Artificial Intelligence at Work: How to Enhance the Employee Experience

Increase employee engagement and boost morale by implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. 

 Engaged employees are essential to an organisation’s success. Employee engagement is the emotional investment employees make in their role and organisation. This personal investment is reflected in how employees execute their responsibilities and contribute to company culture. Unsurprisingly, organisations with high engagement outperform those with lower engagement levels.  

Organisations have traditionally struggled with defining and quantifying engagement. Despite sincere efforts and investments of time, effort, and money, achieving high employee engagement can remain an elusive goal that is difficult to measure. Thankfully, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is changing that. 

AI tools are revolutionising the workplace landscape by changing both employer and employee expectations. The benefit most quickly recognized is increased productivity. However, that’s just the beginning of how AI-power tools can enhance the employee experience. This article will explore other benefits AI can provide for the employee experience like expedited access to support, data-driven insights into employee sentiments, and personalised learning and development opportunities.  

Four Ways AI Enhances the Employee Experience 

1. Increased Productivity 

By automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks, AI tools give employees more time to focus on complex matters. The majority of their energy can be devoted to problem-solving, innovation, critical thinking, and relationship building. For example, AI algorithms can analyse large data sets and generate insights, saving employees numerous hours of data collection and entry. Using AI for this type of task also offers the added benefit of reducing inevitable human errors.  

Streamlining administrative tasks is another way AI can increase employee productivity. Virtual assistants can organise documents and schedule meetings, enabling teams to focus on more meaningful tasks. Algorithms can also analyse team members’ skills and availability to recommend employees for upcoming projects.  

1. Expedited Support 

Chatbots are a valuable resource that can help employees instantly access critical information. These tools can search through the organisation’s repository of knowledge and policies, reducing time spent searching for information or waiting for colleagues to respond. If an answer is not available, the chatbot can alert the appropriate Human Resource (HR) team member to answer the employee’s question. AI chatbots also help HR teams deliver information like policy updates, professional development tools, benefits information, and more.  

In addition to expediting HR services, AI chatbots are an efficient way to collect anonymous feedback. AI can easily synthesise this feedback with data from other sources like performance reviews and exit interviews to generate insights about areas of concern or opportunities for improvement. Regularly monitoring feedback data ensures employees remain engaged and enables organisations to identify potential red flags early. 

1. Data-driven Sentiment Insights 

Employee engagement efforts are traditionally focused on promoting positive morale. Prior to AI-power technologies, organisations had very few ways to gauge employee engagement beyond surveys and other types of self-reported feedback. Through data mining and machine learning, AI tools can analyse and predict employee needs and behaviour.  

Sentiment analytics software offers detailed insights into what impacts employee morale across various themes like compensation, professional development, and benefits. As themes are identified, comments on surveys can be categorised and compiled. Then, comments in each category can be tagged with a sentiment–positive, negative, or neutral–offering the HR team a useful data set to review and act on. Automating the process of compiling and analysing data gives the HR team more time to focus on personal interactions and strategic initiatives.  

1. Personalized Learning and Development Programs 

AI-powered learning platforms offer an unparalleled level of personalisation. Each employee’s skills, pace, and learning methods are assessed by the platform. Based on that information, the platform generates a customised study program for each person, recommending relevant courses and resources.  

As employees advance through their training, the platform continuously adapts to their progress, suggesting new content and challenges to keep them engaged. Such a tailored approach ensures that employees acquire the necessary skills for their role, keeps them motivated, and enables them to effortlessly take ownership of their professional development.  

Organisations using AI-based learning platforms often notice the added benefit of promoting a culture of continuous learning. The platform can automatically generate recommendations for additional opportunities once a study program is complete. Because the platform understands the employee’s preferred learning method and desired skill set, these recommendations are personalised to their needs and preferences, increasing the likelihood that they will continue training.  

Read More:  

Factors to Consider Before Launching AI 

Before introducing any new technology or tools to employees, there’s a lot to consider. With such incredibly powerful AI-based technology available, organisations need to carefully vet platforms to minimise security and privacy risks and develop training resources. Organisations that wait too long to introduce AI-power technology may find that employees are using these tools on their own or that their competitors are already reaping the benefits of this technology. 

To successfully integrate AI-based tools, carefully evaluate how well they will fit employees’ needs. Here are key factors to consider:  

• Ease of Use: Ensure the platform is intuitive and will not require extensive training to use. Assess how well the platform will integrate with other software systems already in place. A positive user experience will expedite adoption across the organisation. 
• Scalability: Tools need to be able to serve employees’ needs today and grow with the organisation. Finding a platform with robust and flexible features will ensure the technology has long-term value and aligns with the organisation’s growth trajectory.  
• Data Analytics: Confirm the selected platform has the ability to capture the desired data. For example, is the motivation primarily to collect data on employee sentiment or provide more personalised professional development opportunities? It may be necessary to launch several tools, rather than expect one platform to meet all of the organisation’s needs. Defining metrics for success will help evaluate the technology’s impact. 
• Internal Trust: The prospect of automating tasks is often associated with the idea that jobs will be eliminated. However, these tools are meant to support employees, not replace them. Organisations can reduce anxiety about job displacement by clearly stating the purpose of launching these tools and implementing reskilling and upskilling programs to equip employees to thrive once these new technologies are in place.  
• Maintenance and Support: Someone in the organisation will have to manage this technology and troubleshoot when issues arise. Identify and properly train that person or team before all employees start using it. Create on-going training opportunities for the support team to ensure the technology scales along with the organisation to fully maximise its capabilities.  

