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Welcome to this special Best of December issue of Talent Edge Weekly!

Given this is the last issue of 2024, I am sending it earlier than the normal Sunday, 6 PM EST time, so you can get a start on your reading!

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THIS MONTH’S CONTENT

This special Best of December issue includes 17 of the most popular resources from the December issues of Talent Edge Weekly.

They are organized into three sections:

1. TALENT PRACTICES. Covers performance management, including year-end calibrations and goal setting, ways of working, succession planning, workforce planning, and strategies like re-recruiting former employees.

2. HR PRIORITIES & EFFECTIVENESS, HR TECH, AND GEN AI. Covers 2025 workforce priorities, simplification of HR practices, and the integration of technology and AI for organizational effectiveness.

3. WORKFORCE TRENDS: RTO, HYBRID WORK, AND WORKING PARENTS. Examines the evolving dynamics of workplace trends, from return to office mandates and hybrid work to challenges faced by working parents.

This deep dive issue includes several bonus resources.

✅ Prefer a quicker read? Check out an abridged version with just links.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Performance Calibration Discussions: 10 Questions to Help Managers Reflect on Employees’ Year-End Performance | Brian Heger

My infographic with sample questions to help managers evaluate performance.

As we approach the new year, many organizations are preparing for or conducting performance calibration discussions—critical meetings where managers from across the company collaborate to ensure consistency and objectivity in employee performance evaluations. One aim of these sessions is to promote fairness by addressing discrepancies caused by “tough graders,” who hold employees to exceptionally high standards, and “easy graders,” who provide overly generous evaluations. When done effectively, these discussions result in more accurate performance differentiation. To help managers prepare for these sessions, here’s my infographic featuring 10 example questions. While not exhaustive or tailored to every organization, these questions serve as a starting point and can be adapted to align with an organization’s performance management philosophy and program. Questions range from Goal Achievement: “What were the employee's most significant accomplishments during the performance period?” to Obstacle Navigation: “What were the most significant obstacles this employee faced in achieving their objectives? How did they overcome them?” By reflecting on questions like these, managers can approach evaluations more thoughtfully, leading to more objective performance differentiation. Employees can also use these questions to reflect on their contributions and performance throughout 2024.

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ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

Identifying and Mitigating Ineffective Work Behaviors and Practices | Brian Heger

My template to proactively identify and address ineffective work practices that detract from goal achievement in the new year.

Many organizations are currently drafting, finalizing, and refining their objectives and goals for the upcoming year. A critical part of this process is establishing a few clear, vital goals with explicit accountability and measurable success metrics. An often overlooked yet valuable addition to goal-setting is identifying workplace practices or behaviors that may detract from achieving these goals. Ineffective work practices, even when goals are well-aligned with strategy and accountability, can hinder goal attainment. To address this, I’ve created a one-page template to help organizations—whether at the organizational, team, or individual level—identify and mitigate practices that could impede the execution of 2025 goals. For example, excessive or inefficient meetings, such as those involving unnecessary participants or frequently running over time, can be mitigated by limiting invitations to essential attendees and setting strict time limits (e.g., 30 minutes) to encourage concise discussions and decision-making. The template provides space to document ineffective work practices, outline tactics for improvement, and track progress. 

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ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

Improve Workflows by Managing Bottlenecks | MIT Sloan Management Review

Explores ‘bottlenecks’ as a major obstacle to achieving organizational goals and provides actionable strategies to address them.

As organizations gear up to execute their 2025 goals, it’s crucial to address ineffective ways of working that could impede the execution of business priorities. Building on this, a new article highlights ‘bottlenecks’ as a significant barrier to execution. Bottlenecks arise when tasks stall due to dependencies on incomplete tasks (e.g., legal review processes delaying high-value contracts) or insufficient resources. While resource bottlenecks, such as understaffed teams, can often be addressed by adding capacity, task bottlenecks require rethinking workflows, clarifying dependencies, and empowering teams to tackle obstacles proactively. The article offers an in-depth guide to identifying bottlenecks and provides five actionable strategies for managing them. By addressing these barriers early, organizations can create a smoother path to execution and deliver greater impact in 2025. What steps is your organization taking to address inefficiencies and bottlenecks to enable better performance in the coming year?

