🔥 41% of HR Want Out

Today we expose how organizations compress 85% of headcount while maintaining output through radical AI-first redesigns, uncover why 41% of HR professionals considered abandoning the field entirely as burnout reaches crisis levels, and show how one free AI tool delivers Harvard-standard learning systems while competitors spend $5,000+ on executive education.

Discover America's Most Loved Workplaces® 2025

The elite companies proving exceptional culture drives exceptional results. Certified through real employee sentiment data—not editorial opinion. These organizations achieve 2-4x higher retention, 2-4x more discretionary effort, and 92% successfully attract the talent they need.

See who made the Top 100 this year.

→ View the full list

For Culture Leaders

From Tasks to Systems: Organizations Operationalize AI Through CRAFT Framework—Strategic Roles Required

According to Indeed economists, 61% of skills listed in HR job postings have AI transformation potential (well above 44% U.S. average), yet most implementations are performance art. Rachel Woods, founder of The AI Exchange, developed the CRAFT Cycle methodology after witnessing teams attempt full-process automation, fail spectacularly, then abandon AI initiatives entirely.

The uncomfortable truth: Most AI implementations are performance art. Teams pilot chatbots, celebrate proof-of-concept demos, then watch adoption crater when rubber meets road.

Here's what winners do: Break processes into "tiny but useful" automations using the five-stage CRAFT methodology. Clear Picture documents existing workflows—who's involved, inputs required, success indicators. Realistic Design carves manageable chunks rather than attempting end-to-end replacement. AI-ify builds the automation. Feedback creates tight iteration loops. Team rollout ensures adoption through designated ownership and training.

The Data That Matters:

• 61% of HR job posting skills have AI transformation potential (well above 44% average)

• 85% team compression while maintaining output through AI-first org redesigns

• Enablement ROI outranks cost savings and productivity (new capabilities beat time saved)

The immediate move: Install new organizational roles immediately. Chief AI Officer sets vision and governance. AI operators own the full CRAFT cycle from opportunity identification through adoption, requiring minimum 20 hours weekly. AI implementers handle technical building and integration.

Smart companies fundamentally redesign org charts around AI-first principles while competitors run eighteen-month pilots testing which enterprise platform to standardize on. The strategic choice is immediate: build these competencies now, or watch Legal take compliance, Finance take workforce reporting, and IT take AI implementation.

The Gen AI Playbook: Strategy Beats Speed—Deploy AI Based on Error Cost, Not Intelligence

Harvard Business School professors Bharat Anand and Andy Wu challenge the questions business leaders ask about generative AI. The misdirected focus: When will gen AI match my best employees' intelligence? Is it accurate enough? What are rivals doing? These questions fixate on AI's intelligence trajectory rather than strategic implications.

The hard part? Understanding where error costs allow deployment today and how to apply AI differently than competitors. Anand and Wu's framework uses two dimensions—cost of errors and type of knowledge required—to map which tasks gen AI handles now versus which demand human judgment.

The Four Quadrants: No Regrets Zone (low error cost, explicit knowledge) deploys AI today for screening résumés, approving reimbursements, drafting responses, capturing meeting notes. Creative Catalyst Zone (low error cost, tacit knowledge) lets AI generate options while humans select. Quality Control Zone (high error cost, explicit knowledge) uses human-in-the-loop model where AI provides speed, humans provide judgment. Human-First Zone (high error cost, tacit knowledge) means AI assists, never decides. Hiring critical employees, setting strategy, navigating crises all carry serious consequences requiring human control.

The Competitive Reality No One Mentions: Because everyone accesses the same gen AI tools, applying technology to similar tasks following similar best practices means efficiency gains flow to customers and suppliers through competitive pressure, not to firms. More perilously, your customers and suppliers may disintermediate you by using AI to handle tasks you previously performed for them.

Organizations winning this transition mandate broad access, reimagine all assets as data, and redesign organizations around AI-first workflows. The organizations turning gen AI from general capability into true competitive advantage recognize these traps and move deliberately.

For Career Builders

The New Way to Learn with AI: Build Harvard-Standard Learning Systems for $0 While Others Spend $5,000+ on Executive Education

Executive education programs charge $3,000-8,000 for specialized courses with multi-week commitments. Strategic professionals leverage NotebookLM to transform any material (books, transcripts, podcasts, whitepapers) into complete learning systems instantly at zero cost.

