How Agentic AI is Transforming Workforce Strategy
BY Ade Akin July 31, 2025Nearly half of CEOs believe their companies won’t survive the next decade unless they adapt to rapid technological change, according to the World Economic Forum. It’s a stark reminder that innovation is no longer optional, but essential.This urgency, which workforce leaders find themselves dealing with, framed the conversation during a From Day One webinar titled, “Work Reimagined: Unlocking Workforce Value with Agentic AI.” The conversation centered on how organizations can harness agentic artificial intelligence to reinvent the nature of work, empower their workforce, and elevate individual employees.Unlike generative AI, which creates content based on patterns, agentic AI acts with autonomy, learning, reasoning, and adapting to drive outcomes. “It’s not just providing answers; it’s mimicking human behavior to execute tasks,” said Anthony Abbatiello partner, workforce transformation practice leader at PwC. This shift is reshaping HR’s role from a support function to a strategic coordinator. The Strategic Value of Agentic AIWhile tools like robotic process automation (RPA) help streamline many tasks, agentic systems dynamically reallocate work by matching talent, human or AI, with opportunities in real time. Abbatiello says that 88% of business leaders plan to increase AI budgets in the following year. He says this is a defining moment for human resources leaders. “The CHRO can be the hero in the boardroom,” he said. This makes them uniquely positioned to align three critical pillars. First is work, which involves understanding what needs to be done and identifying who or what is best equipped to do it. Second is the workforce, the evolving mix of human talent and AI systems. Third is the worker, with a focus on individual experience, skills, and development.Speakers shared insights on the topic "Work Reimagined: Unlocking Workforce Value with Agentic AI " (photo by From Day One)Abbatiello notes that while efficiency plays are a common starting point, true reinvention delivers the most value. Reinventing an organization's workforce demands more than having access to the right technology; it also requires cultural readiness.The Real-World Impact of Agentic AIRimple Patel, chief customer officer at Eightfold shared some real-world examples of agentic AI’s impact on workforce strategy. In recruiting, Eightfold’s AI interviewer autonomously screens candidates, reducing time-to-hire by 42% for one client. For internal mobility, 40% of roles at Amdocs are now filled internally through AI-guided career pathing. In healthcare, AI platforms are helping nurses select shifts that match their preferences, leading to higher retention rates and improved patient care.The biggest hurdle facing organizations regarding agentic AI isn’t the technology; it’s the mindset of people within them, says Patel. Fragmented data, cultural resistance, and the fear of job displacement all hinder progress. Abbatiello’s research found that 80% of organizations aren’t using AI agents, often due to unclear use cases.Several key enablers can help organizations overcome these hurdles. Transparency is essential, which means clearly explaining why AI makes certain recommendations. Building trust is also critical and involves creating an AI-positive culture where experimentation is both encouraged and safe. Strong leadership is another enabler, with CHROs partnering with CIOs to ensure broad and equitable access to AI across the organization.Patel recommends starting with focused pilots that directly tie to business goals, such as improving retention in high-risk roles, while sticking to a clear, organization-wide roadmap in view. Companies should equip both leaders and employees to “team with AI,” she said. Abbatiello emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between quick wins and strategic, long-term investments in capability building. “Agentic AI supercharges your ability to be more agile with your workforce, if the organization is ready to adopt it,” he said. Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Eightfold, for sponsoring this webinar. Ade Akin specializes in the emerging applications of artificial intelligence.(Photo by Kulpreya Chaichatpornsuk/iStock)
Student Debt Is Back: A New Mandate for Total Rewards Leaders
BY Jessica Swenson July 28, 2025With college tuition up over 1200% since 1980 and dramatically outpacing inflation rates, the U.S. is in the midst of a student debt crisis. More than 42 million Americans carry a combined $1.7 trillion in student loan debt, forcing many to delay key life milestones such as buying a home, saving for retirement, and starting a family.In just the last five years, the government has launched and revoked various programs to ease the burden of student debt holders through payment pauses, reduced interest, and potential forgiveness opportunities. With the new administration’s enforcement of the payment on-ramp end date and elimination of popular repayment plans, student borrowers now face new barriers to reconciling their debt.“Ninety percent of borrowers [experience] heightened anxiety because of their [student loan] debt,” said Jon Harold, SoFi at Work’s head of sales and partnership success. Harold led a thought leadership spotlight on the subject during From Day One’s July virtual conference.According to a 2024 benefits survey, employees with student debt are more concerned about it than other expenses like food, healthcare, housing, and transportation costs. This anxiety can impact workforce productivity, engagement, and retention, Harold says. “Fifty-six percent of employees spend three or more hours per week at work thinking about their finances,” he said.There is some good news, he says. Section 127, an educational assistance program that allows employers to offer tax-free tuition reimbursement contributions up to $5,250, was expanded to include student debt payments, and the reconciliation bill recently passed by Congress extends that program permanently. Additionally, the SECURE 2.0 Act passed in 2022 allows employers to match student debt payments as if they were retirement contributions and deposits that match into the employee’s retirement account, says Harold. Jon Harold, SoFi at Work’s head of sales and partnership success, shared stats and insights on the subject (company photo)To attract top talent and drive retention, many employers have started offering these types of programs as a part of their benefits package. With 62% of private-sector employees stating that student debt influences their employment decision-making, and “36% of employees with student debt less likely to remain with their employer than those without debt,” said Harold, “we’re seeing it become table stakes for many new employees out of college.” What are these companies doing, and how? Harold says that they are taking advantage of not only the government-enabled structured support programs, but launching their own direct-contribution programs and partnering with companies like SoFi at Work to offer education, advice, and alternative payment options.WTW found that 42% of employers are considering participation in retirement match contributions enabled by the SECURE 2.0 Act to help employees tackle their student debt while still contributing to retirement savings. And a study conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) showed that 34% of companies offer some kind of direct-contribution model to help offset employee student debt. Employers can customize these models based on multiple factors, including budget, frequency, and employee eligibility, says Harold.Since 86% of employees say they would stay with an employer for five or more years if the company helps with student loan debt, per a 2017 American Student Assistance survey, Harold says that a tiered program that increases contributions over time can also strengthen loyalty and boost retention. One of SoFi’s healthcare clients created a monthly direct-contribution program and saw a 21% increase in therapist retention within six months of its launch. Due to the uncertainty around student debt repayment plans and credit impacts, SoFi has seen a high demand for webinars, guides, and personalized advice. People are confused about what payment or refinancing options are available. “We did a webinar in June of this year where the head of our financial planning team talked about [the] changes, and it was a record webinar for SoFi. We had thousands of people sign up,” Harold said. Certified Financial Planners or other specialists can provide employees with one-on-one support and advice based on their specific situations, he says, and SoFi also offers optimization tools that help borrowers understand what is available and make the best choice based on their debt profile and financial needs. A SoFi partner that launched their program less than five years ago has since seen over 400 employees optimize $54 million in student debt.“The government is incentivizing employer action and reducing support directly to borrowers,” said Harold. As this crisis deepens, employees are in a state of anxiety and confusion but also ready to act. Offering student loan benefits will give employers a strategic advantage in the talent marketplace, and SoFi is ready to share their decades of experience to help companies make the best decision for their workforce.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, SoFi at Work, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at jmswensonllc.com.(Photo by Terminator3D/iStock)
Meet the Revolution in Job Interviewing: How AI Can Transform an Outdated Process
BY Ade Akin July 23, 2025Imagine a job interview where your chances don’t depend on first impressions, the interviewer’s mood, or a slick resume—but on the skills you actually have.Unstructured interviews have been the tradition for decades despite being as reliable as “flipping a coin” in predicting job success, said Belen Garcia, the behavioral science lead at LizzyAI. Garcia spoke alongside Yannis Niebelschuetz, the founder & CEO of LizzyAI during a From Day One webinar.It can be difficult, or near impossible, to screen thousands of candidates and give each one the same level of rigor and empathy in the process. While traditional thinking favors unstructured interviews to reveal personality and passion, decades of research suggest a different approach.“Most interviews don’t work,” Garcia said, citing data that shows 46% of new hires fail within 18 months and that 80% of turnover stems from hiring mistakes. “It’s not a people issue; it is a process issue,” she said. Outcomes inevitably vary when every hiring manager asks different questions, evaluates based on gut instinct, and brings unconscious bias to the interview room. What organizations need is structure: a standardized set of job‑relevant questions, consistent scoring rubrics, and an evidence‑based framework that ties every answer directly to role requirements, says Garcia.Harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for EquityAI, as presented during the webinar, is not a harbinger of a dystopic future where humans in the workforce are replaced with artificial intelligence. LizzyAI’s product, Lizzy, a fully autonomous AI recruiter, is designed to streamline the hiring process.Yannis Niebelschuetz is the Founder & CEO of LizzyAI (company photo)“Lizzy isn’t making hiring decisions,” Niebelschuetz said. “She provides data so you can make better decisions.” By coding a behavioral-interview model into an autonomous platform, Lizzy delivers identical prompts to each applicant, whether she’s screening entry-level store associates or senior analysts, and then tracks their responses against competencies drawn directly from the job description.Around 30% of recruiters have already experimented with AI, while others expressed concern that it might exclude unconventional talent. Niebelschuetz called that concern valid. However, by focusing exclusively on concrete examples of past performance, “what happened, how you did it, why you chose that approach, and what happened afterward,” Lizzy eliminates bias tied to tone, appearance, or affinity. Every follow‑up question digs deeper into context and judgment without veering into impersonal, robotic territory.Niebelschuetz gave a live demo, acting as a retail‑associate candidate. On screen, Lizzy greeted him in a friendly tone, outlined the role’s expectations, and invited him to share detailed stories about customer service and task prioritization. When Niebelschuetz pressed to know if past leadership experience counted for anything, the AI seamlessly adjusted: “Your sales‑management tenure at LinkedIn can provide valuable insights into customer focus and dynamic environments.”As the demo unfolded, Garcia pointed out how Lizzy timestamps each response, maps strengths and gaps to technical and behavioral criteria, and compiles an evidence‑rich transcript. She auto-generates a scorecard that highlights must-haves, such as scheduling availability, competency scores with narrative rationales, and a recommendation after each interview.From Evidence to Decisions“It’s not about the number, it’s about the reasoning behind it,” said Garcia. Instead of guessing whether a candidate seemed confident, hiring managers can review verbatim snippets. The system even flags nonnegotiables, such as the ability to lift heavy merchandise or work weekend shifts, so overlooked disqualifiers don’t slip through human cracks.By the end of the hour, three key themes had emerged. First, structure breeds validity. The rigor behind question design and scoring has a much stronger impact on predictive power than factors like interview length or the seniority of the role. Second, AI enhances rather than replaces. Recruiters still make the final decisions on whom to advance, while AI helps by filtering out noise, standardizing evaluations, and surfacing relevant evidence. Third, transparency builds trust. Providing full transcripts and cited examples makes feedback more explainable, which is essential for a positive candidate experience and for maintaining legal compliance.Looking ahead, Niebelschuetz and Garcia envision a world where every organization, large or small, has an AI-powered first-round interview process that screens for core competencies, eliminates bias, and reserves human interaction for higher-order conversations. “This isn’t automation for its own sake,” Niebelschuetz said. “It’s a redefinition of what interviews could, and should, be.