Today’s talent has a lot of choices. Which means companies must build adaptable and agile workforces to drive both retention and productivity. This approach goes beyond standard policies, recognizing the distinct career aspirations and evolving expectations of workers across a diverse range of roles.

In a recent panel discussion at From Day One’s Denver’s conference, moderated by Erica Breunlin of the Colorado Sun, industry leaders shared insights into strategies that empower employees, close skills gaps, and foster flexibility. Their insights highlight a shift toward greater workforce transparency, mentorship, and the restructuring of traditional work expectations.

In a recent survey of employees at Randstad RiseSmart, they asked: Is it easier for you to find a job within the company or outside the company? Forty-five percent said it was easier to find a job outside the company.

“We then asked corporate recruiters the same question,” said panelist Chris Harrington, SVP, sales and customer success at Randstad RiseSmart. “55% of them said from outside the company, like they know the secret’s out.”

For many, being a gig or contract worker has become easier and more attractive, he says. And it’s not just IT workers or other similar industries. A Fortune 100 CEO recently told Harrington that when trying to hire a CIO, the candidate asked if they could be a contractor rather than an employee.

“Employees and the employers together are realizing that there’s a huge gap,” Harrington said. “Employees have a lot of choices, candidly, and so the choice has really exploded.”

When there’s a lot of choice, employees will go where they get the most flexibility. Some will go towards remote work, meaning those who mandate back-to-office days could be shrinking their talent pool. Others will be attracted to career potential within the company.

Employers should be very thoughtful about how they approach these types of decisions. Ultimately, it comes down to transparency, he said.

Executive panelists spoke about "Boosting Retention and Productivity Through Workforce Agility" at From Day One's Denver conference

“I don’t think as employers, we're doing a great job being transparent with our employees around what their own opportunities are, let alone how we go out to the external market and start to market,” Harrington said. “There’s an entire generation of workers that are coming into the workforce looking for a diverse set of experiences. We can do that, and I think we need to get a little bit smarter around it and figure out how to better market it to the employee base.

Closing the Gaps

There are three distinct gaps with this workforce–a skills gap, an expectations gap, and a visibility gap, says panelist Erick Allen, principal at Cornerstone.

“There’s data that says one in three employees don’t feel they have the skills to do the job that they’re currently employed in. Just think about that,” Allen said. There’s a huge opportunity for organizations to close the skills gap by paying attention to those, then offer learning opportunities and mentorship.

Second is the expectations gap. In a Cornerstone survey, 49% of employees felt that their employers were doing a poor job at either upskilling or reskilling. “Yet 89% of executives felt they were doing a great job,” he added. That’s a huge gap between employees and leaders that needs to be closed by offering opportunities for upskilling.

Third, there is a visibility gap. The hiring process typically involves a narrow set of skills in order to land the job. But what after? What other skills do they have and how can the company best utilize them?

“We have done ourselves in disservice with applicant tracking systems in relation to skills visibility,” Allen said. “Once you get someone in, allow them to open up, and you will find out they have skills and abilities and things that they can do far outside of what they did.”

Allen says that the Great Resignation of 2023, when 27% of the workforce voluntarily shifted jobs, hasn’t slowed down. Retention relies on closing major gaps and giving workers opportunities and flexibility.

Mentorship

Retention becomes significantly more challenging in large organizations, where a lack of personalization and difficulty scaling effectively can disengage employees. People don’t want to feel like just another face in the crowd.

“Every employee is very unique and individual in the path that they want to pursue,” said panelist Elizabeth Bruns, director of business HR and global business group HR lead of Avanade. “Careers are no longer linear, so the career journey is going to be very much driven by that particular employee.”

Not only that, but rapidly evolving technology means careers can change quickly, and companies should offer ways for them to gain skills. At Avanade, they’ve offered a Microsoft certification program that is constantly evolving with new technology. Plus, they developed an AI school so employees could learn more.

Perhaps the biggest impact they’ve seen, though, is from a more one-on-one approach: career advisors. “The idea of a career advisor is they’re like your guiding light for your career journey,” she said. A project manager is the day-to-day work focus, but a career advisor is like a mentor for your career goals.

