Today's Human Resources Pulse
Lateral Associates Now Dominate Biglaw Hiring
In 2025, lateral‑hired attorneys accounted for roughly 48% of associate hires, overtaking new law‑school graduates for the first time. The shift reflects firms’ growing appetite for experienced talent amid heightened client demand and billing pressures, tightening the market for recent graduates.
How Well Do You Know Your Workforce and What Happens when You Don’t
Traditional "hire once, check once" models are increasingly inadequate as employees’ roles and responsibilities evolve rapidly. Recent high‑profile failures at the Bank of London, Metropolitan Police and Oxfam illustrate the financial and reputational damage of outdated vetting practices. Continuous screening, which reassesses employees as they gain new access, budgets or seniority, is emerging as a necessary risk‑management tool. Companies that adopt dynamic controls can improve compliance, retention and stakeholder confidence.
How to Create a Learning and Development Strategy in Retail
Retail leaders face accelerating operational, technological, and customer‑experience pressures, prompting a shift from ad‑hoc training to a strategic learning and development (L&D) framework. The article outlines a step‑by‑step approach that begins with a skills‑gap analysis, incorporates AI‑enabled learning platforms, and...
Patients Lose Out From Blind Spot in NHS Staff Survey
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) is urging the NHS to add agency workers to its annual Staff Survey, highlighting a critical blind spot that excludes a sizable portion of the workforce. While the survey recently expanded to include Bank‑only...
Sony Music West Africa Is Celebrating Women’s Month With ‘Bloom & Bloom’
International Women’s Day 2026 finds Sony Music West Africa expanding its gender‑equity agenda with “Bloom & Bloom.” Aligned with the global “Give to Gain” theme, the initiative treats success as a collective effort, encouraging women to lift each other within...
Evotec Slashes Staff as Turnaround Plan Gathers Pace
Evotec unveiled the second phase of its Horizon turnaround, announcing 800 job cuts and the closure of four sites to save €75 million by 2027. The move follows a previous round of 600 layoffs and a failed $2.1 billion Halozyme takeover, reducing...
Oracle’s Potential Mass Layoff Signals an AI Trade-Off
Oracle announced a $50 billion capital raise to fund AI infrastructure, positioning 2026 as the year it will operationalize artificial intelligence across its suite. The aggressive investment follows earlier promises at Oracle AI World and raises concerns that the company may...
Zoho Asks Most Employees to Work From Home for 2 Weeks
Zoho Corporation has instructed the majority of its workforce to work from home for two weeks starting March 16, citing operational concerns and fuel‑supply disruptions. Employees in non‑critical roles are encouraged to remote, while essential teams must coordinate on‑site schedules...
What Gen Z’s Lunch Breaks Really Tell Us About the Criticism They Face at Work
Just Eat for Business research shows 56% of Gen Z take full lunch breaks daily, and 66% eat with colleagues. This challenges stereotypes of disengagement, highlighting their focus on rest and social connection. In the hybrid work era, lunch breaks...
Usman “Oz” Khan – Unlocking the Future of HR Tech with AI, Innovation, and Trust
In a recent HR Tech podcast, Usman “Oz” Khan of ADP Ventures explains how artificial intelligence is reshaping HR workflows, enhancing data‑driven decision‑making, and fostering employee trust. He highlights concrete use cases such as automated talent sourcing, predictive attrition modeling,...
Emversity Buys Back Rs 6.5 Cr ESOPs From 20 Employees
Emversity has repurchased employee stock options worth Rs 6.5 crore from 20 staff members as part of a liquidity programme for employees who joined on or before 31 January 2024. The company now employs more than 700 people across 24 Indian states and over...
J&J, AbbVie CEOs See Pay Spike to More than $30M
Johnson & Johnson chief Joaquin Duato and AbbVie chief Robert Michael each earned more than $30 million in 2025, pushing them into the top tier of pharma CEOs. Michael’s pay jumped 75% to $32.5 million, driven by $16.5 million in stock and option...