Charlie Hills tested Google's NotebookLM since launch and tracked its evolution from grounded document assistant to complete learning system with Deep Research and eight output formats. You can upload 300 inputs per project, transforming it from single-document tool into container for entire knowledge areas.

Implementation: Upload source materials → Run Deep Research (expands context, clarifies contradictions, adds definitions) → Choose from eight formats—Audio Overview (walking, commuting), Video Overview (focus blocks), Mind Map (structural view), Report (detailed summary), Flashcards (active recall), Quiz (instant feedback), Infographic (quick refresh), Slide Deck (teaching synthesis) → Reinforce with retrieval using flashcards and quizzes.

The sharpest sequence: Upload → Deep Research → Video → Mind Map → Report → Flashcards → Quiz → Infographic → Review deck next day.

NotebookLM respects the full learning cycle: input, expansion, understanding, reinforcement, expression. While others invest thousands in fixed-schedule courses delivering fixed content, you build custom learning systems from any material instantly.

Master Any Domain with PSHE Framework: Career Growth Beyond Scope—Position for Executive Roles in 30 Days

Most professionals chase scope expansion—own a feature, then product area, then product line. Strategic professionals understand executive differentiation isn't the job scope but how you execute it. What separates directors from VPs isn't portfolio size; it's problem identification versus solution design.

Lisa Huang, experienced Product leader with five career pivots, developed career strategy using Shishir Mehrotra's PSHE framework. Mehrotra, Founder & CEO of Coda and former Director of Product for YouTube Monetization at Google, adopted PSHE for his product org's career ladder in 2008.

The Four-Stage Progression:

Execution (E)—Junior Level: You receive defined problem, solution, and execution instructions. Focus: become execution powerhouse. Write requirements engineers can implement, run effective meetings, anticipate edge cases and blockers. Excel by executing flawlessly.

Solution (S)—Mid Level: You receive problem definition and constraints, you design the solution. Focus: pattern recognition across domains. Translate ambiguous requirements into concrete specifications. Develop taste for elegant solutions. Navigate technical trade-offs independently.

Problem (P)—Senior Level: You identify problems worth solving before they're articulated. Focus: strategic thinking. Spot gaps in product experience, organizational capability, market opportunity. Frame problems so solutions become obvious. Operate with minimal oversight on ambiguous challenges.

Hiring (H)—Leadership Level: You build the team that solves problems you identified. Focus: talent magnetism and culture building. Recruit A-players who raise team performance. Create environments where people do their best work. Develop others' capability to operate at each prior level.

Strategic advantage comes from recognizing which stage you're operating in and deliberately developing skills one level up. While others optimize current-level execution, position as someone who can spot hidden problems and architect elegant solutions—not just execute brilliantly.

Value Creators Spotlight

Inside AFS Logistics: 380-Person Freight Strategy Team Where CEO Shares Quarterly Video Updates with Everyone

What They Do: Shipping strategists helping 1,800+ companies across 35 countries understand freight costs. With over $11 billion in transportation spend under management, AFS leverages decades of experience to advise, optimize and manage client shipping programs. Founded in 1982, the company employs 380 teammates across the U.S. and Canada.

What Sets Them Apart: While most logistics companies operate behind layers of hierarchy, CEO Andy Dyer records personal video messages every quarter for all teammates, sharing how AFS performed against plans. The company regularly appears on Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies while cultivating environment where innovation, collaboration, and respect aren't just values but everyday culture, balancing high performance with high support.

Employee Intelligence: "At AFS, we place a high value on ethics, which includes transparency and open communication. Our CEO regularly shares personal video messages with all team members every quarter. This open communication helps our team members maintain a realistic and positive outlook on the future of our company." The 2024 Most Loved Workplace certification reflects their commitment to empowering employees while prioritizing professional development.

Current Opportunities:

• Transportation Analyst (Shreveport, LA)

• Supply Chain Consultant (Remote, U.S.)

• Freight Operations Specialist (Various Locations)

→ View all opportunities at AFS Logistics

Inside Everise: 28,000-Person Global CX Leader Where Women Hold 46% of Leadership Roles Across 66 Nationalities

What They Do: Global customer experience solutions provider combining AI-driven technology with people-first approach across eight markets. With expertise spanning healthcare, transport, logistics, insurance, financial services, and tech businesses, Everise empowers businesses to scale and adapt in rapidly evolving markets.

