Today's Human Resources Pulse
Greenhouse completes acquisition of Ezra AI Labs, adding voice‑AI interviewing
Greenhouse announced the completion of its acquisition of Ezra AI Labs, a voice‑AI interviewing platform. The technology enables on‑demand, role‑specific conversations that are scored against a uniform rubric, delivering transcripts and explainable evaluations. The deal expands Greenhouse’s structured hiring methodology to the earliest stage of the recruiting funnel.
Untapped Potential: From Eeyore to Top Performer in 1 Quarter
The article argues that sales leaders often discard high‑potential reps because they don’t fit a charismatic stereotype. By crafting a sales script in the rep’s own voice, the author turned a quiet, “Eeyore‑type” employee into a top‑5% performer within a single quarter, earning President’s Club status. The story draws on the author’s experience building 19 #1 sales teams at AT&T, Verizon, T‑Mobile and Microsoft, emphasizing that authentic coaching unlocks untapped talent. It concludes that great cultures should stop forcing clones and start nurturing diverse personalities.
Tech Mahindra and UKG Partner to Accelerate AI-Driven Workforce Transformation and Adoption
Tech Mahindra and UKG announced a strategic partnership to accelerate AI‑driven workforce transformation for North American enterprises, especially small and mid‑market firms. Tech Mahindra will deploy the UKG Workforce Operating Platform internally and expand its UKG services practice to implement,...
Ticketmaster Confirms Around 350 Layoffs
Ticketmaster confirmed it is cutting roughly 350 positions as it moves more software development in‑house and narrows its focus to engineering, product and design. President Saumil Mehta said the re‑org will concentrate resources on fewer, AI‑driven initiatives and reduce reliance...
7 Best Contractor Payment Software I Recommend in 2026
The article ranks the seven top contractor payment platforms for 2026, highlighting Deel as the overall leader, followed by Gusto, Remote, Rippling, RUN Powered by ADP, Fiverr Enterprise, and Payoneer Workforce Management. It bases the rankings on G2 data, user...
1,350 Olin Workers Ratify Contract, End Strike at Missouri Winchester Factory
Approximately 1,350 Olin employees at the Winchester ammunition plant in Independence, Missouri, voted to ratify a revised four‑year contract, ending a month‑long strike. The agreement features front‑loaded wage hikes and limits on forced overtime, addressing union concerns about inflation and...
As Recruiters Face a Flood of AI-Polished Resumes, SimpleHire AI Expands Verified Skills Platform
SimpleHire AI announced an expansion of its QR‑based verified candidate profile platform as recruiters grapple with a surge of AI‑polished resumes that obscure genuine skill signals. The service adds one‑time skill assessments, identity checks, work‑eligibility verification, and reference validation, producing...
Wawa Fired Her at 57 After Age Bias Complaints, Lawsuit Alleges
Lori Graff, a 57‑year‑old senior quality‑assurance professional at Wawa, filed a federal lawsuit alleging age discrimination and retaliation after reporting bias to HR. She claims the company sidestepped its own disciplinary procedures, denied her a food‑safety certification, and issued undocumented...
Simplifying Culture: How I Explain It to Executives
When execs ask me what culture actually is, this is how I explain it. 👋🏻 Need help explaining this to your leadership team? That's literally what I do. DM me!
Worker Sues Booz Allen, Says Firm Denied Transfer and Faked a Threat
Christy J. Seelie, a senior knowledge manager at Booz Allen Hamilton, filed a $1 million lawsuit alleging disability discrimination, harassment, failure to accommodate, and retaliatory discharge under the ADA and Virginia Human Rights Act. She requested a temporary transfer to a...
AI-Led Restructuring Pushes Startups Toward Leaner Workforce Models
Indian startups are accelerating AI‑driven automation and tighter cost controls, prompting a wave of layoffs such as Pocket FM and Apna Mart, each shedding roughly 10% of staff. The restructuring reflects a shift from aggressive headcount growth to productivity‑focused operations,...
Tractor Supply Pulled Back Light Duty, Then Fired Injured Worker, Suit Alleges
Former Tractor Supply warehouse employee Barbara Collins filed a federal lawsuit alleging disability discrimination after the retailer allegedly pushed her out despite providing a light‑duty assignment following a back injury. The complaint details that HR told her not to report...
