Good morning!

Today, we're examining how HR can focus on business impact. Also in this issue:

🗣️Hiring managers prioritize communication, tech skills
🚘AI to become "ride-along" expert for employees in 2026
💵Companies helping retirees leave 401(k) assets in place

Here's a look at what we're seeing, what it means, what we're anticipating, what's resonating and what you think about today’s workplace. Let's get SMART!

HR professionals should prioritize understanding broader business disciplines to make a positive economic impact, say Ted Forbes and David Alsop, authors of the upcoming book "Making HR Matter: What CEOs Want and How To Deliver It." Forbes and Alsop emphasize the importance of aligning company values with employees' personal values and the need for HR to be seen as relevant by contributing to the company's bottom line.

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Hiring managers value both hard and soft skills equally for 2026, with a report from ResumeTemplates highlighting the importance of software tool usage, data analysis and cybersecurity among the top hard skills. Communication tops the list of soft skills, followed by professionalism and time management. Despite the push for AI, it ranks lowest among hard skills.

In 2026, AI will evolve from a tool to a daily collaborator for employees, predicts Snowflake Chief People Officer Arnnon Geshuri. This shift will transform HR by making AI an always-on expert that personalizes support, reshapes the employee lifecycle, and handles routine queries. HR will need to focus more on strategic initiatives and developing AI-native employees who can effectively leverage AI as a partner.

Some companies are adding features that could help retirees leave their 401(k)s in place when they leave the workforce. This can provide flexibility for retirees as well as benefits for the companies themselves. "Keeping high-balance accounts in their plan [means] they can spread the costs among more assets," says Craig Copeland of the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Today's top story resulted from a reader email. Don't worry, your emails don't end up lost in the abyss of the internet. I actually read them!

As always, let me know if there's a subject area or topic you want to see covered more. 

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