Future of Work

3Sixty Insights - Article - Thumbnail

Workforce Management in the Age of Unknowns

Posted on by

Most workforce management strategies are built for predictability. Maybe that’s the problem. In 2026, that thinking may now be a liability as the defining WFM challenges instead seem to be managing what dashboards can’t show you, AI workforce transformation is reshaping headcount decisions, data trust, and risk, as the modern workplace slowly becomes a human-AI hybrid—part judgment, part automation, part AI assistant. These changes will permanently alter the workforce, as a slow, sequenced cut moves through organizations from function to function, quarter by quarter, until organizations look fundamentally different from the way they did 10 years ago. So far, US job losses tied to AI have hit approximately 100,000 in the last 6–12 months, with companies like Amazon shedding 30,000 employees since October 2025, not […]

3Sixty Insights - Article - Thumbnail

The Growing Gap Between Vendor Messaging and Organizational Reality

Posted on by

At 3Sixty Insights, we have a dedicated practice focused on HR, Benefits, and Payroll. Over the past several years, we have seen a clear shift in how organizations in this space position themselves in the market. The messaging has evolved beyond helping companies become more effective and efficient, expanding into themes centered on improving employee experience and building stronger workplace cultures. Conceptually, this evolution makes sense. There is no shortage of research supporting the idea that engaged and satisfied employees are more productive and contribute more meaningfully to organizational success. It is a logical progression in messaging, and one that resonates with buyers. However, over time, I have found myself increasingly questioning whether some of these organizations are truly operating in alignment with what they […]

3Sixty Insights - Analyst Insight -Thumbnail

Analyst Insight: Workforce Management in the Age of Unknown

Posted on by

For decades, workforce management (WFM) meant controlling known variables like labor costs, scheduling, and compliance thresholds. That framing is now a liability. The defining WFM challenge of 2026 isn’t managing what you know—it’s preparing for what you don’t. As AI reshapes headcount decisions, data trust erodes, and the risks most organizations haven’t yet modeled turn out to be the ones that matter most. The Next Wave of Layoffs Won’t Look Like the Last One If you’re expecting alarm bells signaling massive AI-related layoffs, they’re likely not coming. What’s more likely are slow, sequenced cuts that move quietly from function to function quarter after quarter, gradually reshaping the workforce. It’s the boiling frog dynamic applied to organizational structure: by the time the temperature feels dangerous, the […]

3Sixty Insights - Market Alert - Thumbnail

Market Alert: Salary.com Launches Max Model

Posted on by

What It Is Early this week, Salary.com announced its new Max model, an AI layer for compensation workflows. Max is the latest addition to the CompAnalyst AI Suite and represents the company’s most significant product evolution since its founding in 1999. This announcement comes alongside a rebranded corporate identity. Max is based on Salary.com’s unique job classification system (what they call “job ontology”), which they created over 27 years ago. The model combines salary surveys, market data, job posting signals, and company software into a single smart system. It can perform tasks such as automatic analysis before and after planning, identify risks of job compression, and create reports for HR and managers. The company claims tasks that used to take half a day can now […]

3Sixty Insights - Case Study - Thumbnail

Case Study: Turning Time & Attendance into a Strategic Asset

Posted on by

What You Need to Know Mergers and acquisitions are a powerful growth strategy, particularly from a workforce perspective. Acquiring an established business allows a parent company to inherit an experienced workforce in a new territory rather than building one from scratch. Yet acquisitions also introduce significant complexity. Policies differ. Pay structures vary. Benefits and scheduling practices may conflict. Long-tenured employees who have earned preferred schedules or enhanced vacation accruals can suddenly feel penalized for circumstances outside their control, putting retention and morale at risk during a critical transition period. Many organizations approach this challenge by rapidly standardizing policies across locations. While consistency can support fairness and compliance, moving too quickly can erode trust and disrupt the employee experience. The organization featured in this case study […]

3Sixty Insights - Analyst Insight -Thumbnail

Analyst Insight: From Automation to Orchestration – How Phenom Is Rebuilding the Hiring Stack as Adaptive AI Infrastructure

Posted on by

Phenom Looks Toward Hiring Infrastructure Phenom unveiled a sweeping architectural overhaul at IAMPHENOM 2026 in Philadelphia and showed off results that showcase the true effectiveness of AI in HR workflows. Phenom opened this year’s IAMPHENOM user conference by pitching a philosophy rather than products. The company’s core question, executives said, wasn’t “how do we automate more?” but “what should be automated, and when should we pull back?” AI perceives patterns and relationships at a level people can’t reach, providing an opportunity to meld machine-driven data and analysis with human thought and decision-making. That environment, Phenom believes, leads to better outcomes in recruiting, onboarding and talent management. Judgement is important in this. Organizations need to consider what they should automate before deciding how it should be […]

3Sixty Insights - Analyst Insight -Thumbnail

Analyst Insight: California Labor Laws and Compliance: Burden, Benchmark, or Competitive Advantage?