Download Now: World of Work Trends 2024 

Conclusion 

Organisations are still in the early phases of adopting AI-powered tools in the workplace. As a result, the list of benefits and possibilities are constantly expanding. This huge potential means it’s even more important for leadership to have a clear understanding of why the organisation is implementing these tools. Ultimately, any technology is only as effective as the strategy behind it.  

While the implications and applications of these technologies are constantly evolving, one constant is how these tools enhance the employee experience by giving them more time to focus on strategic initiatives. This shift fosters innovation and creates a more enriching work environment. Many employees are pleasantly surprised when they see that introducing AI-based technology in the workplace actually makes it more human.  

Whitepaper | A Step-by-Step Process to Driving ROI and Growth through Effective Wellbeing Practices

Employee wellbeing is not just a trendy buzzword but a critical factor that directly impacts organisational success. 

Employee wellbeing is not just a trendy buzzword but a critical factor that directly impacts organisational success. Over 95% of Certified Top Employers understand wellbeing’s importance as a strategic priority.

While many organisations are working to embrace effective wellbeing practices, they are still weighing up the return-on-investment on these initiatives.  

In our latest whitepaper, A Step-by-Step Process to Driving ROI and Growth through Effective Wellbeing Practices, we are diving into the data around wellbeing with practical actions that businesses can put into practice to get the best out of their people.  

Download the whitepaper for free to discover:  

• How employee wellbeing is critical for the success of an organisation.
• A data-driven approach to making wellbeing decisions that involves three pillars: a holistic strategy that covers the health of body, mind, and spirit; predefined metrics to measure and track wellbeing trends; and regular evaluation of the utilization and satisfaction of wellbeing programs. 
• How to effectively evaluate wellbeing programs with information about how organisations should define objectives, identify root causes of problems and challenges.

Finding Balance: How to Navigate a Global-Local Strategy with Dana Incorporated and JYSK Hungary



Combining global and local strategies is crucial for organisations operating in multiple markets and cultures. While doing this, how can organisations balance the benefits of standardisation and maintain a sense of authenticity in each location?  

We spoke with Zsolt Tánczos, Compensation and Benefits Europe for Dana Incorporated, and Ágnes Nyester, HR Manager for JYSK Hungary, during the 2023 Top Employers Inspire event to learn more about this topic. Both companies have been navigating the global-local balance for years. Dana Incorporated has over 40 000 employees in more than 30 countries, and JYSK has 3 100 stores in 51 countries.  

Through our discussion, we gleaned some practical tips and examples of creating a successful global-local strategy, which I will highlight in this article. Watch the complete discussion for more details about Zsolt and Ágnes’s experiences and actionable plans for replicating their success.  

Integration & Differentiation for Multinational Organisations  

Multinational organisations must decide how much to integrate or differentiate activities and policies across locations. Integration refers to standardising processes, systems, and policies to create efficiency and consistency. Differentiation means customising those aspects of an organisation–processes, systems, and policies–to meet the specific needs of each office.  

As a conceptual retail company, JYSK has carefully considered the balance between integration and differentiation in their offices and stores. Ágnes explained why they chose to integrate their recruitment process, “Whether you are in Hungary or Spain, the recruitment process is the same, which means it’s transparent. This makes the process easy to measure, and progress is trackable from year to year.” If one location achieves notably higher or lower metrics, headquarters can gain insights into what’s happening and adjust accordingly.  

Similarly, this unified approach helps the organisation retain talent. “Our policy is that 80% of open positions need to be filled with internal candidates. This helps us develop our future talents and support existing staff,” Ágnes described the reasoning behind their approach. If it is not possible to fill the position internally, then external candidates may be considered.  

Zsolt gave examples of when differentiation is beneficial. “Local regulations need to be considered. If they aren’t, it can be a very painful situation that will block the entire process,” he explained. For example, he mentioned how data protection rules vary from country to country. Involving local experts and engaging key stakeholders early in the implementation process is essential to successful local operations.  

Limited resources are another standard challenge organisations face on the local level. Zsolt described how this challenge often plays out, “if a local office is told to implement a change, the key questions are really: who and when? Because they might not have enough staff support, or it might be a bad time because they have other projects.” So, considering the dynamic of each office is essential while trying to implement policies across multinational organisations.  

Global-Local Challenges For Multicultural Organisations 

Navigating cultural differences is challenging for international organisations, especially when determining global-local strategies. Ágnes described a time when offices in three countries had the same management team. “We took the collaboration quite seriously. We had cultural training to better understand our different perspectives and motivations. We talked about the business plan and how to make it work in each office, and we met several times to keep things going smoothly,” she explained. Regular communication was the key to their success. Although it sounds simple, having good communication requires intentional effort to bridge cultural divides.  

Zsolt described how fostering relationships between country offices is advantageous. “There were some production problems in our Belgium office. Because there was a good relationship between the Belgium and Hungary offices, we were able to quickly move some employees from one to the other to resolve the issue immediately while working on a more long-term solution,” he said.  

As a multicultural and multinational organisation, Dana Incorporated knew the relocated employees would need help settling into their new environment. Zsolt elaborated, “We supported our colleagues with housing, tips about the local community, and connected them with colleagues through a kind of buddy system to help them have a smooth transition.”  

While developing a global-local strategy, organisations must remember it’s a balancing act. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Considering local dynamics helps avoid operational issues and creates a positive, efficient work environment, ultimately giving organisations a competitive advantage. 

