Just a few weeks ago, I was invited to deliver the closing keynote at the Human Resources Executive Strategy Summit. The conference brought together a hand-selected group of top HR leaders committed to innovation and envisioning the future of work. What was not a surprise was the robust conversation about how AI is shaping the HR landscape. What was more of a surprise was how quickly it became clear that, no matter what tech advances are made, healthy cultures and equipped leaders are crucial success factors for what will happen next. EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling put it best, “When it comes to employment law, Ai does not change where the liability sits.” Here are my top takeaways from the conference:
Leaders should become the vision they have for their company:
Great companies spend time equipping leaders to model the behaviors that they want to see in their employees. According to culture research led by Kevin Oakes at i4cp, leaders being held accountable for employee outcomes helps to predict healthy cultures and positive business outcomes. When companies support their leaders’ well-being and development they are supporting the company as a whole.
HR has an important role to play in business transformation:
Changes in the workforce, spurred by generational preferences combined with massive changes in the use of AI and technology are carving a new and important role for HR and talent professionals. Josh Bersin led a conversation revealing companies’ emergent need to invest in new strategies to support leadership and employee development, engagement, and technology integration.
We need to reimagine talent acquisition:
Talent mobility is a critical ingredient in a company’s ability to innovate, attract the best talent, achieve and maintain a healthy culture, be competitive in the marketplace, and be change-resilient. Aligning the organizational strategy around fostering and retaining talent is important for long-term success, and leaders need to be equipped to help attract, nurture, and hold on to talented team members and the people they manage.
Recent EEOC rulings are shaping the demands on HR teams:
Employee claims have increased since the decade before COVID according to Keith Sonderling. Discrimination makes up a large portion of these claims and almost half of discrimination claims are related to mental health. Return to in-person work and concerns about job security in light of increasing reliance on Ai are driving many of these mental health claims among employees. Employers should also be aware of the brand new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act for which the EEOC just released expansive final regulations.
Headlines We’re Talking About
Here are some recent headlines about workplace wellbeing and employee wellness our team is talking about right now:
Successful integration of AI and innovative technology demands human expertise
A recent experiment by Fast Company revealed that AI is improving in its ability to deliver contextual awareness to complex HR situations. However, the article concluded that AI is best used to enhance HR capabilities, handling routine inquiries and instead providing HR experts with the capacity to focus on high-value interactions that require human empathy and judgment. This is an important point, considering there is no culpability of AI when things go wrong, and human leaders will continue to be responsible for the outcomes of decisions made with the help of AI. Mark O’Grady, a work behavior and culture consultant, came to a similar conclusion in his recent HR Daily Advisor piece focusing on the role of technology in workplace wellbeing strategies. While technology can be a helpful tool for companies in their HR and wellness strategies, human interaction and oversight will always be a requirement for quality and long-term results.
Leadership development needs a revamp
Even though the leadership development industry is now worth $77.9 billion, many of the most common solutions are flawed. A recent Fast Company article highlighted that in-person retreats cannot change long-term habits, personal coaching doesn’t allow for alignment with other leaders nor does it foster workplace relationships, and content libraries aren’t engaging enough for leaders to use consistently. On top of this, today’s leaders have more on their plate as they must deal with new challenges such as hybrid workplaces. The future of leadership development requires a customized, holistic approach that emphasizes well-being and organizational synergy.
The cost of employee burnout
According to recent data from the Mercer Global Talent report, burnout rates are at a decade high with 82% of the global workforce feeling at risk of burnout. Additionally, 40% of workers believe the world of work is fundamentally flawed. This burnout is being driven by financial strain, exhaustion due to longer hours and monitoring, and poor work design. Poor leadership also plays a significant role in burnout and can cause employees to hyperfocus on the negatives of their job leading to heightened levels of anxiety. Solving this problem is in the best interests of both employees and employers and has real company impacts on overall productivity and turnover.