What Sets Them Apart: While most contact center companies treat diversity as compliance exercise, Everise builds workforce reflecting 66 nationalities where 71% of employees are women and women hold 46% of leadership roles. The company supports voluntary, employee-led groups empowering people from different backgrounds while investing heavily in talent development and promoting from within.

Employee Intelligence: "Everise's dedication to inclusivity and diversity ensures that every employee feels valued and empowered, creating a collective optimism for their individual and collective futures at Everise. By investing in our employees' success and providing avenues for advancement, we instil confidence and motivation for their future within the company." The company earned Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces recognition in 2025, plus certifications for Women and Diversity in 2023.

Current Opportunities:

• Contact Center Agent (Multiple Markets)

• Workforce Manager Assistant Manager (Bonifacio)

• Vice President Sales (USA)

→ View all opportunities at Everise

Special Announcement: These companies are competing for recognition in the upcoming Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces—celebrating organizations demonstrating exceptional employee experience and genuine commitment to their people.

Want your organization featured here? Most Loved Workplace® certification validates authentic workplace culture that attracts top talent and creates durable employer brand advantage—not algorithm-dependent visibility that vanishes overnight.

→ Apply for certification

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Software sprawl is draining your team’s time, money, and sanity. Our State of Software Sprawl report exposes the true cost of “Software as a Disservice” and why unified systems are the future.

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3 Trends Reshaping Work This Month

The AI workplace transformation isn't happening the way anyone predicted. Three developments this month expose the real patterns—and the strategic opportunities everyone else is missing.

Trend #1: Smaller AI Models Running Locally Shift Power from Cloud Giants—Infrastructure Decisions Turn Strategic

Some 61% of HR leaders voice moderate or serious ethical concerns about adopting AI. The generational split deepens: 70% of Gen Z have ethical concerns—more than any group—while also being most likely to seek new technology.

Meanwhile, industry insiders described different AI future than massive-scale OpenAI model. Babak Hodjat, Chief AI Officer at Cognizant, told Fortune: "Their valuation is based on bigger is better, which is not necessarily the case. There's threshold at which point large language model is able to follow instructions in limited domain. If that threshold is passed, that's sufficient." When DeepSeek launched a new model, a 17 billion-parameter system ran comparably to ChatGPT 3.5's 400+ billion parameters—but on a MacBook versus data center.

For HR Leaders: Tech infrastructure upgrade is top priority for 25% of teams in 2026 (ten percentage point increase from 2025). Leaders commanding premium mandate: Experiment with function-specific AI agents while others spend twelve months evaluating enterprise-wide platforms costing millions in licenses. R&D teams compress 85% given AI's code generation capabilities, sales maintains traditional structures where relationships drive revenue.

For Career Builders: Your value shifts from task execution to AI orchestration: giving high-level direction and refining autonomous outputs into business results. Professionals commanding premium compensation understand which functions suit AI agents versus human judgment. Top performers build working systems of AI agents collaborating autonomously while others accumulate certifications without deploying anything. The positioning language matters: Don't call yourself "AI user" but position as "AI orchestrator" or "automation architect."

Trend #2: AI Goes From Hype to Hands-On—42% of White-Collar Teams Experiment with Agentic AI Daily

Lattice research combined with IBM Ventures analysis reveals 42% of white-collar HR teams now use agentic AI daily (systems that plan, act, adapt autonomously). The performance correlation: High-performing teams deploy at 50% rate versus only 6% for low performers.

For HR Leaders: Tech infrastructure upgrade is top priority for 25% of teams in 2026 (ten percentage point increase from 2025). Leaders commanding premium mandate: Experiment with function-specific AI agents while others spend twelve months evaluating enterprise-wide platforms costing millions in licenses.

For Career Builders: Your value shifts from task execution to AI orchestration. Top performers build working systems of AI agents collaborating autonomously while others accumulate certifications without deploying anything. The positioning language matters: Don't call yourself "AI user" but position as "AI orchestrator" or "automation architect."

Trend #3: Burnout Breaks the Resilience Myth—41% of HR Considered Leaving the Profession as Crisis Mode Becomes Norm

Data from Lattice's 2026 State of People Strategy: 41% of HR professionals considered leaving the profession in last 12 months (32% thought about it but decided to stay, 9% still actively considering exit). Only 78% feel engaged, and 65% of low-performing teams report constant crisis mode versus 21% of top performers.

