Over the past decade, Gen Z has grown to represent 15% of the workforce, and they are projected to make up one-third of it by 2030. Perception gaps between generations affect how decisions are received, how expectations are interpreted, and how efficiently teams collaborate. What sounds “clear enough” to one generation may feel ambiguous or risky to another. For HR leaders, the top priorities are to align expectations so that all employees feel grounded and to provide the structure managers need so their teams can be productive.

Five Interpretations of the Same Workplace 

You never want to assume a colleague’s experience based on age or generation. However, employees in the same generation may share historical touchpoints along the way that shape how they see work.  For example, older employees built their careers in more stable cycles, where pathways and expectations were clearer, while younger employees entered the workforce amid volatility, rapid technological change, and rising costs that pushed major life milestones such as marriage, home buying, and caregiving to later stages of life. These differences influence what employees look for from work and how much context they need to act.

In a recent Seramount study, 44% of the youngest employees said they aspire to become managers but emphasized the need to protect work-life boundaries as they advance. Some specifically said, “I want to have a good work/life balance, and the requirements for advancing go directly against that, therefore making me not want to advance.” Meanwhile, only 27% of their older colleagues expressed interest in supervising others. Across groups, a majority acknowledged that communicating across generations is challenging.

Why All Roads Lead Back to Managers 

Managers sit at the center of shifting expectations, unclear norms, and competing priorities that play out differently for each generation. Regardless of age or tenure, today’s workforce is one of the most disengaged and dissatisfied in decades. In fact, employees with managers 12+ years their senior are three times more likely to feel dissatisfied at work and 1.5 times more likely to report low productivity. In today’s employer-driven market, many employees are staying put, but many of them are not actively engaged in their work. This creates a fragile environment where even small misunderstandings can quickly turn into performance issues or avoidable friction. Yet, managers are expected to keep their teams moving forward even when clarity about what “good” looks like is lacking.

Qualities Employees Most Value in a Manager, by Generation¹

As a result, managers are burning out faster than employees at any other job level. At least 80% report experiencing one or more symptoms of burnout, while fewer than one-third of senior managers feel comfortable speaking about it at work. They’re also leading teams who feel just as stressed: 37% of staff feel so overwhelmed that it hinders their job performance. The good news is that HR leaders can help significantly reduce this pressure.

How Clarity and Consistency Unlock Better Performance

Effectively managing multigenerational teams requires more than navigating preferences across age groups. It requires creating the conditions for consistent execution, no matter how much life circumstances and definitions of “career” may vary. The most effective HR leaders recognize that managers cannot be the sole translators of organizational priorities. Instead, they make team alignment a shared responsibility. 

Three Practices That Help Managers Boost Team Collaboration 

1. Set shared expectations, not individual preferences 
   Many “generational differences” are really inconsistencies in norms. HR can reduce friction by defining what strong communication looks like, how teams escalate decisions, and how priorities should be interpreted across roles. Clear expectations cut down on the need to re-explain and allow managers to focus on moving work forward.
2. Make the “hidden” visible 
   For younger employees, organizational signals carry outsized weight. They want to understand how change affects  their contributions and growth. Regular check-ins and ongoing clarity about the reasoning behind decisions help close interpretation gaps and increase momentum across the team.
3. Give managers structured support 
   Providing consistent language and ready-to-use resources helps managers clearly communicate expectations. These tools remove the guesswork and reduce the amount of time spent explaining or rephrasing guidance.
   
   

When expectations are consistent and managers feel supported, work can move forward at the rate leaders expect. Multigenerational teams become more confident in their interactions, so managers can spend less time translating and more time leading.  To get a fuller view of the forces shaping performance this year, download Seramount’s State of the Workforce report. 

The post The Manager Challenge: Five Generations, One Workforce appeared first on Seramount.

Nike’s recent decision to eliminate its annual wellness week—part of a broader push to “get back to winning”—reignited a familiar conversation in HR circles. Not because organizations can’t revisit perks but because decisions tied to well-being land differently today. Burnout, mental-health strain, and change fatigue remain top of mind for employees and CHROs alike. When shifts feel abrupt or disconnected from what people are experiencing, reactions are quick, emotional, and often public.

But this moment isn’t really about Nike; it reflects a broader pattern playing out across industries. Over the past few years, organizations in technology, financial services, retail, and other sectors have found themselves in the headlines not because of what they changed but because of how the change was introduced. A clear example came earlier this year when Amazon announced a new return-to-office mandate. The policy itself was not exceptional, but the rollout created friction as employees raised concerns about space constraints and circulated petitions. Media coverage highlighted the gap between what leaders intended and what employees actually experienced.

When Trust Breaks Down, It Usually Starts Small

These reactions were not all about office policies, perks, or schedules. At their core, they were about trust and the gap that is formed when employees feel excluded from decisions that affect their well-being, workload, and day-to-day experience. A breakdown in trust rarely happens all at once; it usually builds when early signals aren’t fully understood or acted on.

HR leaders from many organizations often tell us that warning signals were present prior to the disruption, but existing listening tools did not surface them clearly or early enough. Although employees were asking more questions in town hall meetings, managers were expressing hesitation about new expectations, and survey comments hinted at strain even when scores looked stable, many organizations relied on what we often see in moments of pressure: a top-down announcement meant to provide clarity but experienced by employees as a decision made without their input. When that happens, it is evident that early warning signs largely went unnoticed, and small issues can quickly turn into outsized disruptions, reputational risk, or talent loss.

The Environment Is More Fragile Than Leaders Realize

Today, the stakes are even higher. Organizations are moving quickly to restore optimal productivity, accelerate AI adoption, manage costs, and make hybrid work function more smoothly. In an employer-driven labor market, many leaders feel they have more room to set expectations and move quickly. But the pendulum will shift again, and the way companies navigate this moment will influence whether their top talent chooses to stay when opportunities open up. Employees are already carrying heavy workloads, navigating uncertainty, and expressing growing concerns about mental health. That tension creates a fragile environment, and it becomes even more pronounced when companies push forward without fully understanding how changes will land with the people expected to carry them out.

Why Listening Needs to Look Different Now

This is where a more comprehensive listening approach can help leaders move with confidence and reduce unintended consequences.

Listening goes beyond measuring sentiment; it requires understanding the experiences and pressures shaping how people respond to change. We start by listening in ways that make it safe for people to be honest, giving leaders a clear view into what is actually getting in the way of their strategic priorities. That includes not just what employees say but also the frictions, gaps, and disconnects that determine whether an initiative gains traction or stalls. Assess360 surfaces the factors that can slow momentum and the conditions that can help change take hold. We then translate what we learn into practical guidance and focused priorities that help leaders communicate clearly and act with surety.