“They can help aggregate performance feedback that you may have received, provide you with that developmental feedback, help you identify the specific paths that you might want to pursue from a development learning perspective, or just be a separate party that the person can talk to,” Bruns said.

The personalization piece helps drive it home. Because in an organization with thousands, employees are getting the specific direction they need to have confidence in their current role and possible roles to come.

Flexibility for the Frontline

Workers want flexibility, but how does a company accomplish that for the non-remote worker? According to panelist Kristen Baller, head of talent acquisition at DISH Network, more than 60% of the workforce is blue collar, performing jobs that involve physical labor.

“I would encourage us to really start to think about how we are talking to our leaders, to think not just about remote work, but flexibility,” she said. “How are we starting to think about the hours? Are we able to start to create shifts that align more with the school schedule, or start to thin through four day four day work weeks?”

It becomes more complicated when you’re talking about large organizations with lots of people and factors to consider. As with any job, no matter whether they’re remote or frontline, keeping track of skills is paramount. With the right systems in place, a company can offer upskilling opportunities and ultimately better retain workers who feel valued.

“As leaders, we’re responsible for not only keeping track of them, but giving the feedback and helping them understand what skills they’re doing to accomplish their jobs,” she said.

Building an agile workforce is a multifaceted process that requires transparency, gap-bridging, personalized mentorship, and flexible thinking across all job types. By tackling these areas, organizations can foster a culture that values both individual career goals and collective success. Adapting to the demands of today’s workforce is essential for driving retention and boosting productivity.

Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.

Prioritizing Employee Investment: A Key to Thriving in Challenging Times

As a working professional, Madhavi Vemireddy, CEO of Cleo, has been serving as a caregiver to her special needs son, as well as her husband and sister who were diagnosed with cancer. She noticed that “no one was understanding [people’s] unique caregiver journeys and what education is needed so they can advocate for their loved ones.” Vemireddy created Cleo, a family care platform that supports individuals at every stage of life that now serves over 200 clients.Managers may not know it, but many of their employees may be experiencing stress with their lives outside of work and this can impact their ability to focus at work. This is why it’s important for companies to invest in their employees' mental well being. During a panel discussion at From Day One’s Brooklyn conference, leaders discussed how their companies invest in employee growth and mental health.Inclusivity and Mental HealthWarner Bros. employee resource groups hosted a summit focused on helping employees build their careers and creating spaces that foster a sense of community and belonging. The summit brought in specialists who understood the unique needs of a particular community and guided them with sustainable tools they could use to prevent burnout in a constantly evolving industry.“One of the things we want to be mindful of is that our diverse populations are not a monolith,” said Jhneall Gardner, vice president of talent management at Warner Bros. Discovery. “So we’re really focusing on some of the unique needs that they might have,” she said.Warner Bros. also had a career focused podcast called “Empowered Women” which celebrates and recognizes the work of women in the tech and media industry.Journalist Jenny Sucov, left, moderated the discussionIn corporate work environments with thousands of employees, it’s important to recognize the mental health of staff that are supporting the company with their work. Mastercard has implemented multiple initiatives to improve employee mental health including work from home weeks, meeting free days, flex Fridays and its Mental Health Champions program, says Adam Mesh, vice president of human resource at Mastercard.Started in 2023, the Mental Health Champions program had employees around the world go through 12 hours of training to get certified as a mental health champion. These employees now serve as advocates in the workforce for others to turn to for help and find resources.To reduce the monotony of working daily in an office, Mastercard’s workplace flexibility allows employees to work remotely from anywhere four weeks a year. Meeting free days allow for employees to focus on catching up on work, take time to care for themselves or take a learning course to develop skills.Purpose is also key. “I think purpose is so important for organizations because it creates that emotional attachment of employees, not only to the company, but to a broader purpose,” Mesh said.Destigmatizing Mental Health DiscussionsIn order to acknowledge the mental health of employees, companies have to learn how to facilitate conversations around mental health. Melissa Doman, organizational psychologist, author, and strategic advisor to BetterHelp Business, helps companies understand the necessary language and skills to talk about mental health at work.Doman provides keynotes, fireside interviews, workshops, and a certification course specifically for leaders to teach them how to “talk about mental health at work, for themselves, and for their teams.” The key reasons why people tend to avoid talking about mental health in the workplace is because they’re worried about saying the wrong thing or crossing the legal boundaries around discussing it, she says.Asking someone “Are you okay?” is not the same as asking someone “Do you have a major depressive disorder?” said Doman, who says that inquiring about someone’s well-being is not the same as asking about protected health information. The stigma around mental health discussions is one of the reasons why there should be more conversations about it within companies, Mesh adds. “I think just having employees understand that it’s okay to have that discussion, and for your leadership to buy in that this is a real thing and we need to be supportive of our employees,” said Mesh.Supporting Employees, Preventing BurnoutWork can be stressful itself, but individuals all experience outside pressures from home life as well. Vemireddy shared that more than 50% of employees don’t tell their managers that they have caregiving duties. “The hidden toll that we’re seeing is that there’s a much higher risk of burnout,” said Vemireddy.Cleo launched a Family Health Index to understand the biggest challenges that families are facing as caregivers, whether they’re exhibiting early signs of depression and anxiety and feeling burnout from their responsibilities.After over 10,000 people took the assessment, results showed that about a third are at higher risk of burnout. She adds that almost half of its families failed a self-report questionnaire that screens for anxiety and depression.“We see caregivers, especially those higher risk caregivers who are at that stage of burnout,either go on leave or they essentially are leaving the workforce altogether, which then has an impact on their own ability to save up for retirement and save up for their own caregiving needs. So we're setting this vicious cycle,” said Vemireddy.HR executives are often the ones to take on these acknowledgements that their employees may be struggling from stress and burnout, but how can HR teams help support them?Rosa Meza-Zambrio, director of organizational analytics and people insights strategy at S&P Global says her company utilizes artificial intelligence to support the workload and productivity of employees and leaders. AI tools can even help streamline HR tasks, said Meza-Zambrio.AI systems are able to collect data and knowledge for employees so that people can focus on other important aspects of their jobs. S&P has its own internal AI assistant called Spark Assist and the company has also created an AI literacy program called AI Academy.“We're doing this because we want to help our people reduce that mental load, focus on the things that are important to you, as well as increasing our scope and our support for our people without that additional headcount,” said Meza-Zambrio.She encourages people to leverage AI technology because it can provide more knowledge for employees without making a big financial investment. AI tools also reduce repetitive and complex tasks for HR teams and help them manage their workload and mental health as well.Jennifer Yoshikoshi is a local news and education reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bridging the Gap: Empowering and Supporting Women in Leadership