Posted on by

In more than one phone call with customers, vendors, or other analysts in the HR technology industry, I’ve heard the claim that it’s hard to do business in the state of California. According to these conversations, the state is riddled with unnecessary compliance requirements, too many hoops to jump through, a mountain of litigation risk, and constant rule changes. Business groups frequently cite labor and wage compliance requirements as part of a broader, burdensome business environment. So I decided to take a look. Is the situation in California really as out of control as people claim? Fact vs. Fiction To start, there is a significant kernel of truth behind these claims, especially when compared to the rest of the United States. California’s 2026 statewide minimum […]

#HRTechChat: David Edwards on the “Last Mile” from Data to Decisions

Posted on by

In this episode of #HRTechChat, Nicole Roberts (Senior Analyst & Advisor, 3Sixty Insights) is joined by David Edwards—strategic workforce planning practitioner, advisor, and author of The Strategic Workforce Planning Handbook—for a candid conversation about the gap between SWP theory and the messy reality of execution. David explains why strategic workforce planning still suffers from an identity crisis (too many definitions, too many expectations), and why organizations keep getting trapped in short-term thinking that freezes out long-term capability building. Together, they unpack why chasing “perfect data” can be just as risky as oversimplifying, and why the real skill leaders need—especially as AI accelerates planning inputs—is judgment: knowing what’s decision-grade, what matters most, and what to do next. The conversation also tackles the evolving role of managers, […]

#HRTechChat: Aman Kaur-Shaik on Why AI Adoption in HR Starts with Knowledge, Data, and Culture

Posted on by

In this episode of #HRTechChat, Dylan Teggart speaks with Aman Kaur-Shaik—HR Director at Nutrien, member of the 3SixtyInsights Global Executive Advisory Council, and a 2024 Global Top 100 HR Executive—about what it really takes for organizations to adopt AI successfully. Aman explains why the biggest barrier to AI adoption isn’t the technology itself, but the environment organizations have built around it. From fragmented knowledge bases and outdated policies to inconsistent data and unclear guardrails, many HR teams are trying to layer advanced AI tools on top of systems that were never designed for them. Together, they explore why the hype around AI is beginning to settle, how HR leaders can move from experimentation to practical adoption, and why starting with strong knowledge management and data […]

Nicole Roberts Contributes Analyst Perspective to HR Voices 2026 Compliance Report

Posted on by

As HR compliance grows more complex in 2026, Nicole Roberts, Principal HR Industry Analyst at 3Sixty Insights, emphasizes a critical reality: compliance technology is only as effective as the expertise guiding it. In the HR Voices: 2026 Regulatory Transformations and Disruptions in HR Compliance report, developed with OutSolve, Nicole highlights the widening gap between tool adoption and practitioner judgment. As organizations deploy more automation across HR and compliance workflows, validating outputs with experienced human oversight becomes essential. Nicole’s contribution centers on the operational risks emerging from overreliance on systems alone. “Tools can’t replace expertise,” she explains, noting that compliance teams must still interpret signals, validate decisions, and understand regulatory nuance beyond what dashboards and alerts can provide. This perspective reflects what many HR leaders are […]

3Sixty Insights - Market Alert - Thumbnail

Market Alert: The EU’s New Pay Transparency Directive

Posted on by

The EU Pay Transparency Directive is a new set of rules that says companies operating in the European Union must be more transparent and consistent about pay, particularly to reduce unfair pay gaps, most notably gender pay gaps. Instead of pay being a bit of a “black box” where people only find out if they’re underpaid by accident, or after years, the directive pushes pay into the open in a few practical ways: Job seekers get pay info earlier: When you apply for a role, the employer has to tell you the pay range or starting pay early in the process, likely in the job posting, or at least before interviews. The idea is to reduce wasted time and end the guessing games in which […]

3Sixty Insights - Research Agenda - Thumbnail

Research Agenda: Workforce Strategy, HR Enablement & HR Technology in an AI-Augmented World

Posted on by

Analyst Overview Nicole brings more than 20 years of senior HR leadership experience, including serving as Chief People Officer and the first HR executive at several high-growth, private-equity–backed, and multi-site organizations. She has built HR functions from the ground up, led organizations through Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and rapid scaling, and evaluated, selected, and implemented a wide range of HR technologies as a buyer. She specializes in helping HR leaders translate workforce data into clear, executive-ready narratives that resonate with CEOs, CFOs, and private-equity stakeholders. In addition to her executive experience, Nicole serves as faculty with the Human Capital Institute, where she teaches courses in strategic workforce planning, talent acquisition, HR business partnering, change management, and leadership development. This work provides deep insight into the […]

3Sixty Insights - Analyst Insight -Thumbnail

Analyst Insight: From Skill to Practice – Why Manager Enablement Is Becoming HR’s Most Critical System Design Challenge

