The HR Huddle

In this episode of Spilling the Tea on HR Tech, Cliff Stevenson and Allison Williams, Director of Research Programs at Sapient Insights Group, Anthropic's acquisition of Stainless, the SDK and MCP server tooling company, and what that consolidation means for organizations building on agentic AI. They also dig into the growing tension around AI cost structures, particularly the unpredictability of usage-based pricing and what that pressure is producing across vendors from Cornerstone to Paychex.  The hosts also cover workforce entry challenges for young workers, a significant expansion of Pell Grant eligibility to short-term trade certifications, and a fintech CEO who fired his entire HR team and then claimed the problems disappeared. Key points covered include: ↪️ AI usage-based pricing is creating real budget stress for organizations, with data showing eight in ten IT leaders reported unexpected charges from consumption-based models. The unpredictability of costs, not the costs themselves, is the core problem. ↪️ Cornerstone's Workforce AI and Paychex's WISE platform both reflect a shift away from transactional queries toward intelligence layers that connect skills, learning, and workforce data to business outcomes. ↪️ Anthropic's acquisition of Stainless consolidates SDK and MCP server tooling under one roof, which raises vendor concentration risk for any organization building on agentic AI infrastructure. ↪️The U.S. Department of Education's expansion of Pell Grants to cover programs as short as eight weeks signals a meaningful shift in how workforce entry pathways are being supported at the federal level, with a goal of reaching an additional 100,000 students within eight years. The 29th annual HR Systems Survey is now open through June 24th. Add your organization's voice to the largest HR tech survey in the industry at the link below. LINK TO SURVEY Don’t miss this exciting thought leader conversation! Follow the hosts and companies mentioned below: Sapient Insights Group Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn Cliff Stevenson Twitter | LinkedIn  Allison Williams LinkedIn The HR Channel Instagram | LinkedIn WRKdefined Instagram | LinkedIn

In this episode of The Pivot Effect, hosts Teri Zipper and Susan Richards welcome guest Rajiv Chandrasekaran from Where You Work Matters, an independent data project that analyzed real outcomes for 12 million workers across 1,750 employers over five years. Unlike traditional best-places-to-work surveys, this project measures whether companies actually help people advance, earn more, and stay in their roles, broken down by specific occupation and employer.  The conversation covers how the list rates employers across three archetypes, early career, growth, and stability, so workers at any stage can identify which companies fit their specific goals. It also moves into practical steps, including how to use the free comparison tool at whereyouworkmatters.org to evaluate competing job offers with data your hiring manager can't argue with. Key points covered include: ↪️ The list rates occupations at the company level using three archetypes: early career, growth, and stability. That means you can identify the right employer for your specific career stage rather than defaulting to overall company reputation. ↪️ Well-regarded companies don't necessarily perform well across every occupation. At Apple, for example, project management specialists see strong pay and retention but limited advancement pathways for early-career professionals. ↪️ Sales managers at platinum-rated growth companies are 89% more likely to receive an internal promotion within five years and 71% more likely to land a better job when they leave, compared to those at unrated companies. ↪️The comparison tool at whereyouworkmatters.org lets job seekers evaluate up to three employers side by side for a specific occupation, giving them concrete data to bring directly into hiring conversations. The 29th annual HR Systems Survey is now open through June 24th. Add your organization's voice to the largest HR tech survey in the industry at the link below. LINK TO SURVEY Don’t miss this exciting thought leader conversation! Follow the hosts and companies mentioned below: Sapient Insights Group Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn Teri Zipper Instagram |  Twitter |  LinkedIn  Susan Richards  Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter Rajiv Chandrasekaran LinkedIn Where You Work Matters LinkedIn The HR Channel  Instagram | LinkedIn WRKdefined  Instagram | LinkedIn

In this episode of Spilling the Tea on HR Tech, Stacey Harris and Cliff Stevenson pick up where they left off, working through a long list of market announcements that includes UKG's partnership with Google Gemini, Amazon's entry into agentic hiring with Connect Talent, and SAP's data acquisition strategy as a direct counter to Workday's consolidation play. They discuss leadership changes at isolved, ICIMS, Cornerstone, and NOVAworks.   The duo also talk about how people moves at Anthropic and FICO point to the blurring of consumer and business worlds. The hosts get into harder conversations, such as AI model rollout risks, the security vulnerabilities surfacing in vibe coding platforms, and why relying primarily on historical data without an overarching, carefully considered data theory will likely result in faulty predictions. Key points covered include: ↪️ Private equity companies are moving fast on workforce management systems, and the hosts make the case that the real assets being purchased are not the software systems but the continuous, real-time data generated from time and attendance and other similar applications. ↪️ AI model updates carry a risk that traditional software updates do not: when an underlying AI model changes, everything built on it can behave differently and potentially unpredictably.  The hosts break down why this is a problem the HR tech market is not yet prepared for. ↪️ The hosts discuss Phenom’s acquisition of Plum, described as “a pioneer in psychometric-based talent assessments that validate the durable skills AI cannot manufacture and resumes cannot verify.” As AI makes it easy for job seekers to fabricate resumes and interview responses, organizations increasingly need behavioral science tools that measure attributes AI cannot fake — such as empathy, judgment, adaptability, resilience. ↪️AI diagnostic tools used in medicine are producing significantly higher error rates for women than for men.  These are traced directly to decades of underrepresentation of women in medical research.  The hosts point out that similar data insufficiencies and bias can also cause harm when using AI tools for HR purposes.   The 29th annual HR Systems Survey is now open through June 24th. Add your organization's voice to the largest HR tech survey in the industry at the link below. LINK TO SURVEY Don’t miss this exciting thought leader conversation! Follow the hosts and companies mentioned below: Sapient Insights Group Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn Stacey Harris Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn Cliff Stevenson Bluesky | LinkedIn  The HR Channel  Instagram | LinkedIn WRKdefinedInstagram | LinkedIn