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WORKFORCE PLANNING

6 Workforce Planning Challenges You Can Start Solving Today | Brian Heger

My template outlining six common SWP challenges, a potential solution, and immediate next step to implement.

Strategic workforce planning (SWP) remains a top priority for many organizations, yet studies consistently reveal gaps in SWP capabilities. A common challenge is that HR practitioners and stakeholders often struggle with where to begin or how to prioritize actions to advance SWP efforts. In such cases, starting small—focusing on one area for improvement—can be the most effective way to gain momentum. To assist, I’ve created a one-page template outlining six common SWP challenges, potential solutions, and immediate next steps to implement them. For example, to address a lack of senior leader buy-in, a potential solution could involve presenting a business case that connects SWP to critical organizational outcomes, such as reducing turnover costs. An immediate next step might include calculating the financial impact of turnover to strengthen the case. This template enables teams to identify challenges, brainstorm solutions, and tailor the content to their organization’s SWP maturity. If you find value in tools like this, stay tuned for my new, exclusive community for internal HR practitioners, Talent Edge Circle, launching in early 2025.

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WORKFORCE PLANNING

Scenario Planning Worksheet for Enabling Workforce Planning | Brian Heger

My one-page worksheet for thinking through workforce planning responses to different scenarios.

According to Gartner’s 2025 Top Priorities for HR Leaders Report, only 15% of surveyed organizations practice strategic workforce planning, with 66% limiting their efforts to basic headcount planning. In my view, one reason for this gap is that workforce plans often focus on a single expected scenario, overlooking other possible scenarios the organization may face; this is where scenario planning (SP) can make a difference. While SP can range from simple discussions to sophisticated, technology-enabled processes, starting with basic questions can yield significant benefits. My worksheet helps guide these discussions and provides space to document: Base Scenario. What scenario will likely occur? (e.g., FDA approval of drug X). What are the key elements of the workforce plan for this scenario? (e.g., a 19% increase in sales reps in regions A, C, & F). Alternative Scenarios. What are two other possible scenarios? Triggers. What indicators (e.g., economic shifts, increased competition, etc.) would serve as a signal that the alternate scenario is more likely to occur? Action. If an alternate scenario occurs, how will our workforce plan adjust? While there is more to SP than outlined here, this template can help jumpstart your efforts. Lastly, business scenarios should align with the strategic planning process to ensure workforce plans are grounded in realistic business scenarios.

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SUCCESSION PLANNING

Reevaluating Targeted Positions in the Succession Planning Pool | Brian Heger

My template to help leaders evaluate aspects of their succession plans.

Many HR teams are enhancing their talent practices to deliver greater value to stakeholders in the new year. For many, succession planning (SP) is a top priority. Rather than simply updating plans with names and readiness levels of successors, now is an optimal time for a more thoughtful review of key positions in the SP process. To support this, I’ve developed a template to help leaders assess changes in the targeted succession role(s) and their impact on succession plans. It includes questions such as: “How might our business strategy evolve over the next few years, and what impact would that have on this role?”; “What emerging technologies or trends could reshape this role’s responsibilities?”; “Are there previously identified successors who may no longer align with anticipated changes?”; and “Are there new successors now viable based on changing requirements?” This approach keeps succession plans dynamic, future-focused, and aligned with organizational needs. The template provides space for leaders to jot down notes as they think through their plans for 2025 and beyond.

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SUCCESSION PLANNING

CEO Succession Practices in the Russell 3000 and S&P 500 | Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance

A new report offering data on current trends in CEO succession among US public companies, along with best practices for leadership transitions.

This new report explores CEO succession practices in the Russell 3000 and S&P 500, revealing several key insights: 1) Internal Promotions: CEOs are typically promoted rather than hired externally, with the Chief Operating Officer role being the most common path to the top, although companies with declining performance are more likely to hire externally; in 2024, 59% of new Russell 3000 CEOs and 77% of S&P 500 CEOs were promoted from within. 2) Age. Succession rates among CEOs aged 64 and older have steadily dropped in recent years, "likely reflecting boards’ preference for stability amid uncertainty but signaling a potential surge in successions as these CEOs eventually retire.” 3) Gender Diversity: Despite a 70% increase in female CEOs among Russell 3000 companies since 2017, women CEOs still represent just 8% of the index, while in the S&P 500, the figure is slightly higher at 10%, highlighting slower progress compared to the faster rise in female board representation. 4) Interim CEOs: In 2024, interim CEOs in the S&P 500 represented 17.6% of total CEO appointments, while 21.9% represented the same in the Russell 3000. Interim CEO roles typically last two to 10 months and are often filled by board members. The report concludes with a 5-step sample timeline to guide organizations in planning their CEO succession strategies effectively.

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TALENT ACQUISITION

Is the Re-recruitment of Former Employees Part of Your Recruiting Strategy?

Why recruiting former employees could be a viable talent strategy in some situations. Includes my template to support this effort.

With 2025 on the horizon, many workers will be reflecting on their careers and determining if now is the time to make a change. For organizations, this presents a unique opportunity to evaluate untapped talent pools to gain a talent advantage. One talent segment often overlooked is former employees. A study in the Academy of Management Journal found that former employees who are rehired tend to outperform new hires, especially in roles with higher relational demands and internal coordination needs. Regarding the optimal time to target former employees for rehire, a Visier analysis of 3 million employee records across 120 organizations revealed that the average time away for employees who resign and return is 13 months. Notably, the likelihood of a former employee returning drops sharply after 16 months, making this 13-16-month window critical for re-recruitment efforts. Does your organization have a strategy for identifying and re-recruiting former employees? With workers evaluating their options, now might be the perfect time to explore this talent pool. Use my template to begin identifying employees you may want to target for re-recruitment.

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WORK PREDICTIONS & PRIORITIES

i4cp's 2025 Priorities & Predictions Report | i4cp

i4cp provides this ungated 50-page report for Talent Edge Weekly readers on 2025 workforce and talent priorities.

As HR leaders and their teams set objectives for 2025, gaining insights from HR practitioners across various organizations is helpful. i4cp has just released its new 50-page report on 2025 priorities and predictions, now made ungated for Talent Edge Weekly readers. The report offers actionable insights across key HR areas, featuring input from CHROs and senior leaders in HR, talent acquisition, talent management, learning, DEI, total rewards, and people analytics. Among its many insights, the section on the Future of Work (p.27) explores skills-based talent practices and how organizations are utilizing internal talent marketplace technology to drive mobility. While technology is a critical enabler, the report emphasizes that cultural barriers, such as talent hoarding—where managers retain top performers instead of supporting their movement—can hinder internal mobility efforts. This underscores the importance of addressing non-tech components that enable internal mobility (see my template on six non-tech barriers to internal mobility). Many other insights are provided in this robust and practical report. Thanks to i4cp for making the report accessible to Talent Edge Weekly readers! (Click ‘access the report now’ after clicking the link below).

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HR EFFECTIVENESS

Less is More | People + Strategy

Shares perspectives from three veteran Chief HR Officers on the power of eliminating HR concepts that are no longer purpose-built for this era.

