✨ How One HR Pro Rewrote Her Career

Hi there! 👋 

Welcome to today’s edition of HR Insights Today - your go-to resource to the latest happenings of the HR world.

What happens when the people guiding others through uncertainty suddenly face it themselves?

Whether it's an HR leader laid off by the very company she helped restructure, or employees debating whether it’s safe to open up about mental health struggles, there is a clear winner in the culture vs policy stand off.

⬇️ Upcoming in this issue

• 🚀 New Data | Why Career Talks in Classrooms May Be the Key to Closing the Skills Gap

• 🧠 Why a Supportive Culture Beats Policy When It Comes to Mental Health

• 💸 What HR Should Know about Compensating Top Performance

• ✨ From HR to HR | From Layoffs to Leadership: How One HR Pro Rewrote Her Career

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📰 Latest in HR News

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🚀 New Data | Why Career Talks in Classrooms May Be the Key to Closing the Skills Gap

In a world where the job market is shifting faster than students can pick a major, we’re facing a disconnect: young people’s career expectations seem to be… outdated.

New research reveals that 15-year-olds across the globe rarely engage with real-world work environments. And when they do, it's usually just once!

As talent shortages tighten and employers scramble for skilled workers, career guidance can’t be left solely to schools.

Key Insights

• 🎓 Only 45% of students in OECD countries have visited a workplace or shadowed a job by age 15—most only once.

• 💼 63% of employers list skills gaps as their top transformation barrier, with talent availability expected to worsen by 2030.

• 🧑‍🏫 One hour a year from employees volunteering to share career stories can expand student awareness of overlooked job sectors.

• ⚖️ Engagement matters more in underrepresented careers; real-life exposure helps students assess inclusivity and workplace fit.

read the full 553-word article here

🧠 Why a Supportive Culture Beats Policy When It Comes to Mental Health

New research suggests that when employees feel genuinely supported by their workplace, they're dramatically more likely to speak up.

And this matters: silence around mental health affects absenteeism, engagement, and long-term performance. The gap between a written policy and lived experience is wide.

But the good news is, creating a space where employees feel safe enough to disclose is well within a company’s control.

Key Insights

• 📢 55% more likely—that’s how much culture impacts an employee’s willingness to disclose mental health concerns to their employer.

• 🔍 Absenteeism spikes when mental health disclosure feels unsafe; supportive environments yield better engagement and job satisfaction.

• 🧭 Only 50% of workers know how to access their mental health benefits; over 25% aren’t even sure they exist.

• 💡 Empathetic leadership is key to psychological safety, which boosts motivation, retention, and workplace happiness.

read the full 537-word article here

💸 What HR Should Know about Compensating Top Performance

With budgets tightening and headcounts shrinking, the pressure to reward top talent without alienating the rest is forcing major employers to rethink their approach.

Recent moves from major tech firms show performance-based differentiation which is raising important questions for HR about fairness, communication, and trust.

📊 Key Insights

• 🏆 Google is expanding its top performance rating pool and redirecting more budget toward bonuses for high performers.

• 📉 Amazon cut initial top-performer pay from 80% to 70% of range—while rewarding long-term top performers with 110% of pay band.

• 📈 CEO priorities are shifting, with a 24% rise in leaders focusing on cost containment over growth, per Gartner research.

• 💬 Communication is critical—surprise changes in pay structure can break employee trust and damage engagement long-term.

read the full 623-word article here

✨ From HR to HR | From Layoffs to Leadership: How One HR Pro Rewrote Her Career

There’s a strange irony in being the one who helps guide others through layoffs only to find yourself on the list.

After years supporting performance, coaching, and restructuring at one of the world’s largest tech companies, Chikara Kennedy suddenly became a statistic of the very system she once managed.

Her story is a case study in resilience, and a reminder that even the most structured career paths can (and sometimes should) take a detour.

Key Insights

• 🧳 After being laid off, Kennedy took a solo trip to Bali with no itinerary—just the intention to reconnect and reflect deeply.

• 📉 Despite being a high performer, she was laid off during a 10,000-person cut at Meta, illustrating the unpredictable nature of corporate restructuring.

• 🌿 Her retreats combine meditation, ceremony, and coaching to help women redefine success beyond job titles and performance metrics.

• 💬 Her biggest lesson? A layoff doesn’t define you—it might just be the door to discovering what you were meant to build.

read the full 1,015-word article here

😄 Comic Relief (HR Edition)

Sophia Bennett | Editor-in-Chief | HR Insights Today