Search Stories

Virtual Conference Recap

Using Technology to Fill the Gaps in Your Marketing Funnel

BY Katie Chambers February 05, 2026

“I’ve always looked at data and patterns to solve customer and business problems and marketing problems,” said Shana Sood, chief marketing and communications officer at Prudential. She has always leveraged her background as a data analyst in her current role, which focuses on customer marketing and technology, she said during a fireside chat at From Day One’s January virtual conference. When reaching the customer requires a multi-layered approach, analytics can help fill the gaps, she says.Sood envisions Prudential’s technology as serving two layers of customers: B-to-B-to-C, from the tech team to the financial advisors to the clients. She analyzes both existing technology stacks and new models to determine the best approach to “collect the breadcrumbs all the way from the start,” identifying client needs and simplifying financial jargon so end users can better understand it. “For me, how technology bridges this gap is: first, tell us how the customer is speaking about these products, how the customer is thinking about these products, [and] how they shop. What are their journeys?” she said. “And then, how do I then prop up my advisor with the right tools and the right education to be able to [provide] the right product based on whatever the customer needs at that point.”The key, she says, is “data-driven personalization,” which integrates with the content management system, Adobe website interaction insights, and the Salesforce marketing cloud. Prudential’s platform includes a feedback loop that shows the customer journey: what they searched for on the website and where it led them. It then uses that info to identify the best emails to send the customer based on their current needs. It also helps determine the next best action, such as a phone call from an advisor to help the customer with their financial decisions. “All of this is made possible with data pipelines between multiple systems,” Sood said. Because financial decisions impact many areas of a person’s life, they can be highly emotional moments. Sood sees retirement planning and life insurance selection as major emotional hurdles. “These things very quickly and very vehemently trigger avoidance from the customer, because as humans, we don’t want to see ourselves old. We want to avoid the topic of not being here,” she said. No matter how simple or complex the product, the customer must be emotionally ready for the conversation. And of course, an already fraught discussion can easily become bogged down by financial compliance language and daunting legalese.It’s Sood’s job to bridge the gap between emotional need and financial product being sold: “When you have a kid, you’re going on Google and you’re searching for, ‘How do I finance their education?’ You’re not searching for, ‘How do I open a 529?’” When the average consumer doesn’t know what “529” means, including that phrase in all your financial messaging may not help. But bidding on keywords like “confused about kid’s education” will. “You’re almost translating,” said moderator Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, business reporter at the Seattle Times. Incorporating Emerging Technologies Sood sees AI as the latest step in a much longer evolution of data-driven marketing. For decades, teams have used statistics and manual analysis to predict customer behavior. AI “has removed a lot of those manual gymnastics.” Rather than replacing human judgment, AI is accelerating it, especially through generative and agentic use cases that help scale content and decision-making.At Prudential, that means empowering advisors with AI tools that synthesize complex product information into clear, conversation-ready guidance. Instead of navigating a “labyrinth of pages and microsites,” advisors can prompt an AI agent to surface the most relevant products for a client’s needs, streamlining preparation while leaving the final judgment firmly in human hands. Sood says AI reduces friction and manual labor, but “it is [ultimately] the judgment of the advisor on what packet to use and what to say.” AI’s greatest gift to the industry has been streamlining a process that has long existed. Shana Sood, chief marketing and communications officer at Prudential Financial, was interviewed during the fireside chat (photo by From Day One)Sood cautions that AI should be used sparingly in the financial services industry because it involves taking risks with people’s money. Identifying fraudulent behavior is a serious concern possibly best left to human critical thinking. She also warns that website personalization techniques have to be carefully employed so that they are compliant with FINRA and SEC regulations, subtleties that sometimes AI does not understand. That is my biggest challenge [with AI],” Sood said. “I have to be very mindful, and I have to adopt the regulatory framework in using and scaling a new tool.” The implementation of AI tools, she says, should involve a thorough exploration of customers’ needs, many rounds of testing and case studies, consultations with legal and regulatory experts, and an intentional measurement plan that notes both financial successes and harms. Sood sees herself as a “realist” when it comes to technology. I’ve worked in the data grind so much that I am always aware of the 100 ways we can fail in adopting a new technology,” she said. “You can adopt a new shiny tool, but then if your processes and people are not structured to use it, then it’s going to fail.” And she emphasizes that less is more: KPI’s need to be consolidated at a business level. “If a company has multiple product teams or multiple business divisions, and each of them is incentivized to sort of make their email program deliver more click-throughs and more engagement, they will keep bombarding their customers with their next best message without realizing that ultimately it’s the same customer that is being reached out [to] by all three of them.” Sood says strong vendor partnerships help organizations strike the right balance between healthy skepticism and falling behind, especially as competitors adopt new technologies. She emphasized the importance of digging beyond headline success stories to understand how and why a tool delivered results, and whether those conditions actually apply in a financial services environment. Once relevance and adaptability are established through due diligence, the goal is to move quickly into testing, embracing early adoption without skipping the hard questions.A Legacy Company Looks to the Future As Prudential enters its 151st year, the corporate culture continues to innovate and grow. “At Prudential, there is a very intentional strategy to carve out innovation centers. Not blunt-force tools to disrupt everything. There is a very careful balance,” she said. “We carve out a very intentional sort of audience, a test case [for a specific] environment, we will try a new tool, and we will see how it does.” Progress is not just about chasing new technologies but also refining the ones already in place. To better reach their audiences, Sood says companies should start by maximizing the value of their existing technology and data, “milking the cash cow” of the current tech stack. Most organizations already hold rich customer, behavioral, and churn data, but it lives in siloed systems that prevent teams from spotting patterns or delivering timely, personalized experiences. Simply connecting those systems isn’t enough. Without cross-channel orchestration, aligned content, and clear next-best-action strategies, even unified data won’t translate into meaningful customer engagement.Looking ahead, Prudential anticipates a major wealth transfer from Baby Boomers to Millennials. Don’t assume that the wealth transfer will keep your paradigm the same. “Don’t assume you can use the same language [and] tactics to be able to resonate with who the wealth is being transferred to. If it is more women, if it is more young customers, then you have to change how you’re staggering on the digitization spectrum,” she said. The organization is currently researching future customer needs, motivations, behaviors, and communication styles to refine how it presents itself to them. “Anything that can simplify and unify—that is what is most needed in the financial services landscape.” 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 ArtemisDiana/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

How Does Your Brand Show Up in the New Era of GEO?

BY Ade Akin February 04, 2026

Damien Slattery couldn’t help but notice how fast culture around him had changed during a recent commute on the F train in Brooklyn. The subway car he rode in would have been filled with people reading newspapers or magazines decades ago, but everyone now stared at electronic screens. For Slattery, the SVP of strategic growth and partnerships at Inc. and Fast Company, this observation highlighted the tremendous shift facing marketers today. The blueprint has been completely rewired, and AI is now directing its future. Slattery, a media veteran who has led marketing campaigns for major brands like Time and Sports Illustrated, discussed this technological shift and more during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s January virtual conference. We’ve now moved past the era of search engine optimization (SEO) into a new chapter that’s defined by answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization (GEO), he says. “The AI universe has just re-engineered and reimagined what search prioritizes,” Slattery told session moderator, Steve Koepp, From Day One’s editor in chief and co-founder. “Brand leaders today have to be thinking about these AI models working behind the scenes to cite, summarize, and trust your narrative, your product, your service.”The Rise of the Answer EngineThe transition from keyword-focused SEO to AI-prioritized AEO represents a fundamental change in how brands must approach content. Slattery recalls the early days of digital search, where the marketing goal was to rank high for specific search queries. Today, AI-powered search engines prioritize providing the best, most concise answer rather than simply listing links to potential answers. “I had CNBC on early this morning, and they had the OpenAI CFO on from Davos, and she said something that really kind of crystallized our conversations today,” Slattery said. “The best answer is no longer or not necessarily the paid answer, right? The best answer is going to be serviced.”Today’s marketing teams should aim to be selected as an authoritative source by AI. “It’s a new muscle we all have to build,” he said. “And it’s going to make us better marketers, better storytellers, and [help] leverage the power and might of AI more strategically.”Koepp noted this new landscape is fragmented among several competing AI platforms, unlike the Google-dominated era of SEO, where marketers mostly focused on learning the rules to rank high on Google’s search engine. Slaterry says brands must now ensure that their core narratives and data are trustworthy enough to be recognized as the best source of information across multiple “answer engines.”Building Trust in an AI-Driven WorldThe age-old concept of trust remains vital as AI transforms the marketing landscape. Slattery points to the Edelman Trust Barometer, which found in 2023 that businesses are more trusted than governments and institutions. That trust has gone local. “We have to be super rigorous,” Slattery said regarding building trust with targeted audiences. He emphasizes what he calls “trust signals,” which include verifiable reviews, professional credentials, detailed FAQs, and accurate product descriptions.  Damian Slattery, the SVP of Strategic Growth & Partnerships and Inc. and Fast Company (Mansueto Ventures), spoke during the virtual session (photo by From Day One)In keeping and building trust, Slattery warns against losing the human element that makes up the core of branding as organizations rush to adopt AI. He referenced a new campaign from Equinox titled “Question Everything But Yourself,” which uses absurd, AI-generated imagery, like a woman biting a dog that’s really a cake to deliver its messaging. For him, it’s an example of how an organization can brilliantly leverage AI’s capabilities to deliver a profoundly human message.“Brands need to keep it real,” Slattery said. “That can become the thing that makes AI surmountable for those who feel like, where do I start? You start by keeping your brand human and then chipping away at these things that will make your brand discoverable and trusted.”This human focus connects directly to its customers, the ultimate targets of a company’s branding. “It’s customers who infuse the meaning into the brand,” Slattery said, recalling a colleague who was turned off by a poorly personalized message on her Starbucks cup. Every touchpoint, from social media to customer service, shapes that personal relationship, and a single misstep can alter perception.The Impatient, Agentic FutureSlattery also explored the near-future implications of AI and marketing, describing an “impatience economy,” where AI shortens the consumer journey from consideration to purchase into mere seconds. This raises a potentially disintermediating puzzle.“Once an agent knows the consumer well, the trust follows in the agent, not the brand,” Slattery said. “The agent is winning the relationship and the trust, as this intermediary with the brand.” The risk is that customer loyalty shifts to the AI assistant that knows their preferences, rather than the brand itself.For chief marketing officers, the mandate is clear. Brands must lean into the new reality of generative engine optimization by ensuring their content is structured for AI discovery, their data is impeccable, and their narrative is both grand and granular.The journey from the folded newspapers on the F train to the glowing screens of today took a few decades. The next leap will be into a world where AI agents do our searching and synthesize our choices at the speed of light, and that’s coming in the next several years.“What got you here won’t get you there,” Slattery concluded, echoing management guru Marshall Goldsmith. The work of adapting to the answer engine economy starts now for brands that wish to matter in the future.Ade Akin covers artificial intelligence, workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photo by Sandwish/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

