Why Employers Are Taking a Personalized Approach to Financial Wellness
BY Walecia Konrad August 04, 2025Benefits leaders increasingly recognize that financial wellness benefits are just as essential to employee compensation as health insurance and retirement plans. With 73% of Americans saying they are financially stressed, it’s easy to see why financial wellness is taking center stage. But that presents a broad challenge for HR leaders. How do you offer a wide range of financial wellness benefits, then customize those offerings to fit the specific needs of individual employees who range from C-suite executives to entry-level new hires?The best strategy? Make it personal, says Erin Donahue, CFP®, CPA/PFS, CMA, CGMA, and director of advice strategy at Northstar. Northstar’s financial wellness program provides individualized guidance to employees of every level to help them better utilize their total compensation package and make financial decisions. From Day One spoke with Donahue about how HR leaders can personalize financial wellness benefits to fit the needs of all employees. “We’ve found that matching employees at every level with one of our Certified Financial Planners can be the best way to build trust and offer solutions,” Donahue said. An advisor can answer specific compensation and benefits questions, look at an employee’s overall financial picture, assist with any problems and help set and achieve financial goals. These are all things most benefits managers simply aren’t equipped to do.“Say someone comes in with a question about their employer’s student loan benefit. The person isn’t sure if they should be using it or not,” Donahue said. The employee would be matched with a Northstar Advisor who has been trained on their benefits and would answer that specific question and assist the employee in signing up for any appropriate benefits.From Day One spoke with Erin Donahue, CFP®, CPA/PFS, CMA, CGMA, the director of advice strategy at Northstar (company photo)But the relationship doesn’t end there. The advisor would continue to work with the employee on an ongoing basis. The student loan question would likely lead to more talks about the employee’s finances, including challenges and goals well beyond paying off college debt, says Donahue. Budgeting, managing debt and building healthy money habits are all part of the financial foundations covered in Northstar’s personalized financial wellness program.What’s more, the CFP®, who is not on commission of any type and has a fiduciary duty to the employee, is free to recommend solutions outside of the employer’s benefit package, building trust and alleviating financial stress in a more holistic way. In many cases, employee financial goals can be directly supported by taking advantage of employer benefits. The CFP® is well-versed in what the company offers and can make recommendations that are personally relevant, making it much more likely the employee will sign up,” Donahue said. Once an employee is matched with an advisor, they work together for as long as desired on any number of financial concerns. This personal approach can pay off for both employees and employers. After meeting with a Northstar Advisor, 94% of employees report an increase in their financial confidence and 85% report a reduction in their financial stress. Importantly, 69% of employees took action on advisor recommendations and 63% followed benefit-specific advice, reports Northstar. Out-of-the-Box SolutionsWhen there’s a personal relationship, financial advisors can help employees make the most of their benefits in surprising ways. Donahue points to an example of one employee who was looking to buy a house in the next year or so. The employee has free cash flow that he can use to save for the down payment and he’s also eligible for his company’s stock purchase plan. “Stock purchase plans can be a little bit invisible,” says Donahue. “People think, ‘Oh, that’s for high-level executives and long-term investing, it can’t help me meet short term goals.’” But in this case, the Northstar Advisor was able to point out that if the employee enrolls in his stock purchase plan, assuming the plan offers shares at the standard 15% discount, in a year’s time he’ll likely have a return on his house savings much higher than he would get in any high-yield savings account. Northstar’s program integrates benefits, equity, and rewards to help employees maximize their total compensation to achieve their financial goals, such as buying a home, says Donahue. Or take the case of a highly compensated employee who’s living paycheck to paycheck. “It happens more than you think,” said Donahue, emphasizing that life events can hit all at once—kids’ tuition, caring for an elderly parent, inflationary cost increases on vital expenses such as insurance—stretching relatively big paychecks to the max. That creates a feeling of financial insecurity and an inability to save for emergencies and the future. In these cases, Northstar Advisors can help employees return to budgeting basics and help find ways to reduce expenses. Recently Donahue’s team worked with a couple to help them move from Los Angeles to Atlanta to reduce living expenses and increase savings. For both early career employees and high earners, advisors offer their knowledge to help employees maximize compensation, whether through budgeting and saving changes or guidance around investing and tax optimization.Global MobilityHR leaders have also learned that comprehensive financial wellness benefits need to span the globe. Often benefit managers seek out specific vendors to offer international relocation, tax and investment advice. But at Northstar, global mobility support is integrated into the program and is made possible by Northstar’s team of global financial advisors.International employees, both relocated Americans and foreign nationals, need the same personalized approach on complex matters, Donahue says. “Often these employees might not know all the questions they need to ask,” she said. For instance, an employee moving to France for a short stint would likely need to learn how to continue retirement savings and other investing in the U.S. while understanding the tax implications and other compliance issues. But, if the same employee were joining family abroad and planning on a permanent move, they would need help navigating France’s pension and investment systems and determining if and when to move their U.S.-based assets to France. In each case, employees need to know how to protect their assets and stay compliant, but under very different circumstances, Donahue says.Two-Way CommunicationA personalized, one-on-one approach doesn’t just serve employees. It often provides the vital information benefit managers need to better understand their workforce. Northstar aggregates and shares the common topics employees are asking about and provides insights on what they need to feel better about their finances. Often this information can be more honest and accurate than employer-sponsored financial wellness surveys, simply because employees are more detailed and often more honest with their financial advisor than they might be answering a questionnaire. This kind of feedback can be especially effective when HR leaders consider and launch new benefits. In addition, the advisor connection can help employers increase adoption of underutilized benefits. Employees have an objective, professional partner that can explain what benefits are available and how to best use them. “We want to reduce the headaches low-utilization rates can cause HR pros,” said Donahue.The bottom line: When workforce members get the comprehensive, sophisticated, and personalized advice they need, they’re likely to feel more financially secure, make the most of their employer-provided benefits, meet their financial goals, and feel set up for success at work. “It’s a win-win for everyone,” Donahue said.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Northstar, for supporting this sponsor spotlight. Walecia Konrad is an award-winning financial journalist, specializing in the topics of health care, personal finance, and employer-sponsored benefits. Her work has been seen on sites such as CBS MoneyWatch, The New York Times, Money, SmartMoney, BusinessWeek, and Forbes. She has been the recipient of both a Pearl Award for Best Web Publication of the Year and a National Magazine Award for Personal Service.(Featured photo by RichVintage/iStock by Getty Images)
American Eagle’s Marketing Misstep: When Wordplay Carries Too Much Historical Baggage
BY Erin Behrens August 01, 2025Does controversy sell? It depends–but when you miss the mark with your audience, as in the case of American Eagle’s latest marketing campaign, it’s more likely to backfire.In a campaign that has launched a thousand hot takes on the internet, American Eagle featured actress Sydney Sweeney, best known for her roles on Euphoria and The White Lotus and, more recently, for being at the center of several questionable marketing ventures, one of them involving her bath water. She has the star power and relevance to connect with the shoppers American Eagle is targeting, but the new campaign elicited a very different response.In a series of short video ads, Sweeney wears American Eagle denim while reciting various riffs associating her persona with the product, each ending with a voiceover declaring she has “great jeans,” a double entendre that plays on both her denim and her “great genes.”The campaign quickly sparked backlash online. Some of the comments on American Eagle Outfitters’ latest TikTok ads read along the lines of: “Levi’s here I come,” “How diverse is your team?” and “So disappointed in this. Won’t be shopping here again.” Viewers are accusing the brand of leaning into eugenics-adjacent messaging by highlighting Sweeney’s blond-haired, blue-eyed appearance in a way that seems to conflate whiteness with idealized beauty. “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue,” Sweeney says in one of the videos.Others are calling the campaign regressive in its treatment of women. In one clip, Sweeney says, “My body’s composition is determined by my genes.” The camera pans down to her chest, to which she says “Hey, eyes up here.” While the line plays as a joke, it draws attention to the tone of objectification. The moment comes off more like a nod to the male gaze than a subversion of it, which to many observers seemed misaligned for a campaign selling women’s clothing.Reading Between the LinesGiven the current political warfare over issues of diversity, and the fact that President Trump has used similar race-science language, referring to immigrants as having “bad genes,” and a rally crowd of mostly-white Minnesotans as having “good genes,” it’s difficult to ignore the ad’s echo of racial hierarchies and the association of “good genes” with whiteness. Viewers have pointed out that such a prominent ad doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it reflects and relies on the cultural and political climate it’s venturing into.In being facile with its language about genetics, the company underestimated its power, and the misguided associations between certain genes and superiority. American history includes a dark chapter in which a cadre of pseudo-scientists argued that certain nationalities were inherently inferior, as author Dan Okrent chronicles in his book The Guarded Gate, and used that thinking to keep generations of immigrants out of America. The belief in “good” or “bad” genes wasn’t just abstract; it had real, devastating consequences.The Sydney Sweeney campaign has also been receiving comparisons to Brooke Shields’ controversial Calvin Klein campaign from the 1980s, though the issues differ. Shields’ campaign was criticized for its overtly sexual tone involving a minor, raising concerns about age-appropriateness. In contrast, the issue with the Sydney Sweeney campaign isn’t about age, it centers on supposed ethnic superiority. Yet in both cases, the underlying strategy feels similar: rather than creatively selling the quality, value, or innovative style of the product, both campaigns lean on shock value, cultural obliviousness, and dad-joke wordplay to grab attention.Rethinking Shock Value in MarketingIn terms of marketing lessons, what does this tell us about the cultural moment we’re in?Today’s consumers are quick to pick up on subtext in our politicized culture. When brands advertise a particular kind of aesthetic, especially at a moment when conversations around diversity and representation are front, center and under-pressure, it’s worth asking what values are being amplified.The American Eagle campaign also speaks to the challenge of breaking through the constant noise of modern marketing. With ads everywhere we go, popping up on phones, between our playlists, on public transit, and more, the American Eagle team went for something that would prompt double takes. The campaign “was a company figuring out how to break through in a world where everyone is screaming and saying, ‘Look at me, look at me!’” Allen Adamson, co-founder of brand marketing firm Metaforce, told NPR. But the reaction to the campaign shows that audiences aren’t just paying attention, they’re holding brands accountable for what they put out into the world. Controversy for controversy’s sake isn’t just tired, it seems desperate, especially when it echoes malevolent ideologies.Erin Behrens is an associate editor at From Day One. (Images by American Eagle)
How Agentic AI is Transforming Workforce Strategy