Women hold just 28% of C-suite roles according to a 2023 Women in the Workplace Report. This is a record high, yet still far from equal representation. So why aren't there more? During an executive panel session at From Day One’s Brooklyn conference, leaders discussed the best pathway forward, built on trust, understanding, and respect.We’re now at a pivotal moment to make a change for women’s representation in the workplace. “We’re at a breaking point because AI is what everyone's talking about. [Women] are three times less likely to put their hand up for proactive training as it relates to AI. Only 20% of leaders in AI are women,” said Anita Jivani, global head of innovation at Avanade. “We know in about 10 years, 90% of jobs are going to be impacted by AI. If that’s the case, and we’re not playing around personally and professionally as women in this space, we’re already lagging.”But while AI is certainly at the forefront of everyone’s minds, there’s more to the leadership gap than technology alone. “There are some really deeply entrenched and systemic reasons why there aren’t more women in the C suite, and one of those is gender bias and stereotypes,” said Lisa Moore, chief people officer at Yahoo. Even young people are still holding on to outdated notions of what an executive should look like. “There are a lot of different strands to a leadership skill set today, and they don’t all look like one thing.”Covid shed a light on the workload gender gap—both in the workplace and at home. “Since the pandemic, productivity has increased notably every year for women leaders,” said Laura Lomeli Russert, head of executive engagement at BetterUp. “With that increase, what else might have increased? Burnout.” But that has not been the case for men, as they still don’t hold as many housework responsibilities as women. Combine this with the fact that women feel that they must maintain high productivity to get to the next level of their careers, and exhaustion takes hold.Preventative and Proactive ToolsOrganizations can take steps to support women in their career growth while allowing them the flexibility to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Possible tools include employee resource groups, mental health support, and career coaching. It’s on HR to make sure that the tools are easy to access and understand. “Are you providing the right tools, and are they easily found by anyone in that company?” said Matt Jackson, GM, VP of Americas, Unmind.“AI has the potential to democratize access to resources or anything that is otherwise unavailable to people right now, across all genders,” he said. Jackson also refers to a longstanding homogenous leadership layer at the top of many companies that may be a barrier to focusing on “soft” offerings like mental health support. Coaching those male executives on compassionate leadership can make a difference.Executive panelists spoke about ways to support women in leadership rolesRemote work options have allowed workers the flexibility they need to accomplish their household tasks during working hours, so that they have leisure time leftover at the end of the day. But with return-to-office mandates coming down fast and fierce, the threat of burnout is on the rise.“We know from data that any underrepresented group in the workplace expresses a preference to be able to exercise flexibility and work-from-home with some degree of discretion for them,” Moore said. “One unconscious bias we have is that being in an office makes you more productive. That is categorically false.”You might feel more engaged in-person, Moore says, but ultimately, the sweeping decision is hurting women and underrepresented groups, who lose the ability to manage their own time and “be themselves” in their space of choice.It’s not just biases that come down to gender or racial identity, says Antoinette Handler, deputy chief HR officer and chief people officer, Americas at Dentsu, noting that as an introvert she thrives in a lower-pressure work-from-home set up. “It’s also a bias about different ways of working, your different personality styles, your different leadership styles,” she said.But striking the right balance is important, panelists noted, citing the loneliness epidemic and lack of engagement that has plagued workers since the pandemic. Most agreed hybrid work (but not a full RTO mandate) can help strike the right balance, even if in-person gatherings happen only quarterly.Amping Up Your Benefits OfferingsFor companies that do mandate at least a partial return to office, adjusting their benefits program can help offset some of the loss of flexibility felt by women employees. “Offering better childcare could be a great solution for that,” Lomeli Russert said. “That might actually make parents excited about going back to work!”Organizations also need to be flexible in offering resources to an aging and changing workforce. “The whole leadership structure is going to change. Half of middle management will be people who started onboarding during Covid. They don’t even understand the concept of working in-person. The next generation [is] more oriented toward values, and they care about skills more than what Ivy League school you went to. It’s a totally different game,” Jivani said. One way to maintain flexibility is to stop talking in absolutes. “Companywide mandates are too broad. The day-to-day is more important,” Jivani said. “Happiness and retention are tied to your ability to connect to your manager.”Gen Z’s focus on health and wellness also means HR needs to take company culture and support resources seriously to nurture the next generation of leaders. “People entering the workforce now have a much higher expectation of the culture that you create and that you provide for them,” Jackson said. “For so long, we’ve been able to ignore that, because driving people to the point of burnout has led to hitting numbers that you need to hit. But now we have a big enough generation coming in who says, ‘No, I don’t like that. I don’t want that. I’m going to go elsewhere.’”Lowering the PressureManagers, many of whom are women in the sandwich generation, in charge of childcare and elder care at home, are especially feeling the crunch in today’s workforce. “They're told to manage stakeholder expectations of the executives [and] at the same time, pass down messages that they don’t necessarily believe in,” Jivani said. “I think the best investment we could do is invest more in managers,” she said.Companies should provide managers with the time and the training to develop the skills they need to thrive. “It’s not a coincidence that a lot of women leave the workplace at that management level,” Jivani said. Many women at that mid-level also struggle when returning to the workforce after parental leave. “How can a company and managers create a positive experience of reintegration into an employee's job?” asked moderator Emma Hinchliffe, senior writer and author of MPW daily newsletter at Fortune. Extending the length and flexibility of parental leave offerings is one way to lower the pressure.“You’re expected to carry a human for nine months and work up until the point you give birth, but get back to the office after 12 weeks or we’re not paying you? That’s absurd,” Jackson said. He suggests a method called the “20% contract,” where managers and new mothers discuss what doing just 20% of one’s former job might look like, and allowing the mother to slowly work her way back up to giving 100% when she’s ready. It all comes down to trust and respect.Creating a welcoming environment where women leaders feel fully supported takes time, planning, and nuance. Simply put, Lomeli Russert said, “We all have a lot of work to do.”Katie Chambers is a freelance writer and award-winning communications executive with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. Her work has been seen in HuffPost and several printed essay collections, among others, and she has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York.