More Than Efficiency: How Marketers Are Using AI to Deliver the Most Value

BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza February 02, 2026

Marketers have graduated from the experimental phase in marketing, moving beyond simple efficiency plays and content generation to embed the tech in processes and cross-departmental collaboration, reinventing the way campaigns are designed, funded, executed, and measured. The question facing marketers in 2026 isn’t whether to use AI, but where it delivers the most value. During From Day One’s January virtual conference on AI and marketing tech, four marketing leaders discussed ways they’re using AI to transform marketing strategies and outcomes.The most natural entry point into AI for marketers is content creation, says Honora Handley, VP of global marketing and AI strategy at Thomson Reuters. Drafting emails and crafting messaging are the low-hanging fruit many teams reach for first. But, she said, “a lot of the impact is really around creativity with workflows.” Routine tasks like approvals and ad-buys are all being rebuilt with AI agents that make the process more efficient and effective, especially across departments. While marketing might have workflow for budget requests, accounting and finance has another to approve requests and disburse funds. Good workflows mean those teams can communicate through their processes without inventing a whole new process. On a daily basis, Handley said, “it’s about carving out the time to think differently about how we’re using AI with the plethora of tools that the company has provided.”Tailoring campaigns has never been easier and more precise. This is a coup for account-based marketing. “Now there’s really no excuse not to have specific assets for individual people,” said Jeff Coyle, the head of strategy at Siteimprove and co-founder of MarketMuse. “We went from what was a scarce resource to infinite ability. Now it’s all about making sure everything you do is of the highest quality and editorial integrity.”Panelists spoke on the topic "From Insight to Execution: Using AI to Transform Marketing Strategies and Outcomes" during the virtual conference (photo by From Day One)Panelists agreed that AI has helped them make better, faster decisions. They can now spot underperforming ads and reallocate budget, sort leads, and pick the best calls to action, subject lines, and headlines in record time and with laser precision. There’s no shortage of AI-powered tools for marketers to accomplish these things, but whether a tool is worth the cost is down to business requirements, said Apoorva Shah, who leads marketing at Tata Consultancy Services. The first litmus test is comparing the tool’s capabilities to marketing goals. “Are we trying to improve our pipeline or demand gen? Are we trying to improve our content velocity? Do I want to improve my return on ad spend?”It also depends on whether the tools can connect to other systems and achieve that cross-departmental flow. “Efficiency and time savings alone aren’t as important as also making sure that we’re getting something meaningful from it,” said Michelle Kelly, the VP of digital marketing at Ecolab. Though marketing teams are adopting AI tools with increasing speed—and making great use of them—some are still under the impression that being AI ready means starting over. The most common misunderstanding about AI readiness is that marketers have to build something entirely new, says Coyle. A better strategy is to enrich what you already have, including processes for developing marketing assets and updating them.But make no mistake, every page of the website matters, he says. This is true both substantively (PR content affects product content) and technically (AI engines have to be able to read and interpret your content).As AI becomes infrastructure rather than novelty, the advantage will go to marketing teams that treat it as a connective tissue, not just a content engine. Panelists agreed: the real value comes from improving workflows across systems and teams. AI isn’t replacing marketing fundamentals. It’s raising the bar for how they’re executed.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by pixdeluxe/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

Matching Employee Expectations to Economic Realities: Where Leaders Should Focus

BY Kristen Kwiatkowski January 07, 2026

From expanded mental health support to virtual healthcare access, employers have adapted to employees’ evolving needs since Covid. But those offerings are only part of the picture. Many workers are also asking for more affordable healthcare benefits. How can employers respond to these requests, and what other forms of economic support do employees expect from company leaders?These concerns were addressed during an executive panel discussion moderated by Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, business reporter with The Seattle Times, at From Day One’s December virtual conference. Ulu-Lani Boyanton started off the session by asking what the panel guests often hear from their employees regarding healthcare wants and needs. “Employees want comprehensive benefits that make showing up to work easier as they grow and raise their families and care for their personal health,” said Gianna Cruz, director of client success at Maven Clinic.“In our latest State of Women’s and Family Health Report, 69% of those who were surveyed said that they would take or have considered taking a new role or a new job because it offers better reproductive and family benefits to them and their families,” said Cruz.“I think what we’re really seeing now is a push to personalization,” said John Von Arb, VP of total rewards for Essentia Health. Expanding voluntary benefit strategies in addition to the core benefits offered is what people are now looking for, he says. “Generational differences within the workforce today do drive a lot of the conversation around what the needs are because one size does not fit all anymore,” he said.Kimberly Young, SVP of total rewards at Amentum, a global leader in innovative technology solutions and advanced engineering, highlighted the importance of affordability and a work-life balance as benefits sought after by employees. “Obviously affordability is the number one priority, so a lot of the feedback is targeted towards the escalating costs,” said Young. “From a premium perspective they want turnkey care for a much lower cost.” “And they want something that covers a work-life balance,” added Young. “We find ourselves today trying to balance all of that.” How Employee Needs Changed Post-CovidThe needs of employees and their economic concerns have also changed since Covid. For healthcare industry professional Von Arb, it’s undeniable that Covid played a big part in changes within his organization. It was a “game-changer” for the industry, he said. Mental health support became a focal point, with about 150 employees trained in peer-to-peer support, he said.Since Covid, clients now view Maven’s benefits as a core part of a strong, effective benefits package rather than a nice-to-have, says Cruz. There’s also more of a focus on overall access to care, and specifically access that might have been limited during Covid. In general, there’s a push for equitable access in a virtual setting at a global scale.  Post-Covid, there’s been a greater emphasis on mental health and wellness, Young says, along with increased focus on activity and flexibility as many employees continue transitioning back to work. Meeting Employee Expectations Regarding BenefitsThe panelists shared a range of approaches to meeting employee expectations, from offering greater choice and flexibility in plans to providing holistic support, chronic disease management, and tools that support lifestyle changes.Panelists spoke about "Matching Employee Expectations to Economic Realities: Where Leaders Should Focus" during the virtual panel session (photo by From Day One)Essentia Health strives to handle much of its benefits in house from the health plan perspective, Von Arb says, while identifying gaps where additional support is needed. The organization continues to focus on chronic disease management, covering weight loss medications such as GLP-1s, and exploring options that support lifestyle and life management changes.The organization also “built out a more robust value-based design strategy,” he said. This is done by getting groups of leaders together from the various departments. Doing so helps to answer the question, “How do we get members to engage with their own health journey?”Young stated that choice and flexibility based on different plan designs along with a robust mental health program were some solutions her company has offered to employees. “We’ve tried to introduce a variety of benefits that touch all aspects of the employee experience,” said Young. Cruz added that employers are expanding women’s and family health benefits and that employees increasingly expect more holistic support. She is especially enthusiastic about Maven’s maternity program, which helps employees in rural or underserved areas access care and supports them throughout pregnancy and the post-pregnancy period.How Technology Plays a RoleTechnology is also changing workers’ support in a major way. “Technology extends the ability for individuals to access, not just care, but high quality care if they live in an area where access is limited for whatever reason,” said Cruz. “Clients really utilize Maven’s round-the-clock virtual support.” “We’re focused on data-driven personalized coordinated care and helping employers deliver that to their employees and we’re also really focused on offering a seamless patient experience,” said Cruz. Technology and AI can really help members with their journey. When AI is used, it can help employees navigate all the options from a healthcare perspective, says Young. Personalization is vital because everyone’s journey is different. But to be effective, it has to be employee friendly, Von Arb said. From an HR perspective, many AI tools have made progress in this area, though some payroll, benefits, and HR systems still lag in using AI to support the employee experience.Ultimately, the discussion underscored that effective benefits strategies are no longer about adding more offerings, but about designing systems that are accessible, affordable, and responsive to employees’ real lives. As expectations continue to evolve post-Covid, employers face growing pressure to listen closely, personalize thoughtfully, and leverage technology in ways that genuinely support health, well-being, and long-term economic security.Kristen Kwiatkowski is a professional freelance writer covering a wide array of industries, with a focus on food and beverage and business. Her work has been featured in Eater Philly, Edible Lehigh Valley, Cider Culture, and The Town Dish. (Photo by Benjamas Deekam/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

Technology and Talent: How HR Leaders Are Future-Proofing the Workforce

BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza December 22, 2025

What does it take to turn a workplace into a learning machine? During a panel discussion at From Day One’s December virtual conference on the future of work, executives made one thing clear: it’s not about programs or policies, it’s about empowering employees to take charge of their growth.First, organizations that support continuous learning make it easy to access training for both technical and durable skills, especially for what Becky Karsh, VP of talent and growth at F5, calls critical roles. That means personal development plans, plus the ability for employees to nominate themselves for learning and development opportunities.Second, they embrace internal mobility. “Now that you have employees learning new skills, it’s going to make them more marketable for more open roles in the company,” said Melanie Stave, SVP, NA career development & mobility practice leader, at LHH. “Ensuring that that is an avenue for movement is key.” And finally, when it comes time to fill open roles, those companies look at internal talent first. “I really think it falls to senior leadership,” Stave added. “They really need to champion this mindset.”HCSC’s VP of talent solutions Shannon Fuller backs what he calls a “train-your-replacement” culture. “When you have a replacement and successor in place, it’s much easier to move talent across the organization,” he said. At HCSC, employees are encouraged to lead their own development, thinking not only of who will take their place, but also where they will go next. “Oftentimes, we’re waiting on our manager and we’re waiting on goals,” he said. “I encourage people to drive their own car.”Giselle Battley, global head of emerging talent & learning at Yahoo, suggests that organizations host internal career weeks where employees can meet with recruiters about open roles within the company. “Especially in large organizations, you often don’t know what opportunities are available,” said Battley. Events like this give employees the chance to move fluidly throughout the organization, building their skills while strengthening the company’s overall talent base.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza, journalist and From Day One contributing editor, moderated the session about "Technology and Talent: How HR Leaders Are Future-Proofing the Workforce" (photo by From Day One)Future-proofing doesn’t always require changing roles. It can also mean short-term projects in different departments, which satisfy curiosity, strengthen employee networks, and add cross-functional skills to the organization’s reserves.Of course, such programs demand time and attention from HR. To make them sustainable, Stave recommended offering plenty of self-serve resources, setting clear goals and timeframes for temporary projects, and making it clear where completing these projects and acquiring new skills can lead.Skill development isn’t limited to technical capabilities like AI proficiency or data engineering–it also includes durable skills, like how to lead a team. “I don’t think we’re moving away from the fundamentals,” said Karsh at F5. “In fact, I think we need to double down on them. Leadership is an art that needs to be honed like a craft.”Panelists noted that building skill-based programs requires knowing what skills already exist within the organization. “The problem in doing this kind of infrastructure work is that the right hand often doesn’t talk to the left,” said Kason Morris, global director of skills-based organization strategy at Merck. “If we’re democratizing access to opportunities, we need to speak in a language of experiences and skills,” he said. That means, for example, not letting a university degree stand in for actual abilities.In fact, HCSC is in the process of removing degree requirements, focusing instead on the skills people have–whether built up in school, on the job, or elsewhere, says Fuller. Morris says we’re moving toward a time when conversational AIs will help not only develop skills, but identify them as well. “That’s intelligence for the employee and intelligence for the business,” he said.Continuous learning isn’t just a strategy, it’s a mindset and a culture. By empowering employees to own their growth, embrace new challenges, and share knowledge across the organization, companies can not only keep pace with change but lead their industries.“We all started this journey right by being scared of AI,” Stave said. “But after all the research and the personal benefits we’ve seen–it’s just so nice to hear all the good stuff that’s coming.”Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by EyeEm Mobile GmbH/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

