Today’s pick

Job Market Optimism Is Rising in Europe, Gallup Finds. So Why Is Employee Engagement So Low?

Every day, news of another mass layoff hits the headlines. You might expect workers to feel increasingly insecure about the current labour market, given what’s reported on. But, depending on the region you’re looking at, that’s not necessarily the case. In...

PolyAI CEO: Deflection Rates Are the Wrong Metric for Contact Centre AI

Contact centre AI is often judged by how many customers it keeps away from a human agent. Deflection rate has become the metric that leaders use to justify automation investments, while vendors lean on it to demonstrate value, even as...

Your Employee Experience Roundup: The Manager Crisis, Falling Worker Confidence, and Persistent Perception Gaps

Are leaders and their employees actually working in the same organisation? That’s the question that springs to mind when looking at the key events and research findings of this week. Decision-makers think engagement is rising; employees disagree by 21 percentage points....

Are Enterprises Deploying AI Agents Faster Than Their Governance Can Handle?

A large majority of enterprises have rolled back or completely shut down an AI agent in customer communications after it went live, according to a new global study from Sinch. Most of the industry still treats deployment as the biggest challenge,...

TTEC Pauses 401(k) Match to Fund AI, as Corporate Benefits Rollbacks Spread

TTEC is the latest company to come under scrutiny for rolling back employee benefits – and this time it is retirement savings taking the hit. The global customer experience services provider has paused its 401(k) match for its 16,000 US...

The Role Nobody Wants: 85% of Employees Have No Interest in Becoming a Manager

The progression from individual contributor to manager used to be the dominant career aspiration. Not anymore. New research from Ipsos Karian and Box, published today, finds only 15% of non-managers think the people manager role looks appealing, raising concerns about the...

Your Employee Experience Roundup: Microsoft’s AI Findings, Deloitte’s Two-Tier Benefits Controversy, and ServiceNow’s Autonomous HR Push

This week’s big research drop is Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index, with findings that point the finger at management for stalling AI progress. Deloitte is under scrutiny for a two-tier benefits decision that’s prompting wider questions about how organisations value...

When Employee Onboarding Fails, Customers Feel It Too

Employee onboarding is arguably the most important moment to get right in the employee experience. Yet this is exactly the point where organisations are failing their people. And the problem is getting worse. Recent research from Qualtrics highlights a sharp decline...

When Your Customer Is a Machine, Who Answers the Survey?

Voice of the Customer (VoC) software companies have enjoyed a comfortable arrangement over the last few years. Brands pay six- and seven-figure annual licences to collect feedback, run sentiment analysis, and produce dashboards that tell senior leaders what their customers...

Five9 Reports $125 Million AI Run Rate, New CEO Pushes ‘Humantic’ Vision for CX

When AI automates a contact centre interaction, the budget that paid for the human agent does not disappear. According to new Five9 CEO Amit Mathradas, speaking during his first full earnings call, it gets redirected into software, platform tools, and...

UK Employee Experience Awards 2026: Finalists Announced

The UK Employee Experience Awards (UKEXA) 2026 finalists have been announced! And the shortlist reflects the breadth and ambition of employee experience work happening across the UK right now. From global healthcare and financial services to energy innovators and independent businesses,...

Profits Are Up. Employees Are Paying the Price.

The sales team is hitting targets, profits are up, and cashflow is healthy – all clear signs of a thriving organisation. And yet what it actually feels like to work in a successful business has changed, and not for the...