Hey HR Pros,

Technology may dominate headlines—but people still drive results.

This week, we explore what truly powers high-performing organizations: trust, precision hiring, and building teams that make AI work for them. From Dr. John Sullivan’s warning against settling for second-best, to HBR’s case for rebuilding trust, and BCG’s reminder that AI value starts with people—each piece reframes what real performance means.

Because in business, excellence isn’t found—it’s built. Let’s dive in ✨

📰 Upcoming in This Issue

• 🤝 Most Employees Don’t Trust Their Leaders. Here’s What to Do About It

• 🏆 The Costliest Recruiting Mistake You’re Probably Still Making

• 🤖 To Unlock the Full Value of AI, Invest in Your People

✨ Helpful HR Resource

• 🎁 Top HR tools & offers curated The HR Takeaways readers

📣 Trending HR News

• Instagram orders staff back to the office 5 days a week (Business Insider)

• Starbucks to pay NYC workers $35m after labour law violations (BBC)

• Omnicom to cut over 4,000 jobs after IPG takeover (Reuters)

• AT&T commits to ending DEI programs (CNN)

🤝 Most Employees Don’t Trust Their Leaders. Here’s What to Do About It

Trust is the ultimate performance multiplier—and it’s in short supply.

According to Gartner, only 48% of employees trust their senior leaders, even though those who do are 6.5× more likely to be engaged at work. The biggest trust-breakers? Withholding information, blaming others, and reversing decisions.

But rebuilding trust isn’t guesswork—it’s structure. The most trusted leaders explain decisions, own mistakes, invite dialogue, and invest in self-awareness. In an era of volatility, consistency isn’t boring—it’s credibility.

Key Takeaways:

• 📉 The trust gap is real: Fewer than half of employees trust leadership—a major predictor of engagement and retention.

• 💬 Transparency wins: Employees are 4.3× more likely to trust leaders who clearly explain decision rationales.

• 🧭 Authenticity drives loyalty: Trust increases 6.5× when leaders show genuine concern for issues employees care about.

• 🧠 Build the muscle: Training in emotional intelligence, transparency, and ethical decision-making turns trust into a repeatable skill.

👉 Read the full 2,940-word article by Harvard Business Review

🏆 The Costliest Recruiting Mistake You’re Probably Still Making

Hiring your second-choice candidate might feel practical—but it’s one of the most expensive mistakes in recruiting.

Dr. John Sullivan calls “settling” the hidden drain on performance, innovation, and morale. Across mission-critical roles, the performance gap between a #1 and #2 candidate can reach up to 75%—and the long-term financial hit can equal an entire year’s salary for that role.

In AI, product, or sales positions, settling slows teams, weakens collaboration, and quietly erodes culture. The fix? Don’t fill fast. Hire right—or reopen the search.

Key Takeaways:

• 📉 Big gap, big cost: Lower-ranked hires can perform up to 25–75% worse than top candidates, especially in critical roles.

• ⏳ Hidden drag: #2 hires slow team pace, take longer to ramp up, and drain managerial time through extra coaching.

• 💸 Real financial loss: In sales alone, hiring #1s over #2s can add $100K+ per rep, per year in revenue impact.

• 🚫 Culture erosion: “First losers” often struggle with confidence and peer perception—hurting collaboration and retention.

👉 Read the full 2,410-word article here

⚙️ A Smarter Way to Simplify HR, Payroll, Compliance & Employee Support

If keeping up with compliance changes, managing payroll, and coordinating benefits across multiple vendors is stretching your HR team thin, there’s a better way.

Smart HR teams are relying on TriNet PEO’s full-service HR solution to reduce administrative HR burden, streamline operations, and provide employees with top-tier benefits normally reserved for much larger companies. It’s comprehensive, scalable, and built to support organizations in complex, fast-changing industries.

Why growing companies choose TriNet PEO:

• 🛡 Built-in compliance support to help navigate HR regulations, payroll taxes, and risk management

• 💼 Premium, cost-effective benefits packages that help you attract and retain top talent

• 💸 Accurate, automated payroll with tax filing, reporting, and seamless employee self-service

• 👥 Dedicated HR expertise for guidance on employee relations, policies, compensation, and best practices

Stop letting HR complexity slow your business down. Free your team to focus on strategy, culture, and growth — while TriNet handles the operational and compliance heavy lifting.

👉 See How TriNet PEO Transforms HR for Growing Companies

🤖 To Unlock the Full Value of AI, Invest in Your People

AI alone doesn’t create transformation—people do.

This research by BCG reveals that while most companies have adopted AI tools, only 5% generate value at scale. The gap? Human capability. True AI transformation happens when organizations invest in changing how people think, work, and lead—not just what tools they use.

From role-specific learning journeys to empathy-driven leadership and trust-building, BCG’s framework shows that the future of AI success depends on one metric: how well people adapt, not how many systems they adopt.

Key Takeaways:

• 📊 Adoption ≠ impact: Only 1 in 20 companies turn AI adoption into measurable value—capability-building is the missing bridge.

• 🎯 Focus on value pools: Target AI efforts where workflow redesign can unlock the highest ROI, like lending or product innovation.

• 👩‍💻 Personalize learning: Build role-based AI fluency across four archetypes—shapers, leaders, transformers, and contributors.

• 💬 Lead with trust: AI adoption grows when leaders communicate transparently, model curiosity, and address fears with empathy.

👉 Read the full 3,960-word article here

The bottomline

As workplaces become more automated, the companies that win will be the ones that double down on being human—transparent, curious, and bold enough to expect more from their people and their systems.

Before you rush into another week of deadlines and dashboards, take a moment to ask: are we scaling technology, or growing trust?

Because performance may start with strategy—but it endures through people.