Organizations that navigate high-stakes decisions most effectively share a common approach: They bring employees into the process early. Whether the change involves benefits, hybrid expectations, productivity goals, or new technology, these organizations treat listening as part of the strategy itself, not a step that happens afterward.

When change makes headlines, it is often because employees felt blindsided, not because the decision itself was unpopular. Listening early and bringing people into the process reduces the risk of excluding employee input and creates the alignment needed for change to take hold successfully.

The Path Forward for HR

If HR leaders want to reduce backlash, strengthen trust, and ensure alignment and adoption of a given policy or decision, it begins with listening deeply before moving forward. Assess360 gives organizations the insight and guidance to make decisions that land well and will take hold.

If you want to understand how deeper listening can reduce friction, build alignment, and support successful change, please contact us.

The post Nike Sparked a Conversation. Here’s What HR Should Hear in It. appeared first on Seramount.

According to McKinsey’s 2025 “State of AI” report, 78% of organizations document using AI, yet less than 1% consider themselves “mature” in its deployment. Even as adoption rates remain high, a 2025 MIT study found that 95% of GenAI pilots fail to produce meaningful ROI, largely because experimentation never evolves into enterprise-level change. The data is clear: AI adoption is accelerating, but organizational capability is not keeping pace.

HR’s role in AI implementation needs to go beyond calming anxieties that “robots will take our jobs.” The real risk is a growing divide between employees who have AI skills and those who don’t. For HR leaders, this moment presents a critical opportunity: Help employees see AI as a tool that enhances their impact, not one that undermines it.

AI is accelerating and the stakes are rising. But culture—not code—is the secret weapon that keeps transformation on track. Managing AI responsibly means protecting the data that powers change and aligning people and purpose around how it’s used. That alignment now falls squarely to CHROs.

Three Reasons Why AI Efforts Stall

Despite significant investment, most organizations struggle to convert AI ambition into measurable impact. The challenge isn’t the technology—it’s alignment. Leaders can communicate AI’s potential, but employees need clear insight into how that potential affects what they do today, what will be expected tomorrow, and where they fit in the organization’s future. That alignment gap shows up across three persistent barriers.

1. Strategy Without Translation

AI strategies often look compelling on paper, yet employees still ask, “What does this mean for me?” Companies communicate transformation plans, launch new tools, and promote enterprise-wide vision, but employees rarely receive the practical translation they need to change behavior. Many hear about AI in broad terms but cannot see how it integrates into workflows or how their responsibilities will shift. Without that clarity, even well-designed strategies stall. Organizations invest heavily in messaging, yet employees often remain disconnected from the very changes they are expected to adopt.

2. Change Without Trust

Concerns about trust extend far beyond whether employees are using AI appropriately. Increasingly, the deeper question is whether employees trust their organization to use AI fairly, transparently, and in ways that support—not jeopardize—their opportunities. These internal concerns mirror a broader societal trend: Public skepticism in AI still circulates, shaped by constant headlines about biased outputs, misuse of data, and human replacement.

Inside organizations, those same issues show up in tangible ways. Research from the Algorithmic Justice League and Brookings finds that women, people of color, lower-wage earners, and later-career professionals are significantly less likely to receive AI training or be included in early pilots, clear signs of inequitable access. When employees see AI advancement as something happening around them rather than with them, skepticism grows, confidence erodes, and the cultural foundation needed for innovation becomes increasingly fragile.

3. Learning Without Context

Most employees don’t feel prepared for the future of work, not because they resist learning, but because the learning they receive lacks relevance. Here at Seramount, we found that only 23% of employees believe they have the skills they need to integrate AI into their workflow. Simultaneously, only one in five organizations has a defined AI adoption strategy. Managers, too, often lack the tools to model new behaviors or guide their teams through change. Without contextual learning anchored in real work, capability gaps widen and adoption stalls.

These barriers aren’t technical failures. They are cultural ones. And until organizations address the alignment gap between strategy and the human experience of change, AI will continue to advance faster than the culture needed to sustain it.

What Leading CHROs Do Differently: From Technical Rollout to Culture Redesign

AI transformation has become a test of leadership, and CHROs are now the linchpin. They are the only executives with line of sight across trust, culture, workflow friction, skills, manager capability, and workforce risk.

Organizations that break through treat AI adoption as a culture redesign, not a technical rollout. Leading CHROs are shifting their strategies in three ways:

1. They redesign workflows, not just introduce tools. Rather than pushing AI at employees, they co-design new processes that pair human judgment with machine intelligence. The goal isn’t automation—it’s collaboration.
2. They operationalize transparency. Rather than limiting the use of AI to specific pilot groups, they make implementation visible. They open discussion on where it’s used and governed, how decisions are made, and what resources employees have available to them to learn and experiment safely.
3. They build cultures that learn faster than change. Instead of one-off training, they invest in continuous, role-specific upskilling tied to actual workflows. They equip managers to model curiosity, normalize questions, and share what they learn.

Above all, effective HR leaders are partners in AI implementation. They start by listening to their employees—not to check a box, but to diagnose the friction beneath the surface. Scaled listening reveals where trust is fading, where skills gaps persist, and where employees have lost the thread of the “why” behind strategy. That clarity becomes a strategic accelerant: When people understand change and see their role in it, adoption, trust, and innovation rise together.

Bottom Line

AI doesn’t stall because the technology isn’t ready. It stalls because organizations haven’t aligned people, purpose, and culture with the strategy behind it. Employees resist change only when they can’t see where they fit, when the process feels inequitable, or when the “why” behind decisions remains unclear.

CHROs now sit at the center of this alignment challenge, responsible for connecting vision to behavior, strategy to capability, and innovation to trust. It’s a complex mandate that requires both foresight and a strong peer community to navigate what comes next.

Organizations that integrate these capabilities will build a workforce ready not just to adopt AI, but to thrive with it. Those without that alignment risk falling behind—not just in capability, but in credibility.

The post Why Your AI Strategy Needs HR More than Ever appeared first on Seramount.

Numerous factors are contributing to this need for a focus on culture. These three factors stuck out to me: Energy demand is rising, AI is reshaping work, and the talent needed to meet these ambitions is in short supply. These interconnected shifts mean that retention now matters as much as recruitment. With the goal of future-proofing teams and organizations, culture is the mechanism that energy leaders can leverage to strengthen employee engagement, innovation, and collaboration.

This blog outlines reflections and insights from the conference and why Seramount stands ready to help energy organizations design resilient cultures that can successfully navigate the current and upcoming workforce challenges.