Posted on by

In a recent HRTechChat podcast conversation with Jeff Smith, PhD, COO of AI-powered performance management platform 15Five, a consistent theme emerged: the future of performance management and manager enablement will not be driven by more training, frameworks, or one-time interventions. It will be driven by system design that reinforces behavior continuously, in the flow of work. As HR teams face unprecedented pressure, from AI disruption and capacity constraints to escalating expectations placed on managers, traditional approaches to performance and leadership development are no longer sufficient. What organizations need now are mechanisms that turn expectations into daily practice, supported by technology that helps provide real-time feedback and augments human judgment rather than replacing it. Key Insights from the Conversation 1. HR Is at the Center of […]

#HRTechChat: Do More With Less Is Breaking Managers (and What to Do About It) — with JD Dillon

Posted on by

In this episode of #HRTechChat, Dylan Teggart is joined by JD Dillon—advisor, speaker, and author of The Modern Learning Ecosystem—to unpack the “do more with less” reality shaping work in 2026 and why managers are taking the brunt of it. JD explains how constant change, unclear AI mandates, and shrinking labor budgets are pressing frontline and middle managers from both sides—corporate demands on one side, team needs on the other. Together, they explore why traditional leadership development isn’t meeting the moment, why “engagement” is losing meaning as a guiding metric, and what actually helps organizations adapt when disruption hits. JD makes the case that if you’re going to prioritize one investment in the employee experience, make it managers—by giving them time, clarity, and permission to […]

3Sixty Insights - Article - Thumbnail

When Organizational Change Becomes Organizational Damage

Posted on by

Over the past several months, I have been sharing a series of posts and videos focused on what I believe is one of the most troubling issues facing organizations today. It is not change itself. Change is necessary. In fact, years ago I wrote extensively about how organizations fail when they cannot keep pace with technology, competition, and shifting market dynamics. That belief has not changed. What has changed is the type of organizational change I am seeing. In many cases, it is so disruptive that it genuinely raises the question of how some businesses manage to stay operational, let alone profitable. One of the earliest themes I raised in this series was the rapidly shrinking tenure of executive leadership. CEOs, CROs, CMOs, and product […]

3Sixty Insights - Article - Thumbnail

Community, Purpose, and the Time AI Gives Back

Posted on by

If you had ten more hours a week starting tomorrow, what would you do with them? Why not start now? A Hundred-Year-Old Warning About the Future of Work In 1930, right in the middle of the Great Depression, John Maynard Keynes, often described as the father of Keynesian economics, wrote an essay called Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren. It was an odd time to be thinking optimistically about the future. Jobs were disappearing, economies were struggling, and uncertainty was everywhere. Instead of focusing on short-term recovery, Keynes stepped back and asked a much bigger question. What happens to society when technological progress reduces the need for human labor? Keynes believed productivity would keep improving and that, over time, humanity would largely solve what he called the […]

#HRTechChat: The Economics of HR – Speaking the Language of Business with Maria Scarangella

Posted on by

In this episode of #HRTechChat, Nicole Roberts is joined by Maria Scarangella to tackle one of the most persistent challenges facing HR today: proving business value in a climate defined by cost pressure, efficiency mandates, and heightened executive scrutiny. Drawing on her 37-year career at GEICO—including leadership of a $2.5B P&L—and her current work building Marstella, Maria explains why HR risks losing its strategic seat when it speaks only in HR metrics instead of business outcomes. Together, they explore how quantifying the true cost of hiring, onboarding, training, and turnover can fundamentally change executive decision-making—from smarter workforce planning to more targeted investments in technology and development. Maria outlines why “a lot” is not a number, how lifecycle cost visibility creates accountability across leaders, and why […]

#HRTechChat: Jeff Smith of 15Five on Building Better Managers in the Age of AI

Posted on by

In this episode of #HRTechChat, Nicole Roberts sits down with Jeff Smith, COO of 15Five, to unpack what it really takes to build better managers in an era of AI, constant change, and overflowing HR to-do lists. A psychologist by training with deep R&D and product experience, Jeff brings a rare lens on how organizations can redesign systems, expectations, and technology to truly support people leaders—not just measure them. They dig into the mounting pressure on HR and managers, the shift from “HR owns all people issues” to shared accountability, and why management has to be treated as a daily practice, not a one-time promotion. Jeff explains how tools like 15Five and Kona AI can turn everyday one-on-ones into continuous performance data, simplify review cycles, […]

3Sixty Insights - Analyst Insight -Thumbnail

Analyst Insight: What Makes a Certified Great Place To Work Company

Posted on by

Many careers pages today seem to carry a badge: “Great Place To Work Certified.” But to the job market, what does it typically signal, and where does it fall short? As an analyst engaging with HR leaders, employees, and HR tech vendors, it seems like Great Place To Work certification is seen less as the sole indicator of a “good company” and more as part of a body of evidence that includes retention statistics, internal mobility metrics, cultural trends, and employee feedback initiatives. Taking a Closer Look Great Place To Work (GPTW) is a workplace culture consultancy that has spent over 30 years researching employee experience and positioning itself as a global authority on workplace culture. GPTW says more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries […]