Hello, HR Pros!

70% of Americans now fear AI will cause permanent job loss. That’s not just a tech story—it’s an HR crisis in slow motion.

This edition tackles what happens when hiring gets gamified, engagement tanks, and talent pipelines go cold. We’re in an era where connection—not just compensation—is the new currency.

These reads don’t just diagnose the problem—they hint at how to rebuild trust from the inbox to the interview room. Let’s dive in ✨

📰 Upcoming in This Issue

• 🎭 If AI Can Game Your Hiring, Maybe You're Testing the Wrong Things

• ⚡️ Payroll Decisions: How HR Teams Compare Paycor and Patriot Payroll

• 📉 The Hidden Crisis Behind Plummeting Employee Engagement Scores

• 💌 The Underrated Tricks Top Recruiters Use To Keep Their Talent Pipeline Engaged

📣 Trending HR News

• Hackers target HR Tech platform Workday, steal user data (MSN)

• Meta is hitting pause on AI hiring after its poaching spree (Tech Crunch)

• Thoma Bravo to buy HR platform Dayforce in $12.3 Bn deal (Reuters)

• 7 in 10 Americans fear AI causing permanent job loss, poll shows (The Hill)

📉 The Hidden Crisis Behind Plummeting Employee Engagement Scores

Only 21% of workers feel fully engaged. U.S. happiness just fell out of the global top 20.

This article by Josh Bersin digs into why employee happiness is crashing—from AI anxiety and overwork to fear-driven layoffs and “too nice” workplace cultures that avoid hard conversations. He outlines 10 research-backed fixes—ranging from dynamic job rotation to investing in recognition, purpose, and psychological safety.

In short: the future belongs to companies that put humans, not just tech, at the center.

Key Takeaways:

• 🔄 Move people into new roles—research shows dynamic organizations are 27% more profitable and have more engaged, adaptable teams.

• 📚 Invest in real development—spend your learning budget wisely on job rotation, gig projects, and growth paths, not unused course libraries.

• 🤝 Use HR solutions for engagement—use HR platforms like HiBob to build a culture that unites, enabling recognition, transparency, and growth at scale.

• 🏅 Recognize employees often—companies with high-recognition cultures have 70% lower voluntary turnover, according to Bersin’s WorkHuman research.

• 💵 Pay fairly, not just generously—transparency and equity in pay are 7x more important than pay level when it comes to engagement.

(From the article Employee Engagement and Happiness Crisis. What Should We Do? by Josh Bersin — read the full 2,170-word article here)

⚡️ Payroll Decisions: How HR Teams Compare Paycor and Patriot Payroll

Payroll mistakes are more than an inconvenience—they erode employee trust and can trigger costly compliance issues. That’s why HR teams weigh their options carefully. Today, we will compare 2 payroll platforms: Paycor and Patriot Payroll.

• Paycor Payroll
  Built for larger or more complex organizations, Paycor offers automated payroll runs, integrated HR features, and strong compliance tools. It simplifies tax filing and reporting across states, while giving employees self-service access through a mobile app.

• Patriot Payroll
  Favored by smaller businesses, Patriot is affordable, easy to set up, and intuitive to use. It allows unlimited payroll runs, includes free direct deposit, and with the Full Service option, handles all federal, state, and local tax filings on your behalf.

Key Takeaways:

Both platforms address payroll pain points, but in different ways—Paycor for depth and scale, Patriot for simplicity and cost-effectiveness.

🎭 If AI Can Game Your Hiring, Maybe You're Testing the Wrong Things

If a candidate aces your interview with AI—did they cheat or just adapt? This article examines how AI use in hiring is redefining ethics, performance, and the meaning of preparation.

Cluely, a startup that raised $15M to help candidates “cheat” on interviews by reframing deception as optimization. It’s not fringe—it’s the business case for a broken system.

Maybe the real red flag isn’t candidates using AI—it’s interview processes so rigid they can be gamed by chatbots.

Key Takeaways:

• 🤖 AI-assisted cheating blurs ethical lines—what's dishonest vs. what’s just smart adaptation is increasingly hard to define.

• 🧪 If interviews are easy to game, maybe we’re testing memory, not capability—time to redesign the rubric.

• 💥 “Cheating economy” is real, driven by candidates optimizing in response to impersonal, AI-driven hiring systems.

• 🧭 Ethics isn’t about banning AI, it’s about designing fairer systems aligned with evolving norms and values.

(From the article If AI Can Easily Game Hiring Processes, Maybe It’s Time to Rethink What You’re Looking For by Corporate Compliance Insights — read the full 1,457-word article here)

💌 The Underrated Tricks Top Recruiters Use To Keep Their Talent Pipeline Engaged

Top recruiters know real engagement happens between job openings—not during them. This article reveals how sending birthday wishes, acknowledging work anniversaries, and crafting hyper-personalized messages can keep high-value prospects warm without feeling transactional.

The genius is in the subtlety. None of these gestures include a job pitch, which is exactly why they work. They signal care, not conversion—and in a talent market flooded with automation, that stands out.

Forget the spray-and-pray outreach. These small, intentional acts build trust quietly—and pay off when timing finally aligns.

Key Takeaways:

• 🎂 Birthday notes build goodwill—especially when they're unexpected and come with zero job pressure.

• 📆 Work anniversaries spark reflection, making them ideal moments to subtly re-engage top prospects.

• 🧠 AI-generated messages won’t cut it—tailored communication shows you value the individual, not just the skillset.

• ✉️ Simple gestures compound—done right, they build a trust bank that pays off when timing aligns.

(From the article 3 Subtle Ways To Keep Prospects In Your Talent Pipeline Engaged by Dr. John Sullivan — read the full 1,260-word article here)

The bottomline

If employees feel unseen, unheard, or easily replaced, everything else breaks down.

We can’t automate our way out of an engagement crisis. Sometimes, the smartest move in HR isn’t a new tool—it’s remembering what made us care in the first place. See you in next edition! ✨