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Featured analysis
Q3 2026 Benefits Wrap-Up: What the Latest Data Shows on Flexibility, Mental Health, and Pay
By Andrew Mitchell, Senior Correspondent, Benefits & Total Rewards The third quarter of 2026 brought clarity to the U.S. benefits landscape. After years of experimentation during the pandemic and the post-pandemic recalibration, the data shows a workforce benefits market that has settled into a stable, evidence-based configuration. Organizations that understand what’s working — and what…
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Employee Benefits Innovation: Redefining the Total Rewards Package
Published: March 20, 2025 | HR Leadership Weekly Employee benefits have always been a lever for talent attraction and retention, but 2025 is seeing a fundamental reimagining of what constitutes a competitive benefits package. The traditional triad of health insurance, retirement plans,…
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Employee Mental Health in 2025: From Wellness Programs to Systemic Workplace Change
The conversation about employee mental health in early 2025 had shifted dramatically from the pandemic-era focus on crisis response to a more mature understanding of how organizational structures, leadership behaviors, and daily workplace conditions shape mental health outcomes. Companies were moving beyond…
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Employee Mental Health Benefits in 2025: What Employers Got Right and Where They’re Failing
By May 2025, employee mental health had transitioned from a pandemic-era perk to a permanent benefits expectation. A Gallup survey released in April 2025 found that 73% of U.S. employees rated mental health coverage as “important” or “very important” when evaluating employer…
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Skills-Based Hiring Hits the Inflection Point — And It’s Reshaping the Fortune 500
By Andrew Mitchell, Senior Correspondent, Skills-Based Organization The movement away from degree requirements and toward skills-based hiring has crossed the threshold from pilot program to corporate mandate. As of Q3 2026, 81% of Fortune 500 companies have eliminated at least one degree…
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The AI Performance Review Wave Hits Q4: What HR Needs to Know Before Year-End Cycles Begin
AI-assisted performance reviews are entering the year-end cycle at scale. Here is what Q3 data shows about where companies stand, what is working, and what HR needs to prepare before the annual review rush begins.
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Internal Mobility in Early 2025: Why Internal Hiring Surpassed External in 42% of Large Companies
The internal hiring revolution had reached an inflection point in early 2025. After years of building talent marketplaces and internal job boards, companies were seeing a decisive shift: for the first time, 42% of organizations with more than 1,000 employees reported that…
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Performance Reviews Are Dead: The Companies Replacing Annual Appraisals With Real-Time Continuous Performance Management
By Andrew Mitchell, Senior Correspondent, Performance Management The annual performance review — that once-a-year ritual of self-assessments, manager ratings, calibration sessions, and the inevitable uncomfortable conversation — is officially on life support. According to Deloitte’s 2026 Global Human Capital Trends Report, 71%…
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The Employee Experience Playbook: What Top Companies Do Differently
Employee Experience Has Become the Primary Competitive Differentiator As the labor market continues to evolve from candidate-driven to more balanced dynamics, companies that excel at employee experience (EX) are pulling ahead in talent attraction, retention, and productivity. Industry research consistently associates top-quartile…
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Total Rewards Personalization: One Size No Longer Fits Any Workforce
By Andrew Mitchell, Senior Correspondent, Benefits & Total Rewards The era of standardized benefits packages is ending. In 2026, 61% of Fortune 500 companies offer some form of personalizable total rewards, up from 34% in 2023. The drivers are straightforward: a multigenerational…
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August 2025 AI in HR: One Year After the Generative AI Surge
By August 2025, it had been approximately one year since the generative AI surge began reshaping HR technology. The initial enthusiasm had given way to a more pragmatic assessment of what AI was actually delivering in HR operations, talent management, and employee…