Employees offer input based on what prior experience has taught them. When feedback is mishandled or ignored, they adjust. Silence becomes rational. Silence itself is data. It signals breakdowns in accountability, credibility, or follow-through. HR leaders who want honest feedback must create the conditions that sustain it.

The Latest includes a brief update on federal and state level news.

As organizations look ahead to 2026, the question isn’t whether alignment matters, it’s whether alignment is being designed or simply hoped for. HR’s opportunity is to operationalize alignment as a capability.

"Dear Ellie" is an advice column from a seasoned HR consultant. Hear her advice for an HR pro who is currently trying to prioritize industry recommended initiatives for 2026.

Research consistently shows empathy is one of the strongest drivers of performance, engagement, and retention. When employees feel their leaders are empathetic, the overwhelming majority report they can better navigate work and life demands. And employees routinely say they would leave—or even take a pay cut—for a more empathetic employer.

Learn how workplace disagreements escalate beneath the surface and how tools like the Ladder of Inference can help teams move from assumption to clarity. With a return-to-office example, we show how to redirect tension into productive dialogue.

The Latest includes a brief update on federal and state level news including what happened, the effective date, and what the changes mean for HR.

The Latest includes a brief update on federal and state level news.

Culture fit persists because it is easy. Clear expectations require effort, discipline, and consistency. But ease is not the same as effectiveness. When organizations rely on vague notions of fit, they trade clarity for comfort and pay the price in disengagement, mistrust, and missed talent.