BY Ade Akin July 31, 2025Nearly half of CEOs believe their companies won’t survive the next decade unless they adapt to rapid technological change, according to the World Economic Forum. It’s a stark reminder that innovation is no longer optional, but essential.This urgency, which workforce leaders find themselves dealing with, framed the conversation during a From Day One webinar titled, “Work Reimagined: Unlocking Workforce Value with Agentic AI.” The conversation centered on how organizations can harness agentic artificial intelligence to reinvent the nature of work, empower their workforce, and elevate individual employees.Unlike generative AI, which creates content based on patterns, agentic AI acts with autonomy, learning, reasoning, and adapting to drive outcomes. “It’s not just providing answers; it’s mimicking human behavior to execute tasks,” said Anthony Abbatiello partner, workforce transformation practice leader at PwC. This shift is reshaping HR’s role from a support function to a strategic coordinator. The Strategic Value of Agentic AIWhile tools like robotic process automation (RPA) help streamline many tasks, agentic systems dynamically reallocate work by matching talent, human or AI, with opportunities in real time. Abbatiello says that 88% of business leaders plan to increase AI budgets in the following year. He says this is a defining moment for human resources leaders. “The CHRO can be the hero in the boardroom,” he said. This makes them uniquely positioned to align three critical pillars. First is work, which involves understanding what needs to be done and identifying who or what is best equipped to do it. Second is the workforce, the evolving mix of human talent and AI systems. Third is the worker, with a focus on individual experience, skills, and development.Speakers shared insights on the topic "Work Reimagined: Unlocking Workforce Value with Agentic AI " (photo by From Day One)Abbatiello notes that while efficiency plays are a common starting point, true reinvention delivers the most value. Reinventing an organization's workforce demands more than having access to the right technology; it also requires cultural readiness.The Real-World Impact of Agentic AIRimple Patel, chief customer officer at Eightfold shared some real-world examples of agentic AI’s impact on workforce strategy. In recruiting, Eightfold’s AI interviewer autonomously screens candidates, reducing time-to-hire by 42% for one client. For internal mobility, 40% of roles at Amdocs are now filled internally through AI-guided career pathing. In healthcare, AI platforms are helping nurses select shifts that match their preferences, leading to higher retention rates and improved patient care.The biggest hurdle facing organizations regarding agentic AI isn’t the technology; it’s the mindset of people within them, says Patel. Fragmented data, cultural resistance, and the fear of job displacement all hinder progress. Abbatiello’s research found that 80% of organizations aren’t using AI agents, often due to unclear use cases.Several key enablers can help organizations overcome these hurdles. Transparency is essential, which means clearly explaining why AI makes certain recommendations. Building trust is also critical and involves creating an AI-positive culture where experimentation is both encouraged and safe. Strong leadership is another enabler, with CHROs partnering with CIOs to ensure broad and equitable access to AI across the organization.Patel recommends starting with focused pilots that directly tie to business goals, such as improving retention in high-risk roles, while sticking to a clear, organization-wide roadmap in view. Companies should equip both leaders and employees to “team with AI,” she said. Abbatiello emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between quick wins and strategic, long-term investments in capability building. “Agentic AI supercharges your ability to be more agile with your workforce, if the organization is ready to adopt it,” he said. Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Eightfold, for sponsoring this webinar. Ade Akin specializes in the emerging applications of artificial intelligence.(Photo by Kulpreya Chaichatpornsuk/iStock)
Innovating With Your Benefits Offerings at a Time of Rising Costs
BY Carrie Snider July 30, 2025Costs are rising, but that doesn’t mean benefits have to suffer. You just have to be innovative. That’s the takeaway from a fireside chat at From Day One’s July virtual conference.Featured speaker Marina Vassilev, the VP and head of total rewards and performance for North America at Schneider Electric, shared how the company has shifted its focus to offer more targeted benefits to its global population of 150,000 employees. Karl Ahlrichs, HR columnist and consultant, moderated the discussion. Vassilev acknowledged that her job title is quite unique, but added that having employee performance and total rewards in the same space offers unique possibilities. “It is typically an area that is managed by the talent colleagues. It has given us some great opportunities and insights into how managers and employees can be supported with development and performance management discussions, and how we can plug in our benefits and increase utilization as part of the talent development cycle,” she said. But the cost of benefits continues to be a barrier. Especially in the past five years, there have been significant fluctuations. Like many companies, since the pandemic they’ve experienced ups and downs. “And we continue to see rising medical and pharmacy costs today, primarily driven by high-cost claimants, GLP-1 medications and emerging gene therapies.” Despite these cost pressures, Schneider Electric is looking for ways to provide a competitive offer to attract and retain top talent. “We’re trying to balance the cost between some of our design changes that we’re implementing with employees, with how we work with vendors, and how we negotiate to ensure that we’re delivering ROI and cost savings.”Marina Vassilev of Schneider Electric was interviewed by journalist Karl Ahlrichs (photo by From Day One)One of the most popular innovations to emerge from the pandemic era at Schneider Electric is the Recharge Break, a self-funded sabbatical program introduced in 2021. “It started as a way to encourage people to take time off when they really needed it,” Vassilev said. “Now, it’s a well-loved benefit that helps us manage both employee well-being and business demand.”Here’s how it works: Over a minimum of three years, employees can contribute to a Recharge Break fund. Once their balance hits a certain threshold, they can take six to 12 weeks off with pay drawn from their own contributions, she says. The benefit has not only been embraced internally—it’s gained attention externally too, with viral Instagram posts celebrating the program. And now, Schneider is exploring ways to make it even more flexible. Ideas include allowing employees to use the time in smaller chunks or pairing it with PTO for shorter, more frequent breaks.Another area of innovation at Schneider Electric has been employee well-being, though, as Vassilev pointed out, progress doesn’t always come easily. “In the last few years, we’ve hosted a lot of digital events,” she said. “We started with a Well-Being Week in North America, which eventually evolved into Well-Being Check-In Months. There was strong vendor participation, educational sessions, and even rewards for employees who got involved.”While the initiative generated positive buzz, the impact wasn’t quite what the company hoped for. Preventive screening rates under the medical plan increased, but only by 1 to 2%, short of Schneider’s goal of 5% or more.Now, as more employees return to the office two to three days a week, Schneider is shifting back to in-person engagement. That includes partnering with on-site teams to promote healthy food options, encourage physical activity, and bring vendors in for enrollment fairs and face-to-face information sessions. “We lost that communication channel during the pandemic,” Vassilev said. “And even after, we didn’t get the ROI from virtual options. But now our offices are full again, and it’s time to re-engage in a more hands-on way.”Benefits are tailored to meet employees where they are in life and in their careers, says Vassilev. That approach, paired with targeted communication, is key to higher engagement and satisfaction. “When you have a robust benefits offer and you communicate it differently to specific employee populations,” Vassilev said, “you’re targeting the benefit in the way that they’re going to use it—you get very positive feedback.”For example, Schneider expanded its backup care through Care.com to include not only children but also adult dependents and pets. “We’re seeing different employee groups react to it differently,” she noted. “We communicate it in a targeted way, and we have significantly increased our utilization.”Financial well-being benefits are also segmented by need. Late-career employees get access to Certified Financial Planners through Schneider’s 401(k) provider, while early-career and blue-collar employees use a vendor better suited to one-time financial questions. “Sometimes we need to be willing, as benefits professionals, to acknowledge that different vendors are going to target different employee segments, and that’s the right solution.”One of the company’s most impactful tools is its Total Rewards Survey, introduced last year to measure employee sentiment on compensation and benefits. According to Vassilev, the results often provide more clarity than traditional benchmarking alone.The company uses employee input to determine where to invest. “There will be some benefits where we offer a better package. In other areas, we are not as strong, and we cannot be strong on all of our benefits. So we leverage the employee voice to decide where we’re going to invest.”This strategy has real impact. For example, when Canadian employees indicated dissatisfaction with the massage therapy benefit, even though market data didn’t flag a concern, the company made changes. “It’s worth investing because we’re going to address the employee sentiment.” The survey also allows for deeper analysis. “We were able to see results by high performance and high potential,” she said. Newer employees tend to view benefits more favorably than tenured ones, likely due to comparisons with previous employers. Generational differences also emerged, reinforcing the need for flexible, responsive benefits that evolve with the workforce.Ultimately, the company’s approach reflects a shift toward more personalized, data-informed decision-making.“Employees react positively when they see us make enhancements based on their feedback,” Vassilev said. With insights from across geographies, demographics, and performance levels, the company continues to shape benefits and compensation to support both its people and its business goals.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.(Photo by NicoElNino/iStock)
Healthy Workers Are Good for Business, But Everyone Has Unique Needs
BY Katie Chambers July 29, 2025For generations, workplace benefits referred to just the basics: health insurance, vacation days, and, if you were lucky, a retirement savings fund. But in today’s parlance, “benefits” refers to a broader lifestyle package that is far more holistic and personalized. “Back in the early days, benefits were just the thing that employers had. But as employers started competing more for talent, wellness became more of [an] imperative,” said Jennifer Dietrich, SVP, head of global benefits and wellness at Fiserv. Dietrich spoke during a fireside chat at From Day One’s July virtual conference, moderated by Nicole Smith, editorial audience director at Harvard Business Review. “It became part of the culture of our organization. Now, we’re using wellness to help to keep our people healthy, which then allows them to bring their best self to work and their best self to their communities. It does create this culture and environment where people feel cared for, and they want to come and work for you,” said Dietrich. The last five years have been a time of rapid social and cultural change, says Smith. From the global pandemic and “the fastest recession and recovery in U.S. history,” to a housing supply crisis, rising mental health concerns, a presidential election, trade war, and more. These “external shocks” can impact the personal and professional needs of the workforce, and employers must be prepared to respond quickly. Nicole Smith, editorial audience director at Harvard Business Review, interviewed Jennifer Dietrich, SVP, global benefits and wellness at Fiserv (photo by From Day One)“We’ve seen this interesting shift in people’s expectations, because the pandemic created a different scope of what’s possible for employees, and even for some employers,” Dietrich said. She encourages organizations to be more “human” in the approach to work structures and benefits programs. “If you’ve got the right culture [and] you’ve got the right programs, people can be the best version of themselves. That’s not just important in work, but in all aspects of their lives and in their community,” she said. This culture of support should be ingrained in all management training, ensuring that leaders understand the benefits programs available so they can direct their team in the right direction when the time comes. In response to evolving employee expectations, Fiserv introduced a remote flexibility benefit, enabling its 38,000 associates across 35 countries to work from nearly anywhere in the world for a set number of days each year, despite being an in-office company. Building a Benefits Program That Works for AllWith such a large and diverse workforce, it can be challenging to create a benefits package that offers personalization while still appealing to a broad audience. “People value choice. And the definition of benefits can vary from one person to the next,” Dietrich said, saying some people are satisfied simply by free coffee in the office, while others might focus more on career development. “Doing the right thing for your people and for the business isn’t necessarily supposed to be easy.”Fiserv relies on annual engagement survey data and feedback from its employees to build a comprehensive package on top of the basics, like healthcare, retirement, disability, and PTO. “Information is power,” Smith said. Since employee needs may be constantly shifting, organizations should be checking in with them regularly to gauge their thoughts on vendors. Dietrich recommends treating vendors as true partners, an extension of your team, equally invested in analyzing data and enhancing the employee experience.But balance matters, as workers can become paralyzed by too many choices. Internal communications campaigns around benefits options can help them figure out how to make the most of what you offer. “I’m very fortunate to have an incredible team that thinks like marketers, and they have a constant focus on educating our people, including our managers, and making sure that everyone is aware of what’s available to them,” Dietrich said. “It’s never just a once-and-done sort campaign. We really focus on beating that drum constantly through a whole variety of communications to make sure that people are aware.”Fiserv uses a portal called “Fuel Your Life” that is a digital “one-stop shop” for benefits that allows for personalization. But because not all employees are tech-savvy, the organization also mails hard copies of benefits information to workers’ homes, provides an email newsletter, puts physical signage in offices, and has cultivated a team of employee ambassadors who can discuss the offerings one-on-one. Dietrich foresees that AI will also ultimately be able to assist in this process.Looking Ahead in the Benefits SpaceAs Dietrich’s organization looks to the future, it hopes to cultivate the next generation of workers, in part, through benefits offerings. “We focus on having what we consider a best-in-class people platform that focuses on driving a high-performance culture and continuous improvement within the organization.” That means investing in ongoing professional development, growth opportunities, increasing engagement, fostering trust among colleagues, and promoting in-office connection. The latter is especially important for Gen Z, as many of them spent crucial educational and developmental years behind a screen during Covid. “We stress [casual, organic in-person] connections for all of our associates, because that helps them feel connected and valued and seen when they are at work,” she said. Smith agreed, “You can’t replace human connection.” That human connection is not only integral to keeping employees engaged with the workplace; it’s also crucial to building a benefits package overall. Leaders, Dietrich says, are the ones who help drive the use of benefits, gauge whether the offerings are working, and best articulate to stakeholders what has been most effective—and what is most deserving of future investment. “When you can come back and tell the story that this worked out the way that we expected it to, it helps to build your credibility with leaders, so that you can get more yeses to things like that to do more for your people.”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.(Photo by VioletaStoimenova/iStock)
Student Debt Is Back: A New Mandate for Total Rewards Leaders
BY Jessica Swenson July 28, 2025With college tuition up over 1200% since 1980 and dramatically outpacing inflation rates, the U.S. is in the midst of a student debt crisis. More than 42 million Americans carry a combined $1.7 trillion in student loan debt, forcing many to delay key life milestones such as buying a home, saving for retirement, and starting a family.In just the last five years, the government has launched and revoked various programs to ease the burden of student debt holders through payment pauses, reduced interest, and potential forgiveness opportunities. With the new administration’s enforcement of the payment on-ramp end date and elimination of popular repayment plans, student borrowers now face new barriers to reconciling their debt.“Ninety percent of borrowers [experience] heightened anxiety because of their [student loan] debt,” said Jon Harold, SoFi at Work’s head of sales and partnership success. Harold led a thought leadership spotlight on the subject during From Day One’s July virtual conference.According to a 2024 benefits survey, employees with student debt are more concerned about it than other expenses like food, healthcare, housing, and transportation costs. This anxiety can impact workforce productivity, engagement, and retention, Harold says. “Fifty-six percent of employees spend three or more hours per week at work thinking about their finances,” he said.There is some good news, he says. Section 127, an educational assistance program that allows employers to offer tax-free tuition reimbursement contributions up to $5,250, was expanded to include student debt payments, and the reconciliation bill recently passed by Congress extends that program permanently. Additionally, the SECURE 2.0 Act passed in 2022 allows employers to match student debt payments as if they were retirement contributions and deposits that match into the employee’s retirement account, says Harold. Jon Harold, SoFi at Work’s head of sales and partnership success, shared stats and insights on the subject (company photo)To attract top talent and drive retention, many employers have started offering these types of programs as a part of their benefits package. With 62% of private-sector employees stating that student debt influences their employment decision-making, and “36% of employees with student debt less likely to remain with their employer than those without debt,” said Harold, “we’re seeing it become table stakes for many new employees out of college.” What are these companies doing, and how? Harold says that they are taking advantage of not only the government-enabled structured support programs, but launching their own direct-contribution programs and partnering with companies like SoFi at Work to offer education, advice, and alternative payment options.WTW found that 42% of employers are considering participation in retirement match contributions enabled by the SECURE 2.0 Act to help employees tackle their student debt while still contributing to retirement savings. And a study conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) showed that 34% of companies offer some kind of direct-contribution model to help offset employee student debt. Employers can customize these models based on multiple factors, including budget, frequency, and employee eligibility, says Harold.Since 86% of employees say they would stay with an employer for five or more years if the company helps with student loan debt, per a 2017 American Student Assistance survey, Harold says that a tiered program that increases contributions over time can also strengthen loyalty and boost retention. One of SoFi’s healthcare clients created a monthly direct-contribution program and saw a 21% increase in therapist retention within six months of its launch. Due to the uncertainty around student debt repayment plans and credit impacts, SoFi has seen a high demand for webinars, guides, and personalized advice. People are confused about what payment or refinancing options are available. “We did a webinar in June of this year where the head of our financial planning team talked about [the] changes, and it was a record webinar for SoFi. We had thousands of people sign up,” Harold said. Certified Financial Planners or other specialists can provide employees with one-on-one support and advice based on their specific situations, he says, and SoFi also offers optimization tools that help borrowers understand what is available and make the best choice based on their debt profile and financial needs. A SoFi partner that launched their program less than five years ago has since seen over 400 employees optimize $54 million in student debt.“The government is incentivizing employer action and reducing support directly to borrowers,” said Harold. As this crisis deepens, employees are in a state of anxiety and confusion but also ready to act. Offering student loan benefits will give employers a strategic advantage in the talent marketplace, and SoFi is ready to share their decades of experience to help companies make the best decision for their workforce.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, SoFi at Work, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at jmswensonllc.com.(Photo by Terminator3D/iStock)
Meet the Revolution in Job Interviewing: How AI Can Transform an Outdated Process
BY Ade Akin July 23, 2025Imagine a job interview where your chances don’t depend on first impressions, the interviewer’s mood, or a slick resume—but on the skills you actually have.Unstructured interviews have been the tradition for decades despite being as reliable as “flipping a coin” in predicting job success, said Belen Garcia, the behavioral science lead at LizzyAI. Garcia spoke alongside Yannis Niebelschuetz, the founder & CEO of LizzyAI during a From Day One webinar.It can be difficult, or near impossible, to screen thousands of candidates and give each one the same level of rigor and empathy in the process. While traditional thinking favors unstructured interviews to reveal personality and passion, decades of research suggest a different approach.“Most interviews don’t work,” Garcia said, citing data that shows 46% of new hires fail within 18 months and that 80% of turnover stems from hiring mistakes. “It’s not a people issue; it is a process issue,” she said. Outcomes inevitably vary when every hiring manager asks different questions, evaluates based on gut instinct, and brings unconscious bias to the interview room. What organizations need is structure: a standardized set of job‑relevant questions, consistent scoring rubrics, and an evidence‑based framework that ties every answer directly to role requirements, says Garcia.Harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for EquityAI, as presented during the webinar, is not a harbinger of a dystopic future where humans in the workforce are replaced with artificial intelligence. LizzyAI’s product, Lizzy, a fully autonomous AI recruiter, is designed to streamline the hiring process.Yannis Niebelschuetz is the Founder & CEO of LizzyAI (company photo)“Lizzy isn’t making hiring decisions,” Niebelschuetz said. “She provides data so you can make better decisions.” By coding a behavioral-interview model into an autonomous platform, Lizzy delivers identical prompts to each applicant, whether she’s screening entry-level store associates or senior analysts, and then tracks their responses against competencies drawn directly from the job description.Around 30% of recruiters have already experimented with AI, while others expressed concern that it might exclude unconventional talent. Niebelschuetz called that concern valid. However, by focusing exclusively on concrete examples of past performance, “what happened, how you did it, why you chose that approach, and what happened afterward,” Lizzy eliminates bias tied to tone, appearance, or affinity. Every follow‑up question digs deeper into context and judgment without veering into impersonal, robotic territory.Niebelschuetz gave a live demo, acting as a retail‑associate candidate. On screen, Lizzy greeted him in a friendly tone, outlined the role’s expectations, and invited him to share detailed stories about customer service and task prioritization. When Niebelschuetz pressed to know if past leadership experience counted for anything, the AI seamlessly adjusted: “Your sales‑management tenure at LinkedIn can provide valuable insights into customer focus and dynamic environments.”As the demo unfolded, Garcia pointed out how Lizzy timestamps each response, maps strengths and gaps to technical and behavioral criteria, and compiles an evidence‑rich transcript. She auto-generates a scorecard that highlights must-haves, such as scheduling availability, competency scores with narrative rationales, and a recommendation after each interview.From Evidence to Decisions“It’s not about the number, it’s about the reasoning behind it,” said Garcia. Instead of guessing whether a candidate seemed confident, hiring managers can review verbatim snippets. The system even flags nonnegotiables, such as the ability to lift heavy merchandise or work weekend shifts, so overlooked disqualifiers don’t slip through human cracks.By the end of the hour, three key themes had emerged. First, structure breeds validity. The rigor behind question design and scoring has a much stronger impact on predictive power than factors like interview length or the seniority of the role. Second, AI enhances rather than replaces. Recruiters still make the final decisions on whom to advance, while AI helps by filtering out noise, standardizing evaluations, and surfacing relevant evidence. Third, transparency builds trust. Providing full transcripts and cited examples makes feedback more explainable, which is essential for a positive candidate experience and for maintaining legal compliance.Looking ahead, Niebelschuetz and Garcia envision a world where every organization, large or small, has an AI-powered first-round interview process that screens for core competencies, eliminates bias, and reserves human interaction for higher-order conversations. “This isn’t automation for its own sake,” Niebelschuetz said. “It’s a redefinition of what interviews could, and should, be.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, LizzyAI, for sponsoring this webinar. Ade Akin specializes in the emerging applications of artificial intelligence.(Photo by Alexander Sikov/iStock)
When CEOs Talk Tough, What Should HR Leaders Bring to the Conversation?
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza July 22, 2025Remember the days when CEOs spoke honeyed words about the irreplaceability of great talent and promised to shield workers from burnout and grinding daily trips to the office?Now, however, the tone of employee relations has changed. One after the other, CEOs march through our news feeds, declaring that employees are acting entitled, resistant to change, and dispensable. Reddit’s CEO has accused employees of not working hard and Uber’s CEO recently joined a growing cohort of executives who have told employees to return to the office or beat it. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, for his part, ordered workers back to the office five days a week, said AI will shrink the workforce, and that employees had better figure out “how to get more done with scrappier teams.” Earlier this year, Shopify’s chief executive told employees not to request new hires unless they can prove AI can’t do the job.With prominent CEOs going rogue from the chorus of empathy, how can chief HR officers adapt to the new tone? To some degree, CEOs are being transparent about new economic realities. But when executives are feeling like they can shrug off pressure to consider worker well-being or make good on prior commitments, what is a CHRO to do? This is where CHROs can be caught in the middle. Their role is help promote organizational success, but part of that mission is to make their company a great place to work. CHROs occupy a vital role in the C-suite, serving as liaison between employers and the employed, and as a result, a cooperative CHRO-CEO relationship is required. In fact, a change in CEO leads to the exit of nearly three-quarters of CHROs, said Rosanna Trasatti, CEO at Eleva Executive Leadership Advisory, during Fortune’s recent Workplace Innovation Summit. For the newest generation of CHROs, part of the job is making top executives palatable to employees and to the public. The head of HR is “one of the few people at an organization who has both the legitimacy and the duty to provide feedback to the CEO when their behavior goes against stated organizational values,” Alex Kirss of Gartner told From Day One. Kirss, who leads the CHRO-effectiveness research team in Gartner's HR practice, added: “The CHRO’s role is not to be a disciplinarian, but rather a coach to help their CEO be the best version of themselves.” Unless there’s a clear ethical violation that a company’s board of directors needs to know about, Kirss said, feedback to the CEO should be private and confidential. Then, the CHRO should give the CEO some space to reflect and pick out what they’ll do next.In many cases, CEOs will listen to feedback from their C-suite colleagues and employees at large. When the companies Klarna and Duolingo said they would begin replacing employees with artificial intelligence, the idea was so unpopular that both CEOs reversed course, at least in part. Earlier this year, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon apologized for cursing in an in town hall meeting while expressing his annoyance at organized resistance to his RTO edicts. While high-profile CEOs may be vocal, but “our research shows that 95% of CEOs prefer to stay out of the limelight,” said Josh Bersin, the HR analyst and CEO of the Josh Bersin Co.On the other hand, some notable CEOs have simply rejected dissent. Bloomberg columnist Beth Kowitt noted that quashing dissent has been added back into the playbook. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has reportedly ousted his critics of his leadership style and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is supposedly uninterested in hearing input from employees.The CEO Class Already Has a Mistrust Issue With the PublicThe viral reaction to a moment captured on video last week, when tech CEO Andy Byron was seen on a concert “kiss cam” embracing his chief people officer Kristin Cabot, underscored the rising public mistrust of C-suite leadership right now. When the episode prompted scrutiny of Byron's track record as a corporate leader, a checkered past emerged. As chief revenue officer for a previous employer, Cybereason, “multiple former employees said Mr. Byron would lash out against employees who disagreed with him, including threatening to fire them. ‘You couldn’t challenge him,’ a former employee who worked for Mr. Byron said,” as reported at the time in The Information, a tech-industry journal.Indeed, part of the public response to the moment seemed to be fueled by a growing trust gap between corporate executives and the general public, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor of management at Yale University, told the Wall Street Journal. “There’s a certain schadenfreude associated with this,” he said. “Here’s a takedown of the ‘haves’ versus the ‘have nots.’”Where does this mean we stand in employee relations, between the cycle of threats vs. rapprochement? Some observers wonder if we’re witnessing the end of corporate empathy—at least for now. The balance of power is changing hands, and for the most part, employers are getting their druthers. “The shift in tone marks a shift in power now that companies are shrinking their white-collar staff. With jobs harder to find, many workers are seeing perks disappear and their grievances ignored,” wrote Chip Cutter in the Journal.How new is the tough talk in corporate America? “I’m not clear how much changed in the first place,” said Alison Taylor, NYU professor and author of Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World, in a call with From Day One. “I think what we’re really doing is speaking the quiet part out loud.”The Trump Factor in Executive ToneMuch of the current condescension among some CEOs seems licensed by President Trump, who has attacked the integrity and competence of his own workers, describing the more than 2 million federal workers as “replaceable.” This is not the tone CEO have traditionally embraced. “CEOs live pretty scripted professional lives. They’re trained to tell investors nothing, read prepared texts for town halls, and stick to talking points on TV,” the journalist Liz Hoffman wrote in a Semafor Business newsletter earlier this year. “Now they see Trump speaking freely, and with few consequences … corporate America is unshackled, and the mics are everywhere.”The Trump factor has applied not just to tone but to substance as well. Take, for example, the very public tarnishing of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Since Trump signed an executive order prohibiting DEI programs in federal agencies and government contractors, many huge companies, including Walmart and Target have scrubbed mentions of DEI from their career pages or publicly announced retirement of the programs. For many executives, however, DEI is problematic only in name. “In my experience, here’s what most CEOs believe to be true: a diverse and engaged workforce is good for business; talking about DEI externally is not,” wrote Fortune’s Diane Brady in the CEO Daily newsletter. “Though plenty of companies have publicly disavowed their DEI initiatives, other leaders are wondering how to quietly continue building a workforce that reflects their values in this climate.”Cosmetics company E.L.F Beauty is doubling down on its DEI efforts, with CEO Tarang Amin appearing on CNN to talk about their commitment. And Dimon of JPMorgan, appears unintimidated by activist investors intent on challenging the company’s DEI programs. “Bring them on,” he said in an interview with CNBC at Davos this year.In this environment, CHROs will need to choose their battles when it comes to managing their CEOs. Those HR leaders, Bersin said, will have to take “a more proactive role in executive coaching, crisis management, and internal communications.” Mitigating reputational risks will take stronger governance structures and messaging plans. His guidance: What CEOs say publicly should be well-considered about reflecting the company’s values. Since companies wield a great amount of influence in individuals’ lives, they will be called on to respond to a growing mix of economic, political, and environmental pressures. Responding in a careful way will call for new corporate initiatives and management skills. “These are still companies full of real human beings who are a mix of opinions and races and genders,” Taylor said. “Some of them are going to be affected by some of these decisions, and they’re going to be looking, in many cases, to their employer for protection, for advice, for policies–for all sorts of things.”Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism.(Featured photo: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who told his workers this year that they can go elsewhere if they don't like his RTO changes, at a conference in 2023. AP photo by Eric Risberg)
Building Resilience by Leveraging Leadership Development
BY Ade Akin July 21, 2025With resources shrinking, managers face relentless pressure to do more with less. Beth Perrone, SVP of HR at pharmaceutical leader Merck, identified “ruthless prioritization” as a critical skill needed to thrive in management today. “Managers and employees are being forced to make tougher decisions and prioritize the work that they’re doing. And quite frankly, it’s not a skill that we had historically invested in,” she said during an executive panel discussion about leadership development at From Day One’s Manhattan conference. Merck now embeds prioritization training into development programs, she says. Rose Fass, founder and chair of fassforward, challenged the “do more” mindset entirely. “Do less because it’s more. A few well-focused actions can yield significant results,” she said. Fass encourages managers to distinguish between work that “moves the needle” and tasks that merely “move the mashed potatoes and peas around the plate.” It’s essential to prioritize tasks that drive significant results instead of trying to do everything, she says.Conversational Agility as a Core CompetencyHybrid work and multigenerational teams have eroded casual communication in workplaces. “Years ago, you didn’t have to make an appointment to see your boss. Today, you have to get on a calendar,” Fass said. This makes intentional, skilled conversation a non-negotiable.The session was moderated by Tania Rahman, social media director at Fast Company, leftmostKelly Stuart-Johnson, global head of learning at creative agency VML, emphasized the importance of “conversational agility,” creating a psychological safety that enables diverse teams to connect authentically. “It’s really not necessarily about [being] multigenerational. It’s about how we instill a sense and teach the importance of psychological safety,” she said. VML uses AI simulations to enable managers to safely practice difficult conversations, focusing on “the conversations they want to have rather than providing them with a script.” Empathy: The Bedrock of PerformanceJason Ashlock, the global head of organizational development at Kuehne+Nagel, urged managers to understand not just their teams, but the world their employees are navigating. “Capitalism is traumatic. It’s traumatic at scale,” he said. Managers must learn to handle “the flood of cortisol” caused by this trauma and diffuse tension, he says.While Ashlock focused on the broader forces shaping employee experience, Perrone turned to how leaders respond to that reality. She challenged the notion that leaders must choose between empathy and accountability. “Everyone wants to talk about empathy, and what a lot of leaders naturally jump to is: ‘If I’m empathetic, I then can’t hold teams accountable.’ And I think that’s wrong,” she said. Leaders at Merck revamped leadership programs to focus on building connections. “How I speak to you, Jason, and connect with you is different from how I connect with Kelly. That is at the crux of leadership,” Perrone said. Philipp Muelbert, the Group SVP of strategy, performance, and innovation at talent solutions firm LHH, agreed. “Empathy and performance aren’t mutually exclusive, but you can’t have an effective conversation with somebody about performance issues if they’re not in the right state of mind, and if they’re not willing to listen,” he said. Driving Innovation in Technology and DevelopmentThe panelists all see AI as a tool to reclaim human connection. Stuart-Johnson uses AI coaching “for the moments when someone needs it, when we’re not present,” while freeing managers for higher-touch interactions. “We’re using AI to get us back to humanity,” she said. Perrone shared how Merck experiments with AI to analyze employee surveys so managers “don't need to spend an hour reading through literally 120,000 comments. Here are the themes, now go engage.” Ashlock envisions AI helping managers tailor messages to team members. In terms of advancements in development, the most exciting innovations are those that break away from traditional corporate training. Perrone launched “Leadership Readiness Labs,” featuring unconventional experts. “We’ve had an astronaut, we’ve had a conductor, we had Andy Murray’s mom talk about how she coached,” she said.Ashlock takes leaders literally into the wild through his new venture, bringing executives to “shovel manure with Mustangs for a day” because “ecosystems teach us about sustainable, adaptable, resilient dynamics,” he said. Growth also matters from within, says Muelbert. “Figuring out what my journey looks like for me, first and foremost,” he said, emphasizing that personal clarity is the foundation for meaningful growth and leadership.And sometimes, we need to look outside the box. Fass encourages leaders to question their assumptions and be open to ideas that might initially feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar. “Disrupt your thinking. Don’t like it? Just consider it,” she said.Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
How HR Leaders Can Leverage AI to Make Their Work More Effective and Fulfilling
BY Carrie Snider July 17, 2025HR’s journey with AI is a real thrill ride, full of excitement about its potential to transform work but also tinged with anxiety about moving too fast or too slow. Finding the right pace is a delicate balance with every twist and turn bringing both opportunity and risk. At the From Day One’s Manhattan conference, industry experts discussed how AI is already shaping HR workflows, and how leaders can harness its power thoughtfully and effectively.For many HR leaders, AI is part of the daily workflow. But integration doesn’t equate to the end of experimentation. “We’re far along in using it, but there’s definitely a lot of experimentation to figure out how far we can push it,” said panelist Courtney McMahon, head of global people analytics at Colgate-Palmolive.At Colgate-Palmolive, employees across the company have access to Gemini, Google’s AI tool. Adoption is high and cross-functional, with active conversations happening every day, says McMahon. “We’re a Google shop, so Gemini right now is the hot thing, and we’re talking about it on a company-wide chat every day,” she said. This regular exchange allows teams to share how they’re using the tool, what’s working, and where it still falls short.Still, McMahon emphasized the need for caution. “This is changing every day, right? We see different articles about what’s going on with AI every day,” she said. That pace of change requires thoughtful oversight. For example, when Gemini is used to summarize employee survey comments, it often pulls from only the first few hundred responses. Without the right prompting, deeper insights may be missed.“You have to keep iterating on the prompt in order to get it to look at more and more comments,” McMahon said. With the right approach, AI can enhance the work, while still requiring human judgment.Watch for AI Security and Policy As organizations adopt AI tools more broadly, balancing innovation with security is proving to be a complex task. Panelist Anita Jivani, global head of innovation at Avanade, highlighted a growing concern: employees using generative AI tools like Gemini or Perplexity on their personal devices when corporate guidelines feel too restrictive. “There’s a huge security risk with the guidelines and policies,” she said. “What we’re seeing in the market is the guidelines need to be structured in such a way that they’re encouraged to be used, but not so tight that what I call the black market of AI is being used.”The panel was moderated by Sage Lazzaro, technology writer and editorWhen access is limited or unclear, employees may turn to their private browsers to get around internal controls, posing serious risks to data privacy and organizational trust. The challenge, according to Jivani, is designing governance that enables use without driving it underground. “You actually don’t want people to then go into personal devices to do things from a security play,” she said.HR leaders must strike the right balance between freedom and control. Guidelines should be specific enough to protect sensitive data while still encouraging experimentation within safe boundaries. “How do you encourage it while making sure there’s guidelines, while making sure everything’s on the computer, on the company’s cloud?” she asked. “Really way, way harder to do in practice.”HR Must Advocate for People Amid ChangeAs AI adoption accelerates, HR leaders have a critical role to play in implementing new technologies and in protecting the people impacted by them. Panelist Annalyn Jacob, EVP of talent analytics and HR operations at IPG, emphasized the growing tension between innovation and humanity. “The business is seeing this as an opportunity to cut costs and save money,” she said. “That knee-jerk reaction is starting to accelerate.”Jacob warned that without thoughtful intervention, organizations risk leaving people behind in the pursuit of efficiency. “As AI reshapes industries and eliminates certain roles, especially entry-level jobs in areas like marketing and media, HR must help define new pathways for workforce development.HR’s voice matters now more than ever. As Jacob pointed out, we may be witnessing a shift as disruptive as the industrial revolution, and the choices made today will shape the future of work for years to come. “I think as HR professionals, it’s important for us that when we are in the rooms, when these conversations are happening, that we are able to help bring in that context,” Jacob said.Human-Crafted Input Remains CriticalAs AI tools become more integrated into performance management and employee recognition, it’s tempting to let automation take the lead. But panelist Omar Pradhan, employee engagement and HR technology strategist at Workhuman, cautions against relying too heavily on generative AI for content that should reflect genuine human insight.“We originally were thinking about creating some sort of a writer’s block tool,” Pradhan said, referring to a tool that could generate recognition or performance review comments. “But then we kind of backed away from that as a company, because we knew that on the back end that those descriptors, those adjectives, those things might not be actual behaviors.”Instead, Workhuman is investing in tools that support rather than replace human input. Their approach encourages authenticity and specificity by coaching users to reflect more deeply. “Almost like you’re creating a password on a website. It’s a little progress bar of ‘keep building into it, lean into that, you’re almost there,’” Pradhan said. This attention to quality matters when those comments are later used to surface talent, assess team fit, or identify potential leaders. AI is only as good as the data it’s trained on. “If a recognition message was written by AI 50% or more,” Pradhan said, “it might not map to a skills profile” in a meaningful or accurate way.In an era when data drives so many talent decisions, preserving the human voice, especially in moments of recognition or performance feedback, is essential.What of Entry-Level Employees?Already, AI is actively transforming how companies assess and hire entry-level technical talent. Panelist Catherine Hill, VP of marketing at CoderPad, says that AI is deeply embedded in their product to help employers identify the very best engineers right from the start. “We help companies to assess technical talent and to really help with hiring the very, very best engineers,” she said. This integration allows hiring teams to streamline what has traditionally been a time-consuming process, making it easier to evaluate candidates’ real-world skills through interactive coding challenges rather than relying solely on resumes or interviews. There’s a natural synergy between AI and talent assessment platforms, Hill says.As AI tools continue to evolve, they are setting new standards for entry-level hiring. Instead of relying solely on traditional qualifications, companies now leverage AI-powered assessments to gauge candidates’ problem-solving abilities and adaptability in real time. This shift is reshaping expectations for new graduates and junior engineers entering the workforce, who must be prepared to demonstrate their skills through AI-driven platforms.As they view how engineers use the platform, that gives recruiters insight into candidates’ actual capabilities rather than just theoretical knowledge, says Hill. The result is a more meritocratic, data-driven hiring process that better matches candidates to roles where they can thrive. Ultimately, AI is not replacing entry-level jobs, Hill says. Rather, it is redefining how talent is discovered and evaluated, ensuring the workforce of tomorrow is prepared for the demands of an increasingly digital world.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
How Effective Leaders Are Rethinking Employee Well-Being
BY Christopher O'Keeffe July 16, 2025In the early months of the pandemic, companies rushed to offer employees meditation platforms, fitness trackers, and mental health resources, sometimes rolling out half a dozen different solutions at once. The result? Digital exhaustion and programs that gathered dust.Now, three years later, corporate America is taking a more strategic approach to employee well-being. The shift comes as organizations face mounting pressure from economic uncertainty and policy changes. At the same time, they're contending with a workforce that increasingly views mental health support not as a perk, but as a baseline expectation.At From Day One’s Manhattan conference, executives outlined how the wellness landscape has fundamentally shifted and why leading companies now treat employee mental health as a competitive advantage rather than just a compliance checkbox.From Quantity to QualityThe transformation is stark. Matt Jackson, chief growth officer at Unmind, witnessed the initial wave of wellness initiatives firsthand. “There was a big growth in single point solutions being thrown at employees,” Jackson said. “There wasn’t as much intention with the solutions that were being launched, which meant there was low utilization.”The numbers tell the story: Of the 10,000 health and wellness apps available to consumers, only 5% are backed by scientific research, says Jackson. Companies were essentially throwing solutions at a wall to see what stuck, overwhelming employees with choices while failing to address underlying workplace culture issues.The companies that learned from those early mistakes have adopted a radically different approach. Instead of piling on wellness apps, companies are integrating mental health support into everyday operations and tracking results with metrics that drive business performance.The most sophisticated companies are now tying wellness programs directly to business outcomes. NRG Energy has taken this approach to its logical conclusion by linking employee well-being scores to their internal bonus structure. “The result of that, whether it’s better or worse than prior scores, directly impacts the size of our annual bonus pool up or down. So we really put our money where our mouth is,” said Peter Johnson, SVP, head of talent and culture at NRG Energy.Panelists shared insights on the topic, "Building a Thriving Culture Through Comprehensive Health and Wellness Benefits," in a session moderated by Corinne Lestch, independent journalist and founder of the Off-Site Writing WorkshopThe business case is increasingly compelling. Jackson shared that when a management consultant began incorporating psychological safety questions into weekly project check-ins, it found that “where there was greater perceived psychological safety, greater perceived well-being, projects were done on time, they were done on budget, and clients were happier.” When the prioritization of well-being drives measurable business results, even skeptical CFOs pay attention.The urgency behind these changes stems from a fundamental generational shift. Today’s workforce grew up with mental health conversations normalized in schools and universities, creating what Jackson calls “an expectation of today's workforce to provide me with the same openness and same conversation and same resources around mental health.” Companies that fail to adapt, particularly those with traditional leadership approaches, are discovering that their talent acquisition and retention strategies are increasingly obsolete.The Leadership Vulnerability FactorPerhaps the most significant change is how company leaders discuss mental health. The old model of executives maintaining stoic professionalism has given way to what experts call vulnerable leadership, an approach that's proving surprisingly effective.This authenticity extends beyond grand gestures to daily management practices. Amy Onori, SVP of talent acquisition for Publicis Media has added a simple but powerful message to her email signature. It reads: “Managing work and life responsibilities is unique for everyone. I have sent this e-mail at a time that works for me. Please respond at a time that works for you.”The message serves a dual purpose: it sets boundaries while signaling to employees that their personal time matters. It’s a small change that reflects a broader shift in how companies think about work-life integration.Even with all the wellness programs and mental health initiatives, many employees still struggle with a fundamental issue: they’re waiting for explicit permission to prioritize their well-being. The problem runs deeper than policy; it's about psychological safety. “They get so worried that if they leave at four o’clock, that it’s going to look bad. And to me, that doesn’t matter, as long as the work’s getting done," Onori said. For many employees, the fear of judgment outweighs any written policy promising flexibility.This permission-seeking behavior reflects a broader challenge facing HR leaders, who find themselves caught between competing pressures. Chad Deshler, SVP of sales at LifeSpeak, described the dilemma with a vivid metaphor: “As HR leaders, it’s kind of like a grilled cheese sandwich. You have pressure from top bread and bottom bread, and the cheese in the middle is getting burned.” Executive leadership demands cost-cutting while hiring top talent, while employees want better benefits and higher pay.The solution is something along the lines of radical transparency combined with visible boundary-setting. Diana Blancone, chief people officer for Omnicom Media Group, has started announcing her departures for family obligations. “I know myself included, I’ve been more vocal about saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got my daughter's game. I’m going to run out at this time to get home at this time,” she said. When executives publicly prioritize the importance of family and personal commitments, it can foster a culture where employees feel permission to do the same.“I think transparency is really important with my team. I’ve tried to be as transparent as I can, whether it’s good or bad news, and just say, ‘Hey, this is this is what it is,’” Deshler said. By doing so, direct honesty becomes a radical act of leadership.Employee well-being directly impacts the bottom line. Effective leaders treat wellness programs as profit drivers that reduce turnover, increase productivity, and improve client satisfaction. They embed mental health in leadership goals, train leaders to be vulnerable, and build cultures where well-being comes first. This is a competitive strategy, not just social responsibility.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 Hason Castell for From Day One)
Gen Z on the Rise: Responding to the Needs of Emerging Talent
BY Carrie Snider July 15, 2025Gen Z isn’t just joining the workforce, they’re reshaping it. As the first digital-native generation to enter the workforce in large numbers, Gen Z is bringing new expectations and challenging long-standing workplace norms. Their arrival has prompted employers to rethink how they recruit, train, and retain early-career talent. While often described as ambitious and purpose-driven, Gen Z workers also face professional gaps due to pandemic-era disruptions and a rapidly evolving job market. At From Day One’s Chicago conference, a panel of leaders shared how they meet Gen Z’s evolving needs. John Pletz, senior reporter at Crain’s Chicago Business moderated the discussion titled, “Gen Z on the Rise: Responding to the Needs of Emerging Talent.”For Gen Z employees, hard work matters, but outcomes still count. That’s the message from leadership consultant Jahnavi Brenner, CEO and founder of Vivid Leader. She referenced a talk by organizational psychologist Adam Grant, where a Gen Z student described working hard on a paper but only receiving a C. Grant responded by explaining that both effort and results matter—you are rewarded not just for trying, but for what you achieve.“It’s not just the effort, it’s also the outcome, and giving recognition for both. [That] can help bridge that divide,” she said. Most Gen Z workers understand that results matter but benefit from more communication that connects their work to the company’s broader goals, she says. She also emphasized the importance of skill-building, particularly around business acumen and communication. “We have to close the gap on the skills they need,” she said. Mentorship, peer learning, and structured feedback, rather than just promotions, can go a long way. “It doesn’t have to be so expensive,” she said. Promotions are still valued, but they’re not the only way to make employees feel appreciated, especially for Gen Z. “At the end of the day, we’re all human beings,” said Shelly Cluff, senior consultant at Workhuman. “We need to be told, ‘I see you. I appreciate you.’”Cluff noted a shift in expectations. “Gen Z really [wants] to be promoted and move super fast,” she said. “That’s not always available, so we have to be more creative.” Spot bonuses, peer recognition, or even a thoughtful thank you’s can help meet that need.She encourages leaders to “democratize recognition,” making it available at every level. “It gives people more opportunities to be recognized without having to receive that promotion.” Recognition, she says, also supports long-term growth. “Even if you’re not at that promotional step, you understand the repeatable behaviors that get you there.”Competency-Based Development for AllAt ACCO Brands, growth isn’t defined by generation, says John Hine VP of global talent and organization effectiveness. The company’s development model is based on skill needs, not age. “We’re not putting kids at the kids’ table. We’re including everybody,” he said. Rather than separate tracks for Gen Z, ACCO combines employees with similar learning needs. “Just because I am an awkward engineer that happens to be a Boomer doesn’t mean that I don’t need that skill,” Hine said. This blended approach fosters learning and supports limited resources. “Those dollars are very sweet,” he said. Panelists shared insights on supporting their Gen Z workforce Honest conversations also matter. “The real target is being honest, so they know what the realities are,” Hine said. And even if people leave, “Don’t forget about us. We’d love to have you back.”Gen Z Brings Speed, But Needs Skill BuildingNikki Slowinski, EVP of talent experience and development at Publicis, sees promise and pressure. “They’ve learned how to get things really fast, which is great,” she said. “They’ve learned how to work smarter, not harder.” But Gen Z still needs help building foundational skills.To meet this need, Publicis launched Ignite, a two-and-a-half-day kickoff program for early-career hires, focused on communication, time management, and business acumen. “We used to wait, but that’s when Ignite came to fruition,” she said. “The goal is to get them to greater impact quicker.”Retention remains a challenge. But building understanding early helps, she says. “They need the recognition, but they also need to understand that promotions don’t just come because we work hard.”Make Purpose Visible to Attract Gen ZBala Swaminathan, global head of talent management and leadership at PPG, knows his company, which is focused on paints, coatings, and sealants, competes with flashier brands. So, to engage Gen Z, he focuses on purpose. “It’s not like you sit there with a bucket and stir paint,” he said. “We paint all the F-15 and F-35 jets, so there’s a lot of fun stuff that happens.”PPG’s 12-week internship program, “Primers,” offers exposure to different departments, from R&D to sales, and builds transferable skills. “Even if they never come back, they develop skills useful to society as they move on,” he said. Recognition matters, too. But not just promotions. “Recognition could be a title, a job, an experience, or money,” he said. And investing in development shouldn’t be seen as a cost. “If you view this as a cost, it’s easy to cut. If you view this as an investment, then you already predict some level of return.”Finally, he encouraged thoughtful navigation of today’s cultural dynamics. “It’s a balancing game,” Bala said. “We don’t want to go down a path of permanence that comes back to bite us later.”The panelists agreed: organizations need to be intentional. But that doesn’t mean catering to every preference or creating generational silos. Many of the best strategies, like competency-based learning and cross-generational mentorship, benefit everyone. As the workplace evolves, those who lead with empathy, transparency, and purpose will be best positioned to attract and retain the next generation of talent.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.(Photos by Tim Hiatt for From Day One)
The Human Capital Factor: How Treating People Well Drives Business Performance