Artificial Intelligence and Talent Acquisition

How AI is Transforming the Recruitment Process in 2024 

The talent market is more competitive than ever. Organisations are finding it more challenging to get the best candidates for the role, and prospective employees find the hiring process more arduous than it was years before. The difficulties in the talent acquisition process are due to several factors, including the lasting effects of the pandemic, younger generations entering the market, and more significant global shifts in recruitment from law changes, among others. 

Despite these challenges, the recruitment industry has only recently moved away from established ways of working, as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are beginning to enter the game. While artificial intelligence and machine learning may still be new for many people, more and more organisations are investing in artificial intelligence systems and other digital tools to stay ahead of the market and leverage the tools to streamline their operations. 

It is no wonder that AI is beginning to reshape the talent acquisition landscape. HR teams must be aware of many challenges when integrating AI into their recruitment strategy.

Download Now: World of Work Trends 2024 

How can AI be used in talent acquisition? 

Some of the areas where AI is transforming the talent acquisition process or will soon be implemented in talent acquisition strategies include: 

• Candidate Sourcing: HR teams can utilise AI tools to search through online job boards, professional networking sites, and social media platforms to identify potential candidates based on specified criteria. These tools can assess candidates’ online profiles and professional backgrounds to identify potential candidates. 
• Resume Screening and Candidate Matching: AI-powered applicant tracking systems (ATS) and talent acquisition software (TAS) can analyse resumes and job descriptions to identify relevant skills, experiences, and qualifications. By leveraging natural language processing algorithms, ATS platforms match candidates to job requirements, enabling recruiters to focus on the most suitable applicants. 
• Candidate Assessment and Screening: AI assessment tools are starting to administer psychometric tests, cognitive assessments, and job simulations to evaluate candidates’ competencies, personality traits, and job fit. These assessments give the recruiter objective insights into candidates’ abilities and suitability for specific roles, helping them identify top performers more effectively. 
• Predictive Analytics: AI analytics can analyse historical recruitment data and performance metrics to identify patterns, trends, and predictors of successful hires. By leveraging predictive analytics, a hiring manager can potentially forecast talent needs, optimise sourcing strategies, and make data-driven decisions to improve hiring outcomes. 
• Reporting:  AI tools can generate reports about candidates for internal senior leadership and legal teams. Those reports can analyse the success of recruiting campaigns to a broader team, streamlining the talent acquisition process. 

Read Now: Winning the Battles for Talent 

Benefits of Implementing AI in the Talent Recruitment Process 

The benefits that can come to an organisation that decides to implement AI in its talent acquisition process include the following: 

• Improvement in the Time Needed to Hire New Employees: Using AI tools for recruitment can expedite the recruitment process, shortening time-to-fill positions and ensuring that critical roles are filled promptly, minimising productivity losses and revenue impact. 
• Data-Driven Decision Making: AI analytics tools offer hiring managers valuable insights into recruitment trends, candidate behaviours, and performance metrics, enabling them to make informed decisions, optimise recruitment strategies, and forecast future talent needs. 
• Efficiency: AI can streamline time-consuming tasks for a talent acquisition team, such as resume screening, candidate sourcing, and initial assessments, significantly reducing the time and effort required to identify suitable candidates. 
• Competitive Advantage: By embracing AI in the recruiting process, organisations can gain a competitive edge in attracting and retaining top talent, stay ahead of competitors, and position themselves as innovative employers in the marketplace. 
• Enhanced Candidate Quality: AI-driven algorithms can identify candidates whose qualifications match job requirements, leading to higher-quality candidate pools and improved hiring outcomes. 

Read More: How Generative AI is Impacting Personalised Learning and Development 

The Challenges of Implementing AI Tools in the Recruitment Process 

Implementing AI in talent acquisition is challenging, especially as the technology is still relatively new. Some of these challenges include: 

• Ethical Considerations: AI raises ethical dilemmas related to using candidate data, algorithmic decision-making, and the potential impact on employment opportunities and socio-economic disparities. Organisations must navigate ethical considerations, uphold principles of fairness and integrity, and prioritise ethical AI practices to build trust and credibility in their recruitment processes. 
• Overreliance on Technology: While AI streamlines recruitment processes and enhances efficiency, an overreliance on technology may need more attention to human judgment, intuition, and empathy in assessing candidate suitability and cultural fit. Hiring managers and recruitment teams must balance technological innovation and human-centred decision-making to achieve optimal recruitment outcomes. 
• Candidate Bias: Despite efforts to mitigate bias, AI algorithms may inadvertently perpetuate or even exacerbate biases in the data used for training the models. AI systems may inadvertently discriminate against certain demographic groups without careful monitoring and intervention, leading to fairness concerns and potential legal repercussions. 
• Data Privacy and Security: AI recruitment platforms rely on vast amounts of candidate data, raising concerns about privacy and security. Organisations must ensure compliance with data protection regulations, implement robust security measures, and establish transparent data handling practices to safeguard candidate information from unauthorised access or misuse. 

Read More: The Journey to Become a Top Employer 

Final Thoughts 

The possibilities of utilising AI tools and leveraging them for the talent acquisition process can help hiring managers streamline recruitment processes, enhance candidate experiences, and make more informed decisions, ultimately driving organisational success and competitiveness in the talent marketplace. However, organisations need to balance the benefits of AI with ethical considerations, transparency, and human-centred principles to ensure fair, inclusive, and responsible recruitment practices. 

Paradigm Shifts: Agile HR Practices and Skills-Based Organisations



To close the 2023 Top Employers Inspire event, I sat down with my colleague Quinton van Es, Director of Research & Insights for Top Employers Institute, to discuss two closely linked topics –the funadamental shifts in HR practices and the rise in skills-based organisations. These ideas are reaching a tipping point in business practices and creating paradigm shifts.  