Creating a Low-Turnover Culture by Investing in People

No industry has seen the level of shift in the post-pandemic era than healthcare. During a fireside chat at From Day One’s Brooklyn conference, Maxine Carrington, senior vice president and chief people officer at Northwell Health, shared insights into how her organization is tackling these challenges by investing in people. Interviewed by Emily Stewart of Business Insider, Carrington spoke about navigating workforce needs, addressing affordability barriers, and embracing technology to foster a supportive and low-turnover culture.Post-Pandemic ChallengesManaging a workforce with diverse needs is challenging. But add onto that a demanding industry like healthcare and an unprecedented event like Covid, it can be particularly hard to navigate. In response, the organization implemented flexible strategies, including creating collaboration spaces for remote workers, accommodating those who had relocated, and addressing pay equity. It’s important to allow for cultural and operational shifts to evolve naturally while mitigating tensions, says Carrington. The affordability crisis in New York, particularly in retaining essential healthcare workers, is a top concern, says Carrington. “We believe you can find untapped pools of talent out there. You just have to find them and understand the needs,” she said.Maxine Carrington, SVP and chief people officer of Northwell Health, left, spoke with Emily Stewart, senior correspondent at Business Insider Northwell Health has taken innovative steps to address this issue by offering resources, such as establishing crisis support funds, offering in-house training programs, and opening a thrift store for employees and job candidates to have access to affordable work clothing. These efforts aim to reduce barriers to employment and provide immediate support for those in need. “It’s not just health care,” she added. “It’s police, it’s fire, it’s teachers, any critical service in this region. If you want to keep them here, you have to think about affordability.”Supporting WorkersWhile Northwell and other organizations may offer help to its employees, Carrington underscored the need for broader systemic solutions, such as childcare tax credits and housing support, to sustain critical services in the region. To help advocate for change with elected officials, Carrington is drafting an op-ed piece and hopes others can also voice their concerns more widely.Part of investing in people includes maintaining strong relationships with unions while also respecting the needs of non-union employees. “Today, about 28% of our workforce is union represented. We have over 30 labor contracts, so we are always negotiating,” she said. “We try to look across the entire organization and determine what it looks like to be fair.”Northwell focuses on educating unions about evolving care models and technology, Carrington added. Recruitment and retention strategies play a central role in guiding decisions, balancing market-specific needs, and avoiding unnecessary conflict.Embracing AITechnology is a big part of healthcare, and that includes AI. As some are reluctant to the concept, Carrington said they try to address concerns to help employees embrace it more. “One of the first things is for folks to understand they are interacting with AI every single day. They may not know it, but they already are.” In an already overworked industry, Carrington added that AI can help streamline tasks and potentially relieve stress from workers. Northwell Health has introduced tools like a digital HR assistant and an AI governance council, leveraging technology across recruitment, benefits, and clinical areas. The organization’s two-year roadmap for automation focuses on efficiency, ease, and supporting employees through the transition.Getting the Word OutStorytelling is central to fostering connection and showcasing their mission, Carrington says. That’s a big part of getting the word out and showcase what they are doing to invest in people. They wanted people to know that their focus isn’t a transaction of ‘if you’re sick, let’s operate on you,’ she said, but a real focus on improving the health of communities.To do that, Northwell Health has expanded into storytelling with Northwell Studios, producing documentaries and specials Lenox Hill, First Wave, Two Wars, Emergency NYC, One South, and Side by Side. The documentaries serve recruitment, inspire pride, and amplify the healthcare narrative. They also feature initiatives like the Northwell Nurse Choir, which gained national attention through its appearance on America’s Got Talent and a performance at the White House. Investing in people is key to creating a culture of low turnover. By removing barriers to training, addressing affordability challenges, and fostering adaptability through technology, Northwell Health is shaping a supportive, future-focused workplace.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.

Boosting Retention and Productivity Through Workforce Agility

RELATED STORIES

Prioritizing Employee Investment: A Key to Thriving in Challenging Times

Bridging the Gap: Empowering and Supporting Women in Leadership

Creating a Low-Turnover Culture by Investing in People