How AI Can Work as a Partner to Augment Human Capabilities, Rather than Replace Workers

BY Ade Akin December 16, 2025

Imagine having a new team member who shadows your best salesperson to fetch data and learn unspoken rules, like why one client is more responsive to a direct approach while pitches have to be carefully framed for another. This apprentice never forgets a lesson and shares their nuanced understanding with colleagues. That’s the vision of AI that Ari Lehavi, the head of applied AI at Moody’s, is bringing to life, shifting the focus from task automation to capturing and scaling the institutional wisdom that companies are built on. Lehavi shared this idea and more during a fireside chat at From Day One’s December virtual conferenceThe transformative potential of AI lies in human-AI collaboration based on a continuous, two-way learning street that’s designed to augment human judgment rather than replace it, he told moderator Rebecca Knight, contributing writer at Harvard Business Review. Shifting From Automation to AugmentationAI-doomers often frame the technology as the worst thing that’s happened to job security in human history, but Lehavi sees it more as a collaborative tool that enhances human performance and encourages organizations to do the same. Ari Lehavi, general manager, head of applied AI at Moody’s, spoke during the fireside chat (company photo)“I do think that there’s been some orientation around thinking about AI as a way to generate efficiencies and automation, and I don’t think that’s the best use of AI,” he said. “Increasingly, I’m seeing a shift in the way that companies are thinking about it as an accelerant of performance, rather than as a way to generate efficiencies.”The central question then becomes how to increase productivity and work quality with AI. Lehavi says one of the ways that organizations can accomplish this is by using AI to handle simple, repetitive tasks, freeing up employees to focus on work that requires uniquely human skills, such as judgment, empathy, and innovation. “The hard cases, the edge cases, the complex areas, the mentoring of other people, the management, the development of skills in other individuals, the expansion of what’s possible in their role,” Lehavi added, pointing out what humans excel at. The Importance of Bi-directional DesignLehavi says “bi-directional design” is necessary to optimize human-AI collaboration. Most AI tools used today have a single directional design. You ask questions, and it answers. True partnership requires a feedback loop where humans teach AI context and nuance, he says. “AI has information that it can pick up from documents, from data that can help you assemble research faster,” Lehavi said. “But that has a very limited kind of lift that it creates.” The exponential gain happens when AI begins to understand how and why you make decisions. “It has to kind of almost get into your head.”AI provides value, like summarizing key points from a large text library, in a bi-directionally designed system, but it also identifies gaps in its understanding. It learns to ask questions such as “Why did you make that decision?” This leads to humans working with AI, explaining the nuanced instincts that come with experience. Capturing the reasoning behind human decision-making enriches the AI model's understanding, allowing it to provide more insightful recommendations in the future. The information learned by the AI can be packaged and shared, creating a “collective organizational wisdom” that other employees can access. A Concrete Case: Augmenting the Sales ProfessionalLehavi shared an example of how bi-directional communication between humans and AI works in the real world from within Moody’s sales department. A standard CRM stores data, but misses the subtleties that define a veteran sales rep’s success. Insights like the unspoken politics of a client company, the specific pain points a key decision-maker is sensitive to, or the historical context of a relationship. Moody’s built a system that starts by giving sales team members AI-generated leads, matching market pain points to the solutions it provides. The AI responds with questions such as. “Tell us what we don’t know, tell us, you know this person,” Lehavi said. “We know the general profile, but we don’t know this particular relationship in this particular instance, and what exactly is the dynamic that would make this deal move faster and closer.”The seller feeds the nuance context back to the AI, which then refines its recommended messaging and value propositions. The system also identifies patterns in these seller-client relationships and provides recommendations such as: “What you’ve told us about this individual and this company seems a lot like three others that we’ve encountered, and this framing of this message really resonated.” The sales team member tests the hypothesis, and the result, positive or negative, is fed back into the AI model, expanding its institutional knowledge. Lehavi views AI more as an apprentice than an intern. “Initially, the apprentice gets more value from you than you get from the apprentice,” he said. You invest time teaching the algorithm your ways, then the dynamic eventually flips. “You’re starting to get that much more value. And then you know that you have a true partner, so you can move up to the next level in your career.”With AI managing more of the administrative burden and research, sellers have more time and mental space to focus on the irreplaceably human aspects of their role: deepening relationships with clients and crafting persuasive value propositions. For leaders, it means scaling the impact of top performers, so other employees benefit from the institutional knowledge they help build. The Undocumented Layer of Human JudgmentThe critical insight Lehavi stressed throughout the conversation is appreciating the vast, often invisible complexity of most professional roles. He points to what he calls “the undocumented layer of human judgment” that exists in every position, from customer service to legal departments. Studies suggest that around 10% to 40% of what knowledge workers do is based on this tacit understanding.“Whenever I see enterprise implementations that end up where people kind of feel like they didn’t accomplish what they were supposed to accomplish, I often link that to the underappreciation of how much of the work that gets done is unwritten, and is based on judgment and experience,” Lehavi said.The routine portions of a job that knowledge workers spend 60% of their time on might be automatable. But the high-value edge duties, where crucial relationships depend on nuanced judgment, are where human-AI collaboration must focus. The goal is to design systems that bring the right information and context to the surface to help their human counterparts make faster, more-informed decisions. Lehavi advises companies to build systems that ask “why.” AI models that learn from human experience and improve the performance of their human collaborators. This allows organizations to move beyond simply automating tasks with AI, and start codifying, scaling, and institutionalizing their collective knowledge–their most valuable asset. Ade Akin covers artificial intelligence, workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photo by KTStock/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

How Innovative Companies Put Advanced Technology to Work

BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza December 10, 2025

HR leaders are on the front lines of AI adoption in the workplace. They’re responsible not just for finding ways to make their own departments more productive and efficient, but for ensuring that it can be smoothly applied throughout the organization. At a panel discussion at From Day One’s November virtual conference about how innovative companies are putting advanced tech to work, leaders shared how AI is reshaping their organizations, from hiring to data privacy.How AI Is Saving One Company Thousands of Hours At Vail Resorts, one major success has been in taming application volume, an enormous relief for a company that employs 50,000 workers, roughly 80% of whom are seasonal. “Our first attempt with leveraging AI is around modernizing the talent-acquisition process,” said Shiv Akumala, senior director of HR and finance. The hospitality company launched a mobile-friendly UI interface where candidates can apply for jobs that match their skill sets and their experience.Behind the scenes, the platform analyzes applications and automatically schedules screening calls and interviews. For a team accustomed to manually sorting through seasonal hiring surges, the impact has been dramatic. This first attempt at AI has saved the talent acquisition team thousands of hours, Akumala says.Vail’s use of AI doesn’t stop at hiring. The company is also using tools that forecast labor needs in real time, factoring in guest bookings and weather conditions to help managers schedule workers more accurately. Instead of relying on instinct or static staffing plans, managers can use dynamic models to understand exactly when demand at resorts will spike.Training a Modern Workforce on AIAt S&P Global, leaders saw the promise of AI early. The data and intelligence firm began training its workforce on artificial intelligence in 2018, well before the 2022 release of ChatGPT created the current AI boom.All new hires get exposure to AI tools and principles, regular hackathons challenge teams to develop their skills, and employees are incentivized to solve their problems with AI. Journalist and From Day One contributing editor, Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza moderated the session (photo by From Day One)Executives model this behavior. CEO Martina Cheung and CPO Girish Ganesan have spoken at company all-hands meetings about how they use AI, both in and outside the office. That openness matters, says Tiffany Clark, S&P’s global head of people solutions and well-being. “That’s what really encourages and incentivizes our employees to leverage AI.”Making AI Simple and PersonalFor some, the AI learning curve is steep, and a slower introduction is needed, said Tyson Foods’ HR tech leader Devina Desai. The challenge is ensuring the tools are accessible enough for everyone to participate. “We need to make the experience for our team members basic,” she said.So, Tyson created a simplified, one-stop user experience within its HR administration system. Instead of navigating multiple portals with discrete credentials, employees can log in to a single platform to review dental insurance, submit medical claims, or learn about financial benefits.  When everyday tasks like these become easier, Desai says, employees are more likely to use their benefits. Line managers get their own tailored dashboards with analytics, attendance records, and tardiness data–and each user sees exactly what they need.Ensuring Data Privacy Amid a Surge of AIIf efficiency is one side of AI adoption, data protection is the other. “We have very important internal employee data, so I always think about the possibility of leakage,” said Róisín Daly, head of people solutions at fintech company Stripe.As HR tech vendors began adding AI features, Daly’s team scrutinized the fine print. “We were suddenly faced with this problem: They’re processing our data and the lawyers don’t exactly know how to handle this, because it’s very new.”Daly must handle HR data–which includes troves of personally identifiable information, or PII–differently than her counterparts in other functions handle their data. While non-PII employee information may sit safely in the cloud, sensitive personal data requires iron-clad protections. The slightest bit of leakage is problematic at best, and catastrophic at worst.“That’s how leaders in the HR space tell me that they lose sleep, so I’m very focused on the experience, both from an internal data storage perspective and a vendor relationship perspective.”Clark agreed: “HR data is not the same as other forms of data. The biggest part is getting people to understand that difference, and then making sure we have firm data governance and data safeguards.”At pharmaceutical company McKesson, rigorous review is standard for every AI-enabled initiative. Ajeeth Anand Viswanath, senior director of HR tech services, says the company uses a three-tier approval model. First, legal reviews the use case. If it passes, it’s on to a senior specialist or data architect. Only after clearing those hurdles does it go to an executive-level board that assesses risk, exposure, and alignment with company priorities. “It’s a long process, as there are multiple questions,” he said. “Even the attorneys are present.”As the rate of change accelerates workplace transformation, HR leaders will have to contend with the way AI both simplifies and complicates the discipline. Whether it’s speeding up hiring, simplifying frontline tools, or tightening data protections, each organization is reckoning with how to deploy AI in ways that serve both the business and its people.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by JLco - Julia Amaral/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