PNC Fired Her over a One-Letter Typo. Now She's Suing for Retaliation
Belinda Chambers, a senior internal support specialist at PNC, was fired four days after a one‑letter misspelling on a bereavement form. She alleges the termination was retaliation for her protected FMLA leave and a pending ADA accommodation request for medication...
Whistleblower Says Bank Fired Him After He Flagged Alleged Fraud on Fed
A former quality‑assurance associate at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. alleges he was fired after reporting material fraud in the bank’s KYC testing that allegedly masked fails to meet a 90% pass‑rate target. His internal whistleblower complaint triggered an external investigation...
Gallup Study Links Daily Work Enjoyment to a Full Point Boost in Life Well‑Being
Gallup’s latest global analysis of more than 350,000 employed adults shows that workers who enjoy their daily tasks rate their overall life satisfaction more than a full point higher on a 0‑10 scale than those who don’t. The finding highlights...
BCE Fires Employees over Alleged ‘Swipe and Go’ Attendance: Report
Bell Canada’s parent BCE Inc. dismissed a small number of employees after uncovering a “swipe and go” scheme where staff swiped their access cards to log presence and then left the office. The terminations were classified as “for cause,” meaning...
How to Improve Recruitment in the Construction Industry
Construction firms are facing a talent shortage as younger workers seek clearer career growth and better pay. The article recommends three tactics: prioritizing career progression, streamlining the application process with digital tools, and offering transparent, competitive wages. Highlighting platforms like...
Us Pulls Further Ahead on AI Pay as Europe Reshuffles and Emerging Markets Accelerate, According to WTW
WTW’s latest AI and Digital Talent Salary Survey shows the United States widening its lead in AI compensation, with median total pay for mid‑level machine‑learning roles topping $170,000. Germany and the UK hold second and third spots, while Canada fell...
CHRO Confidence Index Hits Record 59 as Hiring Surges, Retention Lags
The Conference Board reported that its CHRO Confidence Index rose to a record 59 in Q1 2026, driven by a hiring score of 63 and 59% of senior HR leaders planning to increase hiring. The report warns that retention remains...
National Survey of Substitute Teachers Across K-12 Districts Reveal Professional Development, Flexibility and Community Engagement as Most Important Factors to...
Red Rover’s annual national survey of over 18,000 substitute teachers in 46 states reveals that professional development, flexibility and community engagement are the top drivers of job satisfaction. The workforce is predominantly female (81.5%) and experienced, with nearly 60% over...
How Great Managers Run Successful 1:1s
The post announces a free live webinar on May 21, 2026 that teaches managers how to run effective 1:1 meetings. It highlights a proven framework used by more than 20,000 managers to turn 1:1s into productive feedback sessions. The session promises to...
New Cangrade Research Uncovers the Top Motivators Driving Gen Z and Millennial Workers
Cangrade released its 2026 research report, analyzing 71,728 Gen Z and Millennial personality assessments from 2025. The study confirms that Comfort, Personal Connection, Excellence and Autonomy remain the top four motivators, each drawing roughly 17‑18 % of respondents, with about 70 % citing...
Special Episode: Inside the 2026 Work Trend Index with Matt Firestone, General Manager for Microsoft 365 Copilot and Agents
In this special episode, Microsoft 365 Copilot GM Matt Firestone breaks down the 2026 Work Trend Index, which uniquely blends survey data with trillions of anonymized telemetry signals from the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. He highlights that 49% of complex, analytical...
Civil Service Union Reps Secure ‘Radical’ Facility Time Boosts
The Civil Service Facility Time Framework, released last month, expands paid "facility time" for union representatives to include union conferences, learning and other activities, not just core negotiating duties. It removes the previous hard cap of 0.1% of a department’s...
Digital Realty Expands Talent Development Opportunities for Operations Workforce Through Partnership with DCD Academy
Digital Realty, the world’s largest cloud‑neutral data‑center platform, has teamed up with DCD Academy to launch the Operations Workforce Development Program. The initiative integrates Digital Realty’s New Hire Accelerate Pathways onboarding with DCD Academy’s training modules, enabling engineers— even those...