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, LizzyAI, for sponsoring this webinar. Ade Akin specializes in the emerging applications of artificial intelligence.(Photo by Alexander Sikov/iStock)
The Future of Mental Health Support: Flexible, Fast, and Built for a Global Workforce
BY Jessica Swenson July 11, 2025“If you can help guide those who are seeking mental health [support] into an effective form of treatment that is relevant to where they are in their journey, you have a better chance of being successful while also better managing your costs,” said Alison Borland, chief people and strategy officer at Modern Health.Before the pandemic, many employers treated mental health care as crisis-driven and compliance-focused. Now it is seen as a strategic priority, Borland shared during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Manhattan Conference. “If you look around the world, we lose about 12 billion work days per year, so it’s a trillion-dollar issue. And if mental health goes untreated, it drives up healthcare claims by 3.5x, so it is a very bottom-line problem,” she told moderator Lesley Alderman, a Brooklyn-based journalist and psychotherapist.Borland credits millennials for an increased focus on mental healthcare in the workplace. In a study conducted by Modern Health, more than half of surveyed millennials report that they have gone to therapy, and a quarter of them say they will go for the rest of their life. Many do not feel their mental health has fully recovered since the pandemic, and she says that their self-advocacy around mental health has helped remove the stigma for everyone. Mental healthcare is now an expectation rather than an option, she says.Unfortunately, mental health services are often known for outdated practices like defaulting to therapy and requiring long wait times for care. Borland sees an opportunity to advance the industry by bringing the focus back to population health. By intervening at early signs of stress and meeting people where they are with the care they need, she says, we could help people avoid the need for crisis support and reach a larger part of the population. “We often talk about whole population health, so it’s about the individuals, but it’s about reaching as much of the population as we can based on where they are in their journey,” she said. Alison Borland of Modern Health, left, was interviewed by Lesley Alderman, journalist and psychotherapist Employers can offset the hefty costs of therapy by using an adaptive approach similar to the one Modern Health offers. Through multiple care modalities ranging from traditional therapy and crisis support to coaching, community circles, and digital programs, Modern Health helps create personalized care plans that support employees across the spectrum of mental health care and across the employee population. “It’s a way to ease some of the older generations into mental health support and get them through the stigma,” she said.Additionally, this adaptive approach helps individuals get support even if they don’t know exactly what they need, says Borland. A concierge service helps them find a specific provider type or location, and virtual visits appeal to a broader variety of clients. This more personalized experience can forge a stronger relationship between provider and patient, even with virtual care. “We call that therapeutic alliance, and it is becoming more prevalent in conversations with providers and with professionals in the industry across the board.” Strengthening this therapeutic alliance leads to consistency, improved outcomes, and an increased return to care.While companies are often motivated to offer this adaptive care model because of its cultural impact, soft benefits like improved productivity, reduced turnover, and fewer leaves of absence are complemented by quantifiable savings. Data shows that reductions in healthcare claims and physical comorbidities delivered Modern Health clients a $2.39 return for every dollar spent on mental health services, says Borland. The increase of globalization can add complexity to medical care due to regulatory environments or public policies, but according to Borland mental health services have fewer such barriers to cross. Modern Health delivers services across 200 countries, in 80+ languages, and uses the same provider criteria and quality of care standards across their proprietary global network. Localized digital content makes virtual care more culturally relevant, and all service providers are local to their client populations.This consistency in global care is one of the emerging themes that Borland identified as key to the future of the mental healthcare industry. Another common theme she shared was the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the client-practitioner matching process, and the use of AI to process notes and meeting summaries—freeing providers up to focus more closely on client conversations.Weaving mental healthcare within a company’s culture is also crucial. It’s not just about connecting employees with third-party mental healthcare partners, but also about ensuring they feel safe, secure, and comfortable in the workplace. Lastly, she highlighted the importance of an adaptive model, like Modern Health’s, for its personalized experience that delivers the right care at the right time through frictionless, accessible mental healthcare programs—providing in-the-moment service while offering holistic support across all dimensions of life.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Modern Health, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at jmswensonllc.com.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
Building a Veteran-Ready Workforce: Empowering Your Military Hiring and Retention Strategy
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza July 10, 2025Every year, 200,000 service members exit the U.S. military and enter the civilian workforce. Dave Harrison was one of them. He’s currently the executive director for workforce development and government relations at recruiting Fastport, but once he was a U.S. Army paratrooper jumping out of planes.Veterans are a dedicated group with experience in extreme environments, Harrison says. For many, a work week isn’t just 40 hours. During deployment, it’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “I learned from the United States military, how to lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way–and when to do it. That’s very valuable.”These are skills that translate well to civilian employment, yet many employers don’t take full advantage of the veteran talent pool. And then there’s the vast network of military spouses. Emily Peacock, military talent and program manager at Fastport, is a military spouse of 16 years, in which time she’s lived in seven different U.S. states and two counties overseas. Like many military spouses,” she said, I’ve had to rebuild my career again and again, adjusting to new places, new time zones, and new roles. Along the way, I’ve worked for higher education, data analysis, administrative support, and now I’m focused on workforce development.”Together, Harrison and Peacock are forging relationships between veterans and employers, connecting the communities to create meaningful work. They spoke during a From Day One webinar on building a veteran-ready workforce with better hiring and retention strategies. The Veteran Talent PoolHarrison consistently hears three questions from employers: Where do I find veterans, how do I recruit them, and how do I retain them?Veterans can be found through traditional recruiting channels or local veterans organizations, of course, but not typically critical numbers. Yet the talent is there. Harrison and Peacock advised looking for channels that bring transitioning service members, and their families, into civilian life.Journalist Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza spoke with Emily Peacock and Dave Harrison of Fastport (photo by From Day One)“The wonderful thing about a veteran,” said Harrison, “is they don’t have to be told every meal is going to be a feast and every day is going to be a holiday. They don’t need their back rubbed every day. They want to be treated fairly.”But they also have to see a career path at your company—a future and a means of developing professionally. “One of the biggest hurdles that we see is translating that military experience into civilian terms,” Peacock said. “Their job titles or accomplishments often don’t align exactly with what recruiters understand, making it hard for veterans to show how qualified they really are, but it’s a language issue, not a skills issue.”White Glove Military Talent ProgramPeacock works on Fastport’s White Glove Military Talent Program, which helps transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses find meaningful employment, and helps companies better engage and retain former military talent. It’s available to enlisted service members with just a few years of experience as well as those with decades-long careers. Participants get resume help, career coaching, and interview prep, and matches to companies with military-ready cultures.The program acts as an intermediary between veterans and employers, forging relationships on both sides. “Our approach blends technology and human connection,” Peacock said. “We manage our employer partners and talent pipelines for the military community, and act as their personal concierge so any requests that they need, we connect employers with transition offices at bases located throughout the country.”The military talent ecosystem is unfamiliar to many corporate recruiters, so “we help them understand credentialing and reciprocity within various states as it relates to military training,” Peacock said. “We strategically source for their open roles where they want to dig a little deeper.”The First Six MonthsAccording to Harrison, the first six months of civilian employment are the most critical for both employer and employee. In this time, former service members are most likely to become disenfranchised, lose connections within the military community, and fail to successfully connect with their new role. Many exit the military without a network in the civilian workforce “and it kind of puts them at a disadvantage in today’s job market,” said Peacock. Her husband, who is approaching military retirement, says he’s most worried about not understanding the culture of the civilian workplace.Harrison has heard from veterans who, months into civilian employment, find themselves isolated or realize that the job they accepted was not the job they were promised. They come back to him—and a new match begins. “The relationships you make will matter,” he said.