BY Ade Akin July 14, 2025Bart Houlahan watched revenues plummet from $250 million to $40 million in just three years after the purpose-driven basketball apparel company he presided over, AND1, was sold to new owners. “The buyer didn’t share our people-first values,” Houlahan, a partner at Irrational Capital and co-founder of B Lab, said during a fireside chat with Andy Serwer, editor at large for Barron’s, at From Day One’s Manhattan conference. Under Houlahan’s leadership, AND1 grew to $250 million in revenue, powered by its people-first culture. The company brought streetball to mainstream media, providing platforms for many who went on to become streetball legends, including Philip “Hot Sauce” Champion, Grayson “The Professor” Boucher, and Rafer “Skip 2 My Lou” Alston, who went on to play for 11-years in the NBA.Houlahan credits AND1’s success during his tenure to a people-first approach. “It was just the type of company we wanted to run, and what that meant for us was putting our people first,” he said. “Over 11 years, we saw time and time again that that wasn’t just the right thing to do, it was a better way to run a business.”Houlahan went on to co-found B Lab, a nonprofit that certifies companies that balance profit with purpose. “We have about 400,000 companies using our tools, and at the end of the day, all we’re trying to do is show clearly that if you put your people first, you’ll end up building a more resilient business,” he said.This belief eventually led the B Lab co-founder to Irrational Capital, where he leveraged employee data points to prove a radical idea: companies with substantial human capital outperform the market by 3-6% annually.Defining the Human Capital FactorBehavioral economist Dan Ariely’s research at Duke University, reveals that traditional metrics like pay and benefits aren’t enough to assess an organization’s growth potential when prodded about how he came up with Irrational Capital’s investment model. According to Ariely’s findings, true motivation depends on pride, recognition, and a sense of psychological safety. Irrational Capital applied those insights to 17 years of employee-survey data, 750 million data points across 70,000 companies, to identify a “human capital factor” that predicts stock performance.Bart Houlahan, Partner, Irrational Capital & Co-Founder of B Lab, left, spoke with Andy Serwer, Editor at Large, Barron'sTo validate the findings, Irrational Capital invited JPMorgan to replicate the analysis on 14 years of data. “JPMorgan did their own independent analysis, and they found that in every year, there was outperformance, and their average outperformance was 4% annually,” Houlahan added. The conversation turned to practical execution. Irrational Capital created three exchange-traded funds (ETFs): a large-cap fund, a small-cap fund, and an unconstrained fund. These ETFs select top-scoring companies based solely on employee-survey metrics, industry, and market-cap weighting.“The large cap is benchmarked against the S&P 500. It takes the top 150 on the human capital factor out of those 500 stocks,” Houlahan said. Houlahan points to Microsoft, where Satya Nadella’s leadership refocused the culture when pressed for concrete examples. “Our human capital score for Microsoft began climbing about two years post-transition. A year later, the stock price followed suit,” he noted. Conversely, Starbucks’ culture score declined during the Covid-19 pandemic as frontline workers faced safety concerns, and its stock suffered a corresponding decline.Serwer asked how HR leaders can leverage this research, and Houlahan offered a two-step playbook. He recommends sharing Irrational Capital’s JPMorgan reports with CEOs to spark boardroom conversations and implementing employee monitoring tools to measure intrinsic motivators, such as pride, recognition, and safety, and embedding them in performance metrics. Culture alone isn’t a solution, he says, but “measuring what matters” gives leaders additional data to help guide strategy.As the conversation wrapped up, Serwer asked Houlahan about the future. Houlahan says the most resilient companies will be the ones that invest in their people—through development, recognition, and trust. Treating people well isn’t idealism; it’s an effective investment strategy with decades of market-proven returns.Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
The Future of Mental Health Support: Flexible, Fast, and Built for a Global Workforce
BY Jessica Swenson July 11, 2025“If you can help guide those who are seeking mental health [support] into an effective form of treatment that is relevant to where they are in their journey, you have a better chance of being successful while also better managing your costs,” said Alison Borland, chief people and strategy officer at Modern Health.Before the pandemic, many employers treated mental health care as crisis-driven and compliance-focused. Now it is seen as a strategic priority, Borland shared during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Manhattan Conference. “If you look around the world, we lose about 12 billion work days per year, so it’s a trillion-dollar issue. And if mental health goes untreated, it drives up healthcare claims by 3.5x, so it is a very bottom-line problem,” she told moderator Lesley Alderman, a Brooklyn-based journalist and psychotherapist.Borland credits millennials for an increased focus on mental healthcare in the workplace. In a study conducted by Modern Health, more than half of surveyed millennials report that they have gone to therapy, and a quarter of them say they will go for the rest of their life. Many do not feel their mental health has fully recovered since the pandemic, and she says that their self-advocacy around mental health has helped remove the stigma for everyone. Mental healthcare is now an expectation rather than an option, she says.Unfortunately, mental health services are often known for outdated practices like defaulting to therapy and requiring long wait times for care. Borland sees an opportunity to advance the industry by bringing the focus back to population health. By intervening at early signs of stress and meeting people where they are with the care they need, she says, we could help people avoid the need for crisis support and reach a larger part of the population. “We often talk about whole population health, so it’s about the individuals, but it’s about reaching as much of the population as we can based on where they are in their journey,” she said. Alison Borland of Modern Health, left, was interviewed by Lesley Alderman, journalist and psychotherapist Employers can offset the hefty costs of therapy by using an adaptive approach similar to the one Modern Health offers. Through multiple care modalities ranging from traditional therapy and crisis support to coaching, community circles, and digital programs, Modern Health helps create personalized care plans that support employees across the spectrum of mental health care and across the employee population. “It’s a way to ease some of the older generations into mental health support and get them through the stigma,” she said.Additionally, this adaptive approach helps individuals get support even if they don’t know exactly what they need, says Borland. A concierge service helps them find a specific provider type or location, and virtual visits appeal to a broader variety of clients. This more personalized experience can forge a stronger relationship between provider and patient, even with virtual care. “We call that therapeutic alliance, and it is becoming more prevalent in conversations with providers and with professionals in the industry across the board.” Strengthening this therapeutic alliance leads to consistency, improved outcomes, and an increased return to care.While companies are often motivated to offer this adaptive care model because of its cultural impact, soft benefits like improved productivity, reduced turnover, and fewer leaves of absence are complemented by quantifiable savings. Data shows that reductions in healthcare claims and physical comorbidities delivered Modern Health clients a $2.39 return for every dollar spent on mental health services, says Borland. The increase of globalization can add complexity to medical care due to regulatory environments or public policies, but according to Borland mental health services have fewer such barriers to cross. Modern Health delivers services across 200 countries, in 80+ languages, and uses the same provider criteria and quality of care standards across their proprietary global network. Localized digital content makes virtual care more culturally relevant, and all service providers are local to their client populations.This consistency in global care is one of the emerging themes that Borland identified as key to the future of the mental healthcare industry. Another common theme she shared was the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the client-practitioner matching process, and the use of AI to process notes and meeting summaries—freeing providers up to focus more closely on client conversations.Weaving mental healthcare within a company’s culture is also crucial. It’s not just about connecting employees with third-party mental healthcare partners, but also about ensuring they feel safe, secure, and comfortable in the workplace. Lastly, she highlighted the importance of an adaptive model, like Modern Health’s, for its personalized experience that delivers the right care at the right time through frictionless, accessible mental healthcare programs—providing in-the-moment service while offering holistic support across all dimensions of life.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Modern Health, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at jmswensonllc.com.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
Slow to Spend: Why Gen Z Shops More Than They Buy
BY Willow Pawlisch July 10, 2025Gen Z might have a reputation for being impulse buyers, but they’re actually meticulous researchers. They’ll scroll for hours, not to buy, but to compare prices, read reviews, and hunt for the best value before ever hitting “add to cart.” They’re experts at finding one perfect product at a low price, much to the frustration of retailers who try to box them into impulse-buy trends that appeal more to older generations.Financially, that’s a good choice for them to save money as they grow into a cost-of-living crisis and increasing student loan debt, but it’s also a hurdle for retailers struggling to convert young people from shoppers into buyers.Gen Z’s purchasing power is set to reach $12 trillion by 2030, but their spending power isn’t translating into more sales in general. As younger people grow into the major consumer market, Gen Z saves and budgets more than previous generations. A study conducted found that Gen Z on average put away into savings higher percentages of their monthly wages than any other age group. They also had the highest percentage of participants who put away all of their disposable income into their savings accounts. This new mentality around spending was also reflected in a TikTok trend last year, where Gen Z creators talked with friends about choosing not to spend money. The trend was a rejection of consumer culture by proudly declaring,“I don’t want to spend.” These behaviors point to a larger moment of Gen Z choosing to save money more often than they spend. Secondhand Is Everyone’s CompetitionIn 2022, 1.4 billion secondhand apparel items were purchased in the U.S., according to statistics compiled by Capital One. That’s up 40% from 2021, and the secondhand market is expected to hit a value of $64 billion in 2026. Sustainability is top of mind for many young people, and combining the affordability of secondhand shopping with eco-focused messaging resonates strongly with Gen Z consumers.ThredUp educates its consumers on the global fashion waste crisis (photo via ThredUp)According to online clothing re-sale company ThredUp, Gen Z accounts for almost two-thirds of their consumer base, and their latest sales report says Gen Z plans to spend 42% of their clothing budget on second-hand items. One of the major appeals of thrift and consignment shopping is affordability. If second-hand is cheaper, the buyer has the chance to be budget-conscious, but the retailers face the cost of no longer making that sale. This tradeoff between price and profit becomes even more complex when considering how meticulously younger shoppers evaluate their purchases. A study found that 75% of Gen Z generally reads comments, 74% visit the brand’s website, and 72% check product reviews before making a purchase. This suggests that Gen Z spends significantly more time evaluating their options than previous generations could. Younger generations use their access to unlimited data to parse the market for their desired product. Brands may prioritize instant, impulse-driven purchases through social media storefronts, but Gen Z primarily uses these platforms to research products, not to buy them.In-Person vs. Online BuyingEven though they are the first generation to grow up with technology, trends show that teens and young adults prefer to shop in person at the same rates as Baby Boomers. This suggests that despite their digital fluency, the tactile experience of shopping remains important to them.Making everything available for purchase online performs well overall, but it doesn’t generate sales like a physical storefront opening does. Conversely, opening a physical storefront can boost online sales.Members of Gen Z prefer to spend their money in person rather than through social media storefronts or online retailers that can be used to research the purchase. They plan visits to physical stores to purchase their desired products.A Changing Sales FunnelGen Z’s lengthy shopping process has led many marketing analysts to conclude that this generation has disrupted the traditional marketing funnel. Their habits have effectively added a new step: extensive research drawn from sources beyond company advertising. The traditional sales funnel follows the following steps:Awareness InterestDesireActionEach company tends to tailor this funnel differently to appeal to its target audience, but creating a Gen Z sales funnel looks a lot different than the linear path. Between social media, physical media, and everyday life, brands can create a web of touchpoints to explore instead of creating advertisements and information touch points that only exist in a serial, one-note campaign style.Learning how to navigate the new sales funnel can also provide more opportunities to grow a brand’s credibility with Gen Z. Moving beyond the goal of just a sale, building a reputation in the research phase can encourage engaging with the consumer post-purchase. This can help consumers recommend your product to others and build a community of Gen Z customers that keeps coming back. By understanding the processes Gen Z takes in shopping, researching, and ultimately buying products, brands can better cater to the growing buying power that the younger generation seems to be keeping on a tight leash in the current economy. Willow Pawlisch is From Day One’s summer fellowship reporter. She's a student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, double majoring in Journalism and Latin American Studies/Language. (Featured photo by RyanJLane/iStock)
Building a Veteran-Ready Workforce: Empowering Your Military Hiring and Retention Strategy
