery, and expressed needs. It also automates administrative tasks. like paperwork reminders, so our team can focus on what matters most: human connection.” AI, she adds, is a “force multiplier.”Beyond Loss: A Broader MissionThis launch is part of Empathy’s broader effort to support people through major life transitions. The company recently introduced LifeVault, which helps families prepare for the future through estate planning, and Leave Support, a partnership with MetLife designed to help employees on short-term leave return to work with confidence.Sophie Ruddock, Empathy’s chief operating officer (company photo)“Loss is universal,” Ruddock said. “Every employee will experience it, yet few companies are truly prepared. Addressing grief is not only compassionate; it is smart business. It builds loyalty, accelerates return-to-work timelines, and helps people feel seen.”For HR leaders, the takeaway is clear: do not wait for a crisis. “Employees remember how they were treated when life was hardest,” Ruddock said. “Those who show care build trust that lasts far beyond recovery.”Empathy continues to expand its specialized care journeys to support people through all of life’s hardest moments. The goal is simple: to make comprehensive care the new baseline for employee well-being. “Grief is inevitable,” she said, “but disruption does not have to be.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Empathy, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Empathy is a leading technology company transforming the way people plan for and navigate life’s toughest moments. Serving more than 45 million policyholders across North America with loss support, Empathy currently partners with eight of the top ten U.S. life insurance carriers and handles one in five life insurance claims in the U.S. beyond the payout. With $162 million in funding from top-tier venture firms including Index Ventures, General Catalyst, Adams Street Partners, and other leading funds, as well as strategic investment from global financial institutions and Empathy Alliance partners, Empathy combines cutting-edge innovation with compassion to provide unparalleled support for bereavement, estate management, legacy planning, and more. Recognized by Apple, Google Play, and Fast Company, Empathy is setting the standard for modern family care and workplace benefits. Learn more at empathy.comLisa Jaffe is a Seattle-based writer who specializes in issues about health, wellness, and the healthcare industry. (Featured image by PeopleImages/iStock by Getty Images)
Improving Financial Wellness for Your Employees at a Modest Cost
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza October 28, 2025As inflation squeezes paychecks, student debt looms over graduates, and the cost of childcare keeps climbing, companies are under mounting pressure to help employees make the most of their money. But offering financial wellness programs isn’t just a nice-to-have. Employees now expected it–and it’s a strategic business move. The problem, however, is doing so cost-efficiently.The first challenge is often getting executives, who make six- or seven-figure incomes, to understand the financial plights of salaried, and especially hourly, employees. At MGM Resorts–famous for its gaming, hospitality, and entertainment venues–many leaders are what DJ Rao, the company’s head of total rewards, calls “homegrown.” They started with modest means. “They’ve grown from the front desk upwards into the C-suite. Our leadership appreciates and understands what $400 is,” he said during a recent From Day One webinar about improving employee financial wellness at a modest cost.If your leaders don’t have this kind of appreciation, Rao emphasized that presenting programs as a moral imperative won’t be enough. HR leaders must benchmark against competitors in terms of ROI, reduced absenteeism, and increased productivity. Your leaders are concerned about the business, so translate it into dollars and cents. “It just cannot be, ‘Let’s do this because it’s good.’ You have to show the money.”But how do you know if you’re delivering what your employees really need? Trade-off surveys are a helpful tool. Devin Miller, co-founder and CEO of emergency-savings platform SecureSave, recommends asking employees which benefits they actually want, rather than assuming the standard offerings will work. Expert speakers joined From Day One contributing editor Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza for a conversation on improving employee financial wellness at a modest cost“Everything’s costing more, and you want to add more, but do they really still need all of these things? And which one do they prefer over others?” Miller said. Some employees might prioritize emergency-savings accounts over health savings accounts or other perks entirely. Understanding these preferences ensures programs make a meaningful impact.Financial resources don’t have to be expensive, and some don’t cost a thing. Damilola Akinduro, global head of benefits at the data-center company Equinix, points out that, without extra cash, employees often struggle to save. To help, Equinix helps its workers with tax efficiency and brings in volunteer experts for financial education. “You’d be surprised at how much employees appreciate these things,” she said.First United Bank also leans on its internal resources. They invite specialists from within the bank to host talks about budgeting, and have their 401(k) provider give free seminars, said Christina Escobar, a senior financial well-being specialist at First United. “We really try to leverage our vendors and our internal resources.” These resources are especially helpful for their new grads (they hire 100 to 200 every year), who may have never followed a budget or set up a retirement account.Vendors themselves are evolving to make financial benefits more cost-effective. Dave Kirby, SVP of total rewards at marketing data company Epsilon, noted that platform-style solutions now allow companies to consolidate things like charitable giving, wellness programs, and financial literacy offerings in one place, making it easier to scale benefits efficiently. “There are now vendors that are bringing all this together under one platform,” he said.Over time, employers may need to reevaluate their offerings. “It’s surprising how few employers take the time to go through these programs, ask the hard questions, and pull that money back,” Miller said. Many companies can fund improvements by reallocating underused benefits rather than increasing budgets.Rao warned against chasing wellness trends. “Everyone wants to do something new, but be very careful what you offer your employees,” lest you have to roll it back. He recommends investing fully in a few initiatives and communicating widely—through word of mouth, employee resource groups (ERGs), signage, and internal websites. “Do few things,” Rao said, “but do them well.”Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs. (Featured photo by LordHenryVoton/iStock by Getty Images)
How AI Innovation Can Unlock a New Era of Benefit Personalization for Employees
BY Stephanie Reed October 23, 2025Recent surveys show that 93% of Gen Z employees use two or more AI tools weekly. Employees use AI to boost productivity, research benefits, strengthen managerial abilities, and build critical leadership skills. In this pivotal digital era, HR professionals have a unique opportunity to shape how AI is applied across industries.“AI is becoming an integral part of your workforce, and it will increasingly be so over the years to come,” said Marthin De Beer, the founder and CEO of BrightPlan during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s San Francisco conference. “So each and every one of us needs a strategy as to how we embrace that and how we implement that,” he said. Beer presented a call-to-action, encouraging HR to “step up” by working with AI to personalize and effectively implement employee development in the session titled, “AI Innovation Unlocks a New Era of Benefit Personalization for Employees.” AI as a People and Tech Opportunity BrightPlan provides organizations with technology, education, and coaching for employee financial wellness. Its revenue quadrupled in 3 years of AI integration, says De Beer. The company uses AI to combine employer compensation and benefit information with individual employees’ financial data. BrightPlan then provides hyper-personalized financial advice. Employees receive advice on spending, budgeting, debt management, investing, retirement planning, estate planning, and more. BrightPlan’s exclusive access to comprehensive data combined with human-driven, empathetic guidance is “key for driving benefits optimization and ensuring the business is making investments in initiatives backed by tangible workforce needs,” De Beer said. The results support the finding that financial wellness is a top benefit concern in the workplace. As employees’ financial wellness scores doubled within 6 months under BrightPlan’s coaching, according to its research, engagement improved by 59% and retention by 30%.HI (human intelligence) and AI (artificial intelligence) must work in tandem. HR leaders play a crucial role in providing training and human oversight to ensure AI output reflects empathy, accuracy, and compliance. “You can literally ask it anything, from ‘can I afford a Ford Mustang’ to ‘my dad just passed away, what should I do? Or what benefits should I select for me?’” As a result, AI coaching can now address about 90% of employee needs, including benefits-related questions.Marthin De Beer, founder and CEO of BrightPlan, led the sessionWhile AI can process static data quickly and efficiently, HR leaders are now being called to the forefront of AI transformation. Their focus will increasingly center on integrating people strategies with technological innovation. Beer notes that AI lacks human social, ethical, and emotional intelligence—making human oversight an essential part of AI training and implementation.“You already own culture, policy, and ethics. You need that for AI. It’s becoming part of your workforce. You already guide how people work. Right now, you can help guide how AI works with them,” he said. The Call-To-ActionModern AI integration undeniably delivers effective, personalized benefits for both clients and employees. It brings continuous innovation that drives productivity and efficiency. As a result, HR’s role is expanding beyond its traditional scope. De Beer emphasizes that a more people-centered approach is essential to enhance personalization, improving both the employee experience and the overall lifecycle. So, how can organizations begin to realize the full potential of this pivotal era in the workforce?First, experiment with AI by taking classes or practicing ChatGPT to create presentations or strategies. The incentive is getting more done than ever before. Next, build a culture of ethical and empowered AI usage. De Beer suggests considering your company’s goals for AI applications and the potential circumstances surrounding them. “Use AI with purpose. Understand the context of what is being asked for when it comes to AI,” he said. Finally, establish clear policies, training, and oversight, covering several crucial aspects. This includes limiting AI hallucinations, using feedback loops to generate code for engineers, producing RFP responses for sales teams, and ensuring HR leaders monitor AI output to provide contextually aware and financially responsible guidance.BrightPlan’s AI coach is reviewed and improved weekly, De Beer says. This ensures that strict guardrails and creativity controls minimize hallucinations. “We've talked about the future of work for a long time. This is the future of work. AI is faster, HI is better, and it will keep getting better as it innovates together.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, BrightPlan, 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 David Coe for From Day One)
Taking an Enterprising Approach to Building the Tech Workforce of Tomorrow
BY Ade Akin October 23, 2025For Michael Walters, the solution to the current crisis facing the U.S. semiconductor industry, as it's projected to face a 67,000-worker shortage, is to bet big on AI and apprenticeships.For Walters, the chief human resources officer at Samsung Semiconductor, North America, the projected labor shortage shapes every decision he makes regarding the organization’s future.Walters finds himself at the frontlines of the talent war sparked by the current onshoring boom. He sat down with Stephen Koepp, the editor-in-chief and a co-founder of From Day One, for a fireside chat at From Day One’s San Francisco conference, to discuss a wide range of subjects, from the geopolitics of the new Visa rules to the potential of using AI to improve employee wellness. Building a Workforce from the Ground UpSamsung faces monumental challenges as it moves forward with plans to construct a series of gigafactories in Taylor, Texas, a project that will eventually require about 12,000 employees. Each factory will be the size of ten football fields next to each other, and the site in Taylor has space for nine.“About a third of the workforce that’s in semiconductor is over the age of 55,” Walters noted, highlighting the challenge Samsung faces as it looks to staff its new factories. Walter’s solution is to attack the talent pipeline from every angle. The organization needs a range of professionals, from PhD-level engineers to technicians who will operate advanced robotics. Samsung is partnering up with higher learning institutions, like the University of Texas, to help meet its labor force needs. Both organizations are collaborating to create the first-ever master’s degree in semiconductors. Samsung also teams up with community colleges and trade schools to help develop technical talent, including the creation of apprenticeship programs. “We're big believers in apprenticeship programs,” Walters said as he described a pilot Samsung launched with Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School, where most students are prospective first-generation college attendees. “We have five of those students working side by side with our people, essentially serving as interns or apprentices.” These students spend one full day each week during the school year in these roles, a practice Walters views as a direct investment in the local workforce. The Immigration Policy WhiplashWalters also discussed the mixed messaging coming from Washington, D.C., on its immigration policies. The issue is deeply personal for Samsung, given that a significant portion of its workforce is on Visa sponsorships.