“It all has to do with onboarding set up by the employer,” Peacock said. A focus on cultural integration, mentorship programs, and employee resource groups can make the critical connection between employee and employer. Don’t wait for them to find you: Introduce new hires to those ERGs and mentorship networks during onboarding, and designate a representative to proactively reach out, she says. Then open that ERG as broadly as you can, and welcome people who have a connection to the military. In one ERG Harrison worked with for more than a decade, the group’s strongest leader was a military spouse whose husband had been killed in service. “The more you envelop those people, the more you envelop your entire company and your entire company culture, the more the word will spread, and trust me, it will matter down the road,” Harrison said.An Untapped Talent Pool: Military Spouses As a military spouse herself, Peacock says this group is often lumped in with transitioning with service members and veterans despite having different work histories and skills, not to mention obstacles.“The main unique challenge for a military spouse is frequent relocation,” she said. Military families move every two to four years, roughly, which has created the stigma that employers shouldn’t hire spouses because they’ll simply be packing up before long. “It’s important to recognize that military spouses are not more likely to leave their jobs compared to other employees in the same demographic,” she said, citing data from SHRM. “If an employer can offer remote or portable job opportunities, it is likely that this spouse employee will stay with that company. Oftentimes they don’t want to leave the job, they just have to because of the nature of the beast.”Another common misconception is that military spouses are unqualified or unreliable, evidenced by career gaps or inconsistent career experience. But whether a military spouse is employed while their partner is stationed overseas is often beyond their control. Sometimes jobs just aren’t available. Harrison says he’s known no small number of military spouses who “were very highly educated. They were PhDs and master’s degrees and had important jobs, and because they happened to be part of a military family, and they got relocated to a location, and they just assumed that they’d be able to find a job, doing something, anything, teaching something, and there’s not.”This can even be a problem for military spouses in the U.S. “Everywhere there’s a major installation, the job market is generally saturated,” he said. Retiring service members tend to stay and buy homes, and there just aren’t enough jobs to go around.“You’ll find that a lot of military spouses have started putting ‘military spouse’ in their headline on LinkedIn,” said Peacock. That’s a quick way to crack open this community and begin funneling them into your talent pipeline. More and more, veterans recruiting programs, like Fastport’s White Glove program, are folding in military spouses as well.But the military spouse community is a rich, often overlooked talent pool. Not only do they often have a history of paid work, the tasks of a military spouse are not small. “Take someone who, with 16 days notice, coordinates and arranges the movement of home from one continent to another continent, and puts kids in school. Moves kids, arranges jobs, moves cars. Does all these and does it on their own,” Harrison said. “That’s project management 101, that’s logistics.” If you need someone who can make things happen, look no further.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Fastport, for sponsoring this webinar.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism.(Photo by SDI Productions/iStock)
Immigration Policy Guidance Under the New Trump Administration
BY Jessica Swenson July 07, 2025Sweeping immigration policy changes under the new administration are expected to make it harder to access legal immigration programs, raising new challenges for employers around hiring, compliance, and more. When the alien registration requirement went into effect, Matthew P. Hellrung, co-founder and managing partner of Meltzer Hellrung Immigration Solutions, says it doubled his firm’s email traffic overnight because of the uncertainty around best practices and exact requirements for birthright citizens.In a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One's Chicago conference, Hellrung outlined some new and anticipated immigration policies and provided guidance to help companies effectively navigate potential disruptions.“There was always, under Biden and Obama, a priority to deport folks that were dangerous to the United States. That’s completely done away with—there’s really no prioritization of individuals that they’re deporting from the United States right now,” Hellrung said. That policy, combined with a more robust expedited removal program, puts workers employed through visas and work authorization programs at an increased risk of deportation.Recently introduced travel bans are affecting people from several countries. These bans “are generally related to security concerns, but they’re also focusing on student visas—not allowing citizens of these countries to come into the United States and go to school here,” said Hellrung. As the administration continues to add barriers to immigration benefits, employers can expect to see increased costs for green card and employee sponsorships as well as potential changes to the H1-B visa lottery system. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is expected to expand their business audits to validate employment practices. The agency has also been given the power to deputize local law enforcement to assist with deportation actions, says Hellrung.Matthew P. Hellrung, co-founder and managing partner at Meltzer Hellrung, led the sessionIf your company sponsors individuals, Hellrung’s first recommendation is to secure good counsel and conduct a workforce risk review. Consolidating your immigration information can simplify that process by ensuring easy access to company-wide benefit data. His team uses a proprietary platform to do this, but “there are a number of other immigration technologies that your attorneys or immigration vendors may use. It starts with centralizing data and information so you can understand who’s at risk inside of your organization,” he said. This includes reviewing and optimizing your I-9 verification, storage, and access processes.A site visit protocol strategy will help you in case of a visit from ICE or another agency requesting immigration records or access to an individual. It’s wise to think about how you will capture their information, supervise their visit, and document all activity. “I would recommend filming everything,” said Hellrung. “We all have cell phones in our pockets. Film it to make sure that if they do anything wrong, you can raise an objection if you find yourselves in court and you have verifiable proof via the video that you've taken.”At a more general level, he suggests standardizing your company’s immigration or work sponsorship policies. This ensures a consistent employee experience and streamlines internal processes. It also helps avoid last-minute documentation requests by providing a clear immigration pathway for employees. “You can also use it as a bit of a shield.” Hellrung said. “When somebody says, ‘I want my green card right now.’ you can point to the [exact parameters of the] policy.”To reduce potential impacts of the growing travel bans, Hellrung proposes that any employees with immigrant benefits avoid international travel and limit domestic travel when possible. Even individuals with valid visas can be held by Customs and Border Protection or be detained inside and outside the United States. If they must travel, Hellrung says, “have some empathy around their concerns [with travel] if you’re asking them to do so.”One of the most important practices to mitigate anxiety, he says, is to simply communicate with your employees. Ensure that they know your policies and remind them of any support that is in place for them. Develop and share collateral that helps people know their rights and stay informed about evolving federal policies, or partner with outside counsel to share their expertise via blogs, webinars, policy alerts, and direct employee meetings. Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Meltzer Hellrung, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Jessica Swenson is a freelance writer based in the Midwest. Learn more about her at jmswensonllc.com.(Photos by Tim Hiatt for From Day One)
Helping Employers Navigate Costs and Care in the GLP-1 Era
BY Stephanie Reed July 01, 2025As demand for prescription weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy remains high, employers are feeling growing pressure to cover them, and that pressure isn’t going away.In 2023, 45% of American adults surveyed were interested in weight loss prescriptions, and 80% said insurance should cover GLP-1s for obese adults. More notably, 53% of Americans said insurance should cover the cost of weight loss drugs for anyone who wants to lose weight. This demand is reflected in the market value of GLP-1s expected to reach $77 billion by 2030.During a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Chicago conference, Dr. Avantika Waring, chief medical officer at 9amHealth, shared insight into creating sustainable care solutions for overall cardiometabolic health treatment. She spoke about what successful, sustainable weight care benefits look like for both employers and employees.9amHealth helps organizations save costs with tailored and comprehensive cardiometabolic care plans amidst the growing demand for GLP-1s, says Waring. According to a 2024 survey, 67% of respondents would likely or be very likely to stay at jobs they don't like if weight loss medication were covered.“This is something that people really value, and it’s very hard when people change jobs and they lose coverage to kind of go on and off,” she said. Another crucial takeaway of the survey is that respondents value weight loss coverage more than unlimited PTO, work-from-home or hybrid work models, and team-bonding activities. Dr. Avantika Waring, chief medical officer at 9amHealth, led the thought leadership spotlight Does the demand justify the cost for employers? The annual healthcare costs for individuals with obesity rise with the severity of the condition, making effective treatment a potential cost-saver, says Waring. Successful weight loss, she says, can lead to lower monthly medical spending.Picking the right population is another aspect to consider because employers will see a higher ROI providing comprehensive weight loss care to an employee who has severe obesity and other chronic conditions. “What conditions do they have? Are the conditions severe? Are they mild conditions that are likely to respond to lifestyle only? That’s how you’re going to really maximize the value,” she said. Employers can consider medications more affordable than GLP-1s as part of an effective weight health and obesity management program, says Waring. There are more affordable weight management medications in the form of oral pills that aren’t being considered because of our current GLP-1 era. “We have a lot of tools in our toolbox, and part of the kind of challenge, and also the fun, is figuring out what type of treatment is going to match best with the individual patient.”Lastly, when employers choose to cover GLP-1s in a controlled way, it gives employees who need it the most access based on clear medical criteria. What Successful Weight Benefits Look Like Comprehensive weight management care incorporates a program, physician, or clinical group providing multi-disciplinary expertise. This makes it easier to identify effective weight care benefits.9amHealth uses a “smart” triage to deliver efficient care, incorporating AI-driven clinical decision support, multi-disciplinary specialty expertise, and updated literature and protocols as further guidance, she says. “You want to work with a team that really functions like a clinic, and they can help you connect with your primary care, and get your referrals to specialists within your network,” Waring said.Successful weight benefits cover lab testing to discover undiagnosed underlying conditions. This helps individuals receive the proper medications and personalized guidance and coaching they need. About 60% of 9amHealth members have other health conditions, which is why the organization recommends comprehensive cardiometabolic screenings and provides tailored virtual care, says Waring. Effective weight care benefits also involve selecting the right, insurance-covered medications based on each individual’s full health profile and addressing lifestyle challenges like dietary needs and family responsibilities as part of goal-setting.“So really, what we’re trying to do at 9am is bring all of these components of care together, and I do think that that provides a really great experience for people that helps them to be successful, not just in the short term, but in the long term.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, 9amHealth, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Stephanie Reed is a freelance news, marketing, and content writer. Much of her work features small business owners throughout diverse industries. She is passionate about promoting small, ethical, and eco-conscious businesses.(Photos by Tim Hiatt for From Day One)
