Human Resources
Talent, pay, policy and culture, chosen for the HR leader who has to answer for them on Monday.
Human Resources at The First Click is written for the people who own the workforce question: talent and hiring, compensation and benefits, workplace policy, and culture and engagement. Three stories a weekday at 11, each summarised in our own words and linked to the publisher. We favour the story that changes a decision over the story that confirms one: a survey with a number a compensation head will be asked about, a policy experiment that will be copied badly, a departure that says something about retention at the top. Artificial intelligence runs through most of them now, as a tool the workforce already uses whether or not the policy has caught up. The editor’s note under the day’s lead says why we chose it, and the Friday Funny lane keeps the stories that prove the point by making you laugh.
Every story we have kept in Human Resources, newest first. Headlines link to the publisher; the tags below narrow the list.
GS Caltex’s Saehong Hur: Leading from the top; moving forward—together
An executive at a South Korean energy group makes the case for constant communication and a single joined-up mindset as the way to keep pace with shifting markets.
The most powerful network is a diverse one
Professional networks tend to fill up with people much like their owner. The argument here is that deliberate variety in who you know is what makes a network worth having.
Editor's noteThe research behind this argument comes from network science, not career-coaching anecdote, and it cuts against a common mentorship-program default of pairing people with similar backgrounds. For HR leaders building internal mobility or sponsorship programs, the finding argues for deliberately engineering variety into pairings rather than optimizing for comfort.
Read Tim Cook’s full memo to Apple employees on his last day as CEO
On his final day as Apple CEO, Tim Cook thanked employees, praised Apple’s culture and mission, and expressed confidence in successor John Ternus while confirming he will remain involved with the company.
Editor's noteA departing chief executive’s memo led Human Resources because of what it leaves out: no legacy paragraph, no list of numbers. It thanks the people, names John Ternus, promises to stay involved, and stops. Leaving well is harder than arriving well. Anyone planning a succession should read it as the template: name the successor, thank the people, stop talking.
OpenAI employees can apparently complain directly to Sam Altman
OpenAI operates a friction@openai.com email address allowing employees to report workplace issues directly to leadership. The system was formalized by former CEO of Applications Fidji Simo and remains in place for addressing company problems.
Editor's noteAn email address for complaining directly to leadership, set up under Fidji Simo, led Human Resources because every company says it wants to hear about problems and very few give the problems an address. The mechanism is trivial; the permission is not. Ask whether anyone in your organisation could send that email without going through a manager first.
HubSpot VP: AI’s next big question isn’t adoption, it’s accountability
HubSpot's VP of learning and talent development expressed skepticism about organizations claiming to have figured out AI implementation, suggesting accountability remains a key challenge beyond adoption.
Why Is Everyone In Tech So Sad?
The article explores widespread unhappiness and dissatisfaction among technology industry workers, examining burnout, workplace stress, and factors contributing to emotional distress in tech careers.
What primates tell us about the evolutionary origins of keeping pets
Research on primate behavior suggests pet-keeping may have deeper evolutionary roots than previously thought, with studies exploring how other species develop similar relationships with animals.
CIOs, stop training the room to see you as the IT person
CIOs must leverage technical credibility to influence executive decisions rather than remaining perceived solely as information technology leaders responsible for routine updates and maintenance.
Five steps: A leader’s guide to creating psychologically safe teams
Leaders build psychological safety through five practices: sending belonging cues, modeling work-life integration, ensuring equal participation, inviting disagreement, and normalizing failure as learning.