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza July 10, 2025Every year, 200,000 service members exit the U.S. military and enter the civilian workforce. Dave Harrison was one of them. He’s currently the executive director for workforce development and government relations at recruiting Fastport, but once he was a U.S. Army paratrooper jumping out of planes.Veterans are a dedicated group with experience in extreme environments, Harrison says. For many, a work week isn’t just 40 hours. During deployment, it’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “I learned from the United States military, how to lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way–and when to do it. That’s very valuable.”These are skills that translate well to civilian employment, yet many employers don’t take full advantage of the veteran talent pool. And then there’s the vast network of military spouses. Emily Peacock, military talent and program manager at Fastport, is a military spouse of 16 years, in which time she’s lived in seven different U.S. states and two counties overseas. Like many military spouses,” she said, I’ve had to rebuild my career again and again, adjusting to new places, new time zones, and new roles. Along the way, I’ve worked for higher education, data analysis, administrative support, and now I’m focused on workforce development.”Together, Harrison and Peacock are forging relationships between veterans and employers, connecting the communities to create meaningful work. They spoke during a From Day One webinar on building a veteran-ready workforce with better hiring and retention strategies. The Veteran Talent PoolHarrison consistently hears three questions from employers: Where do I find veterans, how do I recruit them, and how do I retain them?Veterans can be found through traditional recruiting channels or local veterans organizations, of course, but not typically critical numbers. Yet the talent is there. Harrison and Peacock advised looking for channels that bring transitioning service members, and their families, into civilian life.Journalist Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza spoke with Emily Peacock and Dave Harrison of Fastport (photo by From Day One)“The wonderful thing about a veteran,” said Harrison, “is they don’t have to be told every meal is going to be a feast and every day is going to be a holiday. They don’t need their back rubbed every day. They want to be treated fairly.”But they also have to see a career path at your company—a future and a means of developing professionally. “One of the biggest hurdles that we see is translating that military experience into civilian terms,” Peacock said. “Their job titles or accomplishments often don’t align exactly with what recruiters understand, making it hard for veterans to show how qualified they really are, but it’s a language issue, not a skills issue.”White Glove Military Talent ProgramPeacock works on Fastport’s White Glove Military Talent Program, which helps transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses find meaningful employment, and helps companies better engage and retain former military talent. It’s available to enlisted service members with just a few years of experience as well as those with decades-long careers. Participants get resume help, career coaching, and interview prep, and matches to companies with military-ready cultures.The program acts as an intermediary between veterans and employers, forging relationships on both sides. “Our approach blends technology and human connection,” Peacock said. “We manage our employer partners and talent pipelines for the military community, and act as their personal concierge so any requests that they need, we connect employers with transition offices at bases located throughout the country.”The military talent ecosystem is unfamiliar to many corporate recruiters, so “we help them understand credentialing and reciprocity within various states as it relates to military training,” Peacock said. “We strategically source for their open roles where they want to dig a little deeper.”The First Six MonthsAccording to Harrison, the first six months of civilian employment are the most critical for both employer and employee. In this time, former service members are most likely to become disenfranchised, lose connections within the military community, and fail to successfully connect with their new role. Many exit the military without a network in the civilian workforce “and it kind of puts them at a disadvantage in today’s job market,” said Peacock. Her husband, who is approaching military retirement, says he’s most worried about not understanding the culture of the civilian workplace.Harrison has heard from veterans who, months into civilian employment, find themselves isolated or realize that the job they accepted was not the job they were promised. They come back to him—and a new match begins. “The relationships you make will matter,” he said.“It all has to do with onboarding set up by the employer,” Peacock said. A focus on cultural integration, mentorship programs, and employee resource groups can make the critical connection between employee and employer. Don’t wait for them to find you: Introduce new hires to those ERGs and mentorship networks during onboarding, and designate a representative to proactively reach out, she says. Then open that ERG as broadly as you can, and welcome people who have a connection to the military. In one ERG Harrison worked with for more than a decade, the group’s strongest leader was a military spouse whose husband had been killed in service. “The more you envelop those people, the more you envelop your entire company and your entire company culture, the more the word will spread, and trust me, it will matter down the road,” Harrison said.An Untapped Talent Pool: Military Spouses As a military spouse herself, Peacock says this group is often lumped in with transitioning with service members and veterans despite having different work histories and skills, not to mention obstacles.“The main unique challenge for a military spouse is frequent relocation,” she said. Military families move every two to four years, roughly, which has created the stigma that employers shouldn’t hire spouses because they’ll simply be packing up before long. “It’s important to recognize that military spouses are not more likely to leave their jobs compared to other employees in the same demographic,” she said, citing data from SHRM. “If an employer can offer remote or portable job opportunities, it is likely that this spouse employee will stay with that company. Oftentimes they don’t want to leave the job, they just have to because of the nature of the beast.”Another common misconception is that military spouses are unqualified or unreliable, evidenced by career gaps or inconsistent career experience. But whether a military spouse is employed while their partner is stationed overseas is often beyond their control. Sometimes jobs just aren’t available. Harrison says he’s known no small number of military spouses who “were very highly educated. They were PhDs and master’s degrees and had important jobs, and because they happened to be part of a military family, and they got relocated to a location, and they just assumed that they’d be able to find a job, doing something, anything, teaching something, and there’s not.”This can even be a problem for military spouses in the U.S. “Everywhere there’s a major installation, the job market is generally saturated,” he said. Retiring service members tend to stay and buy homes, and there just aren’t enough jobs to go around.“You’ll find that a lot of military spouses have started putting ‘military spouse’ in their headline on LinkedIn,” said Peacock. That’s a quick way to crack open this community and begin funneling them into your talent pipeline. More and more, veterans recruiting programs, like Fastport’s White Glove program, are folding in military spouses as well.But the military spouse community is a rich, often overlooked talent pool. Not only do they often have a history of paid work, the tasks of a military spouse are not small. “Take someone who, with 16 days notice, coordinates and arranges the movement of home from one continent to another continent, and puts kids in school. Moves kids, arranges jobs, moves cars. Does all these and does it on their own,” Harrison said. “That’s project management 101, that’s logistics.” If you need someone who can make things happen, look no further.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Fastport, for sponsoring this webinar.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.(Photo by SDI Productions/iStock)
Rebuilding Trust, Fueling Growth: Leading With Transparency in Times of Change
BY Katie Chambers July 09, 2025The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer reports an unprecedented decline in employer trust. It’s a troubling shift, given that workplace trust is essential to organizational success. Higher trust correlates directly with improved talent outcomes and engagement, according to MetLife’s annual employee benefit trends study. Employees who trust their organization are 3.8 times more likely to have healthy outcomes and 2.8 times more likely to feel they can be productive. So, what is a forward-thinking employer to do? At a time when external forces can shake employee confidence, MetLife is leaning into what it can control: how it responds. During a fireside chat at From Day One’s Manhattan conference, Shurawl Sibblies, EVP, chief HR officer at MetLife, described how the organization is fostering trust through open communication, transparent leadership, and inclusive career development, creating a workplace where employees feel supported and empowered to grow.“We are living through some interesting times where the employee/employer relationship is really under pressure like never before. Whether it’s economic uncertainty or the rapid rate at which we are seeing technological changes, the workforce is really facing a lot of complex emotions right now,” said moderator Cadie Thompson, executive editor at Business Insider. “At the center of it all is this critical, very fragile component, which is trust.”Shurawl Sibblies, executive vice president and CHRO at MetLife, right, was interviewed by Cadie Thompson of Business InsiderThe key to building a more stable environment, Sibblies says, is first to understand exactly what challenges people are facing, or the “why” behind their uncertainty. A MetLife study found that 81% of employees rely on their leaders to create a trusting environment, one that can support positive outcomes and productivity, she says. Employers can foster that strong foundation through open dialogue. “One of the things we learned, especially over the last few years, is you have to have open, transparent, honest communication,” Sibblies said. “Two-way dialogue creates an opportunity for people to share perspective with you. And you have to listen. It’s so important to listen, and when you ask for feedback from people, you actually have to do something with it.” MetLife puts this into practice through town halls with its CEO, called “Let’s Talk Live.” Employees can ask questions in real time, and the CEO answers directly. “You can’t dodge the hard topics. If you’re going to say, ‘let's talk live,’ it means you are open to what is on people’s minds.” Sibblies encourages leaders to be honest about what they know and what they don’t know yet. “[Vulnerability] makes a difference in the culture.” One significant barrier to trust in today’s workplace is the increasing uncertainty surrounding emerging technologies and their potential impact, or even elimination, of certain job positions. Thompson cites a KPMG study that reports 54% of people are wary of trusting AI, and almost as many are worried about its impact on the workforce. But AI isn’t going anywhere, so employers need to tackle their strategy head-on and be transparent with their workers about what is next. Sibblies suggests positioning AI in your communications as it relates to your organization’s overall mission. “It's not ‘AI in isolation.’ It's in service of what you are doing for your customers. It should be in service of what you need to do for your employees and how they’re getting their work done,” she said. Providing fundamental education on responsible AI usage can also help reduce the fear of the unknown. From there, you can help certain employees dig deeper into AI specialization as needed. MetLife is investing its resources in developing ways AI can be used and managed by humans in everyday applications to make their work more effective. Again, it comes back to communications. “Your company wouldn’t exist today if it wasn’t constantly growing and evolving, which means your people have been growing and evolving,” Sibblies said. “There are lots of ways to lead with curiosity and focus on curiosity and critical thinking.” Talking about AI in the context of your corporation’s ongoing story positions it as “another muscle being developed” rather than something completely foreign.Employee Growth and Appreciation as a Pathway to Trust“Climbing the corporate ladder isn't what it used to be,” Thompson said, noting that the shapes of organizations are changing, with fewer middle management positions. Sibblies encourages leaders to have ongoing “candid career conversations” with employees about their ambitions. Then, follow up those conversations with solid opportunities to develop and grow, ideally within the organization. “My responsibility as a leader is to help my people,” she said. “Growth starts with marrying the person's aspiration and ambition with where the company has a need, and [where] it’s also growing.” MetLife offers employees an AI-driven resource called My Path, which enables them to articulate their goals and be matched with internal opportunities, such as stretch projects, volunteer events, or open positions in other departments. Sibblies says this helps engagement by cultivating employee ambassadors. “They realize, ‘Wow, I can do something new and also contribute to the company,’” she said. Consistent recognition and rewards when employees rise to a challenge also build a supportive, secure, and reliable environment where they feel safe to take risks and reach higher. “Benefits are really powerful, because you show up for people in times of their greatest need,” Sibblies said. “You don’t want to have to choose between your health and well-being and being able to earn a living. You want an employer to be able to back you in those times.” Providing access to a variety of benefits options so employees can choose what is best for their family engenders their trust in your organization. “When you think about people you trust, you trust them because they’re consistent, they show up for you,” Sibblies said. “That’s our responsibility as employers. Show up for people, be consistent, be open with them. Culture truly matters.” 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 Hason Castell for From Day One)
Immigration Policy Guidance Under the New Trump Administration