“There’s probably nothing more critical to their well-being and to the well-being of their families than this issue,” he said. “In the U.S., 70% of students that are pursuing Master’s or PhDs in electrical engineering are foreign students.”Michael Walters, the CHRO of Samsung Semiconductor, spoke with Steve Koepp, From Day One co-founder and editor-in-chiefWalters says the projected 67,000 worker shortage could worsen as it becomes increasingly complex for these students to study or work in the U.S. He notes that while Samsung having a voice in Washington is essential, its visibility must be carefully managed while dealing with a “transactional” administration.AI’s Promise: From Healthcare to Workforce EfficiencyThe AI boom has been a massive tailwind for Samsung, driving demand for its advanced memory chips. Walters is now exploring practical applications of AI for his HR team. He shared how a partnership with the AI platform Avante is already helping employees. “This is an AI platform that can integrate into our internal systems and customize to the employee,” Walters said. “So when the employee logs on, the platform knows who they are. In a very easy-to-use bot system, you know, if we were here and I threw out my back and I wanted to go see a chiropractor, I could easily, through the bot, be able to see within a one-mile radius, who are the chiropractors who would be in network, out of network, what would be the cost of that, and get that all in real time.”Walters views AI as an essential tool for improving employee efficiency and well-being, despite his frustration with vendors who over-promise and under-deliver. He urges employers to stay focused on the basic needs of their employees, amidst the uncertainty caused by mass layoffs and a changing economic outlook. “I don’t think that some of those employee issues that were prevalent during the pandemic have necessarily gone away,” he said. Questions like “Am I going to be able to keep my job?” and “Will I get that promotion?” are still on the minds of many employees, and mental health remains essential. Walters compared his role in HR to that of a support player in team sports who never scores points but is essential to their team’s success, a lesson he learned during his days as a collegiate rugby player. “We’re enablers. We’re making these things happen,” he said. The role of building the human infrastructure for a complex new world has never been more vital for organizations like Samsung at the heart of technological progress. Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photos by David Coe for From Day One)
Why AI Is Forcing Companies to Rethink What a Job Is
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza October 22, 2025The rapid maturity of AI is changing the question HR leaders ask when they’re talking about jobs. Where leaders once asked, “Who can do this job?,” they’re now asking, “What combination of human and AI can do it best?”This is a natural next revolution of the “skills-based hiring” model that shifted job paradigms away from role descriptions and toward equipping workers with specific capabilities the organization needs. And that goes for AI agents too. One of AI assistant Claude’s new features is actually called “skills.”Headlines make it sound like AI is wiping out jobs by the thousand, but “there’s a lot more at play there,” says Lisa Highfield, the principal director of HR tech and AI at the consulting firm McLean & Company. Some companies are going through typical reorganizations while others are simply responding to market downturns. “We’re not seeing the masses of AI job reduction that a lot of these headlines sometimes indicate.”While displacement is not yet widespread, companies are experimenting with augmenting workers–and sometimes replacing them, yes–with AI. Startups like Artisan and Viven are building “AI coworkers” and “digital twins,” and attracting tens of millions of dollars in venture funding. Yet few are forecasting human irrelevance. Even Artisan CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, whose company is probably best known for its provocative “Stop Hiring Humans” marketing campaign, told TechCrunch that he doesn’t believe AI will replace most human labor. “Human labor becomes more valuable when you have the AI content,” he said. In fact, the company has been hiring all year. It’s more likely that we will see more human-AI partnership in the workplace.How far up the ladder could this go? Hanneke Faber, CEO of global tech manufacturing company Logitech, says that she would entertain the idea of an AI agent joining her board of directors. “We already use [AI agents] in almost every meeting,” Faber told the audience last week at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women conference. “As they evolve—and some of the best agents or assistants that we’ve built actually do things themselves—that comes with a whole bunch of governance things. You have to keep in mind and make sure you really want that bot to take action. But if you don’t have an AI agent in every meeting, you’re missing out on some of the productivity.”Many leaders are putting faith in AI as a productivity booster. A leaked message from a Meta executive told workers that they should be working five times faster, thanks to AI. Even companies just dabbling in automation are using AI to handle repetitive tasks like data entry and reporting, while augmenting others, like analysis and strategy. Employees are reporting time savings. At HR tech company Deputy, employees using AI tools report saving five to ten hours per week. At media company Scripps, 20% of newsroom workers using AI for just one or two hours per day say they save roughly 20 minutes of total work time.Nascent AI practices are not without their problems, of course. Employees are frustrated by the amount of “workslop,” or AI-generated content void of substance, being served up, forcing humans to clean up after the machines. It’s become so common that colleagues are reportedly losing trust in each other. “We think [AI] will reduce our workload,” said Sue Cantrell, a work futurist at Deloitte. “But in reality, many workers are finding it increases their workload. It can also increase feelings of loneliness when they’re working more with AI than with their colleagues.”Yet thanks to AI, workforce planning is becoming more nimble. Cantrell recently met with a company developing a tool that lets managers click a button to see who, or what, has the right skills for a given task. That could mean a full-time employee, a contractor, or even an AI agent. With that data, managers can more accurately forecast headcount, fill roles, and seek out needed skills. HR already has a wealth of information about employees and their skills, and applying some smart AI can help compile skills ontologies and find workers who have them. Highfield believes that, aside from cost efficiency, this is the greatest opportunity AI has afforded so far.Companies are using technology that can deconstruct jobs into skills, then assess workers for skills, and match the two. But this model, so far, breaks down when it comes to work that requires higher-level thinking. Cantrell said that some skills–like creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking–can’t be cleanly parsed from the people who have them, and atomizing such work can kill not only the nuance, but also the joy. “Tasks are the actual activities underneath the job, and skills are the actual capabilities that workers bring,” Cantrell parsed. Not all work can, or should, be chopped into its component parts.In some organizations, the lines between people and technology are blurring at the structural level. Cantrell points to companies, like Moderna and Covisian, that have merged their HR and IT departments. IT’s role is to figure out how to perform work with technology, one leader told her, while HR’s role is to figure out how to perform work with people. Now companies are experimenting with bringing the roles together, though at least one leading HR thinker calls it a “senseless” endeavor. Stay tuned for more on that one.Work performed by both humans and machines, in parallel or in concert, may define the next revolution of business transformation. Think beyond efficiency, Cantrell said. Companies often think of AI as task replacement, but she believes “it’s an opportunity to reinvent the way we’re working.”Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Featured image by Gremlin/iStock by Getty Images)
Optimizing Productivity and Efficiency in Times of Constraint
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza October 22, 2025As companies face tighter budgets, leaner teams, and pressure to boost productivity, one thing has become clear: Success depends less on scale and more on resourcefulness. The winners aren’t necessarily those with the biggest teams or deepest pockets—but those that can make the most of what they have. That was the takeaway from an executive panel discussion at From Day One’s September virtual conference. Panelists shared how they’re tackling the modern dilemma of how to stay effective when everyone is stretched thin.Balancing Priorities and Capacity“One of the biggest disconnects between leadership’s expectations and employees’ day-to-day is capacity versus priority,” said Joanna Eagan, senior director of people services at Core & Main. “Leaders tend to set ambitious productivity goals with the best intentions, but employees are juggling competing demands, a lot of administrative tasks, and often outdated tools. It can feel like leadership is asking for more without taking anything off their plates.”Ryan Sattler, director of HR tech and intelligence at M&T Bank, agreed that clarity is often a problem. “I don’t think many organizations do a particularly good job at clarifying and articulating where employees should be spending their energy,” he said. It’s easy to keep doing the same things, even when leadership has set new priorities. Leaders, Sattler added, should focus on strategy, removing obstacles and setting direction, rather than dictating day-to-day work.Managing Change From the Inside OutWhen every quarter seems to bring a new system, workflow, or AI automation, change fatigue becomes a real problem. By the time new initiatives reach the frontline, those workers often haven’t been part of the conversation. “We need to focus on listening to our employees and their experiences, reprioritizing low-value work so they can get on board with the pivots being asked of them,” said Eagan.To help new tools catch on, HR tech platform Deputy designates “AI Champions”—enthusiastic early adopters who can model success for their peers. “Instead of having something come from the top down, we’re building excitement and momentum from the middle of the organization and from the bottom up,” said Sejal Daswani, Deputy’s chief people officer.Journalist and From Day One contributing editor, Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza moderated the discussion (photo by From Day One)“Change is difficult for everyone, even if we know it’s going to make our life easier,” added Heather Mannings, executive director and HR business partner at Quest Diagnostics. Her team makes changes with a lot of explanation, and welcomes input from employees on how to make it better—after all, they’re the ones using it.Simplifying Work Through Smart AutomationCore & Main began its automation journey by targeting tedious, error-prone parts of payroll, and ultimately gaining hundreds of hours in productivity. Deputy reports similar benefits: Internal surveys found that AI tools are saving employees five to ten hours per week in writing, messaging, and presentation work.As tools multiply, integration remains a challenge. “I haven’t met a customer or frontline employee yet who says they don’t have enough apps, tools, or systems,” said Dave Nixon, CEO and co-founder of Enablo, an all-in-one communications platform for frontline workforces. The problem is integration. Companies are aspiring to reduce complexity for frontline workers—a single “digital front door” where they can check shifts, report incidents, and get company updates.The next era of productivity isn’t about squeezing more hours out of employees, it’s about removing friction, clarifying priorities, and designing systems that let people focus on work that matters. Whether through automation, better communication, or smarter change management, organizations are finding that efficiency in 2025 doesn’t come from doing more—it comes from doing less, better.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by miniseries/iStock)
Humanizing the Employee Experience in a Time of Increased Systems and Decreased Connection