How AI Teammates Are Transforming HR Operations
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza June 27, 2025HR teams are about to expand, according to Jim Barnett, founder and CEO of Wisq. Pretty soon, our teams will comprise both human and AI colleagues, the latter taking on the tedium and grunt work HR was once famous for, while the former, the real humans, will be free to focus on people, on strategy, and on human connection.Barnett spoke in a From Day One webinar about how AI teammates are reshaping HR operations, offering a detailed look at how agentic AI is driving that transformation. Formerly the CEO of AltaVista, one of the web’s first search engines, Barnett also has impressive HR tech credentials. He co-founded the employee success platform Glint, which was acquired by LinkedIn, and later served as LinkedIn’s head of product. With his newest venture, Wisq, he’s built an agentic AI HR generalist for enterprise teams. Her name is Harper. To develop Harper, Barnett logged hours with HR leaders across companies, big and small, studying what they need most. “I heard the same thing over and over: that the HR team was overwhelmed,” he said. “They were under a lot of pressure to improve the efficiency of the team. They were flooded with tickets and a lot of repetitive tasks. And we really said to ourselves, ‘How might we use AI to automate a lot of these non-strategic, repetitive tasks?’” And so he did. “Harper can answer 80% of HR requests for information. She can coach your teams on how to develop and grow and handle situations,” said Barnett. “She can handle policy automation and policy compliance.”Jim Barnett, the CEO and co-founder of Wisq, pictured, spoke with journalist Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza during the webinar (company photo)When HR teams aren’t bogged down with the tedium of managing problems like absenteeism, they can spend time on more strategic projects, like talent development. “There’s no question: There’s going to be a shift. There are going to be some changes in roles,” he said.The rote tasks of HR are often shouldered by the lowest on the ladder, but entry-level jobs won’t evaporate, Barnett says. “That’s the next generation of great HR leaders. It’s just the things that they’ll be doing will be more creative, less repetitive, and more strategic.”So, let’s start freeing up their time. Policy compliance is something they can already hand over to an AI HR generalist. At one of Wisq’s clients, a large manufacturing company, 85% of their HR generalists’ time was spent on just two things: time and attendance and safety. Barnett thought Harper could do better.“It might be the first time somebody’s been late, or they’ve been late twice, but they’ve never had any type of verbal warning or verbal discussion,” he said. Wisq found that in roughly half of those instances, Harper was able to flag that it’s too early for an HR intervention and coach the manager on what they should do instead. And if it does come time to involve HR, Harper can help them with the relevant paperwork.There’s room for Harper in talent management too. Let’s say you’re writing a performance review for one of your employees, and you’re planning to give them a “meets expectations” rating. But then Harper reminds you that just 30 days ago, you had a serious conversation with that employee about their efficiency. With a simple signal, Harper can ensure that employees get clear, accurate feedback so they can avoid a performance improvement plan. And when it’s time to write goals for that employee, Harper can ensure those goals are specific, measurable, and time-bound.Barnett believes that in the future, we’ll all be working alongside humans and AI teammates, “The change that’s coming is dramatic, and it’s coming fast,” he said. Yet he’s not cynical about AI personas taking over HR. People are far more valuable to him. “My personal life mission is to help people be happier and more successful at work, and so that’s really what I’ve dedicated my career to.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Wisq, for sponsoring this webinar. Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism.(Photo by ismagilov/iStock)
The Real Impact of AI on Hiring: Staying Ahead of the Curve
BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza June 24, 2025“This pressure to do more with less can be really challenging, let alone when you start to bring in a lot of what we’re seeing today in spam and in fraud,” said Meredith Johnson, chief product officer at applicant tracking platform Greenhouse. Recruiters face more than an applicant volume challenge today: They also have to sift for the highest-quality candidates who have sincere enthusiasm for the role while lazy applicants spam hundreds employers with AI-generated resumes and bad actors try to wiggle their way into companies to steal trade secrets or work on behalf of hostile nations—a problem few recruiters ever imagined they would encounter.Johnson spoke during a From Day One webinar on the impact of AI on hiring and how talent acquisition teams can stay ahead of the curve. Greenhouse is among the companies leading the charge on combating applicant fraud while preserving the candidate experience for good-faith applicants. The company recently announced its partnership with Clear to verify applicant identity and combat fraud and spam at the top of the hiring funnel. Adopting AI for Maximum ImpactFor companies that haven’t jumped on the artificial intelligence train, the good news is that the barriers to entry are low, and the easiest tools to adopt can offload some of the most time-consuming tasks. Early stages of the hiring process are ideal for AI intervention. It’s in the setup phase that TA teams often spin their wheels, Johnson said, over-polishing job descriptions or hand-tailoring candidate outreach emails one at a time. This, she noted, is a great place to start with AI.“You might send a communication that says, ‘I hope this email finds you well. We’re currently looking for individuals with these skill sets for this role, and I was really impressed with your experience in: Enter personalization token that’s drawing from all that goodness automatically for you.’” Once the recruiter reviews and signs off, that outreach is ready to roll. And when you’ve built a solid slate of candidates, recruiters can use AI to generate questions tailored to the role and most-sought-after attributes. Though this tool has been available only for a few months, Johnson said it’s their most used AI-assisted feature, with an 80% acceptance rate, “meaning that 80% of the time, our users are just accepting, without any condition, the suggested questions that are being provided.”Of course, what every recruiter hopes to find are those candidates who are not only qualified, they’re interested and able to take on a new role. Greenhouse is now using sentiment analysis to suss out the candidates that have the greatest affinity toward specific jobs. “One of the capabilities that we rolled out with the auto-generated sentiment analysis that automatically interprets and categorizes information from the prospect email, and so it can turn back results and signals to the hiring team. How interested are they? Could it potentially be bad timing?”Journalist Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza moderated the discussion with Meredith Johnson of Greenhouse (photo by From Day One)The goal is to move the best matched and most engaged talent along in the hiring process. Actually hiring stand-out applicants can be a matter of a good candidate experience, which can be a differentiator for an employer, she says, especially as companies lose good candidates among a deluge of applications.Companies may be prone to using time-saved as the primary KPI when folding AI into recruitment, but most recruiters don’t just want to move faster, they want to make better hires. Prioritizing–and measuring–the candidate experience mitigates against a hiring strategy that prizes speed at all costs. “You’re starting to get into that higher altitude of a more effective process, and that’s really important,” she said. “We want to do it with speed and have a little fun, but really, we want to get a really, really good result, and that’s what matters.”Greenhouse doesn’t operate without internal guardrails. The company runs a formal AI ethics committee that reviews all their products and updates, and they’re keen on transparency into not only what the tools do, but also what models they run on. Candidates can even opt out of some features, like interview recording and AI assistants in calls.Johnson sees challenges and opportunities beyond just sourcing, but deep “into the actual meat of recruiting.” As a hiring manager, she’s using Greenhouse’s platform to build her own team, and it’s through first-hand experience that she’s testing and developing new tools.“We think about not only solving problems in this space, but doing it with purposeful delivery and placement of AI-supported and AI-assisted capabilities,” she said. “There’s lots to uncover there where we can provide more AI-assisted time saving, efficiency, and boosting experiences in the interview process.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Greenhouse, for sponsoring this webinar. Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is an independent journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about business and the world of work. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Inc., and Business Insider, among others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Press Association award for business and financial journalism.(Photo by imaginima/iStock)
Prioritizing People: Building Human-Centered Benefits in a Complex Healthcare Landscape
BY Matthew Koehler June 18, 2025Most people don’t think of their health as a roller coaster. But Cody Fair, chief commercial officer at Noom Health, says that’s exactly what weight loss feels like for millions of Americans. “I came today to talk about roller coasters. Not the kind you ride at an amusement park, but the one that millions of Americans are on every day: the roller coaster around weight loss.”Fair’s story is personal and all too familiar. After a life-altering diagnosis in college led to 20 years of struggling with his weight, he tried everything from diets to personal trainers to meal prep to even Noom itself. “I’ve lost the same 20 pounds 20 different times,” he said. Then GLP-1 medications entered the scene, and everything changed—almost.Fair spoke about the complex and frustrating reality of weight loss and accessing GLP-1s, the new class of drugs for obesity treatment during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s NYC half-day benefits conference. He recounted his personal journey as both a healthcare executive and as a patient navigating a broken system.When Fair first started taking Wegovy, the results were immediate and dramatic. “Weight was basically falling off of me,” but then came the shortage. “I would spend time every day calling pharmacies within 50 miles,” he said, trying to track down a refill. His primary care provider (PCP) bumped him to the highest dosage, warning him of side effects. “I told her, no side effect would matter to getting back to the body that I wanted. Turns out that was a lie.” Fair got so nauseated he often had to leave in the middle of board meetings. “I couldn’t go out to eat with my friends. I couldn’t go play golf.”When another drug, Zepbound, became available in Fair’s formulary, he thought the nightmare was over. But after a few months the supply would vanish, then he’d have to navigate the obstacle of prior authorization. “By the time I’m done with that, I can’t get it. It’s gone at that pharmacy.” Even when Zepbound came off shortage, a change in his company’s insurance plan reset the whole process, or he couldn’t get approved. Cody Fair of Noom Health led the thought leadership spotlight (photo by Hason Castell for From Day One)“The PBM (Pharmacy Benefits Manager) blames the PCP. The PCP blames the pharmacy. If you’ve ever seen the Spider-Man meme where they’re all pointing at each other, that is my vision of what prior authorization in healthcare in America looks like,” he said. But Fair finally found relief, not through the system, but through a colleague at Noom. He received a 90-day supply, “weight is starting to come off, energy is coming back,” he said. Still, Fair says he’s worried for when this 90-day supply runs out.Unfortunately, Fair’s experience is not a unique one. “Hundreds, if not thousands, of your employees are probably going through that same journey.” More are going through this journey across the country. “We are in a system that is broken,” he said.