The Energy Industry’s Workforce Crisis

Across multiple conference sessions, including a panel of four CEOs, leaders emphasized that the sector is in a “workforce renaissance.” Investment in the sector is growing, and with it innovation is accelerating to meet the moment.

However, this renaissance is threatened by workforce instability. Leaders warned candidly, “We can’t afford to lose talent.”And the CEWD data shows us exactly that.

• Energy employers are expected to hire 32 million people between 2025 and 2035— 15 million replacement workers and 17 million new workers.
• Seventy-six percent of energy and utilities employers are experiencing talent and skill gaps in their current workforce due to the rapid evolution occurring within the sector in response to changing needs.
• Over 75% of organizations have difficulty recruiting for full-time positions, and nearly 50% have had difficulties retaining full-time employees in the past12 months.

Throughout the conference, we learned that energy’s challenges are being shaped by several forces:

1.     Aging Workforce

The energy sector is facing a demographic cliff. A significant portion of today’s workforce is expected to retire within the next 10 years, taking with them institutional knowledge that cannot be quickly replicated. At the same time, the population entering the workforce is smaller than the population exiting it, revealing more than ever the value of retention and knowledge transfer. Accordingly, organizations must recognize that retention, upskilling, and cross-generational knowledge capture are urgent strategic imperatives.

Leaders at the CEWD conference emphasized that workplace culture, especially one grounded in belonging, stability, and purpose, is what keeps experienced workers engaged long enough to support the next generation. By strengthening connections between veteran workers and early-career talent, organizations can protect critical knowledge and stabilize workforce transitions.

Actionable Steps to Combat the Demographic Cliff

• Build structured knowledge-transfer programs where experienced workers mentor newer employees through defined rotational experiences.
• Conduct a retention risk assessment to identify roles or teams most vulnerable to retirement-driven turnover.
• Create “encore career” pathways that allow late-career employees to shift into coaching, training, or advisory roles.

2.     Shifting Talent Pipelines and Growing Skill Gaps

Talent pipelines aren’t disappearing, but they are shifting. There are two major contributing factors: First, young workers are not rejecting energy careers; rather, they simply aren’t exposed to energy careers early enough to understand that energy offers more than just a job. Second, the existing workforce is lacking skills that have been introduced—or demanded—by new technology and evolving operational systems.

In response, organizations need to engage talent earlier and more creatively. At the CEWD conference, several leaders highlighted the importance of high school partnerships, hands-on learning, and compelling mobility stories. Effective pipelines also come from nontraditional sources such as military transition programs, second-chance hiring initiatives, and partnerships with community-based organizations. These novel approaches to inclusive talent development can unlock skilled workers who have historically been overlooked.

Actionable Steps to Prepare the Talent Pipeline

• Build early-career exposure programs with local high schools, dual-enrollment programs, and community colleges focused on energy pathways.
• Expand recruiting partnerships with military bases, workforce reentry programs, and community-based organizations to reach overlooked talent pools.
• Develop clear, visible skill pathways that show workers how to advance from entry-level roles into technical specialist or leadership positions.

3.     Digital Transformation and AI Readiness

Digital tools and AI are reshaping the nature of work across the industry. From predictive maintenance to connected field technologies, workers are being asked to adopt new systems at unprecedented speed. Without transparency and training, these shifts can create uncertainty, especially among frontline teams and supervisors who must explain the changes to their crews.

Organizations must build a workforce culture that is confident, digitally literate, and flexible. Leaders at the conference emphasized that frontline leaders play a critical role in demystifying AI and supporting skill-building. When employers offer transparency about  why technology is changing and how employees can grow with it, their employees can stay engaged rather than becoming fearful.

Actionable Steps to Address Digital Transformation and Readiness

• Map the roles most affected by AI and communicate upcoming technological developments early and clearly.
• Launch a “Digital Essentials” learning pathway that builds confidence in new tools, data systems, and AI-enabled workflows.
• Train frontline leaders to support skill development, and guide teams through digital change.

Looking Ahead: Culture Is Your Most Scalable Advantage

After spending time at CEWD, I have no doubt that we are seeing a renaissance moment for the energy sector, and most companies will likely find themselves at a strategic crossroad. Seramount’s research has found that organizations that invest in people, i.e., workplace culture, with the same zeal and commitment with which they invest in technology will be able to meet the moment much more competitively than those who see culture as an afterthought. 

Culture is not soft. Culture is not secondary. Particularly now, culture will be the foundation of retention and long-term competitiveness in the energy sector. As competition across the sector increases to meet new demands, the organizations that build strong, inclusive cultures today will be the ones that lead the future of energy.

Partner with Seramount to Build a Culture That Attracts and Retains Top Talent

Seramount supports energy organizations in building cultures that strengthen belonging, readiness, and performance. We help leaders:

• Diagnose cultural strengths and gaps for the organization.
• Support frontline leader development and engagement to shape and advocate for culture.
• Share best practices from peers within and outside of the industry.

If your organization is preparing for growth, digital transformation, or workforce transition, Seramount can help build the culture your strategy requires. Reach out to talk to one of our experts!

The post Supporting the Energy Sector’s Workforce Through Culture appeared first on Seramount.

This public debate has collapsed two separate issues—productivity and physical presence—into one narrative. But the evidence tells a far clearer story.

Well-designed hybrid work consistently improves engagement, retention, and, in many cases, productivity itself. Employees report they are able to work more efficiently, protect focus time, and better manage their energy when given flexibility in where and when they work.

For HR leaders, this disconnect presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The debate isn’t really about where people sit; it’s about how organizations define, measure, and experience productivity. And no one is better positioned to lead that redefinition than HR leaders.

Hybrid Didn’t Create a Productivity Problem—It Revealed a Measurement One

Most anxiety surrounding hybrid work stems from measurement systems built for another era. As the research shows, many organizations still rely on legacy metrics—time in seat, output volume, visible activity—systems built for an in-office world that can’t capture how value is created in a distributed one.

When those signals stop working, leaders understandably look for the most visible cue to latch onto, usually attendance. But visibility is not value. And surveillance is not measurement. Monitoring keystrokes, scanning badge data, or tracking idle time won’t restore productivity; it will erode trust.

Research continues to show that cultures built on trust outperform cultures built on visibility. Stanford researchers found that hybrid employees not only maintained productivity but had one-third higher retention rates, a clear sign of what’s possible when autonomy and clarity reinforce one another. When employees feel trusted, engagement rises and teams bring more energy to their work. Strengthening productivity, in other words, comes from setting clearer expectations and building the alignment people need to do their best work.

