Southern Utah – October 17, 2026 -- O.C. Tanner's Institute released its 2027 Global Culture Report at the company's Influence Greatness 2026 conference. The report draws on nearly 26,000 employee perspectives across 23 countries and covers four areas: organizational compassion, growth cultures, active trust and innovation. The event took place at Black Desert Resort, and a Brandon Hall Group analyst attended as an invited guest hosted by O.C. Tanner.
Report ties recognition inside growth cultures to higher innovation and trust
Employees are substantially more likely to innovate, trust the organization and respect its values when recognition is integrated into growth cultures, according to the findings as discussed at the event. The attending analyst, a former chief financial officer, said upskilling and reskilling investments must be reciprocal. Employees should see how development expands their own capabilities, mobility and future, while the employer gains adaptability and performance.
O.C. Tanner pushes recognition into Workday, Microsoft Teams and Kudoboard
Analyst sessions focused on moving recognition closer to daily work instead of adding another standalone platform. O.C. Tanner is pursuing this through integrations, partnerships, APIs and additional access points for employees in different work environments.
Its partnership with Kudoboard extends employee-led celebrations of milestones and life and work moments. Integrations with Workday and Microsoft Teams bring recognition into tools employees already use. The approach targets frontline staff, distributed teams, global workforces and employees who do not work at a laptop.
Buyers shift from participation metrics to business impact
Organizations increasingly want to know what recognition programs influence, including retention, engagement, trust, collaboration, performance and business outcomes. The analyst said participation data is useful, but impact is the more important question.
Well-being expert Ashish Kothari raised a related point. Companies review operational, sales, staffing and financial data constantly, yet people data is often reviewed only periodically.
Speakers frame AI as an amplifier of existing culture
AI expert Allie K. Miller urged attendees to move beyond treating AI as a basic productivity tool and to build it into work systems, workflows, roles and organizational capability. One takeaway from her session: "AI scales culture, it does not create it." Organizations with trust, curiosity, strong leadership, knowledge sharing and psychological safety can amplify those strengths with technology. Organizations without them cannot manufacture them.
The analyst said O.C. Tanner's own AI use in recognition reflects that tension. AI can help draft a stronger recognition message or surface an opportunity to appreciate someone, but human intention remains central.
Keynotes address burnout, trust and leadership under pressure
Former NASA astronaut José M. Hernández opened the conference, stressing that leaders should validate people and help them rise to the occasion. Well-being expert Jennifer Moss covered burnout, trust, hope and purpose, and argued that hope can be developed as a skill.
Sessions also examined organizations operating under pressure from AI, economic uncertainty, workforce shortages, burnout and rapidly changing skills requirements. For the analyst, the common thread was that sustainable performance cannot be separated from the human conditions in which people work.
O.C. Tanner also arranged a pickleball session for analysts with professional player Tyler Loong.