Sharp Fall in Employee Engagement over Past Two Years
Gallup’s 2026 State of the Global Workplace report shows UK employee engagement has dropped to a historic low of 10%, with 90% of workers disengaged, costing the British economy roughly $372 billion in lost productivity. Global engagement fell to 20% in...
Mediocre B Players Are the Real Threat to Success
I recently stumbled upon this quote from Frank Slootman (CEO of Snowflake), and I can’t stop thinking about it: “Mediocrity is the silent killer. Organizations are not getting killed by their C players. Everybody knows who they are, and performance eventually is...
Contractor Conversion Flaws Arise At NASA (Update)
NASA is accelerating a shift that converts contractor positions at Kennedy Space Center into civil‑servant roles, while waiving the traditional college‑degree requirement. The policy aims to retain experienced staff, but older engineers without formal degrees are being laid off, even...
Upwork’s Spring Update
Upwork’s Spring 2026 update introduces a suite of AI‑driven tools built around its proprietary AI work agent, Uma. The rollout adds a ChatGPT‑integrated Upwork app that lets clients discover freelancers and draft job posts during conversations, and launches Uma Recruiter, an...
Why the ‘Modern Mental Healthcare Maze’ Needs a New Approach
Rula’s annual State of Mental Health report, based on 2,000+ U.S. adults, reveals widening gaps in workplace mental‑health support. It highlights that 43% of employees conceal mental‑health struggles, a behavior known as “masking,” which correlates with higher turnover. The study...
EQ Training Falters; Neurointelligence Proposed as AI‑Era Leadership Solution
NeuroLeadership Institute co‑founder Dr. David Rock says traditional emotional‑intelligence (EQ) training is ineffective for today’s AI‑focused leaders and introduces "neurointelligence" (NQ) as a broader, brain‑based alternative. He cites data showing fewer than 5% of leaders excel at both goal‑ and...
GLP-1s: The Numbers that Really Matter for an Effective Health Plan
The BenefitsPRO Broker Expo highlighted a 500% jump in GLP‑1 drug spending, topping $70 billion between 2018 and 2023. Conner Insurance partnered with a wellness coach and a specialty PBM to redesign its diabetes strategy, cutting medical spend by $1 million in...
Workers Strike at Brookfield Zoo over Health Insurance, Wages
Around 100 Teamsters Local 727 members at Brookfield Zoo walked off the job on Monday, demanding a fair contract that addresses wages, health‑insurance costs, and staffing guarantees. The union rejected the zoo’s final offer, accusing management of providing a false health‑care...
Greenhouse Launches MCP, Giving Hiring Teams a Governed Way to Connect AI Tools to Greenhouse
Greenhouse unveiled the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a permission‑aware layer that lets hiring teams connect AI tools directly to the Greenhouse platform. Developed with design partners such as StubHub and Komodo Health, the MCP rollout begins in June. It enables...
HR and the ‘Perfect Storm’ of Youth Unemployment
Youth unemployment in the UK has surged to a record high, with almost one in six 16‑24‑year‑olds out of work – the first time it exceeds the EU average. Long‑term studies show that persistent NEET status can make individuals six...
Starfighters Hires Blue Origin Veterans to Accelerate Air-Launch Platform
Starfighters Space has recruited two former Blue Origin New Glenn managers—Jose Arias as vice president of space operations and Catrina Medeiros as director of operations for its Starlaunch air‑launch service. Arias previously cut integration cycle time from 76 to 13...
What The Healthcare Workforce Shortage Can Teach Other Industries About Talent Retention
The healthcare sector’s chronic staffing shortage, intensified by COVID‑19, forced hospitals to overhaul talent practices. Providers introduced day‑one benefits, accelerated pay cycles, flexible scheduling, and robust career‑development programs, which lifted retention and reduced burnout. Leadership accountability for employee well‑being became...
EzPaycheck Software Empowers Businesses to Streamline Multi-Client Payroll Processing at a Flat Cost
Halfpricesoft.com has launched ezPaycheck, an in‑house payroll platform that lets accountants and small businesses process payroll for unlimited clients at a flat annual fee of $169. The software supports core tax forms (941, 940, W‑2, W‑3) and offers unlimited paycheck...