This is where HR leadership becomes essential: making productivity transparent by defining clear outcomes and the behaviors that drive them, and doing so with employees at the table.

What HR Leaders Must Do Now to Redefine Productivity

Redefining productivity in a hybrid era starts with transparency—making expectations visible, shared, and grounded in how work actually gets done today. Research from Deloitte and RAND shows that sustainable performance comes from clear outcomes supported by engagement, autonomy, and well-being. To sustain excellence within flexible work arrangements, business leaders must redefine productivity through the following interconnected outcomes:

• Business impact measures the results, quality, and innovation that advance strategic goals.
• Collaboration captures how teams connect, share knowledge, and generate new ideas across locations.
• Engagement reflects the energy, focus, and well-being that enable long-term efficiency and effectiveness.

But transparency only works when it’s grounded in employee experience and input. In one mid-size organization we supported, the CEO wanted to make “Boosting Productivity” a top priority for 2026, driven by a lingering belief that performance had never fully recovered post-COVID, even with new tools, hybrid flexibility, and larger teams.

Before introducing any new expectations, leaders needed to understand how these norms would land and what was actually hindering productivity in the day-to-day. With Seramount’s support, they brought roughly 1,000 senior leaders together for an Employee Voice Session to pressure-test a draft of their new “Ways of Working That Strengthen Performance.” Leaders were asked directly: What feels clear? What feels unclear? And what won’t work, given the reality of how your teams operate today?

Instead of resistance, employees surfaced practical friction points—meeting overload, unclear priorities, inconsistent modeling—that would have quietly derailed the rollout. Their input allowed the company to refine expectations around impact, collaboration, and engagement so the standards were clear, usable, and culturally aligned.

This is the work HR must lead: co-creating outcome-based standards and the everyday behaviors that bring them to life. When employees help build the system, expectations gain credibility, trust strengthens, and productivity becomes something people can meaningfully achieve—not something measured through outdated proxies.

The Enablers of a Modern Productivity System

Once productivity standards are clear and co-created, HR leaders must ensure the rest of the system reinforces them.

Managers must lead with consistency, connection, and fairness.

In hybrid environments, proximity should not determine opportunity. Yet research shows remote employees remain less likely to be promoted or recognized. Managers must support their employees by communicating expectations, mitigating bias, and maintaining meaningful weekly conversations that anchor performance and well-being. These habits are what create equitable, high-performing hybrid teams—not physical visibility.

AI must be implemented in ways that protect human engagement.

AI can accelerate output, but research from Nature and the Harvard Business Review shows it can also dampen employees’ sense of ownership and connection if introduced without intention. HR leaders can guide organizations to adopt AI through structured experimentation, transparent communication, and the reinforcement that AI augments—not replaces—human judgment and creativity.

Well-being must be treated as a performance system, not a perk.

Burnout is one of the most expensive drains on productivity. Gallup estimates global burnout costs $8.9 trillion annually. Seramount research shows burned-out employees are 2.6 times more likely to leave. HR leaders can redesign work to sustain energy, protecting focus time, balancing workloads, and supporting caregivers and historically marginalized groups who benefit most from well-designed hybrid flexibility.

These are not “extras”—they are the conditions that enable people to meet the outcome standards business leaders set.

The Step Leaders Still Underestimate: Listening as Strategic Infrastructure

Even the best-defined standards will fail if employees don’t see their experiences reflected in them. What matters isn’t just listening—it’s structured listening that feeds directly into change management. When organizations gather real insight through voice sessions, focused dialogues, and ongoing feedback, then use those insights to shape decisions, productivity stays grounded in reality and employees trust the process.

Listening shows employees they are partners in shaping how work evolves. It reduces skepticism. It surfaces friction early. And it turns productivity from something policed to something co-owned.

Listening is the system that keeps transparency alive.

Redefining Productivity Is HR’s Leadership Mandate

The future of productivity will not be restored by mandates, monitoring, or nostalgia for pre-pandemic norms. It will be shaped by whether organizations define productivity with clarity, measure it transparently, and refine it continuously with their people.

HR leaders are uniquely positioned to lead that shift—not by choosing sides in the hybrid debate, but by establishing the frameworks that move the conversation beyond presence and toward performance.

Hybrid work can expose fractures or fuel transformation. The difference depends on whether HR leads the redefinition—or lets legacy assumptions write the next chapter.

The post The Productivity Strategy That Actually Boosts Performance: Build It with Your People appeared first on Seramount.

A Night to Remember at Cipriani

New York City shimmered on October 23 as leaders, families, and changemakers gathered at Cipriani 42nd Street for the annual Seramount Gala. Beneath its grand tilework and historic arches, the evening celebrated not only excellence but also belonging. Guests enjoyed an immersive experience that included virtual reality headsets offering glimpses of innovation, Ms. Wendy’s whimsical pipe cleaner art that brought smiles across generations, and an exquisite menu that kept conversation flowing late into the night

The night’s most moving moment came as Seramount honored the Working Parents and Caregivers of the Year—individuals whose leadership at work is matched only by their care at home. It was a powerful reminder that progress begins with people who show up for others, day after day.

The Future of Leadership Takes the Stage

As dinner gave way to dialogue, the spotlight turned to a CHRO panel titled “The Future of Leadership: People, Purpose, and Possibility.” Moderated by Sally Amoruso, Chief Partner Officer at EAB, the conversation brought insight and honesty in equal measure.

Panelists Anne Erni (Audible), Tara Favors (Mutual of America), and Sharon Pollard (CloudZero) discussed how leadership itself is evolving — blending data, empathy, and adaptability in ways that redefine what it means to lead well. They spoke about building trust, using analytics to uncover bias, and leading with “radical empathy” in complex times.

It was a candid, inspiring look at where leadership is headed—and how today’s HR visionaries are already shaping that future.

The night concluded with a stunning medley of New York–inspired songs from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, perfectly capping off an evening of harmony and celebration.

If the Gala was the celebration, the Summit was the think tank—a full day devoted to the next chapter of workplace evolution.

From Celebration to Ideation

The following morning, the energy carried to Convene 360 in Midtown Manhattan for WorkBeyond Summit 2025. The day opened with a Community Impact Breakfast supporting I Got You Girl, part of the NYC Campaign Against Hunger — setting a tone of service and shared purpose.

Under the theme “Future Forward: Inclusion, Innovation, and Impact,” HR, talent, and inclusion professionals spent the day exploring the evolving world of work—from well-being and belonging to technology and transformation.

Rediscovering Our Humanity

Keynote speaker Vanessa Woods, research scientist and author of Survival of the Friendliest, challenged the audience to rethink what truly drives progress.