At Top Employers Institute, we certify organisations based on best practices, which requires us to look ahead at developing industry trends and consider those that are proven successful. Agile HR practices and skills-based organisations are becoming more mainstream when there are many disruptions and uncertainties. From a business perspective, now more than ever, organisations need to be resilient, adaptive, and human-centric. We discussed how these two practices are enabling organisations to do just that.  

From the basic tenets of each to the more significant industry implications to our personal experiences with each principle, our discussion covered a lot of ground. In this article, I’ll summarise the highlights of our conversation. You can watch our discussion in full at the end of the article.  

What Are Agile HR Practices?  

Working agile has long been established as a best practice for IT where rapid innovation was a necessity. Gradually, the ability to quickly adapt has become a strategic imperative for organisations, causing agile practices to spill over into other areas and functions. In HR, operations are moving away from a rules- and planning-based approach toward a simpler model based on feedback.  

Organisations can struggle with agile HR operations because many things, like payroll, feel fixed–there is no trial and error. However, the application is more of a big-picture consideration. Quinton explained, “When it comes to working agile, we are used to seeing these principles applied to projects. In the context of operating models, a lot of organisations are more agile than they realise because they already have a continuous feedback loop in place.” The essence of this approach is about regularly receiving and responding to feedback rather than specific tasks. 

There are considerable variations in how organisations apply agile principles to their HR operations. Quinton gave examples, “some organisations focus on the mindset and values. Other organisations are taking a more methodological approach and just implement scrum.” Each approach has its pros and cons. There is no one solution, which is part of what makes this paradigm shift so interesting.   

Skills-based Organisations 

Historically, jobs were the dominating structure for work. Job descriptions and titles defined who did what and how their work was managed and evaluated. This approach is falling out of favour because it hinders many organisational objectives, including growth, innovation, agility, and the ability to offer employees a positive work culture.  

“A job-based approach is very linear and predictive but it’s also a reductive view of work and the individual. In contrast, skills-based organisations zoom in on specific skills and the whole person to consider how an employee’s talents may best be applied. It’s a more human-centric approach,” Quinton said to highlight why this paradigm shift is happening. Another reason it’s gaining popularity is that it offers a great deal of flexibility and adaptability.   

As jobs shift from being the primary construct for work to being one of many factors, organisations must adapt their HR practices. HR writes job descriptions, sets compensation, and manages performance reviews–all tasks based on defined jobs. Skills-based organisations thoroughly shake up this model, reimagining employee management, which is partly why agile HR practices and skills-based organisations are often closely linked.  

Benefits of Shifting 

Working agile means iterations happen quickly–things are done slightly better each time. Employees do not have to wait long to see their feedback in action. Additionally, employees get used to adapting and a certain level of ambiguity. This model fosters a culture of continuous improvement and creates better engagement.  

A human-centric skills-based approach supports employee well-being. It considers the whole individual, not just their education and experience. As a result, organisations can tap into larger talent pools, and current employees have a greater sense of mobility. “A famous example here is Google,” explained Quinton, “They acknowledged that they made a mistake by just relying on credentials because performance dropped. They figured out that they needed to consider motivation and individual skills more than specific credentials.”    

Advice for Getting Starting   

Starting small always helps ease the transition–it creates less of a shock to the system. “Why not put someone from IT that’s used to working agile on the HR project team and see what comes from that,” Quinton suggested.  

It is also helpful to identify your value proposition. A clear understanding of your business case for making these changes will justify the required resources. A valuable next step could be a readiness assessment. This process will let you see if your organisation is ready to move into that domain and identify potential challenges.  

From my experience during transitions, the art of letting go is essential for leadership. As you guide your organisation through significant operational changes, accepting uncertainty is a requirement. If you don’t, progress is seriously inhibited.  

I invite you to watch our complete discussion to hear more examples of how organisations that are Certified Top Employers put these principles into action. The applications are quite varied and continuously evolving, making agile HR operations and a skills-based approach to work exciting trends to follow. 

Key Takeaways | World of Work Trends 2024



Top Employers Institute’s World of Work Trends 2024 analyses the latest trends in people strategies and practices from leading organisations globally. The report, which came out recently, is available to download now. The report showed the five most significant global workplace trends in 2024. Those trends are:

1. Empower through AI  
2. The Future Defined with Purpose  
3. Dialogue for Transformation  
4. Evolution of Wellbeing Effectiveness  
5. Broaden the Horizon of DEI  

The release of our annual World of Work Trends 2024 was followed by an online live briefing on the 7th of December 2023, with Quinten van Es and Emily Cook delving deeper into the trends. In their discussion, they touched on real-life examples of the trends and broke down the tactics organisations will need to take in 2024 to succeed.

If you missed out on the session, you can watch it now by filling in the form on the side of the page.

Make sure to unlock the core HR trends affecting organisations across the globe. Watch the session now.

Amgen FlexSpace: Taking Flexible Work to the Next Level

Amgen’s cutting-edge flexible work model offers innovative ways organisations can modernise their approach to remote work. 

During the pandemic, many organisations learned out of necessity that remote work can be highly effective. Even after offices were able to re-open, remote work widely remained an option because it was so popular with employees. Amgen Spain & Portugal, a Certified Top Employer, had already learned this lesson well, having adopted a remote work approach in 2004, long before it was mainstream. During the pandemic, they began to offer employees even more flexibility. Sandra Vicente, HR Director for the organisation, spoke with me about their best practices during the 2023 Top Employers Inspire event. Their ideas and fresh perspectives will inspire companies looking to meet the needs of a remote workforce better.  

