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During the coronavirus pandemic, offices around the world had to alter their way of working and make work from home the norm to keep people safe. For two years, almost all companies in the world offered <keyword id="20665553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="remote-work" source="keywords">remote work</keyword> and there were reports that this would become the future of working. Employees enjoyed the new flexibility and realised how remote work can help them balance work and life with ease. However, contrary to what was perceived, companies began calling employees <keyword id="9081434" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="back-to-office" source="Orion">back to office</keyword> as soon as it was safe. <h2><keyword id="20122085" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="CEOs" source="keywords">CEOs</keyword> want employees back in offices </h2> In the last few months, there have been ample studies that show how employees are more productive while working from home or in a hybrid setup where they are required to come to office for 2-3 days in a week. Yet, companies are adamant on calling their employees back to offices. For instance, Amazon recently ordered its employees to return to office for five days a week, putting an end to remote work forever. Now, a new study by <keyword id="19896405" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="KPMG" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="KPMG" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="KPMG">KPMG</keyword> has revealed that majority of Indian CEOs are ready to incentivise employees who work from the office, marking a shift towards a more traditional work model post-pandemic. According to the KPMG 2024 India CEO Outlook, 91 percent of Indian CEOs are considering linking rewards, such as promotions and pay raises, to <keyword id="21386806" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="office-attendance" source="keywords">office attendance</keyword>. This figure is slightly higher than the global average of 87 percent, indicating a stronger push in India to encourage in-person work. The report, based on responses from 125 Indian CEOs, highlights a growing belief that office-based work fosters better collaboration, innovation, and productivity. As many as 78% of Indian CEOs expect their entire workforce to return to the office within the next three years, a trend mirrored globally, though at a slightly higher rate of 83%. <keyword id="20142903" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-companies" source="keywords">Indian companies</keyword> are increasingly focused on improving their employee value proposition—the set of benefits and incentives offered to employees. CEOs are prioritising a supportive and engaging office environment as key to attracting and retaining top talent. By linking rewards to in-office work, companies aim to align employee satisfaction with long-term growth objectives. <h2>Understanding what employees want </h2> Sunit Sinha, Partner and Head of Human Capital Advisory Solutions at KPMG in India, pointed out that in the post-COVID-19 era, it is crucial for businesses to understand the evolving preferences of employees. As workers reconsider their options, businesses need to adapt to remain competitive in the talent market. Sinha said that companies must use data to address employee needs, saying, “The power to shape the future of talent lies in staying informed and adapting proactively.” In addition to in-office incentives, the KPMG report also talked about the increasing role of technology, particularly generative AI, in workforce development. Half of the CEOs surveyed are prioritising the enhancement of workforce skills alongside their investment in AI. Indian CEOs believe generative AI can help develop diverse skills and prepare their teams for a future where technology plays a central role in operations. However, while CEOs are optimistic about the potential of AI, they also expressed concern over the lack of regulations governing the technology. Seventy-seven percent of Indian CEOs are apprehensive about the pace of AI regulation, higher than the global average of 69%. Despite these concerns, Indian business leaders remain confident in AI’s ability to enhance organisational performance and secure a competitive edge.

91 percent Indian CEOs want to reward employees who work from offices, majority expect to end remote work in three years