“Inclusion is an adjective, not a noun,” she shared in her conversation with Subha V. Barry, President of Seramount. Her insight was simple but powerful: humanity has always thrived through cooperation, not competition.

Her words filled the room with quiet conviction—a reminder that empathy and curiosity will define the next era of leadership.

Ideas in Action: The WorkBeyond Idea-thon

The WorkBeyond Idea-thon, led by David Attis (EAB) and Nichelle Wash (Seramount), turned ideas into action. Participants rolled up their sleeves to reimagine workplace challenges using design thinking.

Teams explored themes such as leadership accountability, trust, and cross-functional collaboration. The energy was high—ideas flew, laughter filled the room, and strangers became collaborators. For many attendees from the same organization, it was also a rare chance to work together—something they don’t often get to do since they’re spread across different offices.

Attis summed upped this session best: “To see the future, start looking in the present.”

Insights That Inspire

The afternoon featured sessions on neurodiversity in hiring, AI’s human side, and mental health at work—each offering new ideas for how organizations can thrive in times of change.

Panelists shared strategies that were practical yet deeply human: design workplaces where people feel seen, valued, and empowered to grow. The Summit closed with a lively networking reception, where insights turned into introductions and ideas found their next champions.

The mood? Energized, hopeful, and ready for what’s next.

Looking Ahead

From the Gala’s sparkle to the Summit’s strategy, this year’s events captured the full spirit of Seramount—equal parts elegance and action. Together, they reminded us that the future of work isn’t something to predict; it’s something to design.

To everyone who joined us—sponsors, honorees, speakers, partners, and guests—thank you for making this year one to remember.

We can’t wait to return to New York City on October 22–23, 2026, for another unforgettable celebration of progress, people, and possibility.

Interested in getting involved early? Connect with your Seramount representative to begin planning.We look forward to continuing this work together and celebrating your progress next year.

View all 2025 WorkBeyond photos.

The post A Night of Glamour, a Day of Vision: Highlights from the Seramount Gala and WorkBeyond Summit 2025 appeared first on Seramount.

Proactive Inclusion in a Complex World

Barry shared encouraging data, illustrating how inclusive hiring efforts are paying off. In a study of recruitment practices across the UK, Canada, and India, companies employing “tried-and-true” inclusion tactics – diverse candidate slates, diverse interview panels, mandatory bias training, and targeted sourcing – saw tangible results. In the UK, for example, 50% of new hires this year were women, up from 46% in 2023, with similar rises in Canada (55%, up from 51%) and modest results in India (37%, up from 36%). These upticks in women’s hiring underscore how inclusive talent strategies can drive measurable progress, reinforcing Barry’s point that inclusion can be a competitive advantage in every market. Barry also highlighted partnership as a catalyst for innovation: The StepStone Group, a global leader in digital recruitment and the summit’s host, exemplifies how embedding inclusion at a platform’s core helps connect talent to opportunity at scale. StepStone’s own Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Bianca Stringuini, echoed this vision of inclusion-fueled innovation in her welcome remarks, setting the stage for a day of learning and collaboration.

From Compliance to Influence: Aligning HR Leadership

The first session dug into a foundational question: how can Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs) and Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) join forces to amplify impact? James Cowling-Vega, shared insights from a new Seramount study based on interviews with over 100 CHROs. The research revealed that while most HR leaders support Inclusion in principle, truly integrating inclusion into business strategy requires moving beyond compliance-driven approaches to ones centered on influence and collaboration. Cowling-Vega noted that effective CDO-CHRO partnerships hinge on speaking the language of business outcomes. This theme of “shifting from explaining inclusion to executing with influence” resonated throughout the day. In fact, Seramount’s latest pulse survey found that only 1 in 5 CDOs feel they can effectively influence their C-suite on Inclusion, even as 90% say securing senior leadership buy-in is their top priority. Closing that gap is critical – without the ability to clearly link inclusion to business value, Inclusion efforts risk being sidelined or defunded in today’s environment. Cowling-Vega’s session underscored a clear call to action: HR and Inclusion leaders must continue to evolve from box-checking to business-aligned strategies, using data and influence to embed inclusion into executive agendas.

Moving with Trust in AI

A lively fireside chat on emerging technology examined the cutting-edge of inclusion practice: AI in HR. Nicola Weatherhead, StepStone Group’s VP of Talent Acquisition & People Operations, joined Subha Barry for a candid discussion on the promise and perils of artificial intelligence in people management. Weatherhead, a veteran tech industry people leader, and Barry emphasized moving forward with trust in AI – harnessing AI’s efficiencies in recruiting and talent management while maintaining human oversight and fairness. Attendees openly shared their experiences via live poll: many organizations are still in early exploratory stages of integrating AI in HR, and the top concerns on everyone’s mind are bias, transparency, and compliance with rapidly evolving laws. Weatherhead addressed these head-on, citing the forthcoming EU AI Act as a prime example of why HR leaders must stay proactive. Her guidance: treat AI as a tool to augment, not replace, human judgment, and build diverse teams to vet AI-driven decisions for unintended bias. She described StepStone’s approach to ethical AI – from rigorous bias testing in algorithms to cross-functional governance – as a model of balancing innovation with responsibility. The takeaway was clear: trust and innovation can co-exist. With the right guardrails, AI can help streamline hiring and expand talent pools, but earning employee trust means prioritizing ethics and transparency at every step.

Navigating Legal Headwinds in Inclusion

Legal and regulatory shifts have rocked the Inclusion landscape worldwide, a reality brought to life by Chris Bracebridge, Partner at Covington & Burling LLP and a leader on the firm’s global Inclusion Council. Bracebridge led a session on inclusion under pressure – how recent legal changes demand agile strategies from Inclusion and HR teams. He noted that in just the past 18 months, dramatic changes have altered what’s permissible or practicable in corporate Inclusion programs. From high-profile court decisions on affirmative action in the U.S., to new European regulations like the AI Act and pay transparency directives, to evolving UK compliance requirements – the rules of engagement for Inclusion are being rewritten in real time. Bracebridge broke down these complexities with practical clarity, reassuring leaders that inclusion and compliance are not mutually exclusive. For instance, he pointed out that even amid political pushback, companies can focus on inclusive practices that are universally beneficial, such as mentorship programs or diversity in recruitment, which carry low legal risk but high cultural impact. The key is to stay informed and creative: adjusting language, reframing programs, and doubling down on business relevance can help inclusion initiatives survive external challenges. Bracebridge’s bottom line: Inclusion leaders must become deft navigators of change, influencing stakeholders with both vision and vigilance. His insights – coming from a firm that’s been advising global companies through these storms since 2021 – provided a roadmap for turning legal “disruption into opportunity”, sparking ideas on how to future-proof inclusion efforts.