With workplace and talent topics becoming more complex, HR organizations are managing an ever-expanding portfolio of work. While taking on more initiatives may seem like a way to demonstrate value, this new article— Less is More—highlights insights from three veteran CHROs—Kevin Cox (25-year CHRO at Pepsi Bottling Group, American Express, and GE), Susan Podlogar (MetLife CHRO, 2017–2024), and Katie Burke (former Chief People Officer at HubSpot)—on how HR leaders can focus on the vital few priorities that drive the greatest impact. One insight comes from Susan Podlogar, who emphasizes that HR should be transformative and not incremental. “There is no room or time in HR’s portfolio anymore for incremental, customized programs for specific groups, such as a recognition program for legal affairs or a new diversity program for IT. Leveraging the scale of the enterprise now is paramount.” She adds, “It means applying a broader lens to the organizational construct, preparing talent, defining skills, integrating new technology, and energizing the culture—all in service of realizing the potential of the organization.” Podlogar urges HR leaders to pressure-test every practice and process by asking, “Are they ultimately the value drivers of the collective organization?” As teams reflect on this question for 2025, I am resharing the article, What Makes an Effective HR Function, by Dave Ulrich and his colleagues at The RBL Group, which explores various ways in which HR delivers value to organizational stakeholders.

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TALENT PHILOSOPHY & HR TECH

Talent Philosophy Meets Technology for High Performance at Workday | The Talent Strategy Group

A case study on the importance of a shared talent philosophy in aligning talent practices and HR tech.

This case study highlights the importance of establishing a talent philosophy—an agreement on how a company grows and manages talent to achieve its business strategy—as a foundation for aligning talent practices, processes, and HR technology. With many HR leaders making tech purchasing decisions to support talent strategies, a shared talent philosophy significantly increases the likelihood of successful implementations that drive business goals. Notably, the study outlines five components of a talent philosophy with guiding questions, such as: Performance: How do we define and measure success? What are the expectations for high performers? Accountability: What are the roles and responsibilities of managers and employees in driving performance and development? Figure 1 illustrates how Workday redesigned its talent philosophy, providing HR leaders with a practical example for identifying opportunities to realign or recalibrate organizational leadership around a shared philosophy. If you asked your leaders about your company’s talent philosophy, would their answers align? If not, this may be an opportunity to build alignment on this critical foundation.

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HR TECHNOLOGY

3 Steps to Create a Strategic Roadmap for HR Technology | Gartner

Offers a 3-step roadmap to ensure an HR tech portfolio is fit for purpose and helps to achieve the intended business outcomes. I share a bonus template.

HR technology is a key enabler of various talent practices and business performance. However, as this Gartner article highlights, “more than 50% of HR leaders say their HR technology solutions do not meet current and future business needs,” and “83% of HR software buyers report moderate or high regret following their purchases.” Given the resources (financial investments, people, time) required for implementing HR tech, ineffective solutions can have a significant negative impact on organizations. Conversely, well-chosen HR tech aligned with business needs can enable business priorities. The article outlines a 3-step roadmap to ensure an HR tech portfolio is fit for purpose: craft the vision, analyze technology options, and sequence transformation initiatives. Regarding step one, Figure 1 illustrates connecting desired business outcomes (e.g., revenue growth) to HR outcomes (e.g., talent agility) and the HR technology outcomes that best support them (e.g., internal talent marketplace enablement). Establishing this connection early is critical to making informed decisions throughout the next steps. As a bonus, I’m sharing my one-page cheat sheet with questions to help HR leaders evaluate HR technology across four areas: 1) business needs, 2) vendor evaluation, 3) cost and ROI, and 4) security and compliance. While other questions and categories should be added, this cheat sheet provides a starting point for initiating these discussions.

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AI IN THE WORKPLACE

Leveraging Generative AI for Job Augmentation and Workforce Productivity: Scenarios, Case Studies, and a Framework for Action | World Economic Forum

A new 35-page report provides insights from more than 20 early adopters of GenAI, four scenarios for its deployment, and an actionable framework to help implement.