“This isn’t just a personal issue. This is a workforce issue.” Fair points to lower productivity and higher absenteeism. “When you struggle with your health, you're going to struggle at work. If you struggle accessing the care that you need, it's going to affect the organization overall.” Employees, Fair emphasized, “are your most valuable asset.”Noom is helping to offer a way off the ride, says Fair. The company has developed a commercial program aimed at supporting employers and their employees who feel stuck in the cycle. Noom Med with Smart RX starts by carving GLP-1s out from PBMs to bring down cost, by about $200 per script on average, he says. Employers can choose how much of that cost to cover, whether 50% or 25%.But the real value, Fair says, is in the wraparound care. “You meet with clinicians who are experts in obesity care.” Participants use Noom’s digital tools, including a purpose-built GLP-1 companion and even a body scan app that tracks fat mass and waist-to-hip ratio. “Ultimately, we believe all of these things together are how you will truly pull an ROI out of these medications,” Fair said. “And I don’t just mean your bottom line. When I take a GLP-1, I want the ROI out of it myself. Your employees want the ROI out of what they’re doing.”“What we’re advocating for is change. Investing in your employees’ health, their well-being, and their overall future,” he said. “We have the power to reshape this narrative. To create a system where no one is judged, ashamed or left behind, and where everyone has access to the care that they need.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Noom, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Matthew Koehler is a freelance journalist and licensed real-estate agent based in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Greater Greater Washington, The Southwester, and Walking Cinema, among others.(Photos by mediaphotos/iStock)
Breaking the GLP-1 Cost Cycle for a Healthier Workforce, Lower Costs, and Smarter Care
BY Christopher O'Keeffe June 12, 2025The American workplace faces a costly challenge: how to offer access to high-demand weight-loss medications without overwhelming benefits budgets. With monthly prices exceeding $1,000, these treatments are becoming powerful tools in talent retention strategies across corporate America.During a From Day One webinar, Cody Fair, chief commercial officer at digital health company Noom, shared just how dramatically these drugs are influencing employment decisions. GLP-1 medications have revolutionized obesity treatment, delivering substantial weight loss for millions of Americans. But their high price tags have triggered what benefits experts describe as a “cost cycle,” posing a serious threat to the sustainability of employer healthcare budgets.Jennifer Jones, a clinical solutions architect at Noom and registered dietitian, outlined the financial stakes during the session. “Members that have obesity, their overall health care costs can be up to six times higher than someone that’s just overweight,” noting obesity's connection to more than 16 chronic conditions. With obesity rates exceeding 42% nationally and projected to surpass 50% within five years, employers face mounting pressure to act. Traditional approaches have proven inadequate. “What we’ve been doing isn’t working,” Jones said.Perhaps no one understands the frustrations of accessing these medications better than Fair himself. Despite having a prescription for two years, he was only able to obtain his GLP-1 medication for seven months total and never for more than two consecutive months. Each time, the same obstacles emerged, the pharmacy was out of stock, prior authorization created lengthy delays, or the medication simply vanished from shelves by the time approvals came through. His frustrating cycle mirrors the experience of countless patients nationwide.The root cause of these shortages may surprise those unfamiliar with pharmaceutical economics. Pharmacies are losing money on every GLP-1 prescription they fill. “We’ve even talked to the head of pharmacies at major major corporations that say, ‘I should just staple a $20 bill to the script when I send it out the door, because that’s what I’m losing every time,’" Fair said. This financial reality has led many pharmacies to avoid stocking these medications entirely.Kelly Bourdet, journalist and founder of Apparata Media, moderated the discussion with Fair and Jones of Noom (photo by From Day One)Even when patients successfully obtain these medications, the lack of comprehensive support threatens their efficiency in the patient’s daily life. Jones described what the company calls the “GLP-1 care gap,” the void between receiving a prescription and achieving sustainable weight loss.“When people have that first script, and they get that medication, that’s often the end point of the interaction with the healthcare system,” said Jones. Without guidance on nutrition, exercise, and side effect management, many patients discontinue treatment prematurely. Often, patients fall prey to a faulty system, regaining weight and potentially ending up less healthy than before.Research presented during the session suggests that combining medication with behavioral support yields approximately 40% greater weight loss than medication alone. Patients receiving comprehensive support were also 1.6 times more likely to successfully taper off the medication while maintaining their weight loss.To address these challenges, some employers are exploring alternative coverage strategies. Noom’s approach involves separating GLP-1 medications from traditional pharmacy benefit management and handling them as a distinct supplemental benefit. This structure offers more flexibility and potentially lower costs, about $200 less per monthly prescription after rebates, says Fair.This model allows employers to customize their contribution levels, perhaps covering 25, 50, or 75% of medication costs. By guaranteeing medication delivery within five days through specialty pharmacy networks, access issues that plague traditional distribution channels are directly addressed.Noom reports a 4.1 fold return on investment over two years when implementing comprehensive healthcare approaches, achieved through careful patient selection, early identification of non-responders, and supporting appropriate candidates in tapering off medications.Unlike providers who assume indefinite GLP-1 use, Noom has developed protocols that help suitable candidates successfully transition off these expensive medications. Jones reported that approximately 30 to 35% of patients, particularly those experiencing situational weight gain, can maintain their weight loss after tapering, when given proper support.“I don’t know a lot of people, honestly, that want to be on medication for the rest of their life,” Jones said. Through Noom's four-month tapering protocols and continued access to coaching, nutrition guidance, and exercise programs, patients are 1.6 times more likely to successfully maintain their weight without medication compared to those who stop abruptly, Jones says. This approach not only addresses patient preferences but significantly reduces long term costs for employers.As more GLP-1 medications approach market approval, including oral formulations that could broaden access for injection-averse patients, employers must develop sustainable strategies. The speakers emphasized that successful programs require more than just coverage decisions, they demand comprehensive approaches that treat obesity as the complex chronic condition it is. As these medications reshape the landscape of workplace health benefits, the challenge isn’t simply whether to provide coverage, but how to do so in ways that deliver lasting value for both employees and organizations.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Noom, for sponsoring this webinar. Chris O’Keeffe is a freelance writer with experience across industries. As the founder and creative director of OK Creative: The Language Agency, he has led strategy and storytelling for organizations like MIT, Amazon, and Cirque du Soleil, bringing their stories to life through established and emerging media.(Photo by Alones Creative/iStock)
Measuring the Impact of Your Leadership Development Programs
BY Christopher O'Keeffe June 09, 2025How do you measure the true impact of leadership development? Despite significant investment in leadership development, many organizations continue to struggle with quantifying its impact. As companies pour billions into cultivating future leaders, measurable indicators of return remain elusive Only 24% of organizations feel like they’re doing a good job of measuring the impact of their leadership development programs, emphasized leadership experts at a From Day One webinar. At Otter Tail Corporation, a Minnesota-based holding company with utility and manufacturing businesses, CHRO Paul Knutson transformed the company's leadership approach after joining in 2012. “The board had just gone through their long term strategy, and one of the three imperatives had to do with developing our talent,” Knutson said. “The talent at our leadership level was lacking, and those that had been in leadership roles were not staying as long as we had wanted them to.”The revamped program Knutson implemented identifies and connects high potential leaders across divisions empowering employees to solve real business challenges between previously unconnected avenues of collaboration. This cross-functional approach has generated unexpected bottom line benefits for Otter Tail throughout the frameworks of their enterprise, he says. “We wanted to create a sense of belonging within the corporate enterprise, to create an enterprise mindset so that people within each company weren’t thinking only about themselves or only about their company,” he said. Fostering a culture where the norm is reaching out to colleagues in other divisions creates a denser organizational network that accelerates innovation and decision-making.Real Problems, Real ResultsAt Sundt Construction, a 135-year-old employee-owned builder with 4,300 employees, leadership programs directly tackle business challenges.“Our executive team identifies pain points from our strategic plan,” said Melissa Moreno, vice president, director of administrative talent development at Sundt. “They tell our leadership teams, ‘Here’s a problem. It’s your opportunity to solve it.’”Erik Williams of MDA Leadership spoke with leaders from Otter Tail Corp., and Sundt Construction (photo by From Day One)This approach produced tangible results when one team addressed field engineer training deficiencies. They created a boot camp program that has become an essential part of Sundt’s operations. “That program is now in its fourth year,” Moreno said. “Many of the leaders who developed it are now instructors, and over 130 field engineers have completed the training.”Enacting Measurement Principles Progressive companies using advanced measurement techniques can trace the ripple effects of leadership development across their organizations. By going beyond traditional surveys and tracking cross-functional collaboration among leaders, they’re seeing improved employee retention.