BY Christopher O'Keeffe October 21, 2025Despite an explosion of HR tools and platforms, most employees still feel lost in their own companies. “How many of you feel like your organization makes it simple for employees to find what they need when they need it?” asked Gavin Paczosa, Head of North America at Humand during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Austin conference. Only a few hands went up.“The way that we work has dramatically evolved,” he said. “But the experience of work—how we engage, connect, and have access to what we need—has not kept up.”Across industries, teams are dispersed across time zones, channels are fragmented, and systems don’t talk to one another. “We’ve added more tools, but not more connection. More systems, but not more clarity,” Paczosa said. “In this mess of systems and logins, it’s easy to forget the most important part of every organization: the people.”Humanizing at ScaleAt the heart of Paczosa’s message is a deceptively simple question: how can companies humanize the employee experience at scale?“To me, humanizing doesn’t mean just adding a wellness app or sending a survey at the end of the month,” he said. “Humanization comes from building systems and cultures where people feel informed, valued, and empowered to act without friction.”That’s why, at Humand, the team focuses on creating what Paczosa calls a digital home for employees. “Because oftentimes we’re not in the office together,” he said. “This has to be a place where people don’t just log in; they belong.” When employees are informed, valued, and empowered, he says, they perform at their best—and stay engaged.Communication, Connection, and CultureTo build that digital home, Paczosa pointed to what he calls the three Cs: communication, connection, and culture.As work becomes increasingly digital, he urged leaders to “meet employees where they actually are,” the spaces where they chat with managers, recognize peers, and collaborate on projects. “When you put engagement first, every HR process follows naturally,” he said. “Policies get read. Training gets completed. Surveys get done on time.”The key isn’t adding yet another platform, but unifying what already exists. Humand’s approach integrates HR systems, learning management tools, and communication channels into one seamless interface. “No workflow should be more than a tap or a click away,” Paczosa said.That simplicity, paired with the use of Humand’s AI assistant, Sami, helps employees find what they need instantly, from pay stubs to compliance training, without hunting through multiple systems, he says. Building for Both Employees and AdminsGavin Paczosa, the Head of North America at Humand, led the thought leadership spotlight The employee experience, Paczosa emphasized, has to work on both ends: for the people using the system and for the HR teams running it. “Many of you have already invested heavily in enterprise systems,” he said. “We’re not going to ask you to rip and replace those. What we do is integrate with them.”The result, he said, is a “win-win”—employees get a single, intuitive access point, while administrators can keep using the tools they already know and trust. The platform’s flexibility allows organizations to turn features on and off as they evolve. “Just like a physical home, your digital home deserves care, attention, and the occasional refresh,” Paczosa said.Paczosa shared a case study of success. When Siemens wanted to create a digital home for its global workforce, Humand helped build a unified system centered on communication, connection, and culture. The results were striking: 98% monthly engagement and 95% workflow completion across a worldwide employee base, he says. With all workflows running through one platform, Siemens’ HR teams could finally see the full picture of the employee experience—“no more guessing, just actionable data,” Paczosa said.The Human Future of WorkFor Paczosa, this evolution is not just technological—it’s deeply human.He compared the workplace to an airport: HR admins are the air traffic controllers, managing complex systems behind the scenes, while employees are the pilots, who need only the essential information in one streamlined dashboard. “It’s not about ripping and replacing your systems,” he said. “It’s about creating the right access point for the people who need it most—your employees.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Humand, 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.(Photos by Josh Larson for From Day One)
Turning Employee Experience into a Recruitment and Retention Strategy
BY Carrie Snider October 20, 2025Employees today face constant change, and organizations feel the pressure to adapt. Traditional approaches to hiring, onboarding, and development are no longer enough to help them keep up. Companies must think strategically about employee experience as a driver of recruitment and retention.At From Day One’s Austin conference, panelists explored how organizations can create meaningful experiences that help employees feel valued, connected, and empowered. Moderated by Kelsey Bradshaw, editor of City Cast Austin, they discussed topics from personalized onboarding and continuous feedback to flexible learning programs and inclusive culture.Redesigning the Employee JourneyWhen panelist David Atkinson joined TriHealth as senior vice president and chief people and culture officer, he faced a major challenge. “We had about 8% of our open positions representing about 8% of our total employee count,” he said. “We had 36 and a half percent new hire turnover.” With more than 1,200 open roles, Atkinson realized the problem wasn’t just hiring. Rather, it was the employee experience from the very start.“Employee experience starts before they even get to the door,” he said. TriHealth reworked its hiring and onboarding process to build connections early. Candidates received personal messages from future teammates, a designated ambassador, and a sense of belonging before day one. Orientation paired new hires with ambassadors and career coaches.Kelsey Bradshaw, editor at City Cast Austin, moderated the panel discussion Atkinson also introduced a framework addressing the “emotional journey” every new employee experiences, including “excitement, doubt, learning, and mastery. Rather than avoiding doubt, TriHealth helped employees work through it. By moving onboarding surveys to the two-week mark and investing more in early days, TriHealth reduced new-hire turnover from 36.5% to under 25% in 18 months—transforming onboarding into a human-centered journey.Turning Listening into ActionAt UnitedHealth Group, employee experience begins with listening—but it doesn’t end there. According to panelist Stephanie Murphy, vice president of people experience: “You don’t understand what’s broken, where there needs to be improvement, or where there are strengths, until you talk and have those conversations—and not just a survey.” With more than 400,000 employees across the organization, her team gathers continuous insights via surveys, internal forums, and passive listening on external platforms.To make feedback constant and inclusive, the company launched its “Always On” program. “Even in a pharmacy with one pharmacist and two techs, there’s a QR code in the break room where people can go scan and share feedback at any point in time,” Murphy said. Employees can speak up whenever they have something to say, not just during formal review cycles.Listening only matters if it leads to change, she added. UnitedHealth sends monthly updates to “close the loop” with employees, sharing actions taken in response to input. The company also crowdsources solutions. “You told us that you really hate this return to office thing,” Murphy said. “Give us solutions to make it better for you.” By putting feedback into employees’ hands, UnitedHealth transforms listening into a shared, ongoing process of improvement and innovation.Continuous Feedback Beyond SurveysPanelist William Soares, vice president of global HR operations at Circana, agreed. “Engagement surveys are only really relevant for about a quarter after you take them,” he said. Besides asking for continuous feedback, the manner of feedback needs to go beyond surveys. Real-time insights require ongoing conversations, roundtables, and virtual check-ins.Being transparent and managing expectations is key, he added. Leaders should communicate what can be addressed immediately versus what must wait. Being open about hearing concerns and how they can’t be implanted at the moment is something employees appreciate, says Soares.Relationship-focused onboarding is another priority. New hires face overwhelming amounts of information, and Soares cautions against expecting instant mastery. “The worst thing you can do is have your new hire drink from a fire hose of what it is that they’re going to have to accomplish,” he said. Instead, he encourages leaders to help employees learn “the WHO” before the “what.”Finally, storytelling reinforces impact. Showing employees where change started, what was implemented, and how it improved outcomes reinforces that their voices matter. Learner-First Approach to TrainingAt Wise, learning and development is built around a learner-first philosophy, recognizing that employees absorb information in different ways. Panelist Joe Phillips, global head of learning and development, shared that learning styles is more important than considering demographics. That’s why Wise offers multiple ways for employees to engage, including reading, watching, listening, and interactive experiences, allowing individuals to choose what works best for them.Phillips emphasized bridging the gap between how employees learn at home and in the workplace. “We want to help people learn. We just want to help bridge the gap, make it feel more familiar to the way they learn at home,” he said. For example, subject matter experts stream short, interactive lessons, and compliance training offers multiple formats, creating a flexible and engaging environment.Wise also experiments with creative incentives to encourage ongoing learning. Employees are recognized through experiential rewards such as lunch with executives, opportunities to work in different offices, or public acknowledgment. Phillips noted, “If the results are what the results are, if we’re hitting the learning objectives that we set out, who cares how we get there? We should be putting people first in that regard.” By focusing on the learner, providing options, and making training relevant.Belonging and Being SeenAt PayPal, panelist Emily Johns emphasized that a positive employee experience fosters a sense of belonging and recognition. “Every time I have positive memories,” she said, “I feel like I belong, and I feel seen.” The opposite is also true—when someone isn’t included, they don’t feel like they belong, and they feel the negative impact.Johns emphasized the importance of responding effectively after listening to employees. “People have shared, they felt listened to, and then nothing happens,” she said. “That feedback loop is so important.” Employees need to see that their input leads to meaningful action, even if immediate change isn’t possible.Creating an environment where employees feel seen also involves everyday interactions. Johns reflects on negative experiences: “When I was talked over, or when I said an idea and somebody then took credit for the idea.” Such moments can undermine connection, while small gestures of acknowledgment foster inclusion and trust.For PayPal, the goal is clear: design experiences where every employee knows they are a valued part of the team. By listening, responding, and cultivating inclusion, the company ensures that employees are seen and they can contribute fully.Employee experience is a continuous, strategic effort spanning every stage of the employee journey. By listening and responding thoughtfully, prioritizing relational connections, offering learning that meets diverse needs, and fostering belonging, organizations create environments where employees thrive.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.(Photos by Josh Larson for From Day One)
How an Iconic Brand Creates Employee Resilience for the Future
BY Katie Chambers October 17, 2025Artificial intelligence. Covid. Civil unrest. Political strife. Cultural reckoning. Environmental disaster. All of these upsets can be associated with just the last five years alone. With so much anxiety and uncertainty, how can organizational leaders help their employees cope? Since stressful disruptions seem to come along every day, Levi Strauss & Co. is taking a proactive approach to building employee resilience. That means preparing its workers for business transformations like AI, but also focusing on the many aspects of wellness: physical, mental, and financial.During a fireside chat at From Day One’s San Francisco conference, Bernard Bedon, EVP and CHRO of the beloved 172-year-old brand discussed how the company stays true to its values of belonging and cultural intelligence, while also maintaining its sense of purpose and commitment to social impact.How to Build a Resilient CultureLevi Strauss & Co. uses its Seen & Heard program to help employees develop cultural competence, says Bedon. This simulcast hybrid conference broadcasts live events from its Singapore, Brussels, and San Francisco headquarters. “For us, it’s a way to tie our entire population together around critical areas that we think are going to help the culture as well as the performance of the organization,” Bedon said. Having these international programs encourages employees to be curious about other cultures and how that knowledge can help them anticipate different dynamics and drive solutions. These honest conversations are important to building resilience in fraught times. “These disruptions that we’re seeing, whether they’re technological, political, you name it, have really broad impact,” said moderator Michal Lev-Ram, contributing editor for Fortune and contributor at CNBC. Bedon says HR can no longer be reactive: “Let’s not just catch people when they fall, which has been the traditional way that HR shows up.” Instead, HR needs to take an active approach to understanding how disruptors are impacting people’s lives, and build a culture to help them work through them before something occurs.Bernard Bedon, EVP and CHRO of Levi Strauss & Company, spoke with journalist Michal Lev-RamThis became particularly pertinent during Covid, when the disruptions just kept coming, from the pandemic itself closing the organization’s physical stores, to the murder of George Floyd, political unrest, California wildfires, and a general lack of faith in institutions. “I said, ‘We can’t respond and catch each of those things. So how do we then help people to catch and respond and participate in how they build up their ability?’” Bedon said. HR’s goal should be to help employees thrive, he says, building resilience through “financial well-being, physical well-being, and mental well-being…with the types of programs and culture that make sense.” That could mean normalizing seeking mental health support by actively advertising those benefits before they’re needed, or encouraging the use of long-term financial savings tools. Benefits should be approached with intention, he says, targeting the right types of options for various employee “personas,” such as early career, the sandwich generation, or those nearing retirement age. Building Upon BelongingBelonging is a key component of Levi’s core values, both with its customers and its staff. “We’ve applied it to how we look at our consumers, and some of our products are the direct result of getting that consumer input,” Bedon said. “The same thing happens with the programs that we have internally from a health and welfare perspective, education, manager training, and leadership. That is the way we get the best outcome and let everyone know their voice matters, and it’s going to drive us all forward.” Organizations should not see DEI as a detriment. “It is not to divide people. Who would say, ‘I don’t want to be included’? We think everyone does, so we try to find a way to get that information to make it better for everybody,” Bedon said. “I remember this conversation 30 years ago, this ‘diversity vs. meritocracy’ split. It was a false dichotomy, but if you buy into it, then you go down the wrong path. And so, for us, it’s: how do you follow the evolution of what’s necessary to do the right work, to get as many people involved as possible?”It can be tricky to create a sense of belonging when the nature of work has changed. “I think part [of it] is going to be listening. Picking up on the signals: What are people divided about? What are people looking for? What’s missing?” Bedon said. HR will also need to stay abreast of how work itself and the subsequent necessary skill sets change, especially those tied to emerging technologies. “Skill-building is a way to build resilience as well. Suppose people feel left behind by advances, left behind by technology, left behind by information. In that case, the resistance comes, and the bitterness comes, and the fear comes,” Bedon said. When it comes to AI, Bedon finds many employees “want help getting started” and have a fear of failure. Both can be mitigated through structured development plans and mentorship opportunities that leave them feeling empowered rather than threatened. A sense of ownership, Bedon says, gives workers the confidence to try new things. “One of the big takeaways: help employees participate in the solution.” Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Top Think, and several printed essay collections, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photos by David Coe for From Day One)
