As employees’ needs and employers’ budgets have evolved, so have DE&I teams. Now some are advocating for religion to be part of DE&I programming. While the majority of Americans feel safe sharing their religion at work, it is also causing conflict among some coworkers, a new HR Brew/Harris Poll survey found.

The data. In a survey of more than 2,000 US adults, HR Brew found that around two-thirds (67%) think companies should have a formal DE&I program. Nearly one-half (49%) of working respondents reported that their company has a formal initiative, while 22% weren’t sure.

Of those working at companies with DE&I programs, 64% said programming was geared toward race/ethnicity, followed by sexual orientation/gender identity (57%), gender (55%), and disability (53%). Just 43% said their company had programming specifically targeted towards religion and faith.

But respondents were split over whether or not religion should be part of DE&I, with 54% saying it would be appropriate to integrate it into DE&I and 41% saying it shouldn’t—more than those who said the same about disability (26%), race (31%), and gender (33%).

Keep reading here.—KP

No new hire wants to hear those words. If you want to recruit top talent, your onboarding process should be intuitive, streamlined, and smooth as a baby’s…you get it.

In a recent survey from BambooHR, 97% of employees said it’s important for onboarding to include tools and software to streamline the process—paired with thoughtful and effective practices, of course.

Make sure your process is up to snuff with BambooHR’s free Definitive Guide to Onboarding (updated with new data for 2024). You’ll learn:

• just how crucial the first few days are
• how to boost retention and increase productivity
• the latest trends and employee expectations

Create a more positive, productive, and inclusive onboarding experience. Your new hires will thank you. Download the guide today.

Warren Buffett once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” He may not have been talking about layoffs specifically, but the sentiment still applies.

Layoffs can damage an employer’s reputation, Neil Costa, founder and CEO of recruitment marketing agency HireClix, told HR Brew, making it harder for HR to recruit and retain employees.

When layoffs abound, with no signs of slowing down—employers, including Apple, Ericsson, and Chrysler parent Stellantis, cut 90,309 jobs in March, up 7% from February and the most since January 2023, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas—HR pros navigating them should aim to prioritize clear, concise communication, and provide support to terminated employees, Costa said. Doing so, he added, can help safeguard an employer’s brand.

Keep reading here.—AS

Each week, we get into the weeds with the founders of HR tech startups. Want to tell us about your company? Get in touch here.

Jay Polaki has been an HR professional for about a quarter century, starting her career in HR back when paperwork was completed on paper, before the “dot-com revolution.”

“I’ve seen the whole gamut of how technology has not just changed how we work and our relationship with work, but how it has changed our workplace in general,” Polaki told HR Brew.

But according to the co-founder and CEO of HR Geckos, a copilot for HR processes with an AI-powered HR help desk and dashboard, HR lags behind in the digitization of its practices and processes. HR pros can find themselves bogged down, in the weeds, putting out fires, and reacting to needs of both the organization and its employees. HR Geckos, Polaki said, relies on data and analytics to inform HR teams and help them become “fire preventers” and its help bot helps employees gather the info they need.

Launched in 2023, HR Geckos serves small to medium-sized businesses from 50 employees to 5,000 employees. There’s a freemium plan for employers with fewer than 25 employees, and a pro plan for larger companies. Polaki said their current customer base is “industry agnostic,” but many have distributed workforces, such as logistics and transportation companies, medical practices or clinics, and hospitality companies with multiple locations.

Keep reading here.—AD

A new DE&I. After surveying 2,600 global HR pros about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) across industries, Workday is sharing the results. Check out the Global Blueprint for Belonging and Diversity to see why 78% of respondents are prioritizing DE&I—and how you can embed it into your talent strategy.