Human Capital Management

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theHRDIRECTOR: Is HR Tech in its “It’s Toasted” Era?

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One thing’s for sure in HR tech: everything is agentic AI. Or better yet, just “agentic.” In the frigid back conference halls of the Mandalay Bay convention center, past the food court, and up the escalator banks, the word “agentic” bounced across the walls and danced through the air. It’s the hot new thing. Everyone’s talking about it. And maybe that’s the problem. Over the course of the two and a half days at the 3Sixty Insights table, I was briefed, debriefed, and briefed again with vendors from across the HR tech industry. I met and spoke with many witty, intelligent, and forward-thinking people, all telling – or being told to tell – the same story. As an analyst, the result was often walking away […]

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Analyst Insight: Payscale 2025 Salary Budget Survey

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Payscale’s 2025 Salary Budget Survey reveals a cautious pay environment as employers prepare for 2026. Drawing on insights from 1,551 organizations across the U.S., Canada, and beyond, the findings show that salary increase budgets are flattening, even as inflation and wage expectations remain elevated. Payscale’s findings illustrate a shift in the employment landscape. Wage growth between 2021 and 2023 became more cautious, and employers are focusing on controlling costs amid consistently uncertain economic signs. Simultaneously, workers remain highly aware of inflationary pressures and expect wage increases to preserve their purchasing power. The ongoing friction between these forces will shape retention and engagement in 2026. For 2026, U.S. employers project average salary budget increases of 3.5%, slightly lower than the 3.6% they actually granted in 2025. […]

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Council Guest Post: HR Transformation – Data-Driven HR Decisions

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Utilizing Analytics to Inform and Drive HR Transformational Initiatives Introduction In the dynamic landscape of human resources, the role of data and analytics has evolved from a mere supportive function to a central pillar in shaping HR strategies and decisions. The contemporary HR environment demands a data-driven approach to enhance decision-making processes, optimize workforce management, and ensure organizational growth. This article delves into the critical aspects of data-driven HR decisions and how analytics can be harnessed to revolutionize HR practices. The Importance of Data-Driven HR Decisions Data-driven HR decisions involve the use of data analytics to inform and guide HR strategies. This methodology shifts HR from being intuition-based to evidence-based, ensuring that decisions are backed by empirical data and insights. The importance of this approach […]

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Guest Podcast: Up Next @ Work, Episode 5 with Dylan Teggart of 3Sixty Insights

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In this episode, Up Next @ Work host Kate Achille sits down with Dylan Teggart, Principal Analyst at 3Sixty Insights, to discuss the state of the employee experience in 2024. Taking a socio-political lens to what’s most often seen as an HR issue, Kate and Dylan consider what factors most influence engagement rates in today’s workplaces and what employers can do to understand and improve the connection to their workforce. This conversation also serves as a preview of Dylan’s forthcoming research on building the employee experience from a workforce management perspective.

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theHRDIRECTOR: Key takeaways from this year’s HR technology conference

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My heart is full and my battery is drained, but in the most beautiful way. Prior to HR Technology Conference, my experience with conferences was from the practioner’s and blogger perspective. I had the opportunity to attend HR Tech as a learner and an analyst in an industry where I’ve been a customer, a decision maker, and a functionality geek. I got to see some amazing people I had not seen in years or even had never met IRL. I’ve always loved learning, attending demos, and seeing how people are looking to solve their business challenges with people tech solutions. It was fun to have the experience of being in HR for 20+ years and now having a different conversation with vendors, finding out from […]

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Council Guest Post: The Workplace AI Trap – When “Productivity Tools” Actually Make Work Harder

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Remember those mysterious farm implements from the Shelburne Museum I wrote about last week AI Is Not Always the Answer? Tools that clearly served important purposes in their time, but whose actual utility has been lost? That same disconnect between sophistication and usefulness is playing across the country as companies rush to deploy workplace AI. “We need to leverage AI to boost productivity,” executives announce, like archaeologists picking up an ancient tool and declaring it must be valuable because it looks complex. They’re so focused on having cutting-edge technology that they forget the most fundamental question every organization should ask: “Will this actually help our people do their jobs better?” With workplace AI spending projected to reach $79 billion by 2025, companies feel pressure to […]

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Analyst Insight: HR Techonomics & The Napster Effect