“Your measurement strategy needs to match your program objectives,” said Erik Williams, principal consultant at MDA Leadership. “If you’re trying to break down barriers between departments, measure cross-functional interactions. If developing future executives is the goal, track promotion rates and succession readiness.”At Otter Tail, all leadership program participants reported spending more time developing talent on their teams after training, with 65% of their managers independently confirming this observation.Despite economic pressures, companies like Sundt Construction are doubling down on leadership development. Its strategic plan through 2035 includes continued investment in its leadership pipeline. “The outcome of these types of programs, where you get leaders, you give them the opportunity to develop, to accelerate their leadership capability, to stack hands with one another. And over time, those relationships continue to deepen,” said Williams.For organizations considering similar investments, the panelists offered practical advice. “Start with an effective assessment process,” Knutson said. “Self-awareness is the foundation of development.”Moreno emphasized the importance of manager involvement. “Definitely include the managers of the participants. Early and often, they need to understand how they impact the success of their employees going through this program, what the expectation is for them, and how they can help them throughout the process.”For skeptical executives demanding ROI evidence, Knutson offered his perspective: “Be clear about what’s not working and the cost of it not working. What’s going to happen if we don’t take care, if we don’t meet our needs, if we don’t fill this gap.” Especially today, leadership development may be less about creating individual stars and more about building networked teams equipped to navigate uncertainty together.“The organizations that thrive will be those that can rapidly assemble diverse perspectives around emerging challenges,” Williams said. “That doesn’t happen by accident, it’s cultivated through intentional development that connects people across traditional boundaries.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, MDA Leadership, for sponsoring this webinar. Chris O’Keeffe is a freelance writer with experience across industries. As the founder and creative director of OK Creative: The Language Agency, he has led strategy and storytelling for organizations like MIT, Amazon, and Cirque du Soleil, bringing their stories to life through established and emerging media.(Photo by Nansan Houn/iStock)
Peace of Mind: How Employers Can Help Workers Get Their Final Wishes in Order
BY Tabitha Cabrera June 06, 2025Have you thought about your end of life wishes? “As of 2025, 24% of Americans have a will, although 67% of Americans acknowledge that this is a very important document,” said Paul Fried, founding member of I Made the Arrangements.Fried spent a year and a half building a website focused on end-of-life planning. Through the lens of human resources, this kind of benefit, like offering a will and encouraging employees to document their plans, can create a meaningful partnership between employer and employee, he shared during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Minneapolis conference. It also gives employers a way to approach support with compassion—recognizing that employees are whole people with complex lives. By offering a tool to ease the logistics of difficult life circumstances, companies can show care beyond the workplace.Paul Fried, founder of I Made the Arrangements, led the thought leadership spotlight The website includes features like a “wish capture,” where users can document their end-of-life preferences and share them as a PDF. It also offers a will builder with advanced directives. Employees can then designate a wish keeper, or someone who will receive access to these documents after the employee’s passing. The employees can write their own eulogy, obituary, or video eulogy, final thoughts, e-mail your children every year, and upload videos that can be synced with music. “While over six in 10 (63%) older adults say they have had an end-of-life conversation with a loved one, far fewer have made end-of-life preparations like preparing a last will and testament (36%) or a living will (33%),” according to Cheryl L. Lampkin in Thoughts on End of Life: For Most, Concerns do not Equate to Action. Moreover, less than half of the adults aged 45 and older who have not made these or similar preparations, say it is very likely they will.Most employees don’t leave jobs because of pay, they more often leave because they are not appreciated, Fried says. End of life planning support helps build a genuine feeling of appreciation and value for workers, says Fried. Employees might not remember how much their bonus was, or how many steps they took in a wellness app but they will remember the company and the employers that helped guide them through life’s most challenging situations. Fried created I Made the Arrangements with a clear goal: to take the stigma out of end-of-life planning and turn a traditionally taboo topic into something approachable and empowering. By offering creative, compassionate benefits like this, employers can do more than support their teams, they can strengthen employee loyalty, deepen trust, and improve retention by showing they care about the full arc of their employees’ lives.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, I Made the Arrangements, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Tabitha Cabrera, Esq. is a writer and attorney, who has a series of inclusive children's books, called Spectacular Spectrum Books.(Photos by Travis Johansen for From Day One)
How to Shape Your Workforce for Peak Performance
BY Ade Akin June 04, 2025David Bator, managing director at Achievers Workforce Institute still remembers his first encounter with José Morales. They met at an annual customer conference, where Morales, then executive director at Cineplex, shared a story that stayed with him. Over 22 years, Morales had risen through the company’s ranks, starting from one of the most unglamorous roles in the theater: scooping popcorn.“I asked him how many jobs he’d had in 22 years. And he said he’d had 10,” Bator said during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s NYC benefits conference. His first job was scooping popcorn, and his second was teaching people how to. Bator says he went on to pry if Morales had any education that prepared him to excel at scooping popcorn and teaching others how, but, unsurprisingly, that wasn’t the case. Morales credited his ability to empathize, collaborate, and problem-solve, plus Cineplex’s ability to recognize these skills, for his rise up the corporate ladder. Morales developed his skills on the job because the opportunities were there—and because the company created space for growth. That, Bator noted, is the difference between employee engagement and employee experience: engagement is the outcome, but experience is what makes it possible.David Bator, managing director at Achievers Workforce Institute, led the session “Employee engagement is the commitment an individual makes to doing the job they’re paid to do,” he said. Bator went on to define employee experience as “the responsibility we all share to create conditions so that employees can be engaged in the first place.” Organizations can’t measure engagement without first building an environment that enables it, he says. Bator’s four C’s of shaping employee experience challenge traditional notions of engagement by emphasizing connection, celebration, compensation, and choice as the pillars of an efficient workforce. Only 15% of employees think their organization effectively connects them to colleagues, despite the explosion of collaboration tools like Slack, Trello, and Google Docs. Bator urges leaders to make improving connections between employees a top priority. He recommends investing in platforms that provide easy access to people, skills, and resources, and regularly conducting meaningful manager one-on-ones. Bator notes that surveys compiled by Niagara Institute show employees are twice as likely to feel like they belong when connected to the rest of their team, and 28% say being connected gives them the confidence to tackle unexpected challenges. Celebration is the second “C” of employee engagement. It’s a catch-all phrase for recognition, award, and reward. Bator cites data from Achievers that shows employees who receive frequent, impact-driven recognition are more than three times more likely to be engaged, and more than five times more likely to feel they belong. The data also shows that workers who are recognized at least monthly are ten times more likely to recommend their manager and less inclined to job hunt even if their salaries lag behind market rates.“It’s better than nothing, but it’s worse than average,” Bator said, challenging the annual award status quo. When surveyed, 58% of employees reported annual awards felt repetitive, while 71% said the same people won each year. 58% wanted consistent recognition at least monthly. “What gets recognized gets repeated,” Bator said, citing data that reveals recognition tied to DEI programs led to a 300% increase in engagement. Bator says while employee pay matters, it’s not the sole driver of engagement. One survey shows 75% of workers would prefer a job that made them feel valued over one that paid 30% more. Only 53% felt fairly compensated for their roles, but that number jumped to 73% among employees who were recognized monthly. Bator coined the term emotional salary to include the daily moments that make employees feel seen, valued, and supported beyond what raises and promotions can provide. Choice is Bator’s final “C,” and he notes that while 21 to 26% of employees enroll in wellness programs, more personalized benefits shaped by frequent feedback drive 50% higher engagement and 88% increased feelings of value. “We’re leaving one-size-fits-all programs for an era of hyper-personalization,” he said, urging organizations to survey employees at least quarterly on what they need to thrive. Bator closed his presentation by returning to his popcorn anecdote about his friend José Morales of Cineplex. Morales has held over ten jobs with Cineplex over 22 years, from scooping popcorn to an executive role, because his employer recognized his open-mindedness, collaborative mindset, and problem-solving skills. “Our role in talent and HR is to create conditions so people can do the best work of their lives,” Bator said. Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Achievers, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
Revolutionizing Talent Acquisition: The Human Edge in an AI-Driven Era
BY Ade Akin June 03, 2025Pat Griffin, the chief revenue officer at Randstad Digital, didn’t get the smooth search improvement he expected the first time he tested an artificial intelligence screening tool on a live candidate pool. What Griffin noticed instead was that an entry that perfectly matched every data point, like degrees, keywords, and experience, was flagged as “low fit.” For Griffin, that moment illustrated the promise and pitfalls of AI in talent acquisition, a topic he spoke about during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s NYC half-day TA conference. The real advantage lies in “unique human connection” in a world focused on integrating artificial intelligence into everything, says Griffin. While AI can help to accelerate initial resume scans; it can also miss nuanced indicators such as tone, passion, and cultural fit that highlight a candidate’s true potential. “We can deploy AI agents to identify skill gaps or run pattern matching across hundreds of profiles, but only a recruiter can read between the lines,” he said. He cemented his argument by sharing a story about a top candidate who hesitated when asked to describe a professional setback, despite having impressive credentials on paper. An AI agent would have penalized the applicant for that, but a seasoned recruiter noticed her vulnerability and resilience, qualities many organizations find valuable. That recruiter's intervention showed that the human touch is essential in the screening process. Pat Griffin the chief revenue officer at Randstad Digital | Torc led the thought leadership spotlightGriffin says the use of AI in the recruitment process doesn’t replace recruiters. Instead, it empowers them by helping them to notice trends in application flow, pinpoint diversity gaps, and forecast hiring needs. “We’re using next-gen tools to model volume and quality of candidates, predicting when talent pools will dry up,” he said. “That lets us proactively build a digital community before roles even open.”Griffin highlighted a pilot program where Randstad Digital Torc used data innovation to identify emerging roles in software security. A targeted outreach campaign was created within weeks, with a 40% increase in qualified leads. “That’s not magic,” Griffin emphasized. “It’s a recruiter armed with insights, using AI in concert with their own expertise.”Griffin says the days of blackhole application portals and ghosting candidates are long gone and that