CAHRS Top 10 May 2026

Live at the CHRO Summit
With Kevin Cox, Darrell Ford and Rebecca Hinds 
Future of HR
This podcast features insights from long-time CAHRS Advisory Board member Kevin Cox, LKC Advisory President. Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategies should be business- and work-design driven rather than technology-first. Accordingly, Human Resources (HR) leaders should focus on where value is created or lost in the organization, and apply human-capital solutions. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of building psychological safety so organizations can experiment with AI, rethinking the HR business partner role as more strategic and value-focused, and addressing tensions around enterprise AI adoption. 

For a more detailed look into the effects of AI on employee privacy, take a look at recommendations from the ILR School on the importance of transparency when implementing new technologies to meet employee expectations. 

2. CAHRS Partner Verizon's CHRO
The Real Talent War is for Emotionally Intelligent Leaders
Forbes
As AI accelerates the automation of technical tasks, CAHRS member and Verizon CHRO Sam Hammock argues that emotional intelligence — not technical proficiency — has become the critical differentiator at the leadership level. In her view, AI defines how work gets done, while EQ defines why — shaping how leaders show up for their people and their customers. Verizon’s “Culture OS” embeds organizational values directly into performance management, talent assessment, and compensation systems. 

3. ‘Roller Coaster’ First Year of Trump 2.0
Survey Reveals Top Employer Concerns
HR Morning
A recent Littler Workplace Policy Institute (WPI) survey underscores the growing complexity of workforce leadership amid policy volatility. Employers reporting business impacts from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)-related changes was 71%. More notably, 35% of organizations made workforce reductions, and 30% paused or reduced hiring, signaling that regulatory uncertainty is now directly shaping talent strategy. The findings reinforce HR’s expanding role in workforce resilience, compliance governance, and transparent leadership communication.

For a look more deeply into the perception of retaliatory comments, and their value socially, have a look at findings from Merrick Osborne, ILR School Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior in “Rudeness may be Rewarded – as a Response to Rudeness”. 

4. Housing Benefits 
Gaining Ground as Employers Pledge Down Payment Assistance
HR Brew
Housing affordability is quietly becoming a workforce issue — and a growing number of employers are beginning to treat it as one. Employer-Assisted Housing (EAH) programs, which subsidize workers' housing costs through down payment assistance, mortgage support, or homebuyer education, remain niche at just 13% adoption, yet are gaining traction as organizations look beyond salary and retirement benefits to address the full financial picture of their employees. While remote work offers meaningful gains in work-life balance and talent access, human connection remains central — and the most effective strategies are those that use flexibility to enhance, rather than replace, interpersonal engagement.         

5. Empowering people with AI
Revolutionizing the Management of Human Resources for a Brighter Future
The European Business Review
Is your AI strategy actually delivering value or just adding noise? A new framework from Dave Ulrich, Simon Dolan, and Pedro Martínez Moran challenges HR leaders to stop chasing AI tools and start demanding outcomes. Their model maps five stages of AI maturity in HR, from basic automation all the way to genuine stakeholder transformation. The blind spots are costly: AI is silently eroding HR's competitive differentiation, creating cognitive dependency, and diffusing accountability across teams.

ILR School Professors JR Keller and Phillipp Kircher are two of the team members supporting a five-year “moonshot” project aiming to help workers transition to new positions in the AI economy by using AI to transform job duties into practice activities for job candidates ahead of an interview.

6. Best Practices for Rehiring Employees
Making the Most of a Boomerang Strategy
The HR Digest
Organizations are increasingly adopting “boomerang hiring” strategies to rehire former employees to address talent shortages and reduce onboarding time. Former employees often return with firm-specific knowledge, stronger role clarity, and new external experience that can accelerate productivity and integration. However, effective boomerang strategies require maintaining alumni relationships, assessing prior departure reasons, and ensuring internal equity with existing staff. Leveraging boomerang talent more systematically can strengthen workforce agility while reducing recruitment risk and ramp-up costs.        

7. Workplace Well-Being Initiatives
Four Mindsets That Undermine Them
Insead Knowledge
Four common mindsets undermine workplace well-being initiatives: treating well-being as an individual issue rather than an organizational responsibility; relying on short-term fixes instead of addressing root causes; focusing on awareness programs without sustained behavioral change; and treating well-being as a siloed HR initiative rather than a cross-organizational priority. These assumptions limit the impact of well-being strategies even when companies invest in formal programs. 

8. STEM Talent Shortages 
Reshaping Compensation Strategy in Life Sciences
Mercer
Persistent shortages of STEM talent in the life sciences sector exist as demand for specialized capabilities continues to grow faster than supply. Competition is especially intense for roles in areas such as biologics, advanced therapeutics, and data-driven research, where firms face challenges attracting and retaining experienced scientific talent. Addressing STEM talent gaps requires more proactive workforce planning and longer-term pipelines to sustain innovation and growth in life sciences.   

9. A Changing World
Elevating Corporate Relocation 
Manage HR
Successful relocation programs increasingly depend on balancing cost control with personalized support for employees and their families, recognizing that family adjustment plays a critical role in assignment success. Approaches such as managed-cap relocation models provide flexibility while maintaining budget discipline and program consistency. Effective relocation strategies also integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) priorities and cross-functional coordination while positioning relocation providers as trusted partners who support employees throughout the transition journey and help reduce assignment risk.   

10. E-Commerce Warehouse Data
Offers Worker Behavior Insight 
ILR School 
Cornell ILR School research by HR Studies Assistant Professor Caitlin Ray suggests that even in highly monitored environments designed for independent work, employees’ performance is strongly influenced by the performance of those around them. Using detailed, second-by-second data from over 1,000 workers across 31 months, the study showed that workers placed alongside higher-performing peers tend to improve, while those in lower-performing groups see declines, challenging the assumption that warehouse workers are interchangeable. The findings suggest that social dynamics matter even without direct interaction and that strategically grouping employees — especially pairing newcomers with high performers — can boost productivity and accelerate learning in data-driven workplaces.