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Agentic AI is becoming table stakes, but the pricing model is broken for HR tech vendors. Given that platforms like ChatGPT are free for most HR tech users—or built into the existing fee structures for HR tech platforms—I fear that tying it to a zero-cost model may inadvertently propel HR tech AI into a fate similar to that of recorded music after Napster and the rise of music streaming. Napster proved to the world that music can be free, and the music industry never recovered from it. Record stores closed, artists suffered, and the music market was flooded with even more music, all of which was still available for free. Even decades later, when services like Apple Music and Spotify began to pop up, charging […]

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Winner Takes All: AI, Shareholders & the Future of Work

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Many HR tech companies’ go-to-market strategies are fixated on enhancing employee experience. There’s often a heavy emphasis on frontline efficiency achieved through a bottom-up approach to bolster business. They aim to help employees first, enabling them to be more productive, which in turn benefits the company as a whole. A significant part of this movement is facilitated through the use of AI as a vehicle to accelerate progress. At HR Tech 2025, there was a recurring emphasis on the concept of “human in the loop” — the idea that even with advancements in AI, such as agentic AI, human oversight will always be necessary for its actions. Many business and tech leaders argue that AI is meant to assist, rather than replace, workers. And this […]

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Monthly Research Recap | September 2025

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Recent Research: Market Alert: Workday to Acquire Paradox, Expanding AI Capabilities in Talent Acquisition Workday has announced its intent to acquire Paradox, a leading provider of conversational AI tools built for high-volume recruiting. This acquisition—expected to close in October pending regulatory approvals—positions Workday to unify candidate discovery, engagement, and onboarding in a single AI-powered talent acquisition suite. Paradox’s conversational AI, known for improving time-to-hire and conversion rates, will integrate with Workday Recruiting to deliver natural-language experiences, automated scheduling, and scalable candidate communications. Together with its previous acquisition of HiredScore, Workday continues to extend its reach beyond traditional enterprise recruiting toward high-volume, frontline, and contingent hiring—replacing fragmented recruiting tools with an end-to-end, AI-driven experience. Research Note: Risk to Retention – Background Screening as a Strategy Forward-thinking […]

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Research Note: Risk to Retention – Background Screening as a Strategy

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Why forward-thinking HR leaders are reimagining background checks with technology to enhance candidate experience, reduce risk, and strengthen employee retention. Executive Summary Background screening has grown to shape candidate experience and signal organizational culture, just as much as it ensures compliance and protects against risk. Having shifted from a mere compliance safeguard to a strategic element of talent management, when done well, screening builds candidate trust, promotes a safe workplace, and enhances employee retention. The future of background screening will be shaped by regulatory expansion, tighter integration of technology, and increasing candidate expectations for fairness and transparency. Companies that strike a balance between compliance and culture, leverage technology without compromising human judgment, and prioritize candidate trust, will not only reduce risk but also gain an […]

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Analyst Insight: ADP Innovation Day 2025

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It’s not often I get to take the subway to an HR tech meeting. Fortunately for me, ADP’s early September 2025 Innovation Day on Central Park South was a short ride away from my home in Brooklyn. This private session brought together HR technology analysts, along with ADP partners and clients for an in-depth review of ADP’s strategic vision and technology roadmap. Throughout the day, executives, including President and CEO Maria Black and Sreeni Kutam, President of Global Product & Innovation, shared stories on topics such as innovation, artificial intelligence, and global payroll. While this event was intended to update analysts on ADP’s products and technology, it also served a dual purpose for ADP to address current topics. These included using multiple AI/LLM agents for […]

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Council Guest Post: AI Is Not Always the Answer

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That’s Cool! What is it? (The AI Feature Trap That Can Kill Early-Stage Companies) One of my favorite places to go is the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. Walk into one of the buildings on the expansive grounds and you’ll find yourself staring at a collection of mysterious farm implements. Interesting, well-crafted tools that clearly served important purposes—but nobody alive remembers what those purposes were. Curators can guess based on the materials and construction, but the actual utility? Lost to time. While there’s a pretty long leap from the bucolic scenery of rural Vermont to artificial intelligence, the notion of unclear use is exactly how many early-stage companies are approaching AI features today. “We need AI in our product to stay competitive,” they announce, like archaeologists […]

Amplify Your Signal with Nicole Roberts

Amplify Your Signal | Nicole Roberts Podcast

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Amplify Your Signal, hosted by Nicole Roberts, is a podcast dedicated to elevating the voices of job seekers, professionals in transition, and individuals navigating career shifts. Each episode dives into the human side of career journeys — beyond résumés and job titles — to explore resilience, determination, and the drive to succeed. Through personal stories, expert interviews, and actionable advice, Nicole gives listeners a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to pivot careers, embrace change, and find opportunities that align with their passions. Topics range from leveraging LinkedIn and networking to understanding hiring trends, leadership, and the future of work. Whether you’re in between roles, considering a major career move, or simply looking for inspiration to take the next step, Amplify Your Signal offers motivation, […]

