When the change enablement team at Whole Foods needed to quickly and easily produce operations and special project trainings for its more than 500 locations, it turned to Vyond, an AI-powered video creation platform.

Jason Ferguson, principal learning and development (L&D) analyst at Whole Foods, told HR Brew that his team wanted a product that was simple and easy to use, and wherein content could be repurposed quickly because no two stores are the same.

Vyond, founded in 2007 as a consumer-focused video creation platform for the “social video enthusiast,” expanded its reach to B2B customers in 2013.

L&D pros identified the value of a platform like Vyond early, having used similar “point-and-click, drag-and-drop, no-harder-to-use-than-PowerPoint” software for years via their learning management systems. They have been among the company’s first enterprise customers, according to Vyond CEO Gary Lipkowitz. Whole Foods partnered with the company in 2017.

Keep reading here.—AD

In today’s world of work, data plays an increasingly vital role in addressing your most crucial issues.

It can offer insights into your employee base and identify opportunities for improvement. Data can also help secure leadership’s buy-in for new strategies and processes.

Despite having a wealth of data, many HR teams may still struggle with how to effectively leverage it.

Read Four Steps to Successful Workforce Decisions to learn how to use data to help guide executive conversation. Download the e-book.

As employers around the world try to lure workers back to offices, those in Europe are seeing signs of progress.

Where in the world? Some 61% of the 121 companies queried by CBRE for its European Office Occupier Sentiment Survey said their office utilization rate is between 41% and 80%. Additionally, 33% of companies reported office utilization of 40% or less, versus 48% in 2023.

While 76% of respondents said they have attendance policies, 36% of those said they’re not mandatory. Regardless, 43% of employees are going into the office at least three days a week, up 6% since 2023; 39% report to the office two days a week.

Satellite view. Office utilization has been rising in most major US cities over the last year, according to the latest Office Busyness Index from Avison Young, a commercial real estate company.

Keep reading here.—KP

Feeling anxious about online safety? A new survey from HR tech platform Checkr indicates it’s a common malady.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans report they’re “extremely or moderately concerned about the safety and privacy of their online data.” Among the groups surveyed, Gen Xers and millennials—roughly 28- to 59-year-olds—were the most likely to express alarm.

With massive data breaches like the recently reported AT&T metadata leak, workplace policies that closely monitor employees’ online activities, and companies that widely collect and commercialize our data, it’s not hard to see why.

In its poll of 3,000 employed Americans spanning four generations, Checkr found that apprehension about workplace monitoring and privacy were particularly pervasive. According to the survey results, 84% of respondents expressed “a level of concern about the safety and privacy of the data they provide online in the workplace.”

Keep reading on Tech Brew.—KG

You belong. Learn everything you need to know about how HR leaders can create a culture of belonging with Paylocity’s Designing an Inclusive Workplace. The toolkit explores how to build a diversity, equity, inclusion, + accessibility (DEIA) strategy that aligns with your business goals and benefits your employees. Read on.