This new 35-page report provides insights to help organizations shape their GenAI workforce strategies. One section highlights how GenAI drives job augmentation, partially performing tasks to enhance human capabilities through human-machine collaboration, enabling workers to focus on higher-level work. However, the report notes that most organizations lack precise data on the percentage of their workforce using GenAI, and many do not have clear plans for how workers should utilize the time freed up by automation. These findings have significant implications for strategic workforce planning, influencing the type of work employees will need to deliver and the skills required to do so. To help organizations proactively assess the impact of AI on work tasks, I am resharing another resource from the World Economic Forum, which categorizes GenAI’s impact into four areas, including High potential for automation—tasks that AI will perform instead of humans and 2) High potential for augmentation—tasks where AI enhances human productivity. Organizations can use this four-category framework to help break down work into tasks and then use this information to determine the most optimal way to accomplish those tasks through different tactics.

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RETURN-TO-OFFICE

Return-to-Office Mandates and Brain Drain | Working Paper from University of Pittsburgh

A new research study on how RTO mandates impact turnover and hiring.

Organizations continue to update their return-to-office (RTO) policies, ranging from full mandates to restricting specific days for remote work. As leaders make these decisions, emerging research offers important insights into how RTO impacts key organizational outcomes. A new working paper by Associate Business Professor Mark Ma and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh analyzed S&P 500 companies that imposed RTO mandates between April 2020 and June 2023, using data from three million LinkedIn profiles to assess employee reactions. The findings revealed a 14% increase in employee departures, particularly among female, senior, and skilled employees. Additionally, it took companies 23% longer to fill vacancies compared to pre-RTO recruitment periods, with overall hiring rates dropping by 17%, possibly reflecting reduced interest from candidates in less flexible workplaces. While RTO decisions are influenced by various unique organizational factors and situations, understanding research like this can help leaders make more informed decisions that align with their workforce and business objectives. If you missed it, here are resources from the recent Remote Work Conference hosted by Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the Hoover Institution.

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RETURN-TO-OFFICE

9 Organizations that Have Updated Their Return-to-Office Guidance Over the Past 90 Days | Brian Heger

My one-page cheat sheet highlighting recent return-to-office announcements.

Organizational leaders continue to refine their return-to-office (RTO) guidance, with many implementing changes at the start of the year. To provide a snapshot, here’s my one-page cheat sheet highlighting nine announcements from the past 90 days, with links to full articles for more details. Recent headlines include: 1) AT&T (NYSE: T)—Corporate employees will be required to work on-site five days a week, with a staggered rollout starting January 2025. 2) Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)—The company delayed its five-day office mandate, originally set for January 2025, due to workspace shortages at some locations, with certain sites delayed until May. 3) Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG)—The salad chain will increase support staff’s in-office presence to a “hard four day” policy a week starting January 2, 2025, up from the current “recommended” three to four days guidance. As leaders continue to evaluate RTO strategies, I’m resharing a Microsoft Work Lab article that explores setting “in-person” office expectations based on “moments that matter.” It highlights three scenarios where in-person connections provide clear benefits: strengthening team cohesion, facilitating onboarding, and kickstarting projects. And if you missed it, here is an RTO article from The Wall Street Journal that came out this past week, ‘Will 2025 Be the Watershed Year for Return-to-Office Mandates? That Depends.’

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HYBRID WORK

Five Hybrid Work Trends to Watch in 2025 | MIT Sloan Management Review

Brian Elliott’s new article on anticipated hybrid work trends for 2025 and their implications.

As organizations refine return-to-office, hybrid, and remote work policies, a new article by Brian Elliott outlines five key hybrid work trends for 2025: 1) Organizations embracing flexible work will steal talent from those imposing harsh mandates. 2) Forward-looking companies will measure performance by results, not attendance. 3) The hybrid work conversation will shift from days in the office to core hours and focus time. 4) Leaders will abandon one-size-fits-all hybrid policies. 5) Flexible organizations will lead in artificial intelligence innovation. Regarding the first trend, Brian notes: “If the economy continues to improve, the battle for strong employees will resume again,” adding that “organizations that take flexible hybrid work approaches will get better access to more talent.” To help recruiting teams whose organizations emphasize flexible work as part of their employee value proposition, I’m resharing my one-page worksheet to target talent from companies with less flexible policies. The worksheet also includes a column where you can indicate if certain organizations have announced recent layoffs. These data points—return-to-office status and layoffs—help prioritize recruiting efforts that are more likely to identify, recruit, and hire top talent.