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Council Guest Post: HR Transformation – Aligning HR Initiatives with the Organization’s Culture and Values

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A Roadmap to a Harmonious and Productive Transformation Introduction In today’s dynamic and competitive business landscape, organizations are increasingly recognizing the pivotal role of Human Resources (HR) in driving transformation and achieving strategic goals. A critical aspect of successful HR Transformation is aligning HR initiatives with the organization’s culture and values. This alignment ensures that HR policies and practices not only support business objectives but also resonate with employees, fostering a cohesive and engaged workforce. Understanding Organizational Culture Organizational culture is the set of shared beliefs, values, norms, and practices that shape the behavior and interactions of employees within an organization. It is the social glue that binds the organization together and influences how employees perceive their roles, responsibilities, and the link of their role […]

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Video: What HR Tech Vendors Are Missing – Lessons from HR Tech 2025

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3Sixty Insights Nicholas Biron in this video shares his key takeaways from HR Tech 2025, offering a deep dive into the state of HR technology and the evolving landscape for both end users and vendors. Over the course of the event, it became clear that HR tech vendors are making revolutionary investments where solutions today are light years ahead of where they were just five years ago. For practitioners who haven’t evaluated new software recently, these innovations can be transformative, enabling organizations to solve complex workforce challenges, improve efficiency, and drive meaningful business outcomes. At the same time, Nick highlights a critical challenge: while the innovations are groundbreaking, much of the messaging coming from vendors is strikingly similar. Buzzwords like “agentic AI” and “human-in-the-loop” dominate […]

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Lessons from HR Tech 2025: How Vendors Can Stand Out in a Crowded Market

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Last week, I had the opportunity to attend HR Tech 2025 with the 3Sixty Insights team. After years of observing this industry as a customer and analyst, I came away both amazed and thoughtful about the state of HR technology and the way vendors communicate their innovations. The State of HR Technology Today The advancements in HR software over the past few years are nothing short of revolutionary. From AI-driven solutions to streamlined workforce management tools, the software on display at HR Tech 2025 has the potential to accelerate organizations’ capabilities by years—if deployed effectively. For end users, the key takeaway is clear: if you haven’t explored HR technology in the last few years, now is the time. The innovations showcased at this year’s event […]

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Is HR Tech in its “It’s Toasted” Era?

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One thing’s for sure in HR tech: everything is agentic AI. Or better yet, just “agentic.” In the frigid back conference halls of the Mandalay Bay convention center, past the food court, and up the escalator banks, the word “agentic” bounced across the walls and danced through the air. It’s the hot new thing. Everyone’s talking about it. And maybe that’s the problem. Over the course of the two and a half days at the 3Sixty Insights table, I was briefed, debriefed, and briefed again with vendors from across the HR tech industry. I met and spoke with many witty, intelligent, and forward-thinking people, all telling – or being told to tell – the same story. As an analyst, the result was often walking away […]

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Market Alert: Workday to Acquire Paradox, Expanding AI Capabilities in Talent Acquisition

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What Happened Workday, a California-based leader in HR and finance solutions for business, has agreed to acquire Paradox, which provides software that streamlines the talent acquisition process through conversational AI, with a focus on high-volume recruitment campaigns. By incorporating Paradox’s capabilities into Workday Recruiting, Workday will be able to offer a single platform that helps companies attract, engage and retain talent. Workday said the match will enable customers to take advantage of an end-to-end solution that reduces time-to-hire and improves conversion rates. In addition, Paradox, which is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., will help Workday more effectively search and onboard employees of all types, including frontline and back-office workers, as well as full-time and contingent employees. The acquisition price wasn’t disclosed; however, in 2021, privately held […]

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From Practitioner to Analyst: My Takeaways from This Year’s HR Technology Conference

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My heart is full and my battery is drained, but in the most beautiful way. Prior to HR Technology Conference, my experience with conferences was from the practioner’s and blogger perspective. I had the opportunity to attend HR Tech as a learner and an analyst in an industry where I’ve been a customer, a decision maker, and a functionality geek. I got to see some amazing people I had not seen in years or even had never met IRL. I’ve always loved learning, attending demos, and seeing how people are looking to solve their business challenges with people tech solutions. It was fun to have the experience of being in HR for 20+ years and now having a different conversation with vendors, finding out from […]