How Technology Can Enhance the Full HR Spectrum, from Recruiting to Retirement

BY Katie Chambers December 02, 2025

Love it or fear it, AI is here to stay. In implementing AI and other new tech, leaders need to bring along the entire organization and drive a mindset shift, which includes an appreciation of how agentic AI will boost efficiency and productivity. Organizations must also consider the importance of anticipating risks and concerns about bias while utilizing these tools. During a fireside chat at From Day One’s November virtual conference, Kim Shockley, the VP of HR technology & automation at HP, shared how her organization is making the most of emerging technologies.  The Evolution of HR TechnologyDuring her 12 years working in HR technology, Shockley has witnessed rapid changes. Most companies had HR solutions “on prem” (meaning on a server on the premises) but now work mostly with cloud-based technologies. “HCM [human capital management] software vendors [have] become the standard, and companies [are] moving to really focus on an implementation of that across all capabilities” she said. “This huge explosion in the HR tech marketplace [is] focused on innovation and delivering best of breed technologies and really encouraging us to think outside of the box of what can I do beyond the standard of HR deliverables.”Many workplace software companies like Workday and Success Factors are acquiring and merging with others to provide all-in-one solutions, she says. “What’s happening now has the potential to leapfrog us and shift us significantly in a different direction, and that we in five years may look completely different than what we look today in our technology environments.” Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, business reporter at the Seattle Times, moderated the session with Kim Shockley of HP (photo by From Day One)The myriad of options can be overwhelming, so Shockley advises focusing on impact. Many HR tasks are “foundational [and] transactional, it’s the things that we have to do to help to run the business,” she said, referring to tasks like payroll and PTO. “And then there are other things in a business that HR delivers that have potential to deliver competitive advantage or strategic differentiation. A lot of these are in the talent space. They may be related to your employee value proposition,” she said. This is where technology beyond the core HCM can be beneficial in terms of talent support and development. Implementing Technologies That Promote Growth “Who do we want to be? We want to be an organization where talent is attracted to come to us, and then we are developing them, providing them the tools and opportunities to learn and grow so that they have choices in the future,” Shockley said. HP has implemented a talent intelligence platform that helped it become a skills-first organization and allowed employees to find new roles within the organization based on their skill-set, boosting talent retention. The tech also provides career pathing to help employees see how they can grow within HP. “I may see that I can switch functions where I may not have ever considered that before, because I have the skills to go there,” she said. Mentoring matches and stretch projects have all been optimized with AI technology. The software doesn’t just boost retention. “That same platform serves us on the recruiting side too, and helps us to find the right talent externally. It’s a skills platform. It allows us to find candidates based on AI algorithms and an AI model that does map candidate matching that has been a game changer for us in terms of us finding the right people, finding folks with the right skills, and moving them through the process,” Shockley said. While AI can certainly help HR leaders, they must be sure to use it responsibly, making sure systems “are designed and deployed in a fair, safe, and aligned manner with human values,” Shockley said. “HP as an enterprise has AI governance principles around trust, safety, security, and accountability. We have, on top of that, commitments for our people organization that take that a step further because of our responsibilities.” One of these is “human in the loop,” ensuring that a human is always involved and that AI is not solely making decisions related to humans. HR partners with employment attorneys and compliance departments to understand and define best use, high risk, and forbidden use cases.  Encouraging the Mindset ShiftAgentic AI offers opportunities to transform and automate business processes. “I can create an end-to-end workflow that drives more productivity into our processes, for both HR and for our employees and it also can impact the employee experience,” Shockley said. This rapid evolution is both exciting and challenging. “I have to be in the mode of executing, because I can’t wait for everything to be perfect. I need to be moving forward and learning and taking advantage… I have a bigger risk in not acting than in acting today,” she said. The information overload can be significant. Leaders need to encourage teams to be ready for AI, which Shockley calls a “mindset shift.” “With your average person, there’s still a lot of unknowns around AI—a lot of questions, maybe some anxieties and fears,” said moderator Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, business reporter at the Seattle Times. Shockley says encouraging experimentation is the best way to get employees comfortable with emerging technologies. “You have to actually put the tools in the hands of your people. It doesn’t have to be complex,” she said. Starting small with simple tools like Microsoft Copilot can help workers understand the value of AI. From there, you can expand into more complex company-wide technologies, like HP’s career mapping tool that lets employees dream and aspire to an exciting future. AI implementation is most effective when approached with purpose and clear intent, Shockley says. “It’s easy to say, ‘That’s cool. I want that.’ But if you start going at it that way, you often don’t get the outcome that you were after because you didn’t really define the outcome. And so, we always come back to, ‘What are we trying to accomplish?’ And let’s start there and then let’s figure out what’s the right technology to deliver on that.” 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 Summit Art Creations/Shutterstock)

Virtual Conference Recap

How to Be a Thoughtful Adopter of HR Technology in an Age of AI

BY Ade Akin November 26, 2025

The pressure for HR teams to be first adopters as new software and AI tools are launched is intense. However, for Dibyendu Sharma Mondal, the head of people analytics, HR technology, strategy, and operations at Unisys, the key to successfully integrating new technology into existing systems isn’t quick adaptation, but being a “thoughtful adopter.”Mondal outlined his people-centric philosophy to minimize fatigue and maximize impact when new technologies are rolled out at From Day One’s November virtual conference, in a fireside chat moderated by Nicole Smith, the editorial audience director at Harvard Business Review. “We want to take the technology which makes sense for our business, not just each and everything that comes in,” Mondal said. “We are a very, very people-centric organization. We listen to the end users. We talk to them. We invest in enabling and supporting those users.”Managing Transformation Overload and Building TrustMondal calls one of the significant hurdles leaders face regarding integrating new technologies “transformation overload.” It’s the fatigue teams feel from constant change. He says the antidote for transformation overload is to demonstrate the value new systems bring from the start. “If you show that what you’re building is going to be beneficial for them, then you see the engagement happening,” Mondal said. The goal of embracing new tools should be to empower employees to work more efficiently. This turns the adoption of new technologies into a collaborative endeavor rather than a top-down push for change. Dibyendu Sharma Mondal, head of people analytics, HR technology, strategy & ops at Unisys, shared his insights during the fireside chat (photo by From Day One)“Building trust is the biggest element,” he said. New systems must be reliable if their insights will be considered when executives make decisions. Trust is built through data quality and effective governance, and it’s reinforced when the technology’s scope expands to answering critical business questions beyond the HR silo, connecting people data to other functions. Measuring What Matters: Beyond Login RatesMondal says that HR departments must move beyond superficial metrics, such as login rates, when measuring adoption success. “The most obvious [metric] people look [at] is how many people logged into the system, and what’s my login ratio,” he said. He says the benchmark technology adoption should be measured by its business impact, and proposes three additional metrics to monitor. First, has the adoption of this new technology moved a critical business metric, like reducing time-to-fill for open roles? How much time are people spending on the system, and what kind of questions are they asking? And is the system becoming the unified source of truth for organizational discussions? Leaders should “go back, redesign, rethink” if over 60% of the targeted users aren’t actively using the tool after 60 to 90 days. “Every technology comes with a cognitive cost,” Mondal said. “The question is whether the user sees the payoff that justifies this cost to them.”For example, an employee tasked with learning how to use a complex analytics platform will only endure the high cognitive cost if the payoff, like better insights, time savings, increased conversions, outweighs it. Therefore, the role of technology implementers is to minimize this unnecessary cognitive burden by improving user interfaces, reducing onboarding time, and enabling intuitive navigation.AI and the People-Centric FutureThe conversation turned to artificial intelligence, and Mondal sees synergy between people analytics and AI, opening up possibilities ranging from predicting attrition risks to personalizing career development paths. Unisys has been an early adopter of generative AI tools within its people analytics systems, significantly boosting adoption rates by satisfying employee curiosity with a conventional interface. However, Mondal remains cautious about AI. “What keeps me awake at times is how do you really eliminate the issue about bias and how do you build trust?” he said. Mondal redirected the focus from flashy solutions to core problems when asked about the next big technology to cause significant disruption. “You have to be able to build a real-time analytics system that allows you to answer real HR problems,” he advised. The goal is a consolidated, self-service system that helps HR leaders solve business problems, whether that involves AI, augmented reality, or more foundational data architecture.The Leadership Behaviors That Drive AdoptionLeadership must set the tone when pushing their teams to embrace new technology. He highlights three behaviors leaders should embrace. First, lead by example: “Use the tool yourself and talk about what they are enabling today,” Mondal said. Adoption increases when teams see their leaders using a new technology. He also encourages creating a safe space to experiment. Innovation requires trying new things, and leaders must create psychological safety for this experimentation.His last tip is to show the connection. Help people see how learning a new tool benefits them personally and contributes to the team and company’s goals.Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, AI, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photo by pixdeluxe/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

Strategies for Effective Global Workforce Collaboration

BY Carrie Snider November 13, 2025

In today’s global economy, collaboration is measured by an organization’s ability to bridge borders. As companies expand across continents, effective global workforce collaboration has become both a business necessity and a competitive advantage.At From Day One’s October virtual conference, HR leaders from global organizations shared the lessons they’ve learned leading diverse, distributed teams—offering a roadmap for turning global complexity into global strength. For global organizations, the success of an international assignment often hinges less on logistics and more on people. Ranjith Menon, senior VP of corporate HR at HGS, says that one of the most overlooked factors in global mobility is the well-being of the employee’s family. “The number one predictor for a failure of such an international assignment, according to me, is also the spouse or the partner’s adjustment in the country,” he said. “Most of the time we need to keep in mind that it’s a dual-career challenge.”While HR teams often focus on visas, compliance, and tax equalization, Menon believes the key to long-term success lies in supporting the full family experience. Employees may face isolation, culture shock, or challenges accessing healthcare and education for their children—factors that can quickly erode engagement. “No matter how much cross-cultural training or other support we provide to spouses and children, there is still a challenge that needs to happen,” he says. Creating “a home away from home” becomes essential for retaining both the talent and their commitment.Subadhra Sriram, founder of Workforce Observer, moderated the discussion among leaders (photo by From Day One)Repatriation, also known as the return home, is an equally critical phase that requires careful planning. Too often, employees worry they’ll be “out of sight, out of mind,” unsure how their new skills will be applied. “Our job doesn’t stop at sending someone successfully and helping them assimilate in the foreign country,” Menon says. “It also involves bringing them back successfully and making sure all those experiences are properly utilized in the home country organization.”At HGS, that process starts early. Employees are paired with a mentor in their home country who stays in touch during the assignment, ensuring a smooth reintegration that brings both global insight and renewed engagement to the team. Building Psychological Safety Across CulturesFor global teams to thrive, collaboration depends not only on structure and technology but on trust—something that can look very different across regions and cultures. Jennifer Cone, director of process, experience & analytics for talent acquisition at Intel, says the key is listening deeply and responding with cultural sensitivity. “We overcome psychological safety challenges by not just listening, but hearing and reacting to what employees in each of the regions are saying,” she said. “What feels like growth and opportunity in one culture can feel very different in another.”At Intel, the emphasis is on creating practices that foster inclusion and mutual respect, regardless of geography. Cone observed that after the pandemic pushed teams to remote work, many initially faced “meeting overload.” But over time, teams discovered better rhythms of communication. “It’s more about the practices—the cadence and regularity that builds trust,” she said. “You have to create predictability in how people connect.”Part of that trust comes from designing structures that support global employees. Cone advised organizations in the audience to be thoughtful and intentional about their org design. When expanding internationally, it helps to co-locate at least two employees together, rather than leaving a single person to work alone across borders. “Two people in a location have more of a sense of connection and belonging,” she said.She also emphasized that compliance and transparency are foundational to safety. “Compliance should be built into the process and tools, not treated as an add-on,” she said. By integrating global standards with local flexibility, Intel creates consistency without sacrificing regional authenticity.Ultimately, Cone believes psychological safety is a discipline. “It’s about creating the space where people can bring their full selves to work,” she said, “and know that their perspectives, no matter where they sit in the world, are valued.”Leveraging Technology and Local ExpertiseAs global workforces become increasingly distributed, organizations must bridge not only time zones but also cultural and regulatory divides. Roberta Richards, HR director at Netcracker Technology, oversees HR strategy for more than 12,000 employees working on telecommunications software projects worldwide. What makes the company unique is that many of the employee teams are sitting at customer sites in different countries, rather than centralized in one office, Richards says. This decentralized model demands both technological agility and cultural intelligence.Technology plays a vital role in keeping these far-flung teams connected. “We have different WebEx IM chats, multiple group chats, and tools to send messages to entire teams or the entire company,” she said. The organization has also leaned on Zoom recordings and AI-powered transcription to make global communication more inclusive. “I think people are still trying to figure out how to adopt AI as a tool in their company,” she said, “but it’s going to be a major influence in how we collaborate moving forward.”Still, even the most advanced technology can’t replace local knowledge. When Netcracker enters a new country, Richards said the company relies on in-country partners to navigate compliance and cultural nuances. “It’s okay to rely on local experts,” she emphasized. “They’re going to know the law inside and out, what confidentiality covenants you can include in contracts, and so on.”Ultimately, success comes from balancing global consistency with local adaptability. “We have multiple cultures working on projects in new countries that no one’s ever worked in before,” she said. “So trying to determine those cross-cultural collaborations between the teams and communication is essential.” By pairing smart technology with trusted local expertise, Netcracker builds stronger, more resilient global teams.As global workforces continue to evolve, one truth remains: collaboration begins with connection. Whether that connection comes from helping an employee’s family adjust abroad, building psychological safety across cultures, or combining digital tools with local expertise, the heart of collaboration is understanding.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.(Photo by VectorMine/Shutterstock)