Inclusive Career Growth: Using Data and Innovation to Empower Today’s Workforce
BY Katie Chambers October 16, 2025Career growth isn’t what it used to be. The classic climb up the ladder has given way to a more dynamic journey, one that might zigzag through different roles, take a lateral turn, or even involve a strategic step back before leaping forward. Today’s employees aren’t just chasing titles. They’re seeking meaningful, personalized development that gives them room to grow with confidence, even when the future feels uncertain. During an executive panel discussion at From Day One’s Austin conference, leaders shared insights around inclusive and innovative career growth. The Importance of Versatility and Advocacy Much of modern career growth can be driven by the individual, with employer support, of course. To encourage employees to develop their versatility and curiosity, Google offers what it calls “20% projects,” allowing workers to spend 20% of their time on something outside of the scope of their role. Joe Davis, head of innovation, development platforms and learning ecosystem for Google.org, Google, benefited from this opportunity. “I went from an operations role in a policy department to suddenly becoming a marketing manager, overseeing three people and a whole global product. Now I’m in a corporate philanthropy arm,” he said. “The lesson here is leaning in, being curious, and figuring it out. Now after 11 years, I’ve got such a wide set of skills.” Carly Brunner, head of learning and development at Cloudflare, encourages employees to get invested in the company’s growth and development, becoming advocates for the organization and for each other while building their own skills and engagement in the process. “We say this a lot to our new hires: ‘If you see something, say something,’ like [in] the New York City subway. We find those that are the most successful at Cloudflare are those that [when they] see something wrong–and it doesn’t matter if it’s within their role or not–they’re going to step in and help,” Brunner said. Employees are also encouraged to advocate for themselves by asking for feedback, which is made available at any time through the organization’s HRIS, not just during review periods. If they don’t know what to ask, that’s just fine, as the company provides a template of questions if an employee can’t think of their own. This way, feedback becomes part of the company’s “employee driven, manager facilitated tools and resources to drive your own growth” Brunner said. Having an individualistic mindset within a team environment, says Ayesha Sattaur, SVP, HR at RWE, is not a bad thing. “[The company is] not anyone’s family. If anything, it’s more like a sports team. Everyone has a role on that team,” she said. “It’s important for people go in with the mindset that, ‘This is what I want to do, and if it’s not working out for me at this company, then it might work out for me at another company.’” A Pathway for Advancement“Every team needs a good team culture,” said moderator Cory Mose, sports reporter and anchor at KVUE. Having a clear roadmap for advancement within the organization can keep employees engaged, motivated, and focused on personal development. “Transparency is the key,” Sattaur said, noting organizations should have clear tracks with stated skills and competencies. Additionally, providing flexibility for employees to advance into different departments internally can boost retention.Organizations that make this information readily available will see greater trust in leadership and better morale among workers, says Patrick McNiel, principal business consultant at Affirmity. That’s because transparency engenders psychological safety. Panelists spoke about "Inclusive Career Growth: Using Data and Innovation to Empower Today’s Workforce"“There has to be that culture where employees feel safe to ask questions, to engage in difficult conversations, [and] to be allowed to make mistakes,” said James Billings, Ph.D., vice provost, academic affairs at National University. Leaders are the ones who should model that behavior, owning up to their mistakes and demonstrating accountability. And employees should be encouraged to recognize one another’s accomplishments. While self-advocacy is crucial, sometimes employees might not be aware of their own latent talents; that’s when managers need to step in. “Your managers have to understand what skills are needed in the organization. That has to be broadcast to the managers [with] programs in place to help them understand,” McNiel said. Managers should be trained how to recognize skill potential in employees and push them to thrive. “It needs to be embedded in the culture for them to be able to do that effectively. A lot of it has to do with skilling up the leadership on how to approach employees and engage with them so that they'll talk to you, so that you can probe and figure out where their edges are, where their gaps are,” he said. Relying on the job description is not enough, Sattaur says. Talking to your employees can help you learn about their skills, plans, and dreams for the future, and how that might align with the organization’s goals. Job advancement can be based in part on this qualitative input from managers, Brunner says, but should also be driven by data derived from quantitative skills assessments and analysis of aggregated feedback. For those employees who might be struggling with next steps, mentorship can offer further engagement and growth, Billings says, encouraging employees to think not only about vertical but lateral moves to find the next right fit. “It can’t just be your next role; it has to be your next skill,” Brunner said. “That is so often where employees get stuck: if it feels like, ‘You’re talking to me about promotion, that’s the next step, but I don’t have control over that as an employee.’”Skill-Building in the AI AgeIn terms of what skills and roles employees should prepare for, with the advent of AI, they should be focused on “human-centric tasks,” Sattaur said. “A lot of automated, repetitive tasks, like reporting, can be done now by AI.” And that’s not a bad thing. Accessible AI tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Gemini can level the playing field for employees, helping them learn faster and accomplish tasks more quickly. Sattaur encourages companies to engage in continuous upskilling as the technology changes rapidly. “For HR, it’s about making sure that you use it for inclusive growth, making sure that all of your employees have access to the same types of learning,” she said. While professional development programs using tools like LinkedIn Learning or Google certificates should be created with an eye toward organizational goals, leaders should not ignore employee desires, Billings says. Employees will feel more engaged with an organization that cares about their personal development. “Having a balance is important,” he said. Workshops alone are not the answer, Brunner said. They should be paired with feedback, cross-functional connection, mentorship, and stretch projects. Let learning and psychological safety for growth become part of the fabric of your organization, Billings says. “We as leaders need to make it part of the ongoing culture and organization so [employees] have the opportunity to engage those conversations.”Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Top Think, and several printed essay collections, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photos by Josh Larson for From Day One)
Elevating Employee Voice: Turning Voice into Real Impact
BY Elizabeth Beaupre October 16, 2025Organizations that truly listen to their people are 4.6 times more likely to retain them and enjoy 23% higher workforce productivity, according to research by Explorance. They’re also significantly more likely to unlock breakthrough ideas. Yet here’s the uncomfortable truth: many organizations still struggle to operationalize employee listening. During a From Day One webinar about “Elevating Employee Voice: How High-Performing Organizations Turn Input into Impact,” leaders from Explorance shared candid thoughts on why listening efforts often stall—and how businesses can pair technology with a comprehensive ecosystem of strategies to transform their employees’ voices into a catalyst for lasting, positive change.Why Listening Efforts FailEmployee listening efforts often begin with the best of intentions but falter due to avoidable missteps. One common problem is what’s known as “drive-by sponsorship,” said Shawn Overcast, general manager, enterprise solutions at Explorance. Shawn Overcast, general manager, enterprise solutions, spoke during the webinar (company photo)At the outset, executive teams show enthusiasm and visible support for the listening initiative, only to disengage as competing priorities emerge. This inconsistency leaves employees questioning whether leadership was ever genuinely committed, she says. Some organizations often fall into the 80/20 trap—investing the majority of their time, budget, and energy into survey design and data collection, while leaving little for meaningful follow-through. The result is a trove of insights with no clear path to action.Neglecting to invite employees to the table when solutions are finally discussed is another common misstep, says Overcast. HR and management teams take over the response, sidelining the very people who understand the problems best. And even when data reaches frontline managers, it often arrives in the form of dense dashboards with little guidance. Without support to interpret and act on the results, managers are left feeling overwhelmed, and the listening effort stalls before it can spark meaningful change.Together, these pitfalls turn promising initiatives into missed opportunities. To truly harness employee voice, organizations must stay engaged, close the feedback loop, invest in action, include employees in crafting solutions, and equip managers to lead with insight.The Listening Gap: From Feedback to Follow-ThroughOvercast and colleague Peggy Parskey, principal consultant shared that the difference between high-performing organizations and those that merely track their employees’ sentiment lies in intentionality, leadership, and, perhaps most importantly, trust. They shared eight levers that make employee listening work:Establish Feedback Channels: Carefully evaluate available mechanisms for gathering employee input. You might opt for a mix of structured tools, such as online surveys and more informal methods, like interviews or casual conversations. Manage Data Responsibly: Ensure the tools and platforms you use for data collection respect employee privacy and meet ethical standards.Commit to Transparent Communication: Before launching your listening initiative, inform your employees about the process, clarify its purpose, timelines, and the guardrails you’ve put in place to ensure confidentiality. Bring Your People on the Journey: Invite your people to co-create solutions. You can do this by asking them to interpret feedback and shape action plans.Act on Feedback: Remember, turning feedback into real change requires more than just listening—it demands translating insights into decisive action plans.Engage Your Managers: Managers need to be empowered with the skills and insights to reinforce your organization's listening efforts.Set the Tone from the Top: Embedding a culture of employee listening requires sustained executive-level commitment and strategic ownership.Maintain the Momentum: Establish long-term feedback loops with regular check-ins, continuous improvement, and visible impact tracking.Measuring Maturity: From Emerging to Leading Explorance has developed a maturity model to help businesses assess the maturity of their employee listening capabilities. First, emerging organizations—those just starting to tune in—show early signs of listening, often through basic feedback tools and informal responses, but their efforts are sporadic and largely reactive.As organizations move into the foundational stage, they establish more consistent channels for feedback and begin to act on what they hear. Communication and follow-through become more routine, though execution may still vary across teams, revealing gaps in alignment and accountability.Established organizations take things further. Listening has become a well-structured practice, and leaders are committed and visibly involved. Employee input doesn’t just get acknowledged—it results in tangible action. These companies demonstrate that listening is more than a process; it’s a principle embedded in how they operate.Advanced organizations elevate listening to a strategic capability. They integrate sophisticated feedback mechanisms directly into business planning, using insights to shape priorities, improve performance, and drive outcomes. Listening isn’t just reactive—it’s predictive and intentional.At the top of the model are leading organizations. Here, employee voice is a catalyst for innovation, a driver of strategic decisions, and a cornerstone of culture. Listening is deeply embedded at every level, shaping not just what the organization does, but who it is.Interestingly, most businesses don’t progress in a straight line. “The reality is that for organizations, you may go from crawling to walking and may never get to running, or you may find yourself in a situation where lots of things change and you're back crawling again,” said Parskey. To keep momentum, an effective listening strategy requires infrastructure, follow-through, and involvement of employees at all levels. Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Explorance, for sponsoring this webinar. Elizabeth Beaupre is a freelance B2B writer and editor based in Wisconsin.(Photo by FG Trade Latin/iStock)
