CAHRS Top 10 September 2025
- Digital Agents in HR
What Contributes to Successful Deployment
ILR School
Meeting culture drives business and its outcomes. Poor meeting culture entails having too many people attend, and not everyone participating. Efficient meetings involve three distinct stages. One is whether the topic should be discussed via email or a meeting. Another is determining who should be there, and how many should attend. Ultimately, the goal of a meeting is to drive results.
- Employees Relocating Abroad
Most are Unprepared for the new way of Living
HR Director
While most employers relocate staff abroad, many fail to fully prepare them for the challenges of living and working in a new country, leaving gaps in areas such as culture, lifestyle, climate, and essential services. Effective preparation not only protects employee health and performance but also reduces the risk of costly assignment failures.
3. AI Agents as Managers
Employees Don't Want it
Human Resources Director
A survey by CAHRS partner company Workday shows rapid artificial intelligence (AI) agent adoption, with 82% of organizations deploying them to cut workloads (88%) and drive financial success (71%). While 75% of employees are comfortable working alongside AI agents, only 30% accept being managed by them, and just 45% see them as true workforce members.
4. Blocking Employee Development
Addressing the Barriers
Gallup
Only 45% of United States employees participated in job-related training in 2024, despite 59% of CHROs citing development as a top challenge. The biggest barrier is time away from work, but lack of manager support is the strongest predictor of turnover intent. Most training focuses on compliance and role-specific skills, missing high-impact areas like leadership and digital capabilities. Human Resources can boost profit and productivity by integrating learning into work, upskilling managers, and aligning investments with strategic skill needs.
5. AI Is Changing Work
Is Your Talent Strategy Evolving Too?
Forbes
Many companies excel at segmenting customers but treat employees as if they are motivated by the same drivers. There are six distinct worker archetypes, including givers, operators, explorers, artisans, strivers, and pioneers – each with unique motivations that challenge traditional management assumptions. Research shows that engaged employees are 44% more productive, and inspired employees 125% more productive, underscoring the business value of understanding these differences.
6. Pay Transparency
A Total Rewards lens is Crucial
AON
Most organizations remain unprepared for emerging global pay transparency legislation, with only 19% ready according to Aon’s 2025 survey. While many focus on minimum compliance, leading companies are adopting a “total rewards” mindset that goes beyond base pay to include benefits, pensions, allowances, and equity in overall compensation.
For further reading on total rewards, be sure to check out the latest ILR findings in CNBC’s “Wage Growth is Doing Something odd in 2025 – the Last Time it Happened was Around the Great Recession “, featuring commentary from ILR School Senior Labor Market Advisor Erica Groshen.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/22/wage-growth-2025-job-switcher-job-stayer.html
7. Contingent Workforce Management
A Strategic Shift
Korn Ferry
Contingent hiring has evolved from a stopgap solution into a core element of strategic workforce planning, enabling organizations to access niche skills, scale quickly, and control costs without long-term headcount commitments. With contingent workers now representing 35% of the United States workforce and projected to reach 60% by 2032, leaders are integrating interim executives, project-based specialists, and flexible professionals into long-term talent strategies.
8. What’s top of Mind?
CAHRS Advisory Board Chair Weighs in
LinkedIn
Nickle LaMoreaux, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at IBM, shares what’s top of mind for her right now, including items that directly correlate to organizational talent implications. She addresses the three topics at the top of mind for her right now: work redesign, leadership development, and skill building.
9. CEO and CHRO Partnerships
Key to Success in the Future of Work
HR Brew
A company’s success often hinges on whether the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) is treated as a strategic business partner to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The CEO’s expectations determine if human resources (HR) play a strategic or purely administrative role, and misalignment between the two can limit HR’s influence. Clear, early conversations about the CHRO’s responsibilities, alignment on expectations, and providing sufficient resources and technology are essential to enable HR to contribute strategically while managing operational demands.
Take a look at this ILR Executive Summary regarding C-Suite succession planning.
10. When You’re Popular
It's Easier to be Yourself at Work
ILR School
The latest ILR School Organizational Behavior research regarding social status shows that authenticity at work is has a great deal to do with how well-liked you are. The findings show that popularity matters long after high school – even more than self-esteem, rank or position when it comes to being able to show up as yourself at work.