Virtual Conference Recap

Building a Borderless Workforce With Creativity, Culture, and AI

BY Katie Chambers November 11, 2025

Marketing and advertising firm Ogilvy is careful never to refer to itself as a “legacy” organization, despite its storied history. “It feels a little stodgy,” Maria O'Keeffe, global chief people officer, Ogilvy, said during a fireside chat at From Day One’s October virtual conference.  “We are a founder culture. There was one individual [David Ogilvy] who created Ogilvy. We believe in being a legendary brand.” The organization’s legendary status is rooted in its work's ability to transcend geography and culture. And it does this not only through its products, but within its corporate culture as well. During the session moderated by Nicole Smith, editorial audience director at Harvard Business Review, O’Keeffe shared how the firm builds a borderless workforce by integrating talent across regions while honoring local identities. Borderless Creativity Ogilvy’s workforce is spread across 120 offices in 90 countries, with major clients including the Coca-Cola Company, IBM, Nestle, Unilever, and PWC, to name just a few. “We have breadth and depth pretty much in every corner of the world that you can possibly imagine,” O’Keeffe said.The organization’s “borderless creativity”" approach shapes its business. “It defines both how we work and what our end product should look like,” she said. The client’s ad campaign is always the priority, then internal talent is matched to it regardless of their location. And the end product is just as “borderless” as the talent that creates it. “We want to ensure that our campaigns are multifaceted and not single output, so they can be interpreted culturally very differently from market to market,” O’Keeffe said. Nicole Smith of Harvard Business Review interviewed Maria O'Keeffe of Ogilvy during the fireside chat (photo by From Day One)One of Ogilvy’s most iconic examples of this approach, O’Keeffe says, is its work for longtime global client Dove. Ogilvy’s “borderless creativity” has kept Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign alive and relevant for decades across diverse markets. For example, Ogilvy is helping Dove get the Crown Act passed in the United States, to help combat racial discrimination against Black women in the workplace due to cultural hair styles. Meanwhile in London, Ogilvy and Dove launched the “Turn Your Back” campaign, encouraging young women not to use filters on social media to alter their true appearance, but instead to turn their back to the camera. While the elements of both campaigns are country-specific, the themes and goals are universal. “Those are examples of [how] we try to find the issue in the local market and then create a campaign that can be borderless and applicable across the board,” O’Keeffe said. Building Culture Across BordersDespite its global spread, Ogilvy maintains a cohesive culture among all its employees from the moment they join the team. “Every single new employee goes through a global onboarding that is consistent in every market. We have it translated into multiple languages to make it something that people truly understand,” O’Keeffe said. “Our values are global, and we don’t deviate from those values. Those are disseminated, they’re on walls, they’re on documents, they’re in communications.” But the organization also recognizes that naturally, there will be cultural differences from office to office and country to country, and that diversity should be embraced. “There’s certain tenets of the agency, like borderless creativity, that drill down into every single employee's experience,” she said. “But from there, we recognize that every region and every market has different cultures, and so we rely upon the leaders and team members in those markets to create a culture that is complementary to the global one, but very personal to the local one.” This is accomplished by having the company’s inclusion and impact teams create employee resources groups that respect the needs of each market. “Our expectation is that we meet people where they are through local leadership and regional leadership.” Technology is the key to building this culture quickly and effectively, O’Keeffe says. Ogilvy broadcasts local, regional, and global town halls to encourage ongoing and open communications that feel “conversational.” Employee surveys can help drive data, but rather than a cold email detailing the results, O’Keeffe and her team will create a video sharing the stats to make it more personal.  Quick and efficient communications have also been integral in tackling recent political turmoil that can affect employees. The changes to H1B visas, which now cost $100K as opposed to the previous cost of just a few thousand dollars, “impact the decisions that you make around your workforce globally [including] talent acquisition and workforce planning,” said Smith. For HR, O’Keeffe says, knowledge is power. Stay on top of the latest news, find out how other organizations are navigating the changes, and rely on partnerships with governments and agencies to help you understand best practices. Tackling Changing TechnologiesAdvancements in AI are changing the way employees do business at Ogilvy. But it’s also inspiring some trepidation in workers who fear being replaced by machines. O’Keeffe and her team have stayed on top of the messaging and encouraged early adoption. “We pride ourselves on the human brain, and the creative product that comes out of that,” she said. Employees are encouraged to use Ogilvy’s proprietary AI tool WPP Open each day. “It gives us AI as a creative partner. It helps us mock-up ideas quickly,” she said. AI can also provide feedback on cultural nuance, letting employees know whether an idea that works in one region could have a negative connotation in another. And workers in administrative roles use AI to create outlines and summarize meetings, saving them time and boosting efficiency.  Organizations must embrace AI to stay relevant, O’Keeffe says. “I don’t know a company that will survive without doing that.” AI adoption hasn’t been formally written into the organization’s strategy and KPI’s yet, she says, because “we wanted it to be a voluntary, comfortable, safe space for people.” For now, Ogilvy is monitoring AI usage on employee laptops to better understand how it’s used, whether it’s effective, and if additional training is needed. O’Keeffe says Ogilvy embraces a notion of “divine discontent.” “We never want to be too comfortable. This is an industry that is made up of diverse perspectives and diverse ideas, and so ‘divine discontent’ for us means hearing different perspectives in uncomfortable ways. We debate and we disagree and we poke holes in the work deliberately, because it’s important that the work that we do is culturally relevant,” she said. All of this comes down to a willingness to learn and grow, which has been a core tenet of O’Keeffe’s own career. She encourages anyone working in HR who wants to move into a global position to adopt an inquisitive attitude. Earlier in her career, she actively sought out opportunities that allowed her to travel and meet workers from around the world, far outside her home base of Chicago, and has now been in global leadership positions for nearly 10 years. “You have to be curious. You have to be open to new experiences, new ways of doing things, new points of view,” she said. “Listen. Ask a lot of questions. Be uncomfortable. Raise your hand for the things that you’ve never done before with people you’ve never done it with.”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 Noko LTD/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

Empathy at Scale: Leading a Global Workforce With Cultural Intelligence

BY Ade Akin November 07, 2025

Courtney White didn’t have a foolproof playbook to guide him when he started his two-decade career in global leadership. What he had was a set of assumptions that included a belief that organizational culture could be scaled like a process and that clarity was a universal concept. “What I found out over my time is that I was wrong,” White said during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s October virtual conference. “Global workforce leadership isn’t just about strategy. It’s about stewardship. It really doesn’t require an individual to be everywhere. It just requires you to be deeply somewhere.”White, the head of HR for agricultural solutions, North America at BASF, was interviewed by Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, a business reporter at The Seattle Times, to discuss the nuances of managing international teams. He shared many hard-earned lessons, framing them as “tuition” paid for the masterclass in empathy, adaptability, and context that his experience in global leadership has given him. White says his first global project didn’t go to plan, primarily because he assumed the strategies he had successfully used in the U.S. would work for Latin America until a colleague gently pulled him aside to say, “We don’t do business before we do people.”“That was a moment that really resonated with me,” White said. “It cracked open my understanding that it really wasn’t about mastering geography. It was about mastering empathy, adaptability, and context.”The Three Pillars of Global LeadershipWhite turned his experience managing international teams into a core leadership philosophy that’s built on three strategies. First, elevate cultural intelligence by treating it as a critical leadership skill rather than a soft skill.Second, practice time zone empathy by using calendars thoughtfully to create a more inclusive environment and ensure team members aren’t consistently burdened by inconvenient hours.And lastly, champion local autonomy while maintaining global alignment—a balance that, as White notes, drives innovation and keeps teams accountable.White discussed a transformation project involving a Canadian team that was given the freedom to localize the rollout. “They didn’t just deliver it. They reimagined what could be done,” White said. Their version was so effective that it was adopted globally. “When you give people the room to lead, they don’t just often meet expectations, they redefine them.”The Pitfall of the "One-Size-Fits-All" PlaybookWhite notes that one of the most common traps for global leaders is the belief that “your way is the right way.” He recalled a time when he had to defend a global rollout that had failed in two of five regions. His choice was to double down or own the failure. He chose the latter.This mindset also impacts career development. A high-potential employee in Mexico was once passed over because she didn’t self-promote, as it conflicted with her cultural norms. “If you’re using the same playbook for career growth in Tokyo, Toronto, or Texas, you’re not advocating,” White said. “You’re assuming.”Courtney White of BASF spoke with Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton of the Seattle Times on the subject "Empathy at Scale: Fostering Global Collaboration" (photo by From Day One)This realization led White and his team at BASF to implement a “broad banding” system for careers that’s designed to honor local norms while operating within the organization’s global framework. “Talent shouldn’t be limited to geography or even cultural biases,” he said.White also learned the importance of time zone empathy the hard way, after scheduling a recurring meeting that was perfect for him, but required his colleague to join him at midnight. When he realized his error when the person missed his call, he apologized. “Inclusion has to be a practice, and time zone empathy is bigger than logistics,” White said. He and his team now rotate meeting times and rely more on asynchronous tools. “It’s another sign of leadership when the systems are designed such that they respect the fact that people have lives and not just output. You can’t build trust in a time zone you ignore.”The Secret Ingredient: Nuance in CommunicationCommunication is everything in a world where companies are increasingly made up of globally dispersed teams. White says nuance is the “secret ingredient” that makes conversations productive. He learned this lesson after telling a colleague at BASF’s German headquarters he needed something “ASAP.” They delivered it in 24 hours, though he had just meant sometime that week. The tone, timing, and translation of words all matter enormously. Now, White makes a habit of asking, “How did that land?” instead of assuming his message was understood.“Words travel fast,” White said. “What I’ve also learned, though, is that meaning doesn’t. And so as intentional as we are with the words, we have to be as intentional with the meaning.”Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(NanoStockk/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