HR’s Role in the Shift From Performance Evaluation to Performance Enablement
BY Paul Kersey October 15, 2025“At the beginning of the year you get a goal, you meet with your manager, maybe, if you’re lucky, in June, you have a conversation about your own development or personal growth. And at the end of the year, on an employee's favorite day of the year, they get to sit in intense anticipation, anxiously waiting to hear from a manager where they score on a scale,” said Jamie Aitken, VP of HR transformation at Betterworks. Aitken was describing a process that often doesn’t inspire workers, employers, and managers alike–performance evaluations. It’s no wonder companies are looking for alternatives. During a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Austin conference, Aitken shared an alternative approach, called performance enablement. She believes that a continuing process of feedback and coaching serves employees and companies better. This steady process encourages mentoring, produces fairer assessments, and opens up opportunities for employee growth.The annual performance meetings can be nerve-racking. These sessions determine the prospects of so many employees. And yet the whole process is rushed, with evaluators tempted to just go through the motions.“Managers didn’t like doing it. [They] felt it was burdensome. Employees certainly didn’t enjoy the experience at all. Leaders don’t feel like it actually moves the needle, but rather, it’s a bit of a check in the box,” said Aitken. A Shift to Performance EnablementJamie Aitken of Betterworks led the session about "The Big Shift to Performance Enablement: HR’s Role in the Age of AI" (photo by Josh Larson for From Day One)Performance enablement is a distinct approach to enhancing worker performance, says Aitken. The focus is less on critiquing and more on coaching. Feedback is more regular and incorporated into everyday office interactions, and credit for progress is more immediate. Making work more meaningful is key. “Frankly, all of us still strive and yearn for meaningful work. We still want the connection to the values and what the organization is trying to achieve. That becomes very important for us to see how we’re contributing to that,” said Aitken. When done right, performance enablement brings that desire for meaning in work to the fore, she says. Overcoming Obstacles to Performance EnablementBut to make performance enablement work, attitudes and habits need to shift throughout the company. HR leaders need to think of the process differently. They no longer own or control the system. Their job is to design a process for goal setting and coaching, but then they should let employees and managers create their own goals and open up spaces for coaching, says Aitken. Instead of chasing managers for evaluation forms, HR works to make the experience work smoothly, so it becomes easy to incorporate goals, tracking, and coaching into the working day. Meanwhile, employees need to become more active–they are no longer passive listeners as their managers offer critiques and kudos. Their role is to contribute ideas for goals and set their own paths for development. The Importance of LeadershipManagers, for their part, cannot simply fill out an evaluation form and be done with it for the rest of the year; they need to give feedback on a more regular basis. They need to think of themselves as coaches, teaching skills and reinforcing high performance in real time. This can be tricky because managers are frequently chosen for technical skills. They want to solve problems quickly, but performance enablement requires more patience and people skills. Coaching may involve letting a team work through a problem rather than stepping in to diagnose and fix it oneself, which takes patience. These are traits that managers can’t always learn overnight, says Aitken. Lasting change starts at the top. C-suite leaders need to model a culture of regular feedback and coaching, setting the tone for performance empowerment rather than handing off employee development to middle managers or HR.Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Betterworks, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Paul Kersey is a former attorney and freelance writer based in Chicago, IL. His articles on labor and employment issues have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit News, and other Midwest newspapers.(Photos by Shutter2U/iStock)
How Accessible Health Benefits Are Good for Employees and Your Business Too
BY Jessica Swenson October 14, 2025Rising healthcare costs, provider supply and demand challenges, and increasing global mobility mean employers must be intentional and forward-thinking when designing their companies’ benefits plans. Sarah Gonzales, VP of total rewards at Zendesk, says the company thoroughly evaluates its vendors at the outset of a partnership to ensure they can meet the needs of Zendesk’s multifaceted global employee base. “We require them to answer questions so we understand what opportunities they have to serve [our employees], and that they can have access to that care when they need it, for whatever reason they need it,” she said during a panel discussion at From Day One’s Austin conference.Panelists shared ideas on the topic, “How Accessible Health Benefits Are Good for Employees and Your Business Too,” moderated by Tom Miller, news anchor at KXAN-TV. Focusing on Holistic HealthTo address holistic health, Yelp’s chief people officer, Carmen Amara, shared that the company crafts flexible benefit plans to “meet employees wherever they are in their employee life cycle or life journey.” Since health can mean different things to everyone, employees can access care that supports them within their unique personal circumstances, she says. With provider shortages and wait lists of six to ten months, including mental health benefits in company plans is crucial. “It’s really lost on me why there would be eligibility for a mental health benefit,” said Matt Jackson, chief growth officer at Unmind. “Mental health is a human right,” Amara agreed. The company seeks ways to offer and democratize non-traditional mental health benefits, and she personally tries to reduce the stigma of mental health care through transparency. “I talk about my therapy in company-wide town halls,” she said. “I talk about my own access to those benefits and encourage other leaders to do the same.”A Global Approach to BenefitsWhile the pandemic has reduced the stigma around mental health, it hasn’t been eliminated across all cultures. During his time in Japan, Henrique Oswald, head of global total rewards and global mobility for Hitachi, observed that even admitting your experiences with mental health can be stigmatized. “So when you roll out programs, it’s extremely difficult to have one size fits all [solutions].” Panelists shared insights on the topic "How Accessible Health Benefits Are Good for Employees and Your Business Too"In other regions, some types of care, like mental health or reproductive healthcare, are not accepted due to cultural or religious standards. “How you communicate it, and how you tweak it locally, including the language, is of the utmost importance to make it successful,” said Oswald.Mental Health MattersMental healthcare providers often do not accept insurance, which led Curative to get creative in providing that access. According to Mark Blevens, Curative’s director of health plan sales, the company offers credit cards to cover cash-based in-person visits and maintains partnerships with national telehealth vendors that can also accept the payment method. This helped Curative dramatically increase the size of its employees’ mental health network, says Blevens, “because this is an extremely important part of their benefits, and we really need to have the access for them.”To expand the normalization of mental health, Jackson suggests mindset shifts that transform mental health care from a perk to an organizational culture issue. Referencing a survey that found that “your manager has a bigger impact on your mental health than your spouse,” Jackson advocates for focusing on the mental health and leadership capabilities of managers within your organization to create a sense of psychological safety and boost employee impact.Additionally, Jackson recommends moving beyond using employee assistance programs (EAPs) for crises. Studies show that up to 25% of employees leverage mental health care for moderate or severe mental health challenges throughout the year, he says, leaving 75% of employees with no focused mental health support to help them avoid those higher levels of need. “When you look at ‘what do we provide from a benefits or total reward perspective for every single one of your employees?’ That’ll make you think about the gaps that potentially exist, and that’s just about proactive, preventative mental health.”Engaging employees better in their own care can improve their health outcomes, happiness, and performance in the workplace while reducing overall costs. Oswald discussed Japan’s universal health care model, which is focused on prevention and lifestyle health. Mandatory annual exams catch diseases earlier, enabling effective treatment and a longer life expectancy for Japanese citizens, he says. Removing financial and operational barriers to care also has a significant impact. Within one year of its launch, Blevens shared that Curative found that guided orientation, clinician health reviews, and zero-cost visits and care placed its users 20–30% below national benchmarks in hospital days and bed days. “You have happier employees. You have people that are at work, not absent, and it’s a great retention tool,” he said.AI and New Tech in BenefitsAnd where does AI fall in the benefits space? Jackson suggests that ethical, clinically guided AI models could help offset access challenges by providing “mental health companionship” to users during times of need.Amara says Yelp has recently launched an internal AI coach trained on the company’s core values and empathy concepts. The coach is used for work-based situations like preparing for difficult conversations. “If you can be more preventative, and if you can give people access to those tools at their fingertips at any given time—how might that work experience change?” she said. Gonzales suggests utilizing AI agents to help people understand when to leverage certain parts of their healthcare benefits or to identify plan optimizations tailored to their needs and behaviors. She predicts that tailored benefit plans will become required as younger generations enter the workforce and expect ready access to healthcare. Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer and proofreader based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at jmswensonllc.com.(Photos by Josh Larson for From Day One)
How to Harness Inclusive Leadership to Elevate Your Workforce and Workplace