Macro Trends and Inclusion: An Economist’s View

After lunch, the summit zoomed out to a macro-economic lens, examining how broad labor market trends influence workplace inclusion. Julius Probst, Appcast’s European Labor Economist, presented a data-rich look at the British economy and job market in 2025. Probst, shared sobering statistics: the UK’s unemployment rate has crept up to 4.6%, and job vacancies have declined to their lowest since before the pandemic. After a long post-pandemic boom, Britain’s labor market is edging closer to a downturn, with hiring freezes and lower turnover as economic uncertainty rises. Yet within this challenging climate, there are silver linings for inclusion. Probst noted that a cooling labor market can push employers to focus on quality ofhire over quantity, presenting an opening to double down on inclusive recruitment – reaching talent that may have been overlooked in hyper-competitive Probst added perspective from on-the-ground in the UK: even as overall hiring slows, skills shortages persist in sectors from technology to care services, meaning companies that cast wider nets and invest in upskilling diverse talent will weather the storm better. This economist’s view reinforced a theme from earlier in the day – inclusion as innovation under pressure. When macro headwinds blow, inclusive practices like reskilling, internal mobility, and flexible work can become engines of resilience. The session vividly connected the dots between global trends and daily inclusion work, reminding leaders that Inclusion strategy must flex with economic realities.

Collaborative Solutions: Evolving ERGs and Beyond

Caroline Waters, OBE – a veteran HR executive and Deputy Chair of the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission – led an eye-opening breakout session on global demographic shifts and what they mean for inclusion. Co-facilitated by Angela Lacerna, an Associate Director of Partner Development at Seramount, the session challenged participants to think bigger about where talent and consumers will come from in the future.

Waters highlighted several striking facts as signals of a massive demographic transformation unfolding worldwide:

• English speakers on the rise: China is poised to become the largest English-speaking nation in the world.
• Talent pool scale: The top 25% highest-IQ individuals in China outnumber the entire population of North America (and India’s top 28% does as well).
• Workforce surplus: Even if every current U.S. job were transferred to China or India, those countries would still have a huge surplus of workers to spare.
• Skyrocketing birth rates: In the time it takes to read this sentence, dozens of babies are born around the globe – about 38 in the United States, 92 in China, and 241 in India. As Waters put it, “the speed of global diversification is almost too fast to grasp.”
• Shifting majorities: In Birmingham, UK, the balance of demographics flipped within a decade. The city went from roughly 58% White and 42% Black in 2011 to about 49% White and 51% Black in 2021 – a complete reversal of majority and minority representation in just ten years.
• Youth resurgence: In the UK, church attendance among young adults has quadrupled, from only 4% in 2018 to 16% today. This unexpected surge in youth participation is another example of how quickly social trends can turn.

Each of these data points, Waters explained, is more than just a statistic – it’s a wake-up call. Together, they paint a picture of a world where diversity is the new normal on a global scale. Populations and workforces in Asia are booming, educational and linguistic advantages are no longer confined to Western nations, and even local communities are seeing dramatic shifts in composition and behavior. For inclusion strategists, the implication is clear: we must anticipate and embrace a far more diverse future. Inclusion efforts can’t rely on old assumptions about where talent comes from or what “majority” means in any given context. Instead, leaders should prepare for a reality in which the so-called ‘minority’ groups may become majorities (and vice versa), and cultural patterns may shift unexpectedly.

ERGs: From Passion to Strategic Impact

Katie Oertli Mooney, Managing Director at Seramount, shared that even as some organizations pull back on formal DEI programs, employee resource groups (ERGs) remain resilient and continue to evolve. She introduced a new ERG maturity model with two dimensions – operational and impact – urging companies to move beyond grassroots passion to a structured infrastructure with leadership alignment from the top down. On the impact side, Mooney challenged leaders to think past what ERGs do (hosting events or programs) and focus on what they enable for the business and culture. The message was clear: leading organizations treat ERGs not as extracurricular networks, but as strategic partners in driving inclusion and innovation.

Mooney illustrated how high-functioning ERGs serve as pipelines for relationship-building and talent development. ERG leaders and members gain vital experience – from cross-functional collaboration and strategic planning to mentoring others – that hones their business acumen and inclusive leadership skills. These experiences build executive presence and influence among diverse talent, empowering employees to drive cultural fluency across the organization. In short, ERGs can be incubators of future leaders, translating grassroots energy into tangible business capabilities.

Spotlight Stories of Resilience and Innovation

As the summit’s final segment, two industry leaders delivered inspiring spotlight stories illustrating how they are driving inclusion forward in challenging times. Sharlene John, Head of Inclusion, Recruitment and Onboarding at Selfridges, spoke about cultivating talent and culture in the luxury retail sector. John described how Selfridges partners with the King’s Trust to promote internal talent development, creating avenues for underrepresented employees to advance and lead with continued support at the close of the program.

Next, Annika Allen, Head of Inclusion at All3Media, offered a candid look at building inclusion in media and entertainment – an industry known for creative dynamism and, often, systemic inequities. At the summit, Allen spoke passionately about the link between employee well-being and inclusion. In an environment prone to burnout and high stress, All3Media has made employee mental health a pillar of its Inclusion strategy – from inclusive storytelling workshops that give employees a voice, to equitable parental leave and flexible work arrangements. Allen’s core message: creativity and inclusion thrive together when people feel safe, valued, and cared for as whole individuals.

Think Bigger, Act Smarter: What’s Next

After a full day of insights and exchange, the Think Bigger Summit concluded with a unifying call to action. In closing remarks, Subha Barry observed that through every panel, spotlight, and hallway conversation, one theme came up again and again: “This work lives or dies by our ability to influence.” Influence – built on trust, backed by data, and aligned to business priorities – is the linchpin for turning inclusive ideas into sustained action. Barry challenged every leader in attendance to carry the day’s learnings back to their organizations and “engineer influence” for the changes that matter. Some key messages emerged from the summit’s conversations:

• Moving with trust in AI: Leverage AI-driven tools in HR and recruiting, but do so ethically and transparently, addressing biases and ensuring human oversight at each step.
• Inclusion as innovation under pressure: Treat inclusion as a source of innovation and resilience, especially in turbulent times. When under pressure – whether from legal, economic, or social forces – doubling down on Inclusion can reveal new solutions and growth opportunities.
• Shifting from compliance to influence: Evolve from check-the-box diversity compliance toward true influence in the C-suite. Build the business case with data and storytelling, and speak to what drives your particular organization. Inclusion isn’t a “nice-to-have” – it’s a strategic imperative, and it demands the same rigor and buy-in as any core business initiative.
• Evolving ERG maturity and impact: Invest in the maturity of Employee Resource Groups so they become strategic partners in talent development and innovation. Provide ERGs with executive sponsorship, clear objectives, and metrics to showcase impact, moving them from affinity communities to engines of business insight and leadership development.