Nearly 9 in 10 Workers Report Satisfaction with Employer Sponsored Health Coverage
A recent AHIP survey shows nearly nine in ten U.S. workers are satisfied with their employer‑provided health insurance, citing financial security and peace of mind. Health coverage ranks as the top workplace benefit, with 68% naming it most valuable, and...
Leadership Style Assessments: What Kind of Leader Are You? | The Predictive Index
Leadership style assessments help managers pinpoint how they lead, revealing strengths, blind spots, and preferred approaches such as transformational or authoritative. The article highlights popular tools like the Predictive Index Behavioral Assessment and Myers‑Briggs, explaining how they translate personality data...
Union Faces Legal Challenge over Gender Policy
The Community trade union is confronting a judicial review filed by members Norma Austin Hart and Alison Ann‑Dowling, who argue its gender equality strategy unlawfully groups women with non‑binary individuals, contravening a recent UK Supreme Court ruling on biological sex....
From Call Trees to Agentic AI - How Kingfisher Is Winning Back Employee Time for Customers
Kingfisher has upgraded its ServiceNow virtual agent, Vita, from a structured call‑tree to a generative‑AI powered assistant (Now Assist) called Vita version two. Within 18 months, the original bot logged 200,000 interactions, and the new AI interface now offers natural‑language ticketing,...
Leaders at All Levels: Kraft Heinz’s 5X Speed Secret
Kraft Heinz slashed its new‑product cycle from 36 months to six by overhauling its development process. The company limited active projects to a "golden number" of seven, consolidated work into a single financial‑outcome‑driven backlog, and granted teams decision rights. These...
Why AI Augmentation and Up-Skilling Are the Secrets to Boosting Staff Productivity
Deploying AI without putting employees at the centre delivers only modest productivity gains. Pearson’s report estimates that an AI‑augmentation strategy combined with workforce upskilling could add $4.8‑$6.6 trillion to the U.S. economy by 2034 – roughly 15 % of current GDP. Experts...
As AI Boosts Collaboration, Employees Resist Office Mandates
Artificial intelligence tools are reshaping workplace collaboration, making remote interactions nearly as effective as in‑person meetings. A Byteiota survey shows 80% of employers have lost talent due to return‑to‑office (RTO) mandates, and 41% of workers would consider leaving if forced...
Motocross Champion Becomes First Apprentice to Qualify as NHBC Launches Its First Multi-Skill Construction Training Hub in Staffordshire
NHBC launched its first multi‑skill construction training hub in Lichfield, part of a £100 million programme to open twelve sites and train up to 3,000 apprentices annually. The inaugural cohort achieved a 93% pass rate, far above the 53% industry average....
Amazon’s AI Push Leaves Employees Spending More Time Fixing Errors
Amazon’s rapid rollout of internal AI tools is backfiring, with employees across engineering, supply chain and operations spending more time correcting flawed outputs than accelerating work. The generative systems frequently produce incomplete, inaccurate or fabricated code and data, forcing staff...
Retain Knowledge and Talent Amid Career Fluidity
An HR guide to retaining knowledge (and talent) through career fluidity @HRZone https://t.co/Vy0GtKFcTy #HCM #HRM #HumanResources #HRTech #CHRO #FutureofHR
Your Employees Aren’t Lazy, They’re Afraid
Employees often appear lazy or resistant, but neuroscience shows they’re actually in threat mode due to change fatigue. The amygdala treats reorganizations, AI rollouts, or new leadership as physical danger, shutting down the pre‑frontal cortex and narrowing focus. Gallup’s 2025...
Cathay Pacific to Grant Employees Bonuses Worth over 11 Weeks of Pay
Cathay Pacific announced a discretionary bonus and profit‑sharing payout that totals more than 11 weeks of eligible pay, alongside a 2026 salary increase. The carrier reported 2025 revenue of HK$116.77 billion, up 11.9% year‑on‑year, and net profit of HK$10.83 billion, a 9.5%...
6 Worthwhile Conferences for Women in Tech
Women remain a minority in tech, occupying roughly 30% of roles and an even smaller share of leadership positions at major firms such as Google, Meta, Apple, and Microsoft. Persistent workplace microaggressions and low representation of BIPOC women underscore the...