BY Ade Akin October 14, 2025Anne Chow was put in charge of a team of several hundred people when she started her leadership career at AT&T. She was in her mid-20s, while most of her team members were more than twice her age. “I was being called names behind my back and to my face,” Chow said during a fireside chat at From Day One’s Austin conference. But that harsh experience helped Chow realize leadership was about making the right choices for your team. She had to choose between either focusing on the noise or bringing out the best in the people she was responsible for. Chow chose the latter, and the experience helped cement a core belief that defined her 32-year career at the telecom giant, culminating in her role as the CEO of AT&T Business: leadership is all about people. “It’s that old adage where you manage things, but you lead people,” Chow said to moderator Leslie Rangel, the deputy managing editor at The Barbed Wire. “That is ultimately what leadership is about,” she said. Chow shared lessons from the experience recorded in her book, Lead Bigger: The Transformative Power of Inclusion, outlining a framework that managers can use to develop inclusive leadership styles required for today’s complex, multi-generational workforce.From Feeling Excluded to Championing InclusionChow’s passion for inclusive leadership is deeply personal. She often felt she didn’t fit in early in her career as a second-generation American. Her career choice as a technology leader usually meant she was often the first or only woman or ethnic minority in the room. “I never really perfectly fit into any category or any box,” Chow said. That awareness fueled her desire to ensure members of her team always felt like they belonged. She chose to focus on connecting with people individually, meeting them where they were, and finding common ground. Anne Chow shared insights from her book Lead Bigger: The Transformative Power of InclusionChow’s inspiration for the book was to create a guide for managers on inclusive leadership, which she views as a non-negotiable core competency for modern leaders. “I absolutely, in every cell of my body, believe that if you do not learn how to choose to lead inclusively, you’re going to lose to somebody who does,” Chow said. Widening the Aperture on InclusionChow reframes the concept of inclusion with a simpler, action-oriented definition: “Widening your perspective to have greater performance and impact.” Leaders can actively widen their perspectives by doing three key things:Surrounding themselves with people from diverse backgrounds and different experiences.Seeking different sources of information and taking conscious steps to expose themselves to media and data from alternative channels.Seeking different experiences. For example, a corporate employee could spend a day in the field, or vice versa.Chow says this approach is essential in a world that’s more interconnected and polarized. She offers a fresh perspective on the increasingly contentious topic of DEI. For Chow, diversity is the “reality” of the modern world, equity means fairness based on what an organization actively defines it to be, and inclusion is the “action” required to deliver exceptional performance. “Inclusion is the ultimate tool for meritocracy,” Chow said. “Hasn’t it been about making sure that we are tapping into talent pools, wherever they are, whatever they look like? Talent doesn’t necessarily look like an Ivy League degree. Ironically, inclusion is necessary if you want to field the best teams today and tomorrow.”Three Foundational Beliefs for Modern LeadersChow emphasizes the importance of self-care and finding allies for HR professionals and managers. “You are carrying a heavy load,” she added, noting that the responsibility of building an organization’s culture cannot rest on the shoulders of HR alone; it must be shared by leaders all over the business.Chow closed the session by sharing three beliefs that form the foundation of her leadership philosophy. First, that every business is a people business. “It is people that drive the business.” She points out the need to rebuild trust after layoffs as a prime example of this truth, stating that unaddressed fear and doubt prevent an organization from moving forward.Second, leadership is a choice that transcends: “Leadership has no gender, no color, no title, no position, no race, no religion, no politics, no age, no language,” she said. She defines leadership as the ability to align, motivate, and inspire a group of people toward common goals. She encourages companies to view their entire talent pool as potential leaders, not just those at the top of the organization’s hierarchy. And third, culture is your ultimate competitive advantage: Chow believes the best products and strategies can be easily copied in an age of constant disruptions, but the same can’t be said about a company’s culture. She defines culture as the behavioral norms reflected in an organization’s policies and practices, and more importantly, the actions of its leaders. For Chow, leadership became the art of creating a sense of connecting to others, inspired by the experiences of a young worker who once felt she didn’t belong. Building a more successful organization and a more fulfilling career starts with intentionally widening your perspective so you can recognize, value, and unleash the potential in everyone around you.Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photos by Josh Larson for From Day One)
Building a Bigger Whataburger: Scaling Up by Investing in New Managers
BY Katie Chambers October 14, 2025“Like to make people smile?” That’s the question that opens every job listing for Whataburger. And it’s that sweet, customer-forward sensibility that drives the organization’s HR strategy.The popular, Texas-based chain is on the move, which calls for consistent training among its more than 50,000 workers to develop new leaders. The result is greater employee satisfaction and retention, while enabling the company to expand to more than 1,100 restaurants.Whataburger is growing, opening between 50-75 locations per year. Peggy Rubenzer, the company’s chief people officer, shared during a fireside chat at From Day One’s Austin conference, that over the next five years, the organization anticipates hiring 8,300 managers and leaders across the brand. Because the locations are primarily company-owned with only a few franchises, most of the hiring and corporate development is “focused on scaling our culture. My belief is every single person you hire should concentrate your culture, not never dilute it,” Rubenzer said. Employees at Whataburger are known as “family members.” Rubenzer and her team want to make sure they are hiring people who are the right fit for the company’s warm, welcoming culture. “You don’t just open your door at your home for anybody who comes knocking, right?” she said. Their hiring strategy is focused on “filling the benches” of future leaders, with the hope that entry level workers will move up the ladder into managerial roles. “We have to build benches in order for our brand to be scalable,” she said. Local leaders, who do the bulk of frontline talent acquisition, are encouraged to hire with intention, not just to “fill shoes.”Whataburger’s HR ethos is built around “the family member journey,” Rubenzer said. “We select you, welcome you, train you, develop you, support you, and thank you. And all those things circle around the center, which we call ‘the heart’ of our family member journey: engagement. Every person on my team participates in one or more of those parts of the family member journey, and our goal is to ensure that every piece of that journey is welcoming, inviting, and directed to that person’s growth.”Cultivating a Strong Frontline “What we’re looking for is resilience, someone who’s a team player, someone who gets a kick out of making somebody else’s day. In fact, our mission is to make everyone’s day a little better,” Rubenzer said. This incremental approach (“a little better”) is deliberate–and attainable. Workers that enjoy making customers happy will in turn feel more engaged and satisfied when they are successful. Peggy Rubenzer, Whataburger’s SVP and chief people officer, spoke with Ross McCammon, the editor-in-chief at Texas MonthlyManagers are instructed to call new hires the day before they start work to introduce themselves and build that welcoming, personal connection. “It might be the first job that person ever had. That could set the stage for the rest of their lives,” she said. Every new frontline employee receives an orientation with a “flip book” that describes the company culture, including “the things they ought to know and feel proud about on their first day.”Then, every team member is given a roadmap for their first five shifts that allows them to check off what they have learned and accomplished. “Staying in touch with the individual’s growth and fulfillment is just as important as staying in touch with customers’ fulfillment and happiness,” said moderator Ross McCammon, editor-in-chief at Texas Monthly. Whataburger incorporates professional development into every level of the organization. Hourly team members can get certifications in both hospitality and production. Once fully certified, these workers have the opportunity to train others and even open new locations. “We’ve scaled that so that we can open restaurants at pace and we never have to slow down because we don’t have the people available to train,” Rubenzer said. A Look Inside the Corporate Office The culture within Whataburger’s corporate office mirrors the one in its stores. “The home office is a very supportive type of environment,” Rubenzer said. “We know that we are there to help support and drive our business out in the field.” The office has an ‘Orange Culture Committee’ that leads group bonding activities like football kickoff parties. Corporate employees make a point to visit the restaurants and spend time in the kitchens with frontline workers. While the company is focused on future growth, it also doesn’t shy away from its storied 75-year history. “We do a really good job of honoring our legacy. We do so much to remind ourselves of the humility and the humble roots and the beginnings that got us to where we are today,” Rubenzer said. “But we’re also firm believers in in the quote, ‘What got us here won’t get us there.’” Leaders are encouraged to engage legacy team members in conversations about branding, because they are so invested, and help them see how to bridge that history into the future of the company. With a historic organization often comes a major fan base–and Whataburger is no exception. The company has embraced fan passion by launching Whataburger Museum of Art, an online project with a physical installation at SXSW, celebrating the chain’s legacy of flavor and creativity. Think paintings of hamburgers, funky renderings of the logo, and even a motorcycle decked out in the brand’s bright orange hues. “Who does that other than huge champions and fans of the brand?” Rubenzer said. “And so, we wanted to highlight those people and thank them for the work that they do for us.”Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost, Top Think, and several printed essay collections, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.(Photos by Josh Larson for From Day One)
Activating Learning in the Age of AI: Practical Approaches and Tools That Make an Impact
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza October 13, 2025As companies rush to integrate AI tools into daily workflows, a challenge has emerged: how to make the technology feel less like a threat and more like a skill everyone can master. Across industries, from tech to media, employers are rolling out training programs that make AI literacy fundamental and fully integrated.At biotech firm Genentech, every employee receives training in foundational AI principles, ethics, and responsibility. The company encourages staff to experiment with tools in sandbox environments, supported by live sessions and peer learning where colleagues can show off what they’ve built or learned. They’ve even developed internal “tech geniuses” who act as one-on-one tutors.“We want to make sure everyone’s got the same starting place, but also room to experiment and explore in such a way that they want to learn more and be more advanced in their capabilities,” said Heidi Schisel, Genentech’s VP of people and culture, during an executive panel discussion at From Day One’s August virtual conference. At Aspen Dental, the company appointed a head of artificial intelligence to its IT team and made AI training mandatory. But not everyone was immediately enthusiastic. Right away, employees were worried about their job security, says Katie Stangel, VP of learning and development. Others feared they’d be seen as “cheating” if they used AI. To normalize the tools, Stangel created a Teams group dedicated to sharing and celebrating responsible AI use. “People are starting to celebrate and call out when they’ve used it, saying, ‘I use ChatGPT to help me with this outline,’ or ‘I used Articulate AI to help me with the design and development of the course.’ We celebrate that,” she said. Panelists spoke about learning in the age of AI during the virtual session (photo by From Day One)Experts say AI literacy develops in stages—from unstructured experimentation to true automation and augmentation of work. Leaders, especially, often try to skip steps, said Amelia Rosenman, director of programs at the Experience Institute, but “learn out loud” cultures are key if adoption is to be company-wide. “If the leader isn’t showing that they’re making mistakes, or that they haven’t figured out all of the answers, then everyone feels that they should have it all figured out by now,” she said. “Share both your successes and your failures. That’s what creates that safe environment, that risk-free sandbox.”No one needs to be an expert yet, says David Wentworth, VP of talent at frontline learning management platform Schoox. “Let’s move past that and focus on results: What are we trying to do? Always tie it to real problems and real outcomes,” he said. The good news is, many companies already have standard operating procedures and ethics guidelines they can apply right away to get AI training up and running. “Don’t think that you have to start a whole new paradigm about how to approach this thing,” Wentworth said. “You’re probably 60, 70, or 80% of the way there. Just tweak it a bit to fit your current needs.”At multimedia company Scripps, AI tools are helping new reporters develop their skills faster. “Human coaches are amazing, but there’s something about an AI mentor that’s completely nonjudgmental,” said Ginger Summers, senior director of L&D. Their AI tool gives feedback on drafts, helping reporters think critically about sourcing and permissions, without having to tap their peers. About 20% of newsroom employees now use the tool one to two hours per day, saving roughly 20 minutes of work each time. “They’re still learning to use it,” Summers said, “but the time savings are amazing.”This is an excellent example of a successful roll-out of AI as a learning and development tool. Ultimately, said Rosenman, companies must be clear about why they’re implementing AI, and the results they’re achieving. If employees fear that AI is threatening their jobs, panic will quickly spread.“There’s so much opportunity for the smartest, most creative minds in media to eliminate the drag that keeps them from doing the work they do,” read a late-summer edition of the business newsletter Feed Me. “This instinct, too often, is to hire a COO, a CTO, a chief of staff, or a small army of ops staff, but if you develop prompt engineering skills, commit time to investing in these tools, you can replace huge chunks of that infrastructure and stay small, fast, and creative.”While some companies may be looking for ways to cut their workforces in half, many companies want to become more efficient without hiring anyone new or expand expertise more quickly, said Rosenman. When employees know that, the message shifts from existential threat to helpful teammate.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by gorodenkoff/iStock)