Making the Transition 

Amgen Spain & Portugal was able to swiftly adapt to a 100% remote workforce when the pandemic struck because of three factors.  

• Because the organisation had offered flexible work arrangements for fifteen years, managers and teams had already honed their remote work skills and were well-prepared to continue working from home. The transition from a partial to completely remote dynamic was not difficult for the company.  
• Amgen had recently provided employees with a stipend to create a functional home workspace, including screens and ergonomic chairs. As a result, virtually everyone was already equipped with a suitable home office setup by the time the pandemic hit.  
• The organisation had a robust culture of trust because of their long history with remote work. This trust was critical in facilitating a smooth transition to fully remote work and the company’s confidence in everyone’s ability to thrive in that model.  

Download Now: World of Work Trends 2024  

What Makes Amgen’s Approach Unique?  

In 2021, Amgen refined its approach to flexible work by establishing FlexSpace – a novel way of working that combines the traditional practice of face-to-face office meetings with remote work. Unlike a more conventional approach to hybrid work, where companies allocate specific days for remote work and office attendance, FlexSpace empowers employees to make that choice for themselves. “The main driver of that decision is the purpose of their activity,” Sandra explained.  

Practically, this means that employees have the ability to select which work environment best aligns with their daily responsibilities. For instance, employees might opt for remote work when tackling tasks requiring intense focus, such as preparing presentations, budgets, or brand plans. Conversely, activities like strategic meetings, brainstorming sessions, or welcoming a new team member thrive on face-to-face interactions. This modern flex work model offers employees even more flexibility and autonomy in their work life.  

Read Now: The Era of Personalisation: Customising the Employee Experience at SAP India 

Rethinking Office Space 

As part of the FlexSpace initiative, the organisation thoughtfully designed a new open-concept office space to cater to a diverse work styles and objectives. Workstations were not assigned to specific employees. Instead, the variety of stations remained available to anyone in the office. This way, employees have an adaptable environment for whatever needs might arise.  

Transitioning to an open-concept office space necessitated a mindset shift. The first step was for employees to understand the dynamic nature of this type of open space. Throughout the day, people have the freedom to reconfigure their surroundings. If someone needs a whiteboard for a brainstorming session or if working alone at a desk for a couple of hours is required, dedicated spaces that cater to those needs are available. Regardless of the task, adapting to the constant background noise of conversation in an open-concept office is essential, and employees always work from home if they need a reprieve from the frequent office activity.  

Read More: Personalisation in 2023: How the Employee Experience Will Be Impacted by Increasing Personalisation at Work across Asia-Pacific   

Strategies for Success 

Over the years, Sandra shared that they have identified three key factors for a successful flexible work environment: 

1. Asynchronous work, 
2. Intentional socialisation, and 
3. Maintaining a strong company culture. 

Asynchronous work is a natural extension of a remote work model. Just as employees do not need to be in the same place to get work done, they often also do not have to work at the same time to get things done effectively. Using collaborative tools like Microsoft Teams helps make this asynchronous approach function.  

Working at different times, however, means that colleagues will likely have fewer direct interactions with each other. This dynamic means employees need to be intentional about socialising with each other. Sandra elaborated, “When you are in the office every day, socialising happens organically. You chat with people when you get a cup of coffee or when you see each other in the hallway. So, now when people come into the office for some reason, we encourage them to take into account the importance of socialising and set aside time for that.”  

The importance placed on socialising is part of the company’s culture. “Company culture needs to be a lived experience,” Sandra explained, “Our turnover is very low, only 3% in ten years, so most employees know the culture very well and embrace it.” In performance management discussions, employees frequently cite the positive culture and flexible work approach as pivotal factors influencing their choice to remain with the company. The extremely high retention and employee satisfaction rate Amgen Spain & Portugal has achieved undoubtedly has numerous positive ripple effects across their operations.  

World of Work Trends 2024

How Generative AI is Impacting Personalised Learning and Development

How HR Teams are Embracing Technology to Change their Approach to Career Development and Learning Programmes

Over the past few years, Human Resources professionals have begun to embrace several technological tools to assist in both short and long-term objectives at work. While Artificial Intelligence (AI) has yet to be integrated into many HR plans, this has been the year for HR professionals to learn more about generative AI’s capabilities and the effects it could have in the near future.

As seen already at the end of 2023, the integration of generative artificial intelligence could begin to reshape HR learning programmes by offering a dynamic and personalised approach to employee development.

In this article, we will be looking at what effects AI may have on HR, with a particular focus on how it may affect learning and development programmes.

Additionally, we will explore the potential benefits and challenges for HR professionals seeking to create a future-ready workforce.

What is Generative AI?

Generative AI is a subset of artificial intelligence that, unlike other AI systems, can autonomously create content, including texts, audio, code, images, text, simulations, and video.

In Human Resources, generative AI revolutionises processes by offering personalised solutions, streamlining tasks, and enhancing the overall employee experience. We explored some ways that AI is changing HR in a previous article that you can read now for more general context on the new relationship between AI and HR.

Personalised Learning and Development in 2024

In the annual World of Work Trends Report 2024, one of the significant trends we identified was that there would be a shift in how HR professionals understood learning and career development programmes. That change would be a move towards a more personalised approach that would give employees more of an active and empowered role in advancing their careers, often through the use of digital and personal resources so that they can develop the competencies and skills needed for the future.

To make the employee experience of attaining new skills more individualised, many organisations are developing easily accessible and on-demand micro-learning tools to allow employees the opportunity to learn ‘just in time’ when needed while it can also be integrated into their other everyday tasks.