having a smooth application process that prioritizes applicant experience is vital. He cautions against overreliance on AI as chatbots handle more roles like scheduling, answering frequently asked questions, and delivering personalized coaching tips for interviews. “We’ve seen AI agents misinterpret simple questions, leading to frustration. You still need someone monitoring those conversations,” he said. Randstad Digital introduced a hybrid recruitment process to combat the limitations of artificial intelligence. AI handles routine tasks, while human recruiters step in at critical touchpoints. “If a candidate expresses uncertainty, that triggers a handoff to a human,” Griffin said. “That balance improved our satisfaction scores by 25 percent.”Griffin tackled the role of AI predictions in the hiring process, noting that while machine learning excels at sifting through data and forecasting trends, it struggles with contextual judgment. “We saw false positives in early models, candidates flagged for 'overqualification' who turned out to be perfect fits after conversation,” he said. That led to the creation of new guardrails, such as all automated disqualifications requiring human review. Companies should view technology as a recruitment tool, not a replacement for recruiters, says Griffin. He highlighted three pillars for transforming any organization’s recruitment process. Organizations can integrate AI strategically by starting with pilot projects, such as improving search results for niche roles, and then scaling the models that prove successful. At the same time, it's essential to invest in upskilling by providing recruiters with training in data literacy and the ethical use of AI, ensuring that innovation is balanced with human judgment. Finally, fostering a digital community through ongoing engagement with potential candidates via social platforms and virtual events can help nurture long-term interest and relationships.Griffin urges recruiters to remember that the recruitment process is all about connecting with the right people. “AI agents are powerful, but they aren’t human,” he said. “When we prioritize unique human connection, we future-proof our hiring models and deliver an exceptional candidate experience.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Randstad Digital Torc, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
AI at Your Fingertips: The AI-Empowered Recruiter
BY Stephanie Reed May 28, 2025What is needed to give companies the most accurate data to make better informed hiring decisions? How can they incorporate more holistic approaches to finding and guiding talent now and in the future?Cecil Plummer, CEO of Fastr.ai, is a passionate advocate for the continuous integration of AI with modern software. He finds that AI-assisted recruiting helps streamline hiring practices and allows more space for creating holistic talent pipelines. “It’s about working with hiring managers and recapturing their time by getting through that ever-growing haystack,” he said during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s NYC talent acquisition conference.Plummer provided insights for TA leaders and recruiters on the strategic use of AI with existing company data to refine hiring processes. “There’s no loss of productivity from toggling back and forth between applications,” he said. “So because you’re in your own ATS, you don’t lose that productivity, and you don’t have to experience a lot of the adoption issues that we hear TA leaders telling us about.”Cecil Plummer, CEO of Fastr.ai, led the discussionFastr.ai provides organizations with a potent AI agent, designed to work with their current ATS and other data software to further refine their recruiting and hiring processes.The AI recruiting partner quickly delivers data through a web browser extension; the AI reads through candidate profiles and individually matches them to specified job criteria, he says. Fastr.ai captures the nuances of talent profiles and job requirements, while companies still leverage talent curation to match strict criteria: specific skills, keywords, and qualifications of top employees, says Plummer. Furthermore, automated talent insights help TA leaders and recruiters make informed hiring decisions through candidate development updates. The insights show who is fit for specific positions and track their progress over time. The results speak volumes. Fastr.ai has reported that 92% of clients achieve quicker surfacing of qualified candidates. Additionally, 62% of clients also save time from reviewing unqualified candidates. “AI has specifically been designed to enable and empower you and your teams, not to replace them,” Plummer said.AI, along with data-driven tools and software, pinpoints specific criteria, but people must identify other immeasurable qualities to recruit the right people to the right jobs. This is the foundation of today’s most successful organizations. “We believe that recruiters need the time to do what only humans can do: and that's about the candidate experience,” he said.What Current Talent Acquisition Patterns RevealAccording to Fastr.ai’s survey of 50 TA leaders, a consensus view is that technology is integral in improving their current recruiting processes. Most TA leaders and recruiters also share similar perspectives that the best results harness an ecosystem of best-of-breed ATS, CRMs, and schedulers. A notable shared pattern among those TA leaders and recruiters is that their processes are based on concerns of unfit hires costing their organizations more money long-term. Yet, many still use LinkedIn as a popular repository of data, which also gets costly. Working with internal data and integrating AI recruiting is a solution to getting the right people and minimizing costs, says Plummer. Thus, companies can save money on LinkedIn licenses and staffing fees because they’re using all of their data.More importantly, the combination of AI-recruiting and internal data helps curate a more holistic and solution-oriented approach to the candidate experience, quelling unfit-hire fears. “I believe in the human spirit, I believe that any one of us here who might suddenly find ourselves in the job market is not going out there to try to trick an employer into hiring us,” he said. “We want to go somewhere where we can be appreciated, where we can make a contribution, and where we can make that organization better.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Fastr.ai, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Stephanie Reed is a freelance news, marketing, and content writer. Much of her work features small business owners throughout diverse industries. She is passionate about promoting small, ethical, and eco-conscious businesses.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
Sustaining Your Workforce: The Business Case for Comprehensive Caregiving Support
BY Christopher O'Keeffe May 22, 2025Companies striving to retain top talent are discovering a powerful, often underestimated tool: caregiving support. While the strategic value of these benefits is clear, they’re too frequently overlooked, says Lisa Leighton, VP of strategic development at Cariloop, a platform specializing in caregiver support.During a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s April virtual conference, Leighton addressed that while employees often don’t self-identify as a caregiver, one in three within the workforce operate in a capacity of juggling significant caregiving responsibilities From coordinating childcare to managing aging parents, balancing workplace performance can become impossible. The corporate consequences of ignoring this reality can be severe. According to data presented by Leighton, nearly one-third of parents who take parental leave quit within 18 months of returning, while employees with caregiving responsibilities experience burnout at 2.6 times the rate of their colleagues without such obligations. Even generous compensation packages cannot solely drive employee retention in today's market where comprehensive benefits have become increasingly necessary for employee satisfaction. “As costs rise, key retention benefits like caregiving are getting cut. This is putting a tremendous strain on your people and the stability of your workforce,” said Leighton. Lisa Leighton of Cariloop led the thought leadership spotlight (company photo)As the childcare crisis has reached critical levels, working parents are struggling to navigate a shrinking supply of providers amid escalating costs of living, says Leighton. “Summer looming can create a pit of dread in my stomach,” said Leighton who previously juggled the demands of finding reliable childcare for her three children while vetting assisted living facilities for a family member. “Working parents are trying to figure out how to navigate two and a half months where everybody’s at home while still doing their jobs productively.” The growing number of aging Americans needing care now exceeds the supply of caregivers, adding pressure on workers caring for both kids and parents. Employers who recognize this dual burden see results by partnering with Cariloop to offer comprehensive caregiving support, says Leighton. “Best in class employers are leaning into the types of benefits that create a culture of care and offer that flexible, predictable support, for not just part of your population but your full diverse population at all those different ages and stages of life” she said. Cariloop stands out for its focus on measurable outcomes, helping employers track the impact of caregiving benefits through metrics like absenteeism and retention, says Leighton. This data-driven approach supports both employee well-being and organizational stability—an increasingly valuable combination as companies navigate tight labor markets and economic uncertainty.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Cariloop, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Chris O’Keeffe is a freelance writer with experience across industries. As the founder and creative director of OK Creative: The Language Agency, he has led strategy and storytelling for organizations like MIT, Amazon, and Cirque du Soleil, bringing their stories to life through established and emerging media.(Photo by vorDa/iStock)
Reimagining the Candidate Experience as a Strategic Advantage
BY Ade Akin May 15, 2025Jon Stross knew something had to change when a candidate confided with him about applying to 200 roles without getting any responses. Stross, the president and co-founder of Greenhouse, laid out how the company is tackling the grim realities of overwhelming application volume, ghosting, and the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the hiring process. As organizations race to develop the most efficient algorithms, Greenhouse is helping transform what has been a soul-crushing experience for many into an empowering journey. “It’s terrible out there to be a candidate,” Stross said during the thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s NYC talent acquisition conference. The current hiring market is one where applicants feel like their resumes weren’t even good enough for a response, he says. But things aren’t much better on the employer side, as recruiters find themselves sorting through thousands of resumes. Candidates who are worried about being ghosted end up sending generic applications en masse, while recruiters struggle to find desired signals in all of the noise. The new dynamic has led to employers increasingly relying on referrals or outbound sourcing, while candidates face a “black hole” of uncertainty. The result is a lose-lose scenario where neither side trusts the process. While AI's role in the hiring process is expected to expand in the next several years, Stross warns that matching AI-generated resumes with AI-scored profiles risks reducing everything to noise. Jon Stross, the president and co-founder of Greenhouse, led the thought leadership spotlightProviding transparency and giving candidates control is one of the strategies Greenhouse uses to combat ghosting and unclear deadlines. “It’s like walking into a deli with 200 people in line. You’d at least know your place in the queue,” Stross said.Greenhouse increases transparency and gives candidates control by introducing features like real-time application tracking and self-scheduling interviews—features that allow the application process to mimic the clarity of waiting in line at the deli. “If you see 200 people ahead of you, you might leave,” Stross said. “But at least you’re making an informed choice.”Greenhouse also introduced a Quick Apply feature that reduces friction in the