workforce_management

Denver – – September 29, 2026 -- Executives targeting AI-driven headcount reduction are nearly half as likely to fund the upskilling needed to realize AI efficiency gains, according to new research from Businessolver released as part of its 11th annual State of Workplace Empathy study.

Cost-cutting executives skip the training investment that enables AI payoff

Among the 27% of C-suite leaders who name cost savings through headcount reduction as a top AI investment goal, just 18% also prioritize AI upskilling, compared with 35% of CXOs who do not pursue headcount reduction. The gap widens on predictive analytics investment, where only 21% of cost-cutting leaders prioritize it versus 44% of their peers.

Alpharetta – September 25, 2026 -- Hoonr, an AI-first Workforce Orchestration platform, has secured three Fortune 500 enterprise clients within five months of its April 2026 launch, spanning life sciences, professional services and engineering sectors.

Three Fortune 500 firms select Hoonr's AI sourcing and analytics tools

The wins mark early validation for the platform's Direct Sourcing and Workforce Orchestration capabilities, which target enterprises managing fragmented technology stacks across their talent operations.

Hoonr launches full-cycle Freelance Management System for global contractor operations

The new FMS covers sourcing, engagement, onboarding, management and analytics for independent talent worldwide, positioning Hoonr to compete for enterprise budgets currently split across disconnected freelance tools.

New York – September 25, 2026 -- Direct AI-model usage accounts for just 9.4% of an AI agent's recurring monthly operating cost, according to an illustrative model cited in a new report from The Conference Board, underscoring how governance, monitoring, and human supervision drive the bulk of expenses in agentic AI deployments.

Executives rank AI as the top investment priority for 2026

In The Conference Board's C-Suite Outlook 2026, 43.6% of executives identified AI and technology as their leading investment priority, ahead of any other category. The new report argues that capturing value from that spending requires more than purchasing tools or running pilots.

New York – September 25, 2026 -- Eighty-one percent of senior living executives say resident acuity has increased over the past two years, according to a new report from Sage, an integrated Care Intelligence Platform for senior living and skilled nursing. The findings, unveiled at Sage's caregiving summit Sage Shift, draw on a survey of 510 senior living executives, community leaders and caregivers conducted between July 9 and September 25, 2026, alongside operational data from communities running Sage's platform.

Arlington, Va. – September 24, 2026 -- Eagle Hill Consulting's new HR Technology and Service Delivery Survey finds that 51% of HR professionals spend at least half their workweek on routine, repetitive, or low-value administrative tasks, even as 86% say automation or AI improves the service they deliver to the business.

Fragmented systems undercut technology investment across HR functions

Ninety-one percent of surveyed HR professionals use two or more systems to complete a single task, and 43% rely on three or more. Seventy-eight percent regularly re-enter the same information across multiple platforms, while 68% turn to workarounds such as spreadsheets, shared drives, or manual tracking to get work done.

Dallas – September 18, 2026 -- A new Healthcare Workforce Outlook Index scored the U.S. healthcare workforce at just 38%, with none of its five underlying dimensions exceeding 50%, according to AMN Healthcare's 2026 Healthcare Workforce Outlook Survey released today.

Survey of 4,040 professionals exposes a 19-point gap between engagement and future readiness

The index, drawn from responses collected between Feb. 24 and March 31, 2026, measures employee engagement, organizational health, leadership and support, staffing confidence, and future readiness. Employee engagement scored highest at 48%, while future readiness scored lowest at 29%, a 19-point spread that AMN Healthcare says shows workers remain moderately engaged today but doubt the workforce's capacity to meet future demand.

Houston – September 13, 2026 -- DISA Global Solutions will host more than 1,000 HR, safety, and compliance professionals at its 9th Annual HR Screening, Safety, & Strategy Conference on September 13, 2026, at the Marriott Marquis Houston, up from roughly 400 attendees at the event's 2018 debut.

Conference agenda expands to 24 sessions covering AI-driven background checks

The 2027 program includes 24 educational sessions led by more than 24 industry presenters, with topics ranging from a panel on AI and automation in screening to a data-focused review of drug testing methodologies, including marijuana testing updates. Announced speakers include attorneys Pam Devata, Joe Beachboard, and Faye Caldwell, alongside compliance and transportation specialists Jo McGuire, Brenna Lyles, Ciera Parks, and Juan Moya.

United States – September 11, 2026 -- Observe.AI has launched Performance Agents, an AI system that cuts contact center coaching preparation time to under five minutes in applicable workflows, the company announced.

Performance Agents Cut Coaching Prep Time to Under Five Minutes

Supervisors currently spend significant time interpreting reports, locating relevant conversations, documenting examples, and preparing coaching plans manually. Performance Agents automate this process, freeing supervisors to focus on judgment, context, and employee development rather than administrative preparation.

Bristol, England – September 10, 2026 -- Zellis, the UK and Ireland's leading provider of HR, Workforce Management, Payroll and benefits solutions, has confirmed futurist and bestselling author Ravin Jesuthasan, CFA, FRSA, as headline speaker for its flagship Zellis Connect 2026 event, set for 23 September 2026 at Kings Place, London.

Jesuthasan will map a practical roadmap for AI-driven workforce change

Jesuthasan, global leader of Mercer's Transformation Services business, will address HR, workforce and pay professionals on the operating models replacing traditional organisational structures, the rise of future skills, and the governance needed to integrate AI and digital agents into daily operations. Zellis frames the session as action-oriented, aimed at giving attendees concrete steps against a backdrop of rising labour costs and accelerating workplace AI adoption.

New York – September 08, 2026 -- Only 48.2% of individual contributors believe their organization is "on the same page" during change initiatives, compared with 79.4% of leaders, according to a new white paper from Dale Carnegie. The 31-point gap illustrates how transformation strategies can lose coherence as they move from executive planning into daily execution, the training firm found.

Leadership credibility gaps widen among frontline staff

Just 27% of employees strongly believe their immediate leader's actions consistently align with stated messages, a figure that drops to 18.5% among individual contributors. Dale Carnegie's report, titled "Leading Organizational Change: The Human System Behind Successful Execution," argues that this divergence between words and actions leads employees to question whether a change effort is credible enough to warrant sustained support.