BY Jessica Swenson July 07, 2025Sweeping immigration policy changes under the new administration are expected to make it harder to access legal immigration programs, raising new challenges for employers around hiring, compliance, and more. When the alien registration requirement went into effect, Matthew P. Hellrung, co-founder and managing partner of Meltzer Hellrung Immigration Solutions, says it doubled his firm’s email traffic overnight because of the uncertainty around best practices and exact requirements for birthright citizens.In a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One's Chicago conference, Hellrung outlined some new and anticipated immigration policies and provided guidance to help companies effectively navigate potential disruptions.“There was always, under Biden and Obama, a priority to deport folks that were dangerous to the United States. That’s completely done away with—there’s really no prioritization of individuals that they’re deporting from the United States right now,” Hellrung said. That policy, combined with a more robust expedited removal program, puts workers employed through visas and work authorization programs at an increased risk of deportation.Recently introduced travel bans are affecting people from several countries. These bans “are generally related to security concerns, but they’re also focusing on student visas—not allowing citizens of these countries to come into the United States and go to school here,” said Hellrung. As the administration continues to add barriers to immigration benefits, employers can expect to see increased costs for green card and employee sponsorships as well as potential changes to the H1-B visa lottery system. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is expected to expand their business audits to validate employment practices. The agency has also been given the power to deputize local law enforcement to assist with deportation actions, says Hellrung.Matthew P. Hellrung, co-founder and managing partner at Meltzer Hellrung, led the sessionIf your company sponsors individuals, Hellrung’s first recommendation is to secure good counsel and conduct a workforce risk review. Consolidating your immigration information can simplify that process by ensuring easy access to company-wide benefit data. His team uses a proprietary platform to do this, but “there are a number of other immigration technologies that your attorneys or immigration vendors may use. It starts with centralizing data and information so you can understand who’s at risk inside of your organization,” he said. This includes reviewing and optimizing your I-9 verification, storage, and access processes.A site visit protocol strategy will help you in case of a visit from ICE or another agency requesting immigration records or access to an individual. It’s wise to think about how you will capture their information, supervise their visit, and document all activity. “I would recommend filming everything,” said Hellrung. “We all have cell phones in our pockets. Film it to make sure that if they do anything wrong, you can raise an objection if you find yourselves in court and you have verifiable proof via the video that you've taken.”At a more general level, he suggests standardizing your company’s immigration or work sponsorship policies. This ensures a consistent employee experience and streamlines internal processes. It also helps avoid last-minute documentation requests by providing a clear immigration pathway for employees. “You can also use it as a bit of a shield.” Hellrung said. “When somebody says, ‘I want my green card right now.’ you can point to the [exact parameters of the] policy.”To reduce potential impacts of the growing travel bans, Hellrung proposes that any employees with immigrant benefits avoid international travel and limit domestic travel when possible. Even individuals with valid visas can be held by Customs and Border Protection or be detained inside and outside the United States. If they must travel, Hellrung says, “have some empathy around their concerns [with travel] if you’re asking them to do so.”One of the most important practices to mitigate anxiety, he says, is to simply communicate with your employees. Ensure that they know your policies and remind them of any support that is in place for them. Develop and share collateral that helps people know their rights and stay informed about evolving federal policies, or partner with outside counsel to share their expertise via blogs, webinars, policy alerts, and direct employee meetings. Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Meltzer Hellrung, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at jmswensonllc.com.(Photos by Tim Hiatt for From Day One)
Designing Holistic Benefits: Balancing Cost With Real Impact
BY Katie Chambers July 02, 2025“The world is evolving. Our companies are evolving. How we do work evolves, and different people need different things to help support their journey to feel healthy, safe and secure,” said Kim Nero, EVP and CHRO of GATX Corporation.During a panel discussion at From Day One’s Chicago conference, industry leaders shared how HR teams are innovating to control costs, meet diverse employee needs, and reassess benefits through new tools and feedback methods.With five generations working side by side, today’s workforce requires a more tailored approach to employee benefits that reflects a wide range of needs and priorities. Many employers are opting to provide expansive benefits packages that allow employees to activate whatever benefit makes most sense for their current circumstances, be it retirement saving, family planning, or elder care support. But employers should be careful to make sure their offerings are fair and comparable, no matter an employee’s life or work circumstances.“Our hourly associates have exactly the same benefits as our salaried employees,” said Michele Miller, SVP and CHRO, Ideal Industries, Inc., citing equal health and retirement benefits and PTO. “That's really important around the wellness that you need to be able to have your passion projects, support your family, take care of yourself,” she said. “No one’s family is more or less, and that’s been so powerful.” Panelists spoke during From Day One's session titled "In Employee Benefits, Balancing Cost Efficiency with Good Employee Outcomes" This is also crucial from a DEI standpoint. “It’s important for our employees to know and be able to trust that we have their best interests at heart, and for them to feel like they have secure, safe and healthy lifestyles while they’re with our companies,” Nero said. “And that requires a lot of open dialogue between employees and us. There’s education and awareness both ways.” Leaders should remember, says Jon Lowe, chief people officer at DailyPay, that “fair doesn’t mean equal.” “When we think about this narrow description of what benefits look like, we’re really only talking about half of half of the American population,” Lowe said. He advises thinking beyond the traditionalist view of insurance as “medical, disability, and vision” and expanding into mental health, skills training, and beyond to approach each employee holistically. Financial education and savings benefits should be part of that approach. “The resilient, adaptable employee is one who has the financial reserves to not be terrified about missing a paycheck. And that’s where you come in,” said moderator Karl Ahlrichs, HR leadership columnist and consultant.Tracking Programmatic Success Of course, the ROI on these programs is important. Leaders should be open and direct with employees about whether the benefits are working and the importance of measuring their success. “If you’re paying for these programs, there’s a conversation you need to have with your employees, which is, ‘We’re all in this together. These costs, whatever they’re going to be, we’re sharing them, and we need to work together to figure out how, overall, we get those costs down.’ And there’s a tradeoff there, which is you make sure that your data is available, and you can tell that story back to your finance team,” said George Spurling, CEO of Budgie Health. One problem with ROI measurement is accurately assessing positive outcomes of preventative care. For example, how can one prove that having free access to Ozempic for weight loss, rather than a diabetes diagnosis, prevents an employee from getting expensive-to-treat weight-related illnesses down the line? Miller suggests letting science drive your health benefits strategy. It’s important to have ample benefits that accommodate all lifestyles and stages, so not every benefit will be used by every employee. That means standard metrics might incorrectly imply that a program isn’t being used enough if only some, not all, employees activate it. HR should make sure this is communicated effectively to CFOs and decision-makers. “Sometimes people push back on some of our programs, [saying] that we don’t have high utilization, but I say, ‘we have appropriate utilization’ because we’re not trying to fit a one-size-fits-all,” said Sherry Nelson, senior director, benefits and well-being at TransUnion. Her team uses surveys to gauge and demonstrate whether employees are getting what they need in the moment they’re in now. Communication as Employee EmpowermentWith a diverse range of benefits comes the challenge of communicating all the many bits and pieces to employees effectively and consistently. “You may have really great benefits, but in the middle of the year when you have some sort of devastating back pain, you’re not going to remember that at the beginning of the year, on page 12, there was something about [physical therapy],” Spurling said. “How do you get all of this complexity and get it to the right person at the right time?” AI can help, searching the employee handbook and manuals for benefits programs and providing detailed information to employees on demand. “But it’s only as smart as the data it has, and if it doesn’t know what your claims experience is, if it doesn’t know what dependents you have, if it doesn’t know information about you as an individual, then it’s just like you’re having a conversation with a really smart person that knows nothing about you,” Spurling said. So, there still needs to be human oversight and availability. TransUnion makes mental health first aid part of its manager training to encourage leaders to get involved directly with employees who need help, and to have the knowledge to direct them to appropriate resources, Nelson says. Post-Covid, leaders and workers are more open and vulnerable with each other, leading to better dialogues about support, “There’s been some liberation to do that without judgment,” Nero said. Having so many benefits options to choose from can lead to decision paralysis on the part of both the employer and the employee. Lowe advises looking ahead to workplace and lifestyle trends, such as the rise of part-time “gig” workers and people working well past traditional “retirement age,” and planning accordingly. “Three-and-a-half years is the average tenure of the American worker, and it’s probably not going up,” Lowe said, citing portability as an attractive quality of a benefits package. “As we think about the composition of what our organizations look like, benefits will need to include creating value for that portion of the population.” 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 Tim Hiatt for From Day One)
From Barriers to Breakthroughs: Elevating and Empowering Women in Leadership
BY Ade Akin July 02, 2025Women hold just 28% of C‑suite positions in U.S. companies. That’s a significant improvement from several decades ago, but still far from parity. “Closing this gap isn’t a pipeline problem, it’s a systemic one,” said Kim Quillen, a business editor for the Chicago Tribune.That blunt assessment set the stage for five leaders to share concrete strategies for recruiting, retaining, and advancing female talent into executive roles. Quillen moderated the discussion at From Day One’s Chicago conference.“If you want women to rise, you must show them it’s possible,” said Molly McCabe, SVP of people success at Ulta Beauty. She pointed to Ulta’s numbers, noting that 70% of its C-suite and 90% of its workforce are women, as proof that representation fuels ambition. “When your CEO is a woman and your senior leaders look like you, the notion of becoming a decision‑maker stops feeling like an impossibility,” she said. Christina Dietz, VP of HR at Northwestern Medicine, echoed that view. She described how her health system intentionally mirrors the demographics of the patients it serves. “Our executive team reflects the community we treat across gender, race, and background,” she said. That alignment strengthens both patient trust and employee engagement by demonstrating that leadership is accessible and accountable.Designing Intentional Career Paths and Measuring Progress“Fortune favors the prepared,” said Jaclyn Trovato, the CHRO at ComEd. ComEd’s 48% female executive ratio didn’t happen overnight. The utility company began sponsoring STEM camps for girls and creating apprenticeship programs for female technicians two decades ago. “By training women on the front lines, we built a pool of skilled candidates ready for engineering and leadership roles,” Trovato said.Tisha Danehl, SVP of ecosystem partnerships at LHH, described her firm’s cohort model. “Our Engage Program brings 30 high‑potential women together for six months of executive presence and strategic‑thinking workshops,” she said. “Within 18 months, every member of our 2020 cohort earned a promotion or expanded role.” This year, LHH is extending the cohort concept to male allies, pairing them with women to foster reciprocal sponsorship, says Danehl. Measuring progress is similarly important, panelists agreed. Panelists shared their insights on the topic "Bridging the Gap: Empowering and Supporting Women in Leadership"Dietz added that Northwestern Medicine’s HR portal now offers real‑time analytics on female representation at every leadership level. “Transparency holds us to our own standards,” she said. “When executives see the charts, it sparks immediate action.”Supporting and Uplifting Women in the WorkplaceQuillen asked the panel to define the often-misused terms “mentor” and “sponsor.” “A mentor offers guidance; a sponsor uses influence to open doors,” said Liza Jager, partner at RHR International. True sponsors, she says, publicly advocate for their protégés in C‑suite rooms and ensure they get stretch assignments. Mentorship alone can’t accelerate careers without that active advocacy, agreed Danehl. Trovato encourages organizations to formalize sponsorship programs, pairing high potential employees with senior executives who have the power to champion their promotions. “Random connections can yield results, but structured sponsorship drives more consistent outcomes,” she said. At Northwestern Medicine, maternity leave is supplemented with informal “phone‑a‑friend” support networks, pairing new parents with experienced colleagues they can call anytime for advice and encouragement. “Knowing there’s someone on the other end of the line who understands your challenges makes all the difference,” she said.That kind of personal support reflects a broader need: career aspirations shift with life stages, says Danehl. “What motivates a 25‑year‑old moonlighting for side hustles differs from a 45‑year‑old eyeing board seats,” she said. The panel urged organizations to tailor their development offerings, such as offering flexible hours for caregivers, rotational assignments for early-career talent, and executive coaching for seasoned leaders.Support also needs to take place in the form of psychological safety. “Psychological safety is currency,” McCabe said. At Ulta, managers are trained to interrupt bias in real time. For example, noting when someone is being talked over and inviting that person back into the conversation. “We teach leaders to say, ‘I realize I cut you off, please share your perspective,’” she said. Jager also echos the importance of psychological safety. “Organizations that invest in creating psychological safety benefit from increased trust and reinforce a culture of belonging. When this is paired with purposeful leadership-development initiatives, not only women executives are positioned for greater success, but all employees. Everyone wins.” Through its cultural-assessment work across organizations, RHR International has helped organizations to go deeper, understand their succession pipeline, and employ systemic solutions that increase the visibility of high-potential women, Jager says. She adds that “organizations that are achieving greater success in building a strong pipeline of women executives are looking more deeply into their promoting practices and investing in sponsorship and allyship initiatives. While mentorship programs are powerful, they are still a passive way to support women leaders. However, through sponsorship and allyship initiatives, executives have the power to raise visibility and more actively give an opportunity for women leaders—and others—to rise.”Trovato highlights the value of listening tours, where senior leaders visit women’s resource groups not to deliver speeches, but to hear directly about the challenges women face. “That practice surfaces issues early, before they become retention risks,” she said. Closing the leadership gap will take more than conversation—it demands measurable, ongoing commitment to listening, building support systems, and driving real change.Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photos by Tim Hiatt for From Day One)