application process, allowing candidates to auto-fill applications across Greenhouse-powered companies. This approach respects candidates’ time, reducing the repetitive data entry style applications. It’s a small but critical step in improving employer brand perception, says Stross.Surfacing Intent DataResumes capture a candidate, but they don’t always clearly reflect their intent. Greenhouse introduces data differentiation by collecting work preferences and a novel “dream job” marker. Similar to early admission in college applications, candidates may select one role monthly as their dream job. Recruiters can then filter applicants by their skills and passion, turning the data into a powerful differentiator for both sides. “Imagine sifting through 800 applicants and seeing five who marked your job as their dream,” Stross said. “It doesn’t mean they’re qualified, but it shows genuine interest.” Stoss suggests making the hiring process a race to the top rather than a descent into full automation. “Some companies are leaning in, building an employer brand that candidates remember,” he said.Organizations signal their commitment to talent by automating status updates and highlighting positive candidate experiences, reinforcing their brand and boosting candidate loyalty.Greenhouse is transforming hiring with tools like real-time application updates, centralized task checklists to guide candidates, and autofill capabilities that simplify applying. Personalized alerts and preference-based matching also help connect candidates to the right opportunities faster. These innovations give candidates a clearer path to their dream jobs while making the application process less unpleasant. Richer applicant profiles help recruiters to filter candidates more effectively and reduce their reliance on generic AI scoring that ignores human nuance. By embracing transparency, control, and meaningful data, organizations can attract and inspire talent while strengthening their employer brand, says Stross.Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Greenhouse, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Ade Akin covers workplace wellness, HR trends, and digital health solutions.(Photos by Hason Castell for From Day One)
Proactive Caregiver Support: Making Data-Informed Decisions That Incorporate Whole-Family Care
BY Tabitha Cabrera May 14, 2025Caregiver burnout is “a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that happens while you’re taking care of someone else. Stressed caregivers may experience fatigue, anxiety and depression,” according to Cleveland Clinic.At From Day One’s April virtual conference, Sarah Begley, VP of content at Atria interviewed Kerri Costa, SVP of commercial & growth at Cleo, who shared insights on “Proactive Caregiver Support.” “A caregiver is really anyone taking care of themself through taking care of a child, taking care of an adult, loved one. It really branches across all of life’s journeys,” said Costa. Its broad spectrum makes it essential for employers to provide support. “Caregiving is everything from looking for resources, for education, to support, to finding loved ones, you know meals, providing meals, to being able to just simply help them with understanding how to set up their phone and to have support services that they need,” she said. Kerri Costa, SVP, Commercial & Growth at Cleo, led the thought leadership spotlight (company photo)Being a broad spectrum of people, caregivers face different challenges. But there are some that seem to be common in the workplace. “There’s a sense that if you identify as a caregiver, perhaps you’re less productive or you may have more absenteeism, which is usually not the case. But people don’t go to their HR representatives and say, ‘Hey, I’m a caregiver,’ for fear of that stigma,” she said. “What we find is that 67% of family caregivers struggle to balance their jobs in the caregiving role, and primarily, what we’re hearing from our employer clients is that there’s a lot of need for mental health and support around mental health.” Without proper mental health support for caregivers, there’s an increased risk of burnout. “33% of families that we have identified through our what we call our family health index, are at risk of burnout, and of those, 60% screen positive for our PHQ, which shows signs of depression. That affects not only the need for mental health support, but the loss of productivity on a large scale, as well as the retention of key employees.”Having cared for a parent with dementia and cared for a young child while working full time, Costa knows firsthand the kind of support needed. So what does support look like? Cleo has dedicated support services that provide guides to employees who need assistance with life challenges, says Costa. “Reducing the amount of time that’s spent on logistics can be so helpful in preventing burnout,” she said. “Working with a guide helped me to be able to step back and to once again think through ways in order to make my life easier.” The benefits for employers who are able to provide support are clear. First is mental health, where support is focused on preventing burnout by helping employees with the logistics of finding care and resources. Second is confidence and connectedness—53% of employees reported increased confidence after working with their guide, which improved their ability to manage everything on their plate. The third area is productivity, with high-risk members gaining back over 100 hours of work time, a significant outcome.Organizations can support their employees by first making their organization an environment where access to support is available and that honest discussion is not only happening but encouraged. “It’s hard for people to raise their hand to identify themselves as caregivers when it’s not a maternity leave or family forming situation. Having that conversation with their manager is crucial—it helps employees see the value of open, honest dialogue and gives managers a chance to offer the support that’s truly neededEditor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Cleo, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Tabitha Cabrera, Esq. is a writer and attorney, who has a series of inclusive children's books, called Spectacular Spectrum Books.(Photo by Obencem/iStock)
Immersive Learning for Realistic, Judgment-Free Skill Building
BY Matthew Koehler May 13, 2025Starting a new job or role often means facing a gap between what you’ve learned and what real-world experience demandsA newly licensed real estate agent might know the material but has never sat across from an actual client, and that first deal can be daunting. Or maybe a new manager is about to fire someone for the first time. What if you could practice those high-stakes moments before they happen?Virtual reality and AI are now making it possible, turning knowledge into confidence through realistic, judgment-free training. “I can’t imagine having to fire somebody for the first time and never having done that. It’s probably terrifying, emotional, and scary in a million different ways,” said Jack Makhlouf, VP of partnerships at Moth+Flame.“We try to build simulations for people so they can get a lot of practice. It’s also safe to fail. One of the secret powers of simulations is that you can mess up,” he said.Makhlouf spoke about the advantages of VR and immersive learning with Joe Reta, a partner manager at ArborXR and collaborator with Moth+Flame, during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Dallas conference. Immersive training has been around for a while. Think flight simulators, for example—something the military and airline industry has used for years. The benefit of this technology, says Makhlouf, is that “you’re physically doing something.” “You’re emotionally engaged in the experience. It’s interactive. It’s multi-sensory. You’re looking. You’re talking. You’re using your hands. It’s very realistic.” And, there are no real world consequences for making mistakes. “You can say the wrong thing and suffer the consequences. But you’re in a judgment free experience, so you’re safe to mess around,” Makhlouf said. Joe Reta, Partner Manager at ArborXR spoke with Jack Makhlouf, VP of Partnerships at Moth+Flame about immersive learningAI immersive learning has only become more intuitive and dynamic. Makhlouf calls it the perfect learning tool. “If I mess up in a giving feedback conversation, I’m going to know why and I’ll get to try again, and it’s going to assess me on tone delivery. It’s pretty advanced that way.”The military knows this and has long been a proving ground for the highest level of simulation-based training because they have “to keep their service members ready at all times,” Makhlouf said. It has also proven valuable in hands-on mechanical training. Makhlouf highlighted a program developed for the Air Force, which trains personnel on the precise steps needed to power up a C-17 cargo aircraft. Before using virtual reality, trainees learned through PowerPoint which led to costly mistakes in the field. “VR is a really great place to practice and fail,” he said. Thanks to immersive training, the Air Force cut errors by 85% and saved an estimated $1.7 million in fuel costs, says Makhlouf.While the upfront investment is significant, Makhlouf says that the ROI makes it worthwhile. “You’ve got to look at the return,” he said. Circling back to difficult conversations in the corporate space, Makhlouf says that both a popular and personal favorite module is in feedback. “Everybody thinks they're good at giving feedback, even positive feedback. But people don't know how to give proper positive feedback.”Building trust is another one. “We know that the relationship between [the] employee and their direct manager has a big impact on engagement. How do you build trust? How do you resolve conflict? How do you increase your emotional intelligence?”The big advantage immersive AI learning has in achieving better results in training, according to Makhlouf, is that people are using their voices, “not clicking answers in a scenario.” “Ironically, the first simulation I ever tried in my previous company was a firing simulation in VR. You’re sitting across the desk from an older guy who’s been inappropriate, and you got to call him in for a one on one, and it's the last straw. It can end badly, and it does end badly if you don't do it right. It can also end really well,” he said. He says they had people crying coming out of the simulation because it was so real.That is how this training is supposed to work, and why it feels so real; it’s immersive. “It is voice driven, whether you’re doing it in VR or tablet or mobile. You're navigating a conversation. You’re getting feedback on the fly—these avatars and actors are talking back to you. You’re in a conversation; it can go well, or it can not go so well. It’s completely up to you.”Wellstar Health System, a client Makhlouf’s company worked with, wanted to boost empathy among staff, so Makhlouf’s team created a simulation where participants’ answers were scored based on their level of empathy, prompting trial and error until they improved. “The first time through, people don’t get 80% or 100%,” he said. But with practice and targeted feedback on skills like empathetic paraphrasing, employees saw steady gains, much like building strength through repeated reps at the gym.What makes immersive training so effective, especially in a VR environment, is the combination of evolving technology and AI, and the fact that the AI avatars are based on real world actors. “So there’s not just some conceptual human prototype being used for AI avatars. They’re people...AI is mimicking facial expressions, their voice, body language and all that. They’re getting scary good.”Makhlouf's advice for companies and HR departments that want to modernize their training modules with immersion learning? “I would not recommend building something custom right off the bat. I would recommend you pilot with content that’s already made, and there’s a lot of content out in the field that’s ready to go off the shelf. So find a piece of content that aligns to your use case or business goal. Pilot it out, prove it out, build your business case. VR or immersive really shines when the use case is very, very strong.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, ArborXR, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Matthew Koehler is a freelance journalist and licensed real-estate agent based in Washington, DC. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Greater Greater Washington, The Southwester, and Walking Cinema, among others.(Photos by Steve Bither for From Day One)