The "magnet effect" makes reliable leaders default pick for every assignment, draining focus. Surface acting (consistently suppressing true feelings) creates exhaustion loop. Research demonstrates micro-breaks (five minutes) restore energy when strategically placed.

For HR Leaders: Low-performing teams face vicious cycle: 65% constantly in crisis mode, 39% cite lean budgets as significant challenge, 61% ask employees to do more without more pay. The sophisticated approach: Redesign work itself to prevent burnout at the source rather than launching wellness apps and resilience training.

For Career Builders: Resilience isn't wellness campaign—it's operational capability. Position yourself as someone who builds sustainable systems, not just powers through difficulty. Professionals commanding premium demonstrate how whole-brain work (rotating between focus, reflection, connection modes) generates compounding returns while others glorify the grind.

Tools That Work

Innovative Team Optimizer: Nurture Proactive Teams While Competitors Run Annual Engagement Surveys

Most organizations measure team innovation through annual surveys, wonder why scores stagnate, then schedule another survey. Strategic leaders use systematic frameworks guiding daily culture-building practices that compound over time.

Innovative Team Optimizer guides CEOs in nurturing proactive, innovative, and customer-focused teams. The tool provides structured approach to developing team culture that prioritizes taking initiative, generating new ideas, and maintaining customer focus in decision-making.

While competitors collect engagement data annually then file reports, you build systematic culture development practices.

→ Try Innovative Team Optimizer

Industry Pulse

Mattel's AI Adoption Playbook

Mattel's three-year AI journey: ideation, pilots, enterprise integration. Workshops demystified AI and addressed risks positioning HR as change enablers. Executive leadership demonstrated practical use with Copilot capturing meeting minutes and ChatGPT Enterprise rolled out globally for productivity. Peer guidance through AI communities let employees share insights, troubleshoot challenges. Tina Ko, VP for HR: "There's no such word as failure—every experiment is a chance to learn."

→ Review Mattel's three-phase AI rollout strategy

Remote Leadership Reality Check

Kevin Box framework: Communication cadence (overcommunicate clarity across channels), Asynchronous excellence (set response windows preventing burnout), Performance over presence (judge by deliverables, not activity), Career visibility (discuss growth with remote employees or best talent leaves), Human connection (foster informal interactions), Be accessible (create virtual office hours mirroring in-person leadership).

→ Access Box's six remote leadership principles

AI Glossary Demystifies Technical Terms with Interactive Tool

Interactive visual guide at ibelick.com breaks down core AI concepts: Token (smallest text unit model processes), Tokenization (breaking text into processable units), Embedding (turning tokens into meaning vectors), Context window (text limit models process), Transformer (neural network examining entire sequences), Parameter (learned values defining model behavior). As 61% of HR leaders voice ethical concerns about AI, accessible education tools help teams move from anxiety to experimentation.

→ Try the interactive AI terminology guide

ChatGPT Prompts for HR

Warren Wang, CEO at Doublefin and former Google/Microsoft executive, argues HR earns strategic seat through decisions that mitigate risk and drive performance, not writing memos. Three high-impact prompts eliminate administrative slog: (1) Compliance Risk Analysis (upload handbook, receive structured report identifying risks and gaps with policy recommendations); (2) Compensation Benchmarking (upload salary data, identify pay gaps, receive range updates); (3) Performance Review Draft (upload inputs, receive balanced review plus three SMART goals). Wang emphasizes speaking CFO's language: efficiency and risk mitigation.

→ Copy Wang's three ChatGPT HR prompts

Goal-Setting Gets Intentional with Bullet Journal Creator's Framework

Ryder Carroll, creator of Bullet Journal Method, challenges traditional goal-setting after launching company, achieving profitability two weeks later, then feeling worse than failure. Traditional goals ask impossible: predict future by knowing how to get what you want and that you want it. Carroll's intentional goals focus on being in present rather than getting something in future. Instead of "write a book" (destination), intention becomes "be better writer" (lighthouse for navigation). Ask "why it matters" five times to uncover true intention. Monthly, weekly, daily reflection rituals help process what's actually happening.

→ Watch Carroll's intentional goal-setting method

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