Generative AI could empower HR learning programs to move closer to the personalised learning approaches we noted in the World of Work Trends Report.

This tailored approach ensures that employees receive the most relevant and effective training, enhancing their skill development and overall job performance.

How Generative AI Tools Could Impact Learning and Development Programmes

• Improving Personalised Learning Paths: AI in talent acquisition can be impressively useful,Generative AI algorithms can analyse individual employee insights, including learning preferences, strengths, and areas for improvement, to generate personalised learning paths. That work empowers HR learning programmes to move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches and move closer to the more individual training programmes that HR leaders hope to get.

• AI-Powered Virtual Mentors and Coaches: Generative AI is already giving rise to virtual mentors and coaches that could provide real-time guidance and support to employees. These AI-driven mentors can answer questions, offer insights, and provide personalised feedback, creating a virtual learning environment that complements traditional mentoring programs. This approach ensures that employees have access to guidance whenever needed, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

• Improving Adaptive Learning Modules: Traditional training modules often follow a fixed structure, regardless of an individual employee’s learning speed and style. Generative AI can introduce adaptive learning modules that evolve based on an employee’s progress. By continuously assessing a learner’s comprehension and adjusting the difficulty level accordingly, HR professionals can optimise the learning experience and improve knowledge retention.

• Gamification for Enhanced Engagement: Gamification has proven an effective strategy for boosting employees’ engagement in learning programs. Generative AI can take gamification to the next level by creating personalised game scenarios based on individual employee profiles. By integrating elements of competition, rewards, and social interaction, AI-driven gamification makes learning more enjoyable and motivates employees to participate actively in their development.

Challenges with Implementing Generative AI in Learning and Development Programmes

Generative AI in HR learning programs holds immense promise, but HR professionals must navigate potential challenges and ethical considerations. These include:

• Ensuring data privacy.
• Addressing algorithmic biases in learning recommendations.
• Employee trust and adoption.
• And maintaining a balance between automation and the human touch in the learning experience.

Ensuring Data Privacy

One of the most challenging aspects of implementing generative AI tools into an organisation’s strategy is the aspect of data privacy, especially as organisations are still relatively early in their adoption of AI tools.

As AI programmes rely heavily on collecting and analysing vast amounts of employee data to personalise learning experiences, HR professionals must establish robust data protection measures. HR leaders should ensure that they comply with data protection regulations by obtaining informed consent and adopting encryption protocols. These are essential steps to mitigate the risk of unauthorised access or misuse of sensitive employee and organisation information.

Mitigating Algorithmic Biases

It should be common knowledge that generative AI systems are not entirely unbiased. In fact, they are only as unbiased as the data they are trained on. HR professionals need to be vigilant about potential algorithmic biases in learning recommendations.

If the training data used to develop AI models contains biases, the algorithms may perpetuate or even exacerbate existing inequalities. Regular audits of algorithms, diverse and representative training datasets, and continuous monitoring for bias are crucial to ensure fair and equitable learning opportunities for all employees.

Employee Trust and Adoption

Introducing generative AI into HR learning programs may raise employee concerns about job security, privacy, or the perceived objectivity of AI-driven decisions. HR professionals must proactively address these concerns through transparent communication and educational initiatives.

Building trust in AI technologies requires demonstrating their value, emphasising their role as tools for empowerment rather than surveillance, and involving employees in the process to alleviate apprehensions and foster a positive reception.

Balancing Automation and Human Interaction

While the automation capabilities of generative AI can significantly enhance the efficiency of HR learning programs, it is imperative to strike a balance with human interaction. Employees still value the human touch in learning experiences, and specific aspects of development, such as mentorship and interpersonal skills, may be better served through direct human engagement.

HR teams should carefully design AI-driven learning initiatives to complement, rather than replace, the essential human element in the learning journey.

Final Thoughts: Became an employer of choice to embrace HR AI trends before your competition

Generative AI in HR represents a significant leap forward in redefining the employee experience. Organisations can harness AI’s power to streamline processes, enhance employee engagement, and contribute to their overall success.

They must do this by being aware of the ethical practices and staying attuned to the evolving landscape.

Organisations can begin to navigate this transformative journey in the hopes of creating and maintaining workplaces that thrive in the digital age. By joining Top Employers Instite you will access a library of HR AI best practise and anticipate all its trends. Get in touch for free today, become an employer of choice!

Best Practice | Addressing Staff Issues through Employee Experience Managers with Kaufland



Starting in 2018, certified Top Employer Kaufland began operating a network of employee experience managers across sites in Europe. These are trained HR liaison officers who work to address employee welfare issues and solve challenges that might be putting a drag on business or individual performance. In our latest best practice focus, we are focusing on what brought in these managers and how they’re changing the employee experience for Kaufland workers. 

This is just a snapshot of Kaufland’s innovative best practice; you can find the entire practice on our HR Best Practices database, which is exclusively available to Top Employers. Get inspiration and insight into the approach, challenges and learnings experienced by certified Top Employers. Access it now via the Top Employers Programme if you are certified, or learn more about it here!   

Why the practice was needed: 

It is challenging to keep an eye on employee engagement when an organisation like Kaufland has many employees scattered across many locations. For this reason, Kaufland introduced ‘employee experience managers’ (a Vertrauensperson, in German): a neutral, trustworthy, and independent liaison for all employees. 

How the practice was implemented: 

The primary objectives behind Kaufland’s practice of employee experience managers are: 

• Anchoring of the corporate principles and leadership approach. 
• Early detection of (potential) disputes. 
• To better understand the atmosphere/mood among frontline employees. 
• To provide support to employees in difficult situations. 