Why Women over 50 Are the Future of Work in the Age of AI
Companies are increasingly recognizing that women over 50 represent a vast, underused talent pool essential for navigating the AI‑driven future of work. Demographic shifts mean this cohort is growing, yet they remain absent from hiring pipelines and leadership tracks. Their...
Building an Agent that Coaches You as a Leader
Zapier’s chief people and AI transformation officer Brandon Sammut built an AI‑driven accountability agent using Cursor and Zapier MCP. The agent scans his Slack, Google Docs, calendar and other work apps each week, then produces a concise report comparing actual...
Why Salary Sacrifice Pensions Should Be on Your Radar in 2026
Salary sacrifice workplace pensions let employers and employees contribute pre‑tax, cutting National Insurance liabilities and boosting retirement savings. With NI savings uncapped until April 2029, firms can immediately offset rising employment costs while offering more attractive benefits. Survey data shows...
Job Analysis: 4 Methods for Gathering Data
Job analysis is a structured process used to capture detailed job requirements, increasingly vital as organizations assess tasks for automation and AI integration. The article outlines four primary data‑gathering methods—interviews, focus groups, surveys/questionnaires, and observation—each with distinct advantages and challenges....
Rising Costs Putting Young Jobseekers at Risk of Missing Out on Retail Roles, MPs Warned
Rising employment costs in the UK are prompting retailers and other businesses to prioritize experienced workers over younger candidates. Higher minimum wages and National Insurance contributions have pushed firms to tighten hiring, leaving nearly one million young people—almost 957,000 aged...
How To Build A Scalable HR And Safety System For Your Growing ECommerce Business
Growing eCommerce firms often outgrow informal HR and safety practices, creating operational risk. The article outlines a stage‑based framework—risk audit, centralized documentation, structured onboarding, data‑informed safety, regulatory alignment, and KPI integration—to build scalable workforce systems. By standardizing processes and leveraging...
AI Users Report Stronger Workplace Connections, According to Gensler Survey
Gensler’s 2026 Global Workplace Survey of 16,400 office workers across 16 countries finds that AI power users—about 30 % of respondents—spend less time alone and more time learning and interacting with colleagues, contradicting the notion that AI isolates workers. These users...
A Model for Growing the Next Generation of Developers
Microsoft Azure CTO Mark Russinovich and VP Scott Hanselman propose a software preceptorship model that pairs junior developers with senior mentors to work alongside AI coding assistants. Borrowing from nursing, the approach treats mentorship as a year‑long, equal partnership where...
Average WFH Employee Wastes 5+ Hours Weekly to Distractions (More than 33 Working Days Annually)
A national survey commissioned by Make Room Outside found that 84% of work‑from‑home (WFH) employees are regularly distracted, losing an average of 63 minutes and 17 seconds each day. Social media scrolling tops the distraction list, followed by non‑work messaging...
What Does It Take to Be a Great Coaching Manager?
Great coaching managers prioritize dedicated coaching time despite competing operational demands. They earn credibility by performing their own roles competently and modeling curiosity rather than authority. By advocating for their people, they balance accountability with supportive feedback, and they treat...
Cracking Cyber’s Talent Gap Challenge
Rob Lee argues that the cybersecurity talent gap is less about a lack of candidates and more about outdated hiring practices and misaligned role definitions. Companies often demand senior experience for junior positions and narrow technical criteria, sidelining adaptable talent...
Why Your RTO Strategy Needs Purposeful In-Person Experiences (Not Mandates)
New research reveals that forward‑looking leaders are reshaping return‑to‑office (RTO) strategies by embedding purposeful in‑person experiences rather than imposing attendance mandates. These activations—ranging from purpose‑driven days and inclusive cultural events to skill‑building workshops—strengthen employee connection to mission, foster belonging, accelerate...
'Serious Concerns' | London Underground Drivers Set to Strike over Four-Day Week Plans
London Underground drivers, represented by the RMT union, will strike over the company’s plan to compress the standard workweek into four days. The proposal has been rejected by a majority of train operators in e‑referendums, yet LU management continues to...