Unified by Innovation: Tech’s Role in Global Workforce Management

BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza November 06, 2025

Artificial intelligence may be the most exciting new hire, but it’s not ready to make tighter-knit teams. As companies race to automate recruiting, performance reviews, and even written feedback, some HR leaders are asking a different question: Can technology actually make people feel more connected at work?That question is top of mind for Claude Silver, chief heart officer at global marketing firm VaynerX. Her team is experimenting with AI to generate personalized, quarterly feedback for employees—part of an effort to give people more consistent check-ins with their managers. But she’s yet to find something AI-powered that really facilitates interpersonal relationships. “I really want some AI tools that strengthen human relationships,” she said. “Bottom line: belonging and trust. I want to find a way that AI can help us with the connection moments.”Until AI can do it, companies are finding other ways to use technology to foster interaction, especially as teams become bigger and more global. That was the topic discussion among a panel of HR leaders during From Day One’s October virtual conference on smart strategies for collaborating across borders.At fintech company NCR Atleos, global executive director of talent and learning, Curtis Brooks is using tech to create learning communities where employees exchange leadership lessons and self-reflect. “People are starting to comment, and when one person comments, it creates the space for the next person,” he said. That kind of engagement, while modest, can spark a ripple effect of connection across teams.Too Many Tools, Not Enough ConnectionBut as companies add tools, they risk overwhelming the very people they’re trying to connect. HR tech stacks have grown taller–and unwieldy. Information and data are stored across disparate systems, team communications are fragmented, and unvetted tools can introduce security risks.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza, journalist and From Day One contributing editor, moderated the session (photo by From Day One)The first test of whether a tool is worth using is whether it creates connection or friction, says Carol Cochran, senior director of HR at BOLD. Cochran recalled a team that relied on a pulse-check tool for frequent feedback. When that platform was retired, the team tried to recreate it on their own, adding so many new questions that it became a miniature engagement survey. “Suddenly it shifted right from being a pulse check useful for line managers to a mini-engagement survey where they were asking questions that, frankly, line managers aren’t in a position to really address,” Cochran said. “That was going to create more friction than connection.”Picking and ChoosingAt Google, global HR leader Jasmine Dolfus uses a four-part rubric to decide whether new tools are worth adding. Step one: assess needs and local compliance requirements. Step two: compare against standardized business criteria to ensure equity and consistency. Step three: make sure the change won’t disrupt or disadvantage other teams or regions. And finally, monitor the impact once the tool is in use.At NCR Atleos, Brooks applies an 80/20 rule. About 80% of technology and processes should be universal to the company, while 20% should be unique to specific teams or geographies. “It’s employee-driven, business-directed, and organizationally enabled,” he said.Cochran says that at BOLD, which recently acquired CareerBuilder and Monster, the challenge has been integration. Each company brought its own HR systems, workflows, tools, and habits. “At least in the beginning, you have to save a lot more than you can cut to keep business continuity,” she said. “There’s so much change hitting people that you don’t want to pull away the tools they need to stay functional and operating–even if it’s just a communication platform, because that’s what they’re used to.”That cautious approach may be what keeps these HR leaders grounded amid all the AI hype. For all the promise of automation, the real opportunity lies in designing systems that strengthen, not replace, human relationships.“We all need to understand AI, to use AI, and to not be afraid of it,” said Silver. “But at the end of the day, when I put my hand on your shoulder and say, ‘I got you,’ AI is not going to do that.”Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by Jacob Wackerhausen/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

Optimizing Productivity and Efficiency in Times of Constraint

BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza October 22, 2025

As companies face tighter budgets, leaner teams, and pressure to boost productivity, one thing has become clear: Success depends less on scale and more on resourcefulness. The winners aren’t necessarily those with the biggest teams or deepest pockets—but those that can make the most of what they have. That was the takeaway from an executive panel discussion at From Day One’s September virtual conference. Panelists shared how they’re tackling the modern dilemma of how to stay effective when everyone is stretched thin.Balancing Priorities and Capacity“One of the biggest disconnects between leadership’s expectations and employees’ day-to-day is capacity versus priority,” said Joanna Eagan, senior director of people services at Core & Main. “Leaders tend to set ambitious productivity goals with the best intentions, but employees are juggling competing demands, a lot of administrative tasks, and often outdated tools. It can feel like leadership is asking for more without taking anything off their plates.”Ryan Sattler, director of HR tech and intelligence at M&T Bank, agreed that clarity is often a problem. “I don’t think many organizations do a particularly good job at clarifying and articulating where employees should be spending their energy,” he said. It’s easy to keep doing the same things, even when leadership has set new priorities. Leaders, Sattler added, should focus on strategy, removing obstacles and setting direction, rather than dictating day-to-day work.Managing Change From the Inside OutWhen every quarter seems to bring a new system, workflow, or AI automation, change fatigue becomes a real problem. By the time new initiatives reach the frontline, those workers often haven’t been part of the conversation. “We need to focus on listening to our employees and their experiences, reprioritizing low-value work so they can get on board with the pivots being asked of them,” said Eagan.To help new tools catch on, HR tech platform Deputy designates “AI Champions”—enthusiastic early adopters who can model success for their peers. “Instead of having something come from the top down, we’re building excitement and momentum from the middle of the organization and from the bottom up,” said Sejal Daswani, Deputy’s chief people officer.Journalist and From Day One contributing editor, Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza moderated the discussion (photo by From Day One)“Change is difficult for everyone, even if we know it’s going to make our life easier,” added Heather Mannings, executive director and HR business partner at Quest Diagnostics. Her team makes changes with a lot of explanation, and welcomes input from employees on how to make it better—after all, they’re the ones using it.Simplifying Work Through Smart AutomationCore & Main began its automation journey by targeting tedious, error-prone parts of payroll, and ultimately gaining hundreds of hours in productivity. Deputy reports similar benefits: Internal surveys found that AI tools are saving employees five to ten hours per week in writing, messaging, and presentation work.As tools multiply, integration remains a challenge. “I haven’t met a customer or frontline employee yet who says they don’t have enough apps, tools, or systems,” said Dave Nixon, CEO and co-founder of Enablo, an all-in-one communications platform for frontline workforces. The problem is integration. Companies are aspiring to reduce complexity for frontline workers—a single “digital front door” where they can check shifts, report incidents, and get company updates.The next era of productivity isn’t about squeezing more hours out of employees, it’s about removing friction, clarifying priorities, and designing systems that let people focus on work that matters. Whether through automation, better communication, or smarter change management, organizations are finding that efficiency in 2025 doesn’t come from doing more—it comes from doing less, better.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by miniseries/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

Activating Learning in the Age of AI: Practical Approaches and Tools That Make an Impact

BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza October 13, 2025

As companies rush to integrate AI tools into daily workflows, a challenge has emerged: how to make the technology feel less like a threat and more like a skill everyone can master. Across industries, from tech to media, employers are rolling out training programs that make AI literacy fundamental and fully integrated.At biotech firm Genentech, every employee receives training in foundational AI principles, ethics, and responsibility. The company encourages staff to experiment with tools in sandbox environments, supported by live sessions and peer learning where colleagues can show off what they’ve built or learned. They’ve even developed internal “tech geniuses” who act as one-on-one tutors.“We want to make sure everyone’s got the same starting place, but also room to experiment and explore in such a way that they want to learn more and be more advanced in their capabilities,” said Heidi Schisel, Genentech’s VP of people and culture, during an executive panel discussion at From Day One’s August virtual conference. At Aspen Dental, the company appointed a head of artificial intelligence to its IT team and made AI training mandatory. But not everyone was immediately enthusiastic. Right away, employees were worried about their job security, says Katie Stangel, VP of learning and development. Others feared they’d be seen as “cheating” if they used AI. To normalize the tools, Stangel created a Teams group dedicated to sharing and celebrating responsible AI use. “People are starting to celebrate and call out when they’ve used it, saying, ‘I use ChatGPT to help me with this outline,’ or ‘I used Articulate AI to help me with the design and development of the course.’ We celebrate that,” she said. Panelists spoke about learning in the age of AI during the virtual session (photo by From Day One)Experts say AI literacy develops in stages—from unstructured experimentation to true automation and augmentation of work. Leaders, especially, often try to skip steps, said Amelia Rosenman, director of programs at the Experience Institute, but “learn out loud” cultures are key if adoption is to be company-wide. “If the leader isn’t showing that they’re making mistakes, or that they haven’t figured out all of the answers, then everyone feels that they should have it all figured out by now,” she said. “Share both your successes and your failures. That’s what creates that safe environment, that risk-free sandbox.”No one needs to be an expert yet, says David Wentworth, VP of talent at frontline learning management platform Schoox. “Let’s move past that and focus on results: What are we trying to do? Always tie it to real problems and real outcomes,” he said. The good news is, many companies already have standard operating procedures and ethics guidelines they can apply right away to get AI training up and running. “Don’t think that you have to start a whole new paradigm about how to approach this thing,” Wentworth said. “You’re probably 60, 70, or 80% of the way there. Just tweak it a bit to fit your current needs.”At multimedia company Scripps, AI tools are helping new reporters develop their skills faster. “Human coaches are amazing, but there’s something about an AI mentor that’s completely nonjudgmental,” said Ginger Summers, senior director of L&D. Their AI tool gives feedback on drafts, helping reporters think critically about sourcing and permissions, without having to tap their peers. About 20% of newsroom employees now use the tool one to two hours per day, saving roughly 20 minutes of work each time. “They’re still learning to use it,” Summers said, “but the time savings are amazing.”This is an excellent example of a successful roll-out of AI as a learning and development tool.  Ultimately, said Rosenman, companies must be clear about why they’re implementing AI, and the results they’re achieving. If employees fear that AI is threatening their jobs, panic will quickly spread.“There’s so much opportunity for the smartest, most creative minds in media to eliminate the drag that keeps them from doing the work they do,” read a late-summer edition of the business newsletter Feed Me. “This instinct, too often, is to hire a COO, a CTO, a chief of staff, or a small army of ops staff, but if you develop prompt engineering skills, commit time to investing in these tools, you can replace huge chunks of that infrastructure and stay small, fast, and creative.”While some companies may be looking for ways to cut their workforces in half, many companies want to become more efficient without hiring anyone new or expand expertise more quickly, said Rosenman. When employees know that, the message shifts from existential threat to helpful teammate.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism. She is the host of How to Be Anything, the podcast about people with unusual jobs.(Photo by gorodenkoff/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