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WORKING PARENTS

What Parents Say About How Childcare Problems Affect Employment and Hours Worked | Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Shares data on how childcare challenges impact working parents and highlights organizational opportunities to better support them.

Childcare challenges remain a significant barrier for working parents, with new data from the U.S. Census Bureau shedding light on their growing impact. According to the report, "there are about 60 million adults in the United States between the ages of 25 and 54 who live with at least one child under 18 years old. Roughly 50 million of these parents are in the labor force—either employed or actively seeking work—and they represent about 30% of the total U.S. labor force and nearly half of the labor force between the ages 25 to 54." While there are several findings from this report, one is that childcare issues disproportionately affect mothers of young children, who are more than twice as likely to cite these barriers as fathers or mothers of older children. Post-pandemic, the number of childcare-affected parents increased by 19%, with nearly 80% of lost work hours stemming from part-time parents unable to transition to full-time roles. One implication for organizations is the opportunity to offer flexible schedules, childcare support, and tailored roles to help working parents balance their responsibilities and contribute effectively to the workforce. Additional strategies to address these challenges are explored.

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JOB CUTS AND LAYOFF TRACKER

Here is my tracker, which includes announcements from a segment of organizations that have announced job cuts and layoffs since the start of 2023.

A few firms that announced job cuts in December include:

• Airbus (OTC: EADSY). The European aircraft manufacturer disclosed plans to lay off 2,000 employees worldwide, representing a 5% reduction in its workforce.

• Calendly. The scheduling platform announced it is laying off about 70 employees, approximately 13% of its workforce, as part of a “strategic reorganization” that will affect the engineering, customer experience, marketing, and billing teams.

• Cargill. The agricultural giant announced plans to reduce its global workforce by 5%, impacting approximately 8,000 employees. The layoffs are a response to declining crop prices, which have reduced the company’s revenue.

• Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL). The tech giant announced a 10% reduction in management, director, and vice president-level roles as part of a broader organizational restructuring to enhance operational efficiency and align resources with strategic priorities.

• Party City (OTCMKTS: PRTYQ). The party supply retailer has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. CEO Barry Litwin announced the company is "winding down" operations, with mass layoffs at its New Jersey headquarters and plans to close all stores by February 2025. Party City attributed its financial struggles to a challenging retail environment and shifting consumer behaviors.

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CHIEF HR OFFICER MOVEMENT

67 Chief HR Officers were hired, promoted, and/or resigned in December. A few headlines include:

• Amentum (CHANTILLY, VIRGINIA) [NYSE: AMTM]—a global leader in advanced engineering and innovative technology solutions—announced the appointment of Darren Burton as Chief People Officer. Burton served as Chief People Officer at Eightfold AI—an AI-based talent intelligence platform provider.

• CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (HOUSTON, TEXAS) [NYSE: CNP]—the only investor-owned electric and gas utility based in Texas—announced the appointment of Bertha Villatoro as SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, effective January 1, 2025. Villatoro, has been with CenterPoint for almost 10 years, where she most recently served as SVP, HR.

• Vimeo (NEW YORK) [NASDAQ: VMEO]—the world’s most innovative video experience platform for creators and enterprises—announced the appointment of Irene Hendricks as Chief People Officer. Hendricks brings over 25 years of HR leadership experience, including prior roles as Chief People Officer at Acclara and DailyPay, and senior leadership positions at MasterCard and Citi.

• Vanguard (VALLEY FORGE, PENNSYLVANIA)—one of the world's leading investment management companies—announced the appointment of Jon Couture as Managing Director and Chief Human Resources Officer. Couture joins Vanguard from Principal Financial Group, where he served as EVP and CHRO.

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