Navigating Change and Uncertainty Through the Lens of Organizational DNA
BY Christopher O'Keeffe October 10, 2025Change has become one of the defining challenges for today’s organizations. From succession planning to mergers to periods of rapid growth, today’s leaders are under pressure to steer strategy while supporting their people in environments that never stop shifting. For Miles Overholt, founder and CEO of Strategia Analytics, the starting point for tackling this complexity came decades ago, during his unusual dual career as both therapist and organizational development consultant.During a From Day One webinar, Overholt recalled early moments when the workplace itself seemed to be the root of employee distress. He described working with a couple employed in a copper plating factory whose rotating shifts and exposure to toxic substances had taken a toll on their mental health. What struck him most was that the problem wasn’t inside the people, but in the environment around them. “The problem was the work environment,” he said. “How do you get the best out of your people? How do you connect with your people? How do you make it a healthy work environment?”Dr. David Lopez, SVP of systems research at Strategia Analytics, placed these insights into a broader intellectual lineage. He pointed to the work of psychologist Kurt Lewin, whose framework emphasized the interplay between individuals and their environments. “Kurt Lewin had a very simple idea. He just said, behavior is a function of the person and the environment,” Lopez said during the webinar. “There are things within individuals and there are things outside of individuals, and those two things interact to shape what you do.”For Lopez, Strategia’s approach has been distinctive because it takes this complexity seriously, rather than reducing behavior to individual traits.Making Complexity SimpleManaging complexity, Overholt said, is at the heart of organizational change. Leaders face constant variation across teams, departments, and even within the same workweek.Miles Overholt and Dr. David Lopez of Strategia Analytics spoke during the webinar (photo by From Day One)“People are very complex, and you put them together in organizations, and that’s incredibly complex,” he said. “What organizational change is, is trying to figure out the complexity and make it simple.”Even with the rise of artificial intelligence, he added, the human element remains the most important and most variable factor in organizational life. “People do the work,” Overholt said.Mapping Organizational DNATo make sense of that complexity, Strategia Analytics developed its concept of organizational DNA, a framework that measures four strands: strategy, leadership, culture, and execution—and how well they align. Unlike traditional engagement surveys, the model avoids labeling environments as good or bad, instead focusing on fit.“To be blunt, I think we measure differently,” Overholt said. “Measuring DNA allows us to put it into different buckets and see the different influences that parts of your DNA have, just like an individual, different genes drive different behavior.”Lopez emphasized that the same environment could be productive for one group and counterproductive for another. “Work environments are not, by definition, either good, bad, or indifferent,” he said. “What we look at is whether the skills, knowledge, behavior, mindsets of the employees match the particular environment they happen to be in.”Overholt described how Strategia’s tools convert data into clear roadmaps that help organizations understand where people are and how to guide them. “We think we can make it simple,” he said. “We create road maps of how you operate.”A Case Study in TransitionOverholt pointed to a three-year project with a mid-sized manufacturing company undergoing leadership succession. Employees were anxious, recalling a poorly handled transition 15 years earlier. Strategia’s initial measurements revealed a divided executive team and unclear values.When the incoming CEO stepped in, she prioritized communication, hosting town hall meetings across the company in multiple languages to connect directly with employees. “Town hall meetings were one of her specialties. She implemented and took it and just took it away,” Overholt said. By the third year, he says, the company’s measurement of how well its strategy and execution were linked “soared.”The lesson was that there is no single lever for change. Leaders must work with the tools and strengths they have, whether it’s formal performance management systems or face-to-face communication, says Overholt. HR at the Center of ChangeMuch of this work depends on HR, which both speakers say plays a pivotal, if varied, role. Overholt emphasized the importance of HR leaders who truly know their companies. Strategia’s data consistently show HR as one of the top drivers of change. “With every company we have, the relationship between employees and HR is always there at the center of whatever mischief is going on,” said Lopez. So how can and should HR respond to employees facing existential uncertainty about their jobs? Overholt’s guidance was to resist offering false assurances. “The first thing HR can do is not try to pretend it knows,” he said. “And if you really want to connect with the people, you say, and that’s where we are, too. We’re all in this together. How can we make this better?”Lopez echoed the importance of honesty. “Focus on acknowledging the emotional impact on the employee,” he said. “Don’t try to explain it away.” Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Strategia Analytics, for sponsoring this webinar.Chris O’Keeffe is a freelance writer with experience across industries. As the founder and creative director of OK Creative: The Language Agency, he has led strategy and storytelling for organizations like MIT, Amazon, and Cirque du Soleil, bringing their stories to life through established and emerging media.
Managing Teams From Gen Z to Baby Boomers: Tools for Success
BY Ade Akin October 09, 2025Heather Tinsley-Fix, a senior advisor at AARP, was worried that an intern had been in a biking accident when he missed work for an entire week and didn’t call. When he returned to work and she asked him to explain the absence, she quickly found a difference in generational norms. In college, the intern wasn’t obligated to notify professors if he was missing a class, and he thought that’s how things worked in his new workplace. “Once I understood that, I said, ‘Okay, I get that. That makes sense,’” Tinsley-Fix recalled during a From Day One webinar. “It’s about trying to get underneath what the behavior is that's bothering you as a manager,” she said. Such misunderstandings are increasingly common in today’s workplace, where as many as five generations work side by side. During the session, Tinsley-Fix and Megan Gerhardt, Ph.D., founder of Gentelligence, both acknowledged that while age diversity can be a source of friction in the workplace, it can also be a significant competitive advantage. The key is moving beyond stereotypes and learning to harness each person’s unique strengths.The Case for Generational IntelligenceMulti-generational teams are the new normal, and there’s a strong business case for fostering what Gerhardt calls “generational intelligence.” “There’s research that shows that mixed-age teams perform better on complex and creative tasks than teams which are more homogenous in age,” Tinsley-Fix said. “As you add generational diversity to teams, the quality of the decisions goes up.”Kim Quillen of the Chicago Tribune moderated the webinar (photo by From Day One)This “cognitive diversity” introduces a breadth of professional experience and healthy tension that can spark innovation. The challenge in managing multi-generational teams isn’t the differences between team members, but how they’re handled. Left unchecked, these differences can lead to stereotypes and judgment. When managed with intention, they become a catalyst for growth. A Four-Step Framework for More Productive ConversationsGerhardt outlined a four-step framework in her book, Gentelligence: The Revolutionary Approach to Leading an Intergenerational Workforce, to improve collaboration within multi-generational teams. These are: Identify assumptions. The first step required to build an age-diverse team that collaborates well is recognizing our own age-based biases. “We can’t tell you who you are if you tell us what generation you’re in,” Gerhardt said. She recommends pushing back on prejudiced assumptions and identifying areas where colleagues of different ages might have mismatched expectations, such as flexibility, communication, or professionalism. Adjust your lens. Gerhardt encourages people to view generational differences as a form of culture. “We know when we interact with other cultures that they have different languages, they have different approaches, different experiences. Generations have those same wonderful differences.” It’s about being more curious and less judgmental. Build trust. Managers should create psychological safety nets so the ages of team members are never seen as a hindrance. Each team member’s unique lived experiences should be seen as “fascinating and important and complementary.”Expand the pie. The final step is to get team members to embrace mutual learning. “How do we replace ‘us versus them’ with ‘us plus them’?” Gerhardt asked. She says encouraging team members to see different views as alternative approaches that help push the team in the same direction, instead of seeing them as threats.Navigating Workplace Friction: Mental Health and ProfessionalismYounger generations, particularly Gen Z, often have different expectations regarding mental health and professionalism due to coming of age during the pandemic, says Gerhardt. They are more likely to expect mental health support from employees and are more open to conversations about the subject. This can create contention with older workers who were raised in a different era when employers expected them to “leave their problems at the door.” “Neither is right nor wrong,” Gerhardt said. “But those people are working together and trying to navigate a workplace with very different norms.”Similarly, the very definition of the term “professionalism” varies from generation to generation. For example, an older manager might find a team member leaving their phone on the table during a business lunch as rude, while a younger employee thinks it helps them stay connected and responsive. “If you don’t realize the person sitting across the table from you that is going to potentially offer you a job will find this very rude, then you do have a problem, regardless of whether or not it is something you feel is rude,” Gerhardt added. The solution isn’t to dictate one right way, but to have explicit conversations about shared standards and the “why” behind them.Seek the AdvantageGerhardt’s advice for managers looking to improve their ability to manage age-diverse teams is to gain as much experience working with people of all ages. “Once you are able to learn something from someone significantly older or younger that you weren’t able to figure out on your own, you get hungry for more,” Gerhardt said. “That’s how you change your own mindset. That’s how you change the workplace culture that you’re in.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, AARP, for sponsoring this webinar. We’re looking for organizations to partner with AARP’s Generations at Work program to gain early access to the product, insights on bridging generational differences, input on the final design, and custom guidance to strengthen your workforce strategy. Fill out this brief survey if your company would like to be a part of this opportunity or you just want to learn more about the pilot program: https://surveys.fromdayone.co/aarp2025Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photo by Marco VDM/iStock)
Managing Beyond Borders: How U.S. Companies Are Transforming Global Hiring
BY Subadhra Sriram October 09, 2025Many U.S. companies have hit the brakes when it comes to hiring in their home country, but not overseas. American employers are increasingly hiring beyond borders as part of a broader push to diversify and optimize their global talent base. Highly remote-suitable roles have grown 42% faster outside the U.S. than within since 2019, according to Revelio Labs, a workforce intelligence provider. Tech-development roles are leading this shift, driven by the twin imperatives of cost efficiency and access to specialized talent. The result is an almost complete relocation of development work to offshore hubs, where deep technical expertise meets significant labor savings. TalentBurst CEO Bharat Talwar has witnessed this transformation up close, particularly among Bay Area technology giants that now rely heavily on Indian vendors to sustain their growth and innovation. TalentBurst, a total talent-workforce management solutions provider, sits at the center of this global shift. Want to learn more? Join us on Wed., Oct. 15, for our half-day virtual conference, “Building and Managing a Global Workforce: Smart Strategies for Collaborating Across Borders.” Here’s where to register.“What has accelerated is the cost arbitrage around technology development work with India,” says Talwar. “Take Meta or Google or any major tech company—whether it’s pre-IPO or post-IPO—most are now moving the majority of their development work to India.” While the trend isn’t new, he notes, what was once a hybrid model—splitting development between U.S. and Indian teams—has evolved into near-total relocation. “Almost 100% of software development has now shifted to India,” he adds. Joel Leege, president and chief operating officer at Red Oak Technologies, agrees that India remains attractive due to cost arbitrage, but points to rising turnover and salary pressures, with recruiters offering 20% pay hikes to lure talent. “Agile project management with two- to three-week sprints can create challenges when key developers leave suddenly,” he says. “Some companies are shifting to deliverable-based contracts or exploring higher-retention regions with real-time U.S. overlap.” Hubs like Brazil, Mexico, and Central America are emerging, though they have yet to see double-digit growth in demand.Cost arbitrage aside, companies headquartered in the U.S. are increasingly going where the talent is. Pratik Patel, a workforce specialist for a global financial network that processes electronic payments, says that his company has built its hiring strategy around an internal, program-centric model, placing workers near key business program locations to strengthen capability, improve time-zone alignment, and enhance cost efficiency. “We manage over 110 programs globally,” Patel adds, “and our approach ensures that talent is positioned where it can have the greatest impact.” These program locations have developed around the firm’s tech hubs, which have grown both organically and through acquisitions. “Our major hubs are in Vancouver, St. Louis, New York City, Washington, D.C., London, Ireland, Denmark, India, and Australia,” Patel notes. (As is common with HR and workforce specialists, he asked that his firm not be mentioned by name.)And then there’s the AI hype. The idea that AI is replacing coders doesn’t tell the full story. What’s really happening is a reshuffling of tech resources worldwide. As Leege points out, AI-assisted coding is on the rise, but only about 30–40% of coding is actually done by AI today—which means demand for human developers remains strong. Worker Expectations Around the WorldIt also comes down to what talent wants—and it’s not just tech workers. “Post-Covid, many workers don’t want to move from their home countries,” says Carol MacKinlay, CHRO of Pebl, an Employer of Record (EOR) platform. “They want to be employed the way they want to be employed. Add to that the U.S. immigration uncertainty—with H-1B rules and fees in flux—and many companies can’t recruit the best and brightest globally.” Enter the rise of EOR and payroll models. The shift toward remote contractor structures is being fueled by demand for global talent, simpler compliance, and faster hiring. This isn’t theoretical—it’s already changing how companies operate. Talwar, for instance, has expanded his high-hazard EOR business into Canada and Poland. By focusing on specialized markets, he’s built a segment that delivers strong EBITDA and long-term contracts—defying the low-margin expectations often tied to EORs. Carol MacKinlay, CHRO of Pebl, an Employer of Record (EOR) platform (Company photo)Talwar’s story isn’t unique. Industry leaders are seeing the same momentum worldwide, with EORs proving faster and more flexible than traditional entity setups. MacKinlay notes that establishing an entity in a new country can take up to a year, while an EOR can employ workers within weeks—enabling rapid talent acquisition. “The rise of remote work and digital nomads is driving demand,” she says, “with countries like Mexico and Canada simplifying visa processes to attract tech workers.” EORs remove the burden of managing local compliance, payroll, and immigration—functions that are critical to hiring globally but not core to most businesses, MacKinlay adds. Red Oak Technologies manages workers across five countries and 20 U.S. states, even filling roles in markets like France without setting up local entities. “If we identify the right talent, we can bring them on through a partner,” says Leege. “We don’t have to set up an entity or pay them in local currency.” As companies embrace a global-first mindset, they’re turning to platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed to tap into massive, specialized talent pools. These tools make it easier than ever for workers to discover opportunities and for companies to connect with the right talent—fueling an ecosystem that benefits both sides. Beyond filling roles, global teams are driving innovation, bringing fresh perspectives and local insights that help companies compete and grow across markets. Creating a Unified Culture, While Recognizing DifferencesHybrid engagement models are also taking shape. Instead of relying solely on staff augmentation, companies are building dedicated offshore teams that plug directly into their products and services—often led locally. The result isn’t just efficiency; it’s the creation of shared culture across borders.As globally integrated teams expand, companies are becoming more deliberate about maintaining a unified culture that transcends geography. They’re blending real-time and asynchronous communication through tools like Slack, Teams, and Notion to keep projects flowing across time zones. Virtual coffee breaks, online team-building, and global onboarding sessions maintain human connection, while periodic in-person meetups reinforce trust. Managers are being trained to lead with cultural empathy and clarity, supported by secure, collaborative tech stacks. Patel agrees. “The only consistency we can have is our culture—how we do the work,” he says. “That doesn’t change, whether it’s a contingent worker or an employee.” Suppliers and contingent workers receive orientation on company values as part of “day-one readiness.” At the same time, companies are tightening compliance—navigating labor laws, data privacy, and tax regulations—to keep this new era of global work both connected and compliant. This cultural alignment supports cohesion across borders and employment types. Global reporting structures are becoming more flexible and boundary-less, designed to promote opportunity and integration. Culture keeps teams connected today—but the bigger shift is how a truly global labor pool is reshaping demand and supply. A new world of work is taking shape—one where the most successful organizations will tap into multiple hubs, balancing specialization, cost, and retention. Wage normalization across countries is becoming the new reality as global unemployment and tech hiring trends evolve. The companies that adapt fastest will be the ones best positioned to thrive in this redefined global talent marketplace.The Hotspots for Hiring 1.) India: Remains a powerhouse, especially for IT services, software development, back-office operations, and increasingly, R&D. The sheer volume of skilled, English-speaking talent and established infrastructure makes it a go-to. 2.) Latin America: Nearshore countries including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina offer time-zone proximity to the U.S., growing tech talent pools, cultural affinity (especially Mexico for the U.S. Southwest), and often lower attrition rates compared to some Asian markets. The region is being tapped for software development, IT support, call centers, BPO (Business Process Outsourcing), and product development roles. 3.) Eastern Europe: Poland and Romania offer strong STEM education, high English proficiency, cultural alignment with the West overall, and a deep pool of engineering talent. This region is being tapped for high-end software development, R&D, cybersecurity, data science, and specialized IT consulting. 4.) Southeast Asia: Countries including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia have growing economies, large young populations, competitive costs, and strong English proficiency (notably, the Philippines for BPO). The focus here is on BPO, customer service, software development (especially Vietnam), and manufacturing support. 5.) Canada: While technically overseas, its proximity, similar cultural context, and strong tech hubs in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal make it a popular nearshore option, particularly for companies seeking to mitigate U.S. immigration challenges. In-Demand Jobs: The demand is heavily skewed towards roles that support digital transformation and technological advancement: ● Software Developers/Engineers: Full-stack, front-end, back-end, mobile (iOS/Android) ● Cloud Architects and Engineers: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform specialists ● Data Scientists and Analysts: Machine learning engineers, AI specialists● Cybersecurity Professionals: Analysts, engineers, architects ● DevOps Engineers: Site reliability engineers ● Product Managers: Increasingly, companies are building product teams offshore. ● UI/UX Designers: Crucial for digital product development ● Technical Support and IT Helpdesk: Often the entry point for offshore expansion● Customer Service Representatives: Especially for multilingual support● Finance and Accounting Professionals: For shared service centers Subadhra Sriram is the founder of Workforce Observer, a new online community of staffing industry professionals. Previously, Subadhra was publisher and editor at Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), the staffing industry’s leading research and advisory firm. She also had years of experience at leading financial publications including Money magazine and Fortune Small Business.(Featured image by Igor Suka/iStock by Getty Images)Want to learn more? Join us on Wed., Oct. 15, for our half-day virtual conference, “Building and Managing a Global Workforce: Smart Strategies for Collaborating Across Borders.” Here’s where to register.
Making Sense of Work Models: When In-Office, Remote, and Hybrid Models Succeed
BY Jennifer Yoshikoshi October 08, 2025As of 2024, five in 10 full-time employees in the United States have remote-capable jobs, according to a study by Gallup. Remote work has become “a new normal for people,” said Peter Cappelli, co-author of In Praise of the Office: The Limits to Hybrid and Remote Work, during a fireside chat at From Day One’s September virtual conference. Cappelli, management professor and director of the Center for HR at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, spoke with Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Seattle Times business reporter, about the changes, benefits, and disadvantages to remote work culture, and how to make the most of it. Changes to Telework CultureThe rise of full-time remote work skyrocketed during Covid and has shifted the culture of remote years after restrictions have been lifted. In 2021, Cappelli wrote, The Future of the Office: Work from Home, Remote Work, and the Hard Choices We All Face, a dive into what employees and managers should be thinking about when exploring the benefits and disadvantages of remote work. “The story about remote work before the pandemic was not a particularly happy one but the context was quite different. That is, they were looking at situations where people were remote but their colleagues were largely in the office,” said Cappelli.Peter Cappelli spoke about his book In Praise of the Office: The Limits to Hybrid and Remote Work during the session (photo by From Day One)Pre-pandemic remote workers were less committed, had lower engagement, experienced a greater sense of isolation and their career progression was worse, he added. Since then, the telework culture has dramatically changed. More employees prefer working from home or on a hybrid schedule, especially as companies are starting to call for them to return to the office. According to the Gallup study, “Six in 10 employees with remote-capable jobs want a hybrid work arrangement. About one-third prefer fully remote work, and less than 10% prefer to work on-site.”“The current story does not look like the pre-pandemic story at all,” said Cappelli. His newly released book explores how hybrid work can be done effectively and what can be done to fix the current work environment. The Pros and Cons to Remote WorkHaving the option to work from home has become the new normal and many employees have built their lives around being able to work remotely. But Cappelli found that while there are some benefits to this, there are also impacts to the social networks of remote workers. Through a series of focus groups, Cappelli and his colleague found that internationally, individuals who worked from home did not interact or develop relationships with others who also worked remotely.“There’s pretty good evidence from other research on this showing that networks of employees, networks of people, shrunk during the pandemic, and it has not really rebounded,” he said. Working in the office however, allows for greater opportunities to learn from each other and to develop a more efficient work flow, Cappelli says. If a problem were to be solved in the office, employees would be able to solve it quickly. Remotely, you’d have to ping the person, try and set up a Zoom meeting, schedule it and that may take even a few days, he said. “The things that we started to see about human interaction are basically solving problems that come from the nature of office work, and if you’re not face to face, you don’t have the ability to solve those problems,” said Cappelli.Experienced employees within a company know their team and interact with them regularly. For them, working remotely may be more favored. But for new hires entering an entirely remote environment, they get lost, Cappelli says. New employees are also unable to find their way because they are unable to observe the company’s culture while working from home. Employers are also seeing that in hybrid work environments, employees are still not coming back to the office even on “anchor days.” Attendance is about 4% on these days,” according to Cappelli. Remote meetings are also becoming less productive and engaging for workers, with many attending with their cameras off or having artificial intelligence agents taking notes for them.Management in an Era of Hybrid WorkCappelli says that the reason why the workplace environment isn’t “delightful” is because the problem has always been with the “top of the house” managing their employees and driving its policies. “I don’t think (top leaders are) taking it very seriously,” he said. As company leaders cut resources, training and supervision while increasing workload, the workplace environment begins to worsen employee mental health problems. While many corporations are issuing return-to-office policies, Cappelli observes that its leaders are not doing a great job at making the transition easy for its workers. If companies want to return to an in-person work environment, “it’s going to require a lot of work from people at the top of the house to take this change management process seriously and so far, they haven’t really given any inclination that they’re willing to do it,” said Cappelli. Jennifer Yoshikoshi is a local news and education reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.(Photo by vm/iStock)