Making Sense of Work Models: When In-Office, Remote, and Hybrid Models Succeed

BY Jennifer Yoshikoshi October 08, 2025

As of 2024, five in 10 full-time employees in the United States have remote-capable jobs, according to a study by Gallup. Remote work has become “a new normal for people,” said Peter Cappelli, co-author of In Praise of the Office: The Limits to Hybrid and Remote Work, during a fireside chat at From Day One’s September virtual conference. Cappelli, management professor and director of the Center for HR at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, spoke with Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Seattle Times business reporter, about the changes, benefits, and disadvantages to remote work culture, and how to make the most of it. Changes to Telework CultureThe rise of full-time remote work skyrocketed during Covid and has shifted the culture of remote years after restrictions have been lifted. In 2021, Cappelli wrote, The Future of the Office: Work from Home, Remote Work, and the Hard Choices We All Face, a dive into what employees and managers should be thinking about when exploring the benefits and disadvantages of remote work. “The story about remote work before the pandemic was not a particularly happy one but the context was quite different. That is, they were looking at situations where people were remote but their colleagues were largely in the office,” said Cappelli.Peter Cappelli spoke about his book In Praise of the Office: The Limits to Hybrid and Remote Work during the session (photo by From Day One)Pre-pandemic remote workers were less committed, had lower engagement, experienced a greater sense of isolation and their career progression was worse, he added. Since then, the telework culture has dramatically changed. More employees prefer working from home or on a hybrid schedule, especially as companies are starting to call for them to return to the office. According to the Gallup study, “Six in 10 employees with remote-capable jobs want a hybrid work arrangement. About one-third prefer fully remote work, and less than 10% prefer to work on-site.”“The current story does not look like the pre-pandemic story at all,” said Cappelli. His newly released book explores how hybrid work can be done effectively and what can be done to fix the current work environment. The Pros and Cons to Remote WorkHaving the option to work from home has become the new normal and many employees have built their lives around being able to work remotely. But Cappelli found that while there are some benefits to this, there are also impacts to the social networks of remote workers. Through a series of focus groups, Cappelli and his colleague found that internationally, individuals who worked from home did not interact or develop relationships with others who also worked remotely.“There’s pretty good evidence from other research on this showing that networks of employees, networks of people, shrunk during the pandemic, and it has not really rebounded,” he said. Working in the office however, allows for greater opportunities to learn from each other and to develop a more efficient work flow, Cappelli says. If a problem were to be solved in the office, employees would be able to solve it quickly. Remotely, you’d have to ping the person, try and set up a Zoom meeting, schedule it and that may take even a few days, he said. “The things that we started to see about human interaction are basically solving problems that come from the nature of office work, and if you’re not face to face, you don’t have the ability to solve those problems,” said Cappelli.Experienced employees within a company know their team and interact with them regularly. For them, working remotely may be more favored. But for new hires entering an entirely remote environment, they get lost, Cappelli says. New employees are also unable to find their way because they are unable to observe the company’s culture while working from home. Employers are also seeing that in hybrid work environments, employees are still not coming back to the office even on “anchor days.” Attendance is about 4% on these days,” according to Cappelli. Remote meetings are also becoming less productive and engaging for workers, with many attending with their cameras off or having artificial intelligence agents taking notes for them.Management in an Era of Hybrid WorkCappelli says that the reason why the workplace environment isn’t “delightful” is because the problem has always been with the “top of the house” managing their employees and driving its policies. “I don’t think (top leaders are) taking it very seriously,” he said. As company leaders cut resources, training and supervision while increasing workload, the workplace environment begins to worsen employee mental health problems. While many corporations are issuing return-to-office policies, Cappelli observes that its leaders are not doing a great job at making the transition easy for its workers. If companies want to return to an in-person work environment, “it’s going to require a lot of work from people at the top of the house to take this change management process seriously and so far, they haven’t really given any inclination that they’re willing to do it,” said Cappelli. Jennifer Yoshikoshi is a local news and education reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.(Photo by vm/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

New Technology and Tools: Rethinking Productivity for Sustainable Success

BY Katie Chambers September 29, 2025

The modern workplace can feel more hectic and uncertain than ever, with dispersed teams and a constant wave of new AI tools. But organizations that cling to old structures miss the chance to broaden employees’ horizons while improving productivity and outcomes.“Every organization wants to do more with less, but most aren’t doing it all that well,” said moderator Rebecca Knight, contributing writer for Harvard Business Review, during a panel discussion at From Day One’s September virtual conference. Panelists discussed best productivity practices for making the most of the latest tech tools and advancements.Today’s Greatest Productivity Roadblock: Burnout“Our biggest challenge today is burnout,” said Parise Hunter, VP of HR at Medable, Inc. While the shift to work-from-home and hybrid models has in some ways offered workers personal freedom, it also can be a challenge to “help people balance what’s going on in their lives and work, reducing the noise and protecting people’s energy.” Occasional in-person team meetups can help but, especially for large national or international corporations, “it can be expensive getting people together.” And of course, many people don’t want to return to the office, but are forced to anyway. “It’s really affecting people’s morale, which affects productivity” said Milena Berry, co-Founder and CEO of PowerToFly. Companies are generally facing uncertainty, she says, in these turbulent political and economic times, leading to hiring stalls and fears surrounding job security. Fortunately, many organizations are less focused on having employees show up for a typical 9-to-5. “Rather, they’re looking at enhanced productivity,” said Deepa Jagarlapudi, senior director, talent acquisition at Valtech India. “They’re looking at flexible ways of working, a lot more value alignment and a lot more learning and development opportunities,” she said. Adopting New Productivity ToolsTo help reduce burnout, Berry says that AI can “automate low-value tasks [like chatbots or note-taking], augment human decision-making with data, and strategically implement tools.” All of these, when used correctly, can “accelerate results” without threatening livelihoods. “The most successful companies are not thinking about AI as a replacement of humans, but more of AI as augmenting the human touch and the human capability,” she said. Advancements in productivity tools might help, but be careful: Shipra Malhotra, director, HR technology at Alta Performance Materials, cautions that they could also be a cause of burnout as workers struggle to incorporate “a flood” of new technology into their work lives. Panelists spoke about "The New Essentials of Worker Productivity That’s Sustainable and Attainable" during the virtual panel discussion (photo by From Day One)But advancements like AI aren’t going away, so organizations need to find ways to integrate them thoughtfully. “From a talent perspective, what challenges or opportunities are you seeing in terms of helping employees adopt AI and other productivity tools without overwhelming or scaring them?” Knight asked. Education, transparency, and setting a pace for change can encourage both early adopters as well as those with more trepidation, says Hunter. Surveying team leaders about their productivity and time management roadblocks can help you brainstorm the best ways to deploy AI to tackle those issues. Adoption of AI tools within HR departments has been a little bit slower, Malhotra says, in part because “HR is highly regulated. It’s compliance heavy, and we’re seeing many of the states publishing their AI regulations, and some of them even specific to [the] HR domain.” She hopes there will be a standardized governance structure for AI, so that HR departments will feel more comfortable using it. “What would help is laying down the rules, the processes, documentation, having a context to best practices, establishing guardrails related to ethics, bias, and anonymity. Those are the things that allow people to put in their trust, and that trust then [leads] to higher adoption.” The Changing Role of Managers In many workplaces, “managers [are] playing a different role now that they’re overseeing larger, more distributed teams, and sometimes team members who are AI agents, not humans,” Knight said. Developing a culture of “shared learning” can help managers feel more supported as workplace dynamics and processes change, Jagarlapudi says. Managers need to be trained on new technologies early, Berry says, since adoption will need to come from the top down. They should be given company time to experiment and “play with” the new tools to get more familiar. Having a strategy, and a budget, will give your AI initiatives structure and direction. Begin by defining your business goals, Malhotra says, then think about how AI can complement your existing workflow. Starting small with project-based initiatives, or adding one or two AI agents, can help the transformation feel more organic.“I’ve seen a lot of companies adopt some technologies in a very sporadic, haphazard kind of innovative way, but then have their hands slapped and have to roll things back because they were done in a non-compliant way,” Berry said. “[And] you have to put a little bit of budget toward it. It’s going to cost some money. If you want to do it for free, then it won’t happen as fast as you can do it otherwise.” Rapid evolution can feel daunting to workers–but it doesn’t have to be. “I encourage everybody to take more of an entrepreneurial approach to their career. I call it being like a ‘corporate-preneur,’ helping them create career paths that are really in tune to them,” Hunter said. Encourage workers to think about what skills they need to achieve their career goals and create opportunities to learn, lead, and grow, even if they are not within the traditional scope of their role. Jagarlapudi suggests tools like Confluence, Yammer, and LinkedIn Learning as “examples of how the workforce can kind of jam together on the same topic.” AI tools can even be used, Malhotra says, for “critical skills assessment” to help workers and team leaders understand which areas require further training and exploration. As with any new initiative, the success of AI implementation needs to be measured in order to encourage leadership buy-in. The definition of “success” will change by department, whether it’s increased sales calls, reduced customer wait times, or boosted monetary profits. “But if you’re starting to introduce AI automation, and all of a sudden your growth starts increasing, well, there you go,” Berry said. “That’s concrete proof that nobody will have pushback against.” 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 Panya Mingthaisong/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

Managing the Embrace of AI, From the C-Suite to the Factory Floor

BY Jessica Swenson September 22, 2025

A recent WE Forum study predicts that “39% of workers’ core skills are expected to change” in the next 5 years because of AI, with 92 million jobs expected to disappear and 170 million new ones created. While he doesn’t believe that AI itself will replace people in HR, Alessandro Prieto, says that AI will enhance HR, and there is a real risk of being replaced by professionals who effectively adopt AI tools and practices. “In fact, we are on it right now, but I don’t see replacements. I see enhancements, and that’s why we need to catch up really fast,” said Prieto, the managing director of HR for global operations, technology, and HR for the Americas at Analog Devices. Prieto spoke on the matter during a fireside chat at From Day One’s September virtual conference.With productivity gains caused by AI’s automation of routine tasks, interviewer Nicole Smith, editorial audience director for Harvard Business Review, asked “what will people do with this newfound time?” Prieto’s team will use it to focus on creativity and innovation, continuous improvement, and employee engagement initiatives, embracing a mindset shift from reactive problem-solving to forward-thinking, proactive strategic leadership.Helping managers learn to think strategically about using the extra time can be a challenge, but with AI freeing up capacity, leaders will have more time to just think. “It’s not just for giving more tasks. It’s really for ‘how can we really make things more productive and more effective through the tools that we are implementing across the organization?’” he said. Prieto estimates that with the company’s current roadmap, he’ll have 15-20% more time for reflection, innovation, creativity, employee engagement, and AI tool enhancements. Alessandro Prieto of Analog Devices spoke with journalist Nicole Smith of Harvard Business Review (photo by From Day One)As an early adopter of AI, Prieto’s personal experiences inform the development of workplace strategies, policies, and trainings. By digging into the technology in a low-stakes way, calendar management or recipe searches, for example, he learns about both its potential and its limitations.When it’s time to integrate AI into the organization, however, Prieto emphasizes the importance of reflection, structure, and collaborative planning. “One thing I really overemphasize is ‘start with the end in mind,’” he said. “If you’re bringing AI to your organization, what do you need it for? What are the big gaps that [you] have?” Once you have identified the problem to be solved, he says, build a strategy, involve the appropriate stakeholders, and create a roadmap with associated policy and training milestones.A clear problem statement and measurable goals help companies to evaluate the impact and efficiency gains that AI brings. Prieto’s HR team has used AI tools to create a skills-based approach to managing talent development and promotions. Detailed skill-mapping and predictive retention analyses that would previously have taken months or years and monopolized the time of multiple employees now take a fraction of the time. The company’s software team helped accelerate go-to-market product launches by using AI to reduce data compilation processes from months to hours.When implementing AI initiatives, he suggests balancing speed with change management to help build employee trust and minimize hasty decisions. “When you’re talking about AI implementation or adoption, it’s not just how fast you’re going but which direction you’re going, how transparent it is, and who you bring along the way for that journey,” said Prieto. Some phases of the process may take longer than others (or longer than expected), but this time investment can accelerate later phases by boosting employee engagement, or providing stronger, more comprehensive execution tools. The timeline isn’t always simple and linear, he says. “Slow [now] sometimes means faster afterwards.”He also warns against rushing implementation without proper change management. While early successes can inspire leaders to accelerate execution, it is important to adhere to a clear structure and roadmap to ensure the organization is prepared for its new tools and processes.Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer and proofreader based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at jmswensonllc.com.(Photo by imaginima/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