Bruce Cohen – Building a Best-in-Class Performance Management System in 2026 and Beyond
In a new HRTech podcast, veteran HR leader Bruce Cohen outlines how organizations can build a best‑in‑class performance management system for 2026 and beyond. He argues that traditional annual reviews are obsolete and must be replaced with continuous, data‑driven feedback...
Construction Hiring Still Exceptionally Slow in March
The construction sector reported 224,000 job openings on March 31, according to ABC's analysis of the BLS JOLTS data. Openings increased by 23,000 from February but remain 54,000 below the same month last year, reflecting a persistently sluggish hiring environment....
Strike Persists as only One Guild Officer Hired
So much for the latest white-knight savior: 80 percent Post-Gazette staff on strike not hired; one of seven guild officers hired. The Venetoulis Institute goes to Pittsburgh. https://t.co/o2z4HWe3Rq
STV’s Scotland Election Coverage to Be Hit by Strike Action over Pay
STV’s election coverage in Scotland will be disrupted as roughly 120 journalists and broadcast staff strike over a company‑wide pay freeze. The freeze follows a 6% revenue decline to £176.9 million (≈$225 million) and a 10% drop in ad sales to £89.3 million...
Beyond Mother’s Day: How Benefits Leaders Can Build a Culture that Supports Caregivers
Beyond Mother’s Day, benefits leaders are urged to embed caregiving support into everyday policy. By first mapping the real caregiving challenges—childcare, eldercare, reproductive leave—organizations can redesign benefits that avoid penalizing vesting schedules or retirement eligibility. Three levers—streamlined benefits, flexible work...
Gartner Warns AI-Driven Hiring Freeze Could Backfire by 2030
At the Gartner Supply Chain Symposium in Orlando, analysts warned that pausing entry‑level hiring to accommodate AI could create talent shortages by 2030. Gartner's data shows 75% of supply‑chain firms that halted early‑career recruitment in 2026 will incur more than...
Betterworks Unveils AI‑Powered Talent Intelligence Platform to Drive Execution
Betterworks rolled out an AI‑powered Talent Intelligence platform that captures performance signals in real time, promising to convert traditional performance reviews into actionable execution metrics. The suite, featuring Unified Talent Profiles and Skills Intelligence, targets the gap where only 16%...
Arunachal Pradesh Raises DA and DR to 60%
The Arunachal Pradesh government approved a 2 percent increase in dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR), raising the rate from 58 percent to 60 percent of basic pay and pension. The change, effective retroactively from 1 January 2026, will benefit more than 69,000 state...
Big Finance Seeks Crypto‑Savvy Talent with TradFi Skills
HELP WANTED: digital asset specialists at big boy financial cos. Must know crypto, blockchain, understand degens, but also have TradFi chops, fluent in Boomer-ese. Send applications to @isabelletanlee who has a nice scoop on the terminal this morning. https://t.co/TNrlAjjoYD
Pay Transparency Is Now a ‘Dealbreaker’ for UK Workers, SD Worx Finds
SD Worx’s latest HR Pulse survey shows 72% of UK employees now view pay transparency as a critical factor when choosing or staying with an employer, while only 29% are familiar with the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Employers appear more...
Cuts Are Coming: Is Now the Time to Upskill?
Tech firms report persistent skills gaps even as hiring slows, especially for early‑career talent. Global corporate training spend is projected to reach $440 billion in 2026, while UK employers cut training budgets to roughly half the level of their EU counterparts....
Emirates Pays Employees 20-Week Salary Bonus, Despite Tough Times
Emirates Group posted a record $6.6 billion profit for the 2023‑2024 fiscal year, its second consecutive year as the world’s most profitable airline. To celebrate, the carrier awarded all 130,000 employees a bonus equal to 20 weeks of basic salary –...
Why AI Interviews Are Losing 1 in 3 Candidates
AI-driven interview platforms are gaining traction, yet new research shows that one‑third of job seekers abandon the process when no human is present. Candidate discomfort spikes when firms fail to disclose AI usage, raising doubts about fairness and bias. The...