In this episode of Spilling the Tea on HR Tech, Stacey Harris and Cliff Stevenson work through everything they saw and heard across Infor Analyst Day, HR Tech Europe, Oracle, Workday Innovation Summit, ICIMS, ADP, Workhuman, and Canva. The 29th annual HR Systems Survey is now open, and the hosts share why companies with fewer than 10 employees are a specific target this year and what new finance and EMEA data will add to the research. A wave of acquisitions, from Phenom buying Plum to Paylocity picking up Grayscale to Gusto acquiring Mosey, signals a market fast consolidating around talent acquisition, compliance, and workforce data.  The episode also covers outcomes-based pricing models gaining traction across major vendors, the growing arms race between AI-generated resumes and AI-powered screening tools, and what it actually costs small businesses to stay compliant when no one is watching. Key points covered include: ↪️ Outcomes-based pricing is moving from concept to contract, with Oracle charging per outcome achieved and Workday shifting its philosophy toward selling results rather than applications, and the hosts break down what that means for HR buyers trying to build a budget around AI. ↪️ Recruiting technology is in an active consolidation cycle, with multiple acquisitions targeting the same pressure point: how to hire at scale, cut through AI-generated resume fraud and deepfake interview responses, and still give candidates an experience that does not erode trust in the process. ↪️ Small business compliance carries a steeper price tag than most owners realize, with businesses under 50 employees spending roughly $14,700 per employee per year on compliance costs, and Gusto's acquisition of Mosey points to a growing market for AI tools built to close that gap. ↪️ Deel's new AI token tracking feature inside its performance management tool puts a spotlight on a question most organizations cannot currently answer: whether employees are actually using the AI tools their companies have paid for. The 29th annual HR Systems Survey is now open through June 24th. Add your organization's voice to the largest HR tech survey in the industry at the link below. LINK TO SURVEY Don’t miss this exciting thought leader conversation! Follow the hosts and companies mentioned below: Sapient Insights Group Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn Stacey Harris Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn Cliff Stevenson Bluesky | LinkedIn  The HR Channel  Instagram | LinkedIn WRKdefined Instagram | LinkedIn

In this episode of Spilling the Tea on HR Tech, Cliff Stevenson and Tammy Smith, Sapient’s senior manager of data science, mark the public launch of the 29th Annual HR Systems Survey, the most expansive and longest-running survey of its kind. Almost 10,000 professionals representing 4,670 organizations worldwide participated in last year’s survey.  In response to participant feedback, this year’s survey includes two entirely new sections covering finance systems and compliance and risk management.  Cliff and Tammy walk through how the survey works, why organizational-level data matters, and what participants receive when they submit their responses. Key points covered include: ↪️ The survey now includes dedicated sections covering solutions for core finance, travel and expense, and financial planning.  Finance professionals, C-suite leaders, and business managers are invited to complete this new section.   ↪️ The survey platform saves responses so participants can complete the survey in multiple sessions if needed.  Sapient encourages distribution of the survey across departments and subject matter experts.    ↪️ Participants will receive an unabridged copy of the survey results, expected to be published in October 2026. As an additional bonus, after completing the survey, participants have the option to receive a benchmark report based on their answers and last year’s survey data for either their industry or a geographic region. IHRM also awards 10 continuing education credits to those completing the survey.   ↪️Over the last 29 years, the data set has grown exponentially.  For instance, in 2021participants represented 2,177 unique organizations compared to 4,670 in 2025. The annual research report has also expanded, growing from 150 pages to 380 pages over that same period. The 29th Annual HR Systems Survey is now open through June 24th. Use the link below to add your organization's voice. LINK TO SURVEY Don’t miss this exciting thought leader conversation! Follow the hosts and companies mentioned below: Sapient Insights Group Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn Cliff Stevenson Twitter | LinkedIn  Tammy Smith LinkedIn The HR Channel  Instagram | LinkedIn WRKdefined Instagram | LinkedIn