Looking ahead, Seramount is committed to keeping this momentum going. Seramount’s Global Inclusion Index remains open for organizations to benchmark not just what they say, but what they do, across 29 countries. And the upcoming Global Member Conference will reunite this community to continue the conversation, dive deeper into new research, and turn ideas into action. These efforts are part of Seramount’s broader 2026 thought leadership agenda,  all aimed at one goal: helping inclusion leaders think bigger and act smarter to meet the demands of this changing workplace.

Together, we are turning aspiration into action, and ensuring that inclusion not only keeps pace with change, but drives the innovative workplaces of tomorrow.

The post Strategic Inclusion Under Pressure: Think Bigger Global Summit Highlights appeared first on Seramount.

As Inside Higher Ed recently reported, more law schools are embracing AI, reflecting a profession already reshaped by tools such as ChatGPT, CoCounsel, and Lexis+ AI. Nearly all executives responding to a 2024 LexisNexis survey of Am Law 200 firms indicated they expect investment in generative AI technologies to increase over the next five years, with nearly half currently exploring new lines of business or billable opportunities made possible by generative AI. For today’s students, the challenge isn’t just learning the law; it’s learning how to practice it effectively in a world where AI is part of the workflow.

Practicing the Lawyer’s Craft

Legal education has long wrestled with the gap between theory and practice. Now, that divide is widening as routine legal tasks—such as document review or research—become more automated, shifting a lawyer’s focus to client communication and strategic analysis. Students need more than just exposure to these tools; they will need hands-on experience as clients begin to expect the incorporation of AI into a firm’s offered services.

Through Forage simulations from leading firms such as White & Case, Kilpatrick Townsend, and Latham & Watkins, students step into the shoes of associates to practice real responsibilities: drafting privileged correspondence, conducting due diligence, preparing litigation letters, and even pitching strategies to clients.

By collaborating with the top law student resource in BARBRI, Forage virtual simulations gain a wider exposure to students globally as they utilize these services in preparation for SQEs or U.S. bar exams. These collaborations bring experiential learning to thousands of aspiring lawyers, enhancing their skills as part of their journey to workplace readiness. With Forage simulations appearing alongside essential study materials, employers know that students are receiving the most modern legal training.

These simulations aren’t classroom hypotheticals. They mirror the work that junior lawyers can expect to take on from day one, building confidence in the skills that matter most.

Strengthening Skills AI Can’t Replace

Generative AI may draft contracts or surface relevant case law, but it can’t replace human judgment, communication, or empathy. Forage simulations give students the chance to practice and hone valuable client-facing interactions, supporting their transition of theoretical knowledge into practical application. In White & Case’s Intellectual Property simulation, candidates draft client memos and respond to “cease and desist” letters. In Kilpatrick Townsend’s Corporate Law experience, they conduct due diligence while executing redlines in a contract negotiation. Through the Latham & Watkins Antitrust module, students conduct internal antitrust investigations as part of witness preparation.

Equally important, law students and recent grads sharpen the skills needed to check AI’s work, such as spotting inaccuracies, evaluating sources, thinking critically, and writing with clarity. These abilities are exactly what law firms emphasize when hiring: AI fluency paired with ethical human judgment.

Outcomes That Matter

For law firms, corporate counsel, and legal organizations competing for top talent, virtual career experiences such as those offered by Forage bring measurable advantages. Being integrated with a globally recognized legal exam prep such as BARBRI guarantees a firm’s brand visibility in an overcrowded market. Hiring managers recognize that graduates who have completed Forage simulations often signal the combination of ability and engagement that is highly desirable in junior associates. The outcomes are evident. Eighty-seven percent of Forage learners reported gaining new, practical skills. Students who complete a Forage job simulation are 2× more likely to get an interview and 3× more likely to receive a job offer. Beyond the marketing impact, participation in Forage simulations translates into more efficient onboarding and quicker contributions from new hires. Firms that focus on building AI fluency alongside real-world training aren’t just winning talent today; they are future-proofing their workforce.

The Path Forward

Firms that focus on building AI fluency alongside real-world training aren’t just winning talent today—they’re shaping a generation of lawyers ready to practice with confidence.

See how Forage helps forward-thinking organizations build a workforce ready to thrive in an AI-enabled future.

The post The Future of Legal Talent: Why AI + Human Skills Will Define Success appeared first on Seramount.

Why the Insight-to-Action Gap Is Growing  

Unfortunately, many HR teams collect feedback without converting it into next steps or communicating their findings. This frustrates employees and trains them not to expect results. So, it’s not surprising that many employees only provide surface-level survey input or don’t respond at all. In a recent survey conducted across multiple industries, Seramount researchers discovered 34% of employees aren’t completely honest in their responses. When survey participation drops or responses get more guarded, engagement scores mask what’s really going on with your workforce—leaving business leaders vulnerable to emerging performance risks. 

Two reasons the insight-to-action gap persists: 

• Slow analysis and reporting: Feedback is outdated by the time results are manually analyzed and shared, making it hard to respond in real time. 
• Action planning bottlenecks: Without clear next steps, good intentions stall after results are shared. Even with clear insights, teams often lack the time or stakeholder buy-in to act on them. 

Employee listening shouldn’t just be a pulse check.  It should be a strategic lever to measure and improve how your business runs. In many companies, employee feedback has highlighted innovation opportunities, surfaced process misalignment, and exposed gaps in the brand promise. Whether your next initiative is feedback-driven or not, it’s almost impossible to improve operations if you lose credibility with your workforce.  

If employees can’t trust you to follow up on their feedback, they’ll wonder if it’s worth their time to answer the next time you ask for input. Employees who trust their organization are 260% more motivated to work and 41% less likely to be absent. However, the employees who disengage from listening efforts eventually pull away from their work, too. That slide from broken trust to disengagement shows up as slower decision-making, lower effort, and higher turnover among top performers. 

Three Steps HR Leaders Can Take to Close the Gap 

When they feel heard, employees are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work. Organizations that act on their feedback see higher employee motivation, stronger alignment to business goals, and measurable productivity improvements over time. Employees don’t expect every suggestion to become policy, but they do expect acknowledgment and visible progress after taking the time to share their input.  