Top 10 companies to grow your career in India, according to LinkedIn

Dear readers, As another week ends and festive season lights up India, the world of business, tech, and sustainability brings you some new stories to explore. <keyword id="19896956" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swiggy" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Swiggy" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Swiggy">Swiggy</keyword> is preparing for a grand IPO launch, expected to open on November 6, which could set the tone for India’s tech sector. Meanwhile, a Blinkit customer was in for a shock when he ordered a gold coin online. There was also a stark forecast that India could lose 25% of its economy by 2070 if immediate action isn’t taken. In addition to this, <keyword id="19974102" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-Web-Services" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Amazon Web Services" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Amazon Web Services">Amazon Web Services</keyword> CEO was in the limelight for his comments on <keyword id="20294959" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="work-from-office" source="keywords">work from office</keyword> mandate. <h2>Top stories of the week </h2> Swiggy sets IPO price band between ₹371-₹390; offer likely to open on November 6 Swiggy has announced its initial public offering (IPO) price band, which will range between ₹371 and ₹390 per share. The much-anticipated IPO includes both fresh issues and an offer for sale, and it is expected to open on November 6. Swiggy’s move to go public this year highlights its growth trajectory as one of India’s top tech IPOs, with proceeds likely aimed at expanding its footprint and product offerings. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/swiggy-sets-ipo-price-band-between-rs-371-390/share-offer-likely-to-open-on-november-6th-heres-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/114722518.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> “I was scammed, cried while talking to delivery executive,” man orders gold coin from Blinkit, claims to receive wrong item In a recent incident, a Delhi resident reported receiving a 0.5 gm gold coin instead of the 1 gm he had ordered from Blinkit. Despite sharing evidence and CCTV footage, Jain’s complaints were not addressed in time, as Blinkit’s support team said the complaint window had closed. The issue has sparked a social media discussion, highlighting concerns about quality control and customer service on e-commerce platforms. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/i-was-scammed-cried-while-talking-to-delivery-executive-man-orders-gold-coin-from-blinkit-claims-to-receive-wrong-item/articleshow/114767787.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> India could lose a quarter of its economy by 2070, here’s why A new report has forecast that India’s economy could shrink by up to 25% by 2070 due to unchecked climate risks. Key sectors across the country may face significant productivity and revenue losses if policies aren’t adapted to mitigate these impacts. This sobering projection calls for urgent action in sustainability efforts to protect India’s economy and ensure long-term resilience against climate-induced disruptions. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sustainability/news/india-could-lose-a-quarter-of-its-economy-by-2070-heres-why/articleshow/114840631.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> 'Find another company if it doesn’t work for you’: Amazon Web Services CEO on work from office mandate Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Adam Selipsky has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to a work-from-office mandate, even suggesting that employees unhappy with the policy may want to consider alternatives. AWS’s stance underscores Amazon’s prioritization of in-office work, aligning with its broader efforts to encourage collaboration. The decision comes as many tech firms continue to face challenges in balancing remote and in-office work. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/find-another-company-if-it-doesnt-work-for-you-amazon-web-services-ceo-on-work-from-office-mandate/articleshow/114677655.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> Partner pay at big 4 firms is dropping, the latest sign of the consulting slowdown A slowdown in the consulting industry is leading to notable reductions in partner pay at Big 4 firms. This comes as demand for consulting services sees a dip amid economic uncertainty, with firms choosing to cut back on bonuses and other expenses. This trend reflects broader economic pressures affecting consulting firms worldwide, forcing some to rethink their strategies and compensation models. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/partner-pay-at-big-4-firms-is-dropping-the-latest-sign-of-the-consulting-slowdown/articleshow/114696160.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> <h2>Top web stories </h2> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/travel/india/webstories/8-incredible-getaways-from-jaipur-this-november/slidelist/114769420.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">8 incredible getaways from Jaipur this November</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/food/webstories/weight-loss-myths-debunked-facts-you-need-to-know/slidelist/114726093.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Weight loss myths debunked</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/webstories/9-budget-friendly-bhai-dooj-gifts-to-make-your-sister-feel-special/slidelist/114841910.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">9 budget-friendly Bhai Dooj gifts</a>

Weekend wrap: Swiggy IPO price band, BlinkIt gold coin customer's ordeal, India's GDP woes, and more