In the European locations where Kaufland’s employee experience managers are active, every employee can freely contact a dedicated employee experience manager and access contact details for other employee experience managers via a page on the company intranet, should they prefer to speak to someone specific. Each employee experience manager acts as a confidante for receiving confidential feedback. Employees may remain anonymous if they wish to report a sensitive issue. 

Employee experience manager responsibilities: 

 The main tasks of each employee experience manager at Kaufland are to: 

• Attend stores daily: talk with employees about their jobs, work-related problems, the store environment, etc. 
• Use employee feedback to identify work environment issues or business issues that could be improved. 

• Assist employees in handling issues with co-workers or to tackle personal problems having an impact on their work. 
• Improve employees’ perception of the company.  

The typical employee experience manager:  

• has an HR background, 
• is skilled in psychology, mentoring and communication. 

Kaufland offers special training, for instance, a mediation training course to support the work of the employee experience managers. 

Results 

Each employee experience manager has a target number of conversations to be held each month (approx. 300). The rationale behind this (as opposed to a target number of employees to speak with) is that sometimes, one employee may require several conversations to be had until their issue is resolved. 

As a result of the work of the employee experience managers, Kaufland has improved many of its operational and work-related issues based on employee feedback. 

The Era of Personalisation: Customising the Employee Experience at SAP India

By Billy Elliot, Regional Director for APAC, Top Employers Institute 

Today’s workplace culture is in the midst of an unparalleled era of personalised experiences. Employees, similar to customers, desire treatment that caters to their individual needs and preferences. This change has propelled employers to shift from a people-centric approach towards a more person-centric one. Undoubtedly, the pandemic profoundly impacted reshaping expectations, with many people reevaluating their priorities.  

Data from the 2023 Top Employers Institute Certification Programme shows a striking trend among the over 2 000 certified companies across 121 countries. Remarkably, 74% have updated their employee journeys to accommodate remote work dynamics—a 6% increase from the previous year. The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is the most advanced in this regard, with 66% of Certified Top Employers having successfully implemented formal remote work options. 

As part of the 2023 Top Employers Inspire event, I had the pleasure of hosting a presentation about this topic by Rashmi Raghuraja, Senior HRBP Consultant/PMO to the Head of HR at SAP Labs India. SAP India stands out as a leader in creating tailored employee experiences. Rashmi shared how the company addresses its workforce’s personal needs to enhance the end-to-end employee experience.  

Read More: David Plink on Innovation & Leadership in a Rapidly Evolving World of Work  

The People Experience  

SAP India’s People Experience Programme was created “so we have an inclusive environment where people can be who they are. They don’t have to pretend or leave parts of themselves at home,” Rashmi explained. The programme has five foundational pillars to support that mission:   

1. Pride: Fostering a sense of pride among employees, both in their association with the company and in their contributions to its success.  
2. Purpose: Employees are encouraged to make connections between their daily tasks and the overarching company mission.  
3. Innovation: Sustaining innovation through providing resources and platform tools employees can use to create and collaborate. 
4. Appreciation: Each individual’s contributions are recognised as valuable to the company’s success.  
5. Care: Genuine care and respect for employees is consistently demonstrated, bolstering a sense of belonging and support.  

 Read More: Case Study | JTI’s Candidate Survey 

Pledge to Flex 

Providing autonomy over individual work schedules and habits was a priority as the company assessed its employee journey. “We have a real commitment to offering a flexible and trust-based work schedule,” said Rashmi. Feedback indicates they have successfully done so. The 2023 SAP Future of Work Trend report revealed a whopping 77% of SAP employees feel empowered to determine when and where they perform their tasks.  

They achieved such a high level of success by forming a group of employees to facilitate the transition, the Change Ambassadors Community. This group functioned as a guiding force, coaching managers and teams as they navigated the shift towards flexible work arrangements. Rashmi described the HR team’s thought process, “We realised early on that this is going to be a journey of not just a few weeks or months. It’s going to take years. We wanted to bring our employees along on the journey and have a bottom-up approach.” Pilot programmes and continuous feedback loops kept stakeholders engaged and enabled adjustments.  

Read More: Personalisation in 2023: How the Employee Experience Will Be Impacted by Increasing Personalisation at Work across Asia-Pacific 

People Unplugged 

Establishing a foundation of transparency and understanding within the company’s workforce was the motivation behind the People Unplugged Programme. Rashmi elaborated on this mission, “We wanted to have authentic conversations with leaders and offer a platform to debate, ideate, and collect feedback.” The first initiative was a six-part conversation series that engaged employees with company leaders.  

All employees were invited to participate in these conversations featuring sensitive topics like performance management. Strikingly, 4,000 employees across India participated. These sessions were an opportunity to engage in genuine discourse to shed light on why the organisation did certain things and potentially pave the way towards something new. Ultimately, this series underscored SAP India’s commitment to creating a workplace culture that values open dialogue, mutual respect, and collective growth.  

Download Now: Inspiring HR Practices from Asia-Pacific’s Top Employers 

Career Canvas 

In the wake of transitioning back to business as usual after the pandemic, the need to assist employees with the adjustment became evident. “One of the things we heard often was that people were feeling lost as they came back. They knew about different programmes, platforms, and tools but not how to find them,” Rashmi explained.  

To address this concern, a series of brainstorming sessions were organised. These sessions included employees representing a variety of roles and career stages. The primary objective was to understand any gaps in support and identify what resources might be helpful.  

Through this process, recurring themes were identified and served as focal points for taking action. As a result, two programmes were created: 

1. The Inspire Talk Series is a forum for insightful discussions,  
2. The Career Mentoring Programme supports individuals feeling indecisive about their career path.  