Here’s how to put this in practice: 

1. Tie every listening effort to a business priority. Frame insights in terms your leaders care about such as customer experience, innovation, or risk to demonstrate how feedback impacts business outcomes. 
2. Make “closing the feedback loop” non-negotiable. Set a standard cadence for reporting at the company and team level: what we heard, what we’re doing, what’s still in progress, and why. 
3. Equip managers with the right capabilities. Give managers clear summaries with talking points to explain corporate decisions and department-specific findings to make communications more relevant to their teams. 

Seramount’s Assess360 partnership provides the research-backed recommendations and hands-on support organizations need to effectively close the insight-to-action gap. HR leaders collaborate with our dedicated team of talent experts to interpret feedback, design next steps aligned with your business priorities, and communicate those plans back to your employees. We work alongside your team from assessment through implementation to transform your insights into coordinated actions tailored to your unique context.  

Here are a few follow-up practices we recommend after gathering employee feedback: 

When follow-up is built into your listening strategy, it becomes a powerful performance lever. Closing the feedback loop creates the competitive advantage HR leaders need to lead their organization through change.  

The post The Feedback Loop Is Broken. Here’s How HR Leaders Can Fix It appeared first on Seramount.

Recruitment is particularly difficult as HR leaders are struggling to fill open positions, spending considerable time, money, and recruiter capacity to reduce high-impact vacancies. This increase in spend is primarily driven by an increasingly selective talent pool and a low-hire/low-fire employment environment.

The challenges don’t end there; retention is also causing headaches as HR leaders are facing a workplace culture crisis. Since 2020, Gallup has found a 36 percent decrease in job satisfaction, a 20 percent decrease in connection to mission, and an 18 percent decrease in engagement. These considerable dips are driving rising attrition rates.

Within this ambiguous talent market and amid a culture crisis, one thing is clear: Employers need to invest in building stronger workplace cultures.

Three Questions to Ask About Your Culture Value Proposition

In recent years, cultural factors have significantly shifted for both the workforce and the workplace. Friction points between what employees (both prospective and current) want and the value employers are offering are causing many HR leaders to question their existing EVPs.

Below are three questions HR leaders should ask when assessing the strength of their current culture.

1. Do our material offerings meet employee flexibility priorities?

Traditional preferences such as commute distance and office perks have declined in importance. As more employees live farther from the office, remote flexibility has become one of the most attractive benefits.

2. Are we offering the developmental opportunities our employees need?

Professional development has become a key lever for improving engagement and job satisfaction metrics. However, HR leaders often struggle to ensure their organizations can accurately assess performance and provide timely developmental interventions.

3. Do our community-building efforts balance inclusion and flexibility?

Community-building has declined in many organizations. Although remote and hybrid work models are attractive benefits, they have diminished day-to-day connections. Many HR leaders are caught between prioritizing the flexibility their employees want and the community-building teams need for success.

Employee Benefits That Improve Culture

In response to workforce and workplace shifts, many HR leaders are exploring ways to increase cultural value. The goal of these levers and unique policies is to make roles more attractive to prospective candidates and to improve engagement for current employees. These efforts include changes to:

• Formal Learning Opportunities: Job seekers and current employees increasingly want structured professional development and upskilling. Visible investments such as financial support for continuing education or an internal gig program can improve engagement and commitment, addressing challenges that affect workplace satisfaction.

• Benefits and Rewards: Unique and personalized benefits can strengthen engagement and serve as key differentiators in talent attraction. Expanded mental health support, additional PTO, experiential rewards, and flexibility related to different life stages reflect organizational trust and responsiveness to evolving employee needs.

• Workplace Communities: Although flexibility remains highly valued, remote work can lead to isolation, and hybrid schedules can be difficult to work around. Customizable digital collaboration spaces and purposeful in-person gatherings help sustain community and belonging across dispersed teams. Investment in employee resource groups can serve as a strategic initiative to promote community-building and belonging.

Embedding Culture Across the Employee Lifecycle

When implementing new culture initiatives, HR leaders should ensure those efforts shape every stage of the employee lifecycle—from a candidate’s first impression to their long-term connection with the organization.

For example, your company has a strong culture of professional development. You’ve identified it as a talent differentiator, and you want to incorporate it more into talent branding and employee experience. How might you embed that across the different touchpoints HR has with the employee?

Attraction and Recruitment

During attraction and recruitment, the culture of professional development should be clearly visible across all talent materials. Career sites and job descriptions can highlight internal mobility pathways and tuition assistance. Articles on the talent page or LinkedIn posts should highlight employee stories that demonstrate how growth is supported in practice. Recruiters and hiring teams should be trained to speak authentically about these programs so candidates see professional development as a lived part of the culture.

Onboarding

Onboarding should make the culture of professional development more tangible. New hires can hear from colleagues who advanced through learning programs or internal promotions. Early feedback conversations help employees plan to participate in professional development opportunities and connect them to their individual goals. Mentorship and skill-building programs can reinforce professional development as an ongoing expectation.

Growth

In the growth phase, performance reviews and recognition programs should emphasize continuous learning. Highlighting achievements such as completing certifications or mentoring peers helps employees see how their growth supports the organization’s success. Opening pathways for team leaders to nominate employees for professional development opportunities in the review process can acknowledge efforts and show further investments. Regular feedback sessions can then capture employee insights on these programs, ensuring that developmental efforts evolve alongside both personal and organizational priorities.

Retention and Offboarding

Done right, a more intentional culture of professional development will improve satisfaction and retention, delivering measurable savings in attrition costs. 

However, if an employee departs, off-boarding should continue to reflect the same commitment to culture. Use the time during an exit interview to collect feedback on professional development experiences and surface insights employees may share only after leaving. Those findings can inform future initiatives and sustain organizational health.

The Bottom Line—Culture Drives Performance

When HR leaders focus efforts on culture, it does more than just support talent acquisition and retention efforts. By identifying culture strengths and opportunities, HR leaders have the opportunity to drive impact on KPIs across the organization. Why?

Strong cultures encourage and equip people to do their best work.

Investing in culture is an investment in the long-term productivity and development of an effective workforce. However, it’s not enough to simply build a great culture. HR leaders need to implement elements of culture across the employment lifecycle to impact recruitment and retention in an increasingly difficult labor market.

Given their ability to address current culture challenges and incorporate culture across the employee lifecycle, HR leaders are uniquely positioned to motivate and prepare employees to do their best work and contribute to a culture of success.

The post How Do You Make Culture a Talent Differentiator? appeared first on Seramount.