From Day One to Year One: Building Cultures of Support Through Transitions in Organizations

BY Katie Chambers September 04, 2025

After five months of interviews, Shveta Miglani, Ph.D., was all-in for her new dream job. She moved her entire family to a new city, where she began working for “one of the best companies in the world” and immediately felt otherwise. “Within the first two weeks, [I was] thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, what did I do? What did I sign up for?” she said during a fireside chat at From Day One’s August virtual conference. She began questioning herself, thinking she was the problem. But she later came to understand she was not alone. As an organizational designer and people manager, she has seen firsthand how companies struggle to onboard new employees, provide helpful feedback, and offer opportunities for growth.   Periods of transition in organizations can test even the strongest cultures, especially for employees stepping into new roles or adapting to change. Miglani’s new book, Navigate Your Career: Strategies for Success in New Roles and Promotions, is rooted in her Ph.D. research uncovering why certain employees succeed when transitioning in an organization, while others in the same role do not. She shares how leaders can build supportive environments that help employees succeed from day one through year one and beyond.Creating a Successful Onboarding ProcessNew talent generally comes from one of two pools: recent college graduates or mid-to-senior-level professionals transitioning over from other organizations. Most leaders, Miglani says, are competent in giving new hires a general overview of company culture, but struggle when it comes to offering more personalized insight. “We miss a chance to help these folks: to say, ‘Here are some additional tips that you can work on and create your own map of success,’” she said. New employees should approach their role with a strong understanding of how to best utilize their time. Miglani realizes this is where the problem with her dream job was: “I was in an organization where I was unable to find myself, and a lot of it had to do [with the fact that] I waited for the organization to tell me, rather than taking more responsibility for my role,” she said. In contrast, when she worked at Salesforce, she was immediately given opportunities that allowed her to prioritize better. “They knew how important it is to volunteer and to create networking opportunities,” she said, so the company offered a full-day session that allowed employees to connect with each other, engage with the organization, and serve their wider community in the process. That is not to say that employees should rely on their leaders alone to provide step-by-step guidance. “In my experience at a large organization, folks would come to me as a manager and say, ‘What are the elders on the top floor thinking about planning for me?’ Well, I said, ‘They’re not. They have other issues. You really need to be an agent in your own career,’” said moderator Steve Koepp, co-founder and editor in chief at From Day One. “I think companies should remind people that it’s not being uppity to be asking about what you could do next.” This tone can be set right during the onboarding process, ultimately encouraging ambition, creating an environment of psychological safety where employees can ask questions, and reminding them that their career is ultimately what they make of it.  Many organizations prioritize the first 100 days as a measure of success, wherein HR leaders feel pressured to justify their new hire. “I would caution teams, especially HR leaders, to not do that,” Miglani said. “I learned through my research [that] companies like Amazon tell their team members, new hires, or newly promoted people, ‘You have a year to prove yourself,’ which I think is amazing, because then they’re saying, ‘It’s not short-term goals. We want you here for the long term, which means investing in that one year with you is important for us.’” Giving employees time to make an impact and encouraging their growth can foster a sense of belonging. Modern employees crave engagement with company culture. “Try to create programs or opportunities where peers get a chance to welcome their new hire or their new manager,” Miglani said. This is especially important for employees in a remote or hybrid environment, for whom these opportunities might not pop up organically.Providing Actionable FeedbackGiving feedback can feel awkward for managers and intimidating for employees, but it’s essential for smooth transitions and a growth-oriented culture. Miglani encourages employees to proactively ask for feedback when it’s not offered, to avoid misdirected development. She recalls an employee who completed a six-month communication course, only to learn afterward that their manager thought they were already strong in communication and should have focused on negotiation skills instead.Shveta Miglani shared insights from her new book, Navigate Your Career during the fireside chat (photo by From Day One)Structured, accessible feedback can help curtail problems before they get out of hand. “A good example [is] a car. You wouldn’t know what’s wrong in the car if you didn’t have a dashboard, if you didn’t have an indication that your fuel is running low or you need to do this, so that helps you to take actions,” Miglani said. “Similarly, an organization can provide better tools to leaders and employees to help them gauge and align themselves to the big goal.” Creating a structure for upskilling is one way employers can help keep their teams nimble in an ever-evolving market – especially since the goal should be to retain them for internal growth. “Why? Because they have tribal knowledge. They understand the company culture. And if you go out to hire people, it’ll actually cost you the same or more in many cases. So, it’s better to hold on to the talent you have,” Miglani said.Sharing data with leaders, such as career-mapping and skills gap studies, can help encourage CEO buy-in. Employers might consider investing in AI tools that can gather and measure this data and even contribute to succession planning strategies. Part of Miglani’s research involved studying how different groups in the animal kingdom assimilate new members into their groups. The best example? Meerkats.“One of the coolest things they do is job shadowing. They have [younger meerkats] follow the older meerkats, and they see how they hunt, how they protect themselves,” Miglani said. Meerkats also take turns looking out for each other, giving each other opportunities to rest, care for babies, and grow older. This culture of care, respect, and learning can easily translate to the modern workplace. “It is a skill that we all have,” Miglani said. “We just have to dial it up a little bit and be more intentional about it.”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 wenich-mit/iStock)

Virtual Conference Recap

Building Agility Through Skills-Based Learning and Development

BY Carrie Snider August 28, 2025

Agility begins with a learning culture that values skills over titles. That shift requires both structure and flexibility, says Courtney White, head of HR, agricultural solutions, North America, at BASF.“We really tried to put out more resources and do more education sessions,” he said, “skills maps versus things that are hard coded to roles, because the organization is changing also at a fairly rapid rate. And so we need to have flexibility in the system.” Flexibility means meeting employees where they are and focusing on capabilities rather than rigid checklists. When someone asks, What can I do next? White reframed the conversation. “The first shift is, let’s step back and talk beyond the title. What does it represent for you?” he asked. “How do we get into the skills you currently have and those you want to build? The reality is, that’s what unlocks new career paths. That’s what supports internal mobility, and that also helps talent align to business needs,” he said during an executive panel discussion at From Day One’s August virtual conference. This skills-first mindset is especially critical as new technologies, particularly AI, reshape work faster than job descriptions can keep up. For White, success comes from creating clarity before adding tools: map existing skills, identify gaps, and align development to strategy. The goal is to build for relevance, not readiness, ensuring employees stay adaptable no matter how roles evolve.Data-Driven UpskillingFor Sukhmani Grewal, solutions architect at SHL, building organizational agility begins with evidence. “We are an organization that believes in objective assessment data. We drink our own champagne—using data to understand not only individual skills, strengths, and gaps, but also patterns across the organization,” she said. That philosophy is embedded in practice. At SHL’s annual commercial kickoff, every team member completed a sales competency and readiness assessment. The goal was not only to highlight individual growth areas, but also to reveal collective skill trends. This continuous feedback loop allows SHL to focus learning where it matters most and create targeted programs that drive results.But for Grewal, data-driven upskilling is all about empowering people. “The sweet spot is a balance where employees own their growth, while the organization supports them through structured approaches,” she said. With clear visibility into their skills and transferable capabilities, employees can explore career paths beyond traditional promotions. Lateral or “zigzag” moves often open broader opportunities.Looking ahead, SHL’s science team, which is backed by more than 300 IO psychologists, is researching the skills most critical for an AI-enabled workplace. Capabilities like critical thinking and learning agility prepare employees to adapt, ensuring organizations stay future-ready.Career Growth MindsetPreparing employees for long-term success requires more than just technical skills, according to panelist Shannon Fuller, VP of talent solutions at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma & Texas. True success requires a strategic mindset. “Fast moves bring you slow problems,” he said. “The move that you’re making now is not for the next promotion, it's for two promotions ahead.” By encouraging employees to think beyond immediate steps, Fuller believes organizations can foster energy, engagement, and a focus on long-term growth.This perspective also shapes how Blue Cross and Blue Shield approaches development. While credentials like degrees remain important, Fuller emphasizes the underlying skills acquired.Tania Rahman, the social media director at Fast Company, moderated the discussion (photo by From Day One) Eventually, “we’re going to be looking at, what did you actually learn in college? Not that you actually got the degree, but what are the skills underneath the degree that you actually learned?” To support this, his team is creating interactive career maps that outline skills gained over time and highlight multiple potential career paths.Fuller also urges embracing technology as a growth opportunity. “AI will soon be on a job description for a skill that you have to have to work,” he said. Just as employees adapted to social media and the internet, learning AI skills now increases value today and in the future.Finally, cultivating a career growth mindset means fostering psychological safety. “Encourage people to fail,” Fuller said. “Praise them that they failed and that they got back up… It’ll create a culture where people want to learn, fail, and grow.”AI Adoption & EducationWorkforce education is complicated by scale and structure. For Alexandra Bautista, SVP of employee experience at Harvard Services Group, that is certainly the case.“We have 10,000 employees. Out of the 10,000, about 9,200 are field employees,” she said. Many work in decentralized locations, such as building basements with limited internet access, requiring a multifaceted approach. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach here, some of them have to be paper trainings, others are QR codes, classroom sessions, or even considering equipment like iPads in the field. The philosophy of ‘meet them where they’re at’ is really what’s working best for us.”The same philosophy guides Harvard’s AI rollout. Leaders piloted ChatGPT before expanding its use, learning that balance is key. “This is used as a tool to make your job easier, to kick start certain things,” Bautista says. To address employee concerns, her team emphasizes education: “Employees are saying, is my job going to go away?” she said. “This is a supplemental tool, not one that will replace you.”Safety and efficacy are ensured through partnerships with L&D and IT teams, with training required before access to the platform. Looking ahead, Bautista highlighted the importance of early skill development: “They need to arrive with some of those skills,” she said. “Partnership with colleges and high schools is so important to the future of skilling and the future of the workforce.” Her approach blends realism with trust. Hire the right people, she says, and empower them. “They will create much better programs when you entrust them with that knowledge.”Building agility is critical for organizations seeking to remain competitive. Through data-driven assessments, interactive career maps, and thoughtful AI adoption, companies can prioritize relevance, adaptability, and long-term growth. Skills-based development empowers employees, unlocks career potential, supports internal mobility, and ensures the workforce is prepared not just for today, but for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.(Photo by FatCamera/iStock)