To conclude the presentation, Rashmi emphasised that SAP India focuses on providing their employees with the best possible workplace. She quoted author Jacob Morgan’s book The Employee Experience Advantage to emphasise her point, “In a world where money is no longer the primary motivating factor for employees, focusing on the employee experience is the most promising competitive advantage that organisations can create.”  

Check out Rashmi’s full presentation to hear more about SAP India’s innovative programmes and the organisation’s plans for new initiatives in the near future.  

Putting People First: Top Employers Institute Shares Insights About Building a Human-Centric Organisation

By Wouter van Ewijk, Global Head of Brand & Content, Top Employers Institute 

Human Resource departments frequently consider how to attract and retain top talent. Top Employers Institute is no different. Paola Bottaro, People Director at Top Employers Institute, has found the most success by putting people first. Notably, the organisation is not alone in this endeavour. Taking a human-centric approach to the workplace is a practice steadily gaining traction.  

So, what does this move to a human-centric model entail? During the 2023 Top Employers Inspire event, Paola and I discussed exactly that. I’ll share highlights of our discussion for companies interested in joining Top Employers Institute as a human-centric organisation.  

The Basics: What is a Human-Centric Approach?  

Essentially, this approach to the workplace recognises and accepts that people are people. Organisations acknowledge that their employees are multifaceted individuals with lives beyond the office.

It’s about enabling employees to work in the best way that suits their needs and preferences, rather than requiring them to adhere to standard hours or procedures. Employees at different phases of life, a new parent versus a recently hired university graduate, for example, will likely have very different preferences for the rhythm of their workday. Allowing employees to determine their workday and workflow does not impact organisational results overall, yet it has a profound impact on each individual’s work experience.  

For Paola’s team, realising that there was no one-size-fits-all solution for creating a great workplace was a turning point. Reflecting on this moment, she shared, “We had a lot of conversations about what way of working would be best and we came to the conclusion that everyone is different, and we all need different things. Who are we to decide what each individual needs?” They concluded that in an ideal workplace, everyone gets to define the best way to work for themselves.  

Another turning point was adapting to a primarily remote workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic. This transition was smoother than anticipated, and productivity remained very high. Paola elaborated on their observations, “Everyone was very responsible and wanted to perform well.

Actually, I had to make sure people took care of themselves much more than making sure that they were doing their jobs.” Seeing how well the company ran while employees worked remotely was a valuable lesson that built trust. Going forward, the company had complete confidence in allowing employees to decide how they want to work.  

Read More: World Mental Health Day 2023 Q&A with Marie-Soleil Ferland and the Health and Wellbeing Team at CGI Canada 

The Practicalities: How Does a Human-Centric Approach Work?  

Trust is a critical component of making a human-centric approach successful. Granting employees the ability to set their work dynamics, whether that involves unconventional hours or regular breaks, requires a high level of trust that employees will continue fulfilling their responsibilities to the best of their ability, even without constant supervision. The focus is on outcomes, prioritising results above all else.  

Top Employers Institue’s company culture fully embraces a human-centric approach with its three core values:  

• We are all professionals. 
• All professionals want to be successful. 
• We succeed when we achieve great things while taking care of our own wellbeing and each other. 

That teams communicate about everyone’s needs and preferences is critical. As our conversation progressed, Paola gave a simple example that Top Employers Institute does not want employees to pretend to be available during traditional working hours if they are not. She explained that this freedom also benefits managers, “They don’t have to think about motivating their teams anymore. The core belief is that all professionals are intrinsically motivated to be successful.” Transparency about who is doing what and trust in employees to fulfil their responsibilities improves operations.  

Although trust and open communication are generally recognised as positive values, translating them into practical action can be a challenge because doing so requires a shift in mindset. Top Employers Institute, like many organisations, was forced to try a new way of working during the pandemic.

The success of this experiment gave management the confidence to use a human-centric approach even after pandemic-related safety restrictions were lifted. Organisations that have not had the opportunity to test drive a new working model may struggle with transitioning from employees coming into the office every day during the same hours to people working from home at hours of their choosing. Embracing the values of trust and open communication in new ways needs to happen at all levels of the organisation for a human-centric approach to truly succeed.  

If an employee is not performing well, the first step is to have a conversation. “Success is defined not only by great results but also by people’s wellbeing, which is a responsibility and not something that can be left to chance,” said Paola. Considering the complete picture of an employee’s life while navigating challenges is a central tenet of a human-centric approach.  

Read More: The Transformative Power of Applied Artificial Intelligence 

The Impact: What are the Benefits of a Human- Centric Approach?  

This approach gives employees the best possible work life, which fosters loyalty and productivity. It also creates great returns. Through this approach, organisations can: 

• Attract talent, 
• Improve retention, and 
• Foster a culture of growth and internal mobility. 

These benefits contribute to a positive atmosphere and help a company’s bottom line by attracting and keeping top-tier talent.  

Top Employers Institute is in the process of hosting workshops with employees to discuss both the company’s and individual employee’s values. “The most important thing is that we left one open space in our company values for employees to fill. There are three company-wide values and the fourth is for each employee to fill with their personal value. It’s an opportunity for them to connect their personal values and sense of purpose to the company,” Paola said of the process.  

Ultimately, a human-centric approach forges meaningful connections between a company and its workforce. By giving people the autonomy to work in a way that suits their needs best, organisations reap great returns. This approach truly benefits both the company and its employees.  

To hear more about Top Employers Institute’s journey to becoming a human-centric organisation and the lessons learned along the way, watch my full conversation with Paola below.