Women Navigate Finance’s Pay Challenge
Lossdog’s new report estimates women in finance lose $7‑15 million in lifetime economic value due to structural market forces that compound pay gaps. The study highlights how employer concentration, monopsony power, and a “reset” mechanism triggered by career interruptions dramatically depress...
Seeking Real Experiences Working With Neurodivergent Colleagues
Need your honest opinion? What's been your experience working with neurodivergent people? cc @hacking_hr , @sbrownehr @MeetJMB @themmanuelfaith
Sainsbury’s Manager Wins £12,000 After Being Left Out of Social Media Post
A senior Sainsbury’s store manager, Darren Cooper, was awarded £11,852 after a Cardiff employment tribunal found that his exclusion from a regional leadership post on LinkedIn and Yammer constituted harassment linked to his disability. The omission occurred while Cooper was...
IWD Voices: Karishma Changroth – ‘Spotting Women in Senior Leadership Shouldn’t Feel Like a Game of Where’s Waldo’
Karishma Changroth, featured in IWD Voices, argues that identifying women in senior leadership should be systematic, not a "Where’s Waldo" exercise. She highlights persistent gender gaps across major agencies such as FCB India, Stagwell, and 72andSunny. Changroth calls for data‑driven...
1 in 5 Gen Z Job Seekers Are Bringing Mom or Dad to Interviews—And some Are Even Letting Them Negotiate...
New Zety research shows 1 in 5 Gen Z job seekers bring a parent to interviews, and 10% let parents negotiate salary. The trend reflects a tough job market where young adults face high unemployment and NEET rates. Parental involvement...
Hiring Outlook: February Brings First YOY Job Increase Since 2022
Biopharma job postings on BioSpace rose 5% year‑over‑year in February, the first increase since September 2022, and jumped 21% month‑over‑month. The broader U.S. labor market shed 92,000 jobs, driven by healthcare strikes and winter storms, but biopharma layoffs eased, with...
Money Worries Drive Surge in Workplace Absence as Four in Five Staff Take Time Off
Financial stress is prompting a sharp rise in UK workplace absenteeism, with 83% of employees taking at least one day off in the past year due to money‑related anxiety. More than three‑quarters of workers have missed four or more days,...
IWD Voices: Subarna Mukherjee – ‘Policies May Be Written for Everyone. Access Rarely Is.’
Subarna Mukherjee argues that while policies are drafted for universal applicability, true access remains uneven. She likens equal rules to giving a short and tall person the same shelf height, highlighting the gap between formal fairness and lived experience. The...
TAFE NSW Tasting Success Program Celebrates 20 Years Supporting Careers of Female Chefs
TAFE NSW celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Tasting Success program, which fast‑tracks female chefs through mentorship, masterclasses and industry placements. Eight women graduated at the Apprentice Restaurant in Ultimo, showcasing the program’s hands‑on training model. The initiative addresses the...
From Case to Culture: Holding Managers Accountable for Managing
Senior leaders are expected to gauge how well their direct reports manage their teams, yet many lack insight into lower‑level dynamics. This blind spot can allow problematic behaviors, such as bullying or micromanagement, to persist unchecked. A recent unfair dismissal...
Australia Rolls Out Programme Linking School Leavers with Travel Industry Jobs
The Travel Gap, a 29‑week paid programme launched in Melbourne, links school leavers with the Australian travel industry through a partnership between My First Job and the Australian Travel Industry Association. Participants rotate through four six‑week placements across diverse travel...
Bankers Gain a New Route to Huge Payouts From UK Tribunals
The UK Labour government will remove the £118,223 cap on unfair‑dismissal awards from January 1, 2027, a change embedded in the Employment Rights Act. While intended to curb complex, multi‑issue claims, the uncapped regime is expected to boost high‑value lawsuits, especially...
Views Divided on FWA Amendments; Super Reforms Pass Parliament; and More
The Australian Parliament approved a suite of superannuation reforms designed to make retirement savings more equitable, while proposed amendments to the Fair Work Act (FWA) have sparked a split response among policymakers and unions. Parallel to these moves, business groups...