<ul class="summary-list"><li>More CEOs expect hybrid work setups will go away in the next few years.</li><li>A KPMG US survey found that 79% of big-company CEOs expect a full-time <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-resilient-office-how-workplaces-evolving-after-pandemic-2024-3">return to the office</a>.</li></ul>The bosses of big US companies are over <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hybrid-work-flexibility-not-rto-may-help-companies-boost-sales-2024-9">hybrid work</a>.This week, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that most of the company's corporate workers must be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-return-to-office-mandate-bosses-morale-productivity-2024-9">back in the office</a> five days a week starting in 2025.Adding to the anti-remote vibes: a new snapshot of CEO sentiment that shows Jassy isn't alone in saying "so long, hybrid."Nearly eight in 10 CEOs expect corporate workers will be back in the office full time within the next three years, according to a recent survey of 400 chiefs of large US companies by KPMG US.The 79% of CEOs who see an eventual return to cubicle life for most workers is a big swing from a prior KPMG US survey earlier this year — when only 34% of corporate heads said they expected their teams would be back IRL five days a week.It's another sign that the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/economic-fears-job-cuts-employers-less-flexible-with-workers-2024-8">RTO fights</a> aren't over and that some pandemic-era work norms might prove as ephemeral as social distancing and mask mandates on planes.Paul Knopp, chair and CEO at KPMG US, said the survey results indicate that CEOs believe they can speed the development and mentoring of their employees when people are face to face more often.Yet he also told Business Insider — before Amazon's RTO announcement — that while the survey showed a clear swing in sentiment, that hasn't necessarily translated into widespread action. Even if offices begin to look more like they once did, Knopp said, many workers will enjoy more autonomy than they had in the before times."There's still likely to be a lot of flexibility," he said. That might look like working fewer evening hours, showing up a little later in the morning, or not at all on weekends, Knopp said.<h2 id="6d1ac96f-f135-40dd-a159-3a87960cf709">Most CEOs expect hybrid will fade</h2>In the survey, which was conducted between mid-July and late August, 17% of chiefs predicted their people would work in hybrid setups in the next few years, and only 3% said they expected their workers to be fully remote."There's definitely a strong sentiment to want more in-person interaction — more human connection — with the notion that that can help both employees and employers," Knopp said.One challenge around splitting time between home and work is that, unlike being in the office or remote full time, there's not one agreed-upon setup, he commented."The most complicated or complex working environment to actually orchestrate or pull off is hybrid," he said.Young people at the start of their careers might want to be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-workers-want-flexibility-fair-pay-survey-2024-5">in the office</a>, as some surveys have shown. But working parents, for example, might want more time at home, Knopp said.He said those types of concerns could lead to attrition."If I have people back in the office more, do I take a risk that I'm not going to be able to attract and retain the talent that I want?" Knopp said. "We're trying to calibrate all these risks constantly."If an organization starts to lose key people, he said, leaders might walk back RTO demands.Attrition is one concern that Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom previously shared with BI. His <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-return-to-office-mandate-bosses-morale-productivity-2024-9">research found</a> that demanding employees show up more could drive away some workers.In a study involving <a target="_blank" href="http://Trip.com">Trip.com</a>, Bloom and his collaborators found that when the travel company cut its in-office requirement to three days a week from five, the rate of workers quitting dropped by about one-third. That can be good news for companies because many times, the ones who leave are the ones bosses are sorry to see go, he said."Often the best employees leave as they have the best outside options," Bloom said.<h2 id="a9918096-80f4-4df9-ac91-502bee0300da">GenAI will require that workers add skills</h2>The KPMG US findings also highlighted that many bosses are worried about the aging workforce and the risks that brings to recruiting, keeping employees, and overall culture. About one in three CEOs said retirements and a lack of skilled replacements would have a big effect on their company.The results come in a year in which Gen Z has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/workplace-trends-2024/">overtaken baby boomers</a> among full-time US workers.CEOs also said the rise of technologies like generative artificial intelligence will necessitate that workers get training. Eight in 10 chiefs agreed that companies should invest in skills development and "lifelong learning" in communities to maintain access to talent in the future.About seven in 10 CEOs said GenAI wouldn't have a big impact on the number of employees at their company — contrary to concerns that the technology will be a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-threaten-jobs-of-coders-who-dont-shift-their-focus-2024-9">job-killer</a>. In fact, 27% of top bosses said GenAI would create more jobs than it destroys.Knopp said AI is already taking over some routine tasks and freeing workers to do other things. It can also help compensate for what's lost when workers retire."You want to mitigate it through technology," he said. "We're going to mitigate it through upskilling, reskilling."<h2 id="b272c792-3f37-4216-9eb4-5a92a8c342ea">More reasons to invest in tech</h2>The survey found that those in charge have big hopes for GenAI. CEOs are looking to the technology to boost efficiency and productivity by automating routine tasks, helping train workers, and promoting innovation.Nearly seven in 10 leaders said GenAI is a top investment priority, especially in IT, sales and marketing, and finance and accounting.Other investments around the tech are likely to be more defensive. Only 54% of CEOs reported that their companies were "well-prepared" for a cyber attack. Just more than one in three said they weren't sure whether their company's cyber defenses could keep pace with AI. About seven in 10 said they were increasing spending on cybersecurity to help fend off AI threats.Given all the changes leaders expect AI will bring, it makes sense for workers to become proficient with it, Knopp said."The people that have generative AI and AI skills are going to have a big advantage in the marketplace over those that don't," he said.

CEOs of big US companies are souring on hybrid work

The International Cricket Council (ICC) officials are trying to urge the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to work towards the <keyword id="21473003" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hybrid-model" source="keywords">hybrid model</keyword> for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy next year through <keyword id="24047280" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="back-channel-talks" source="keywords">back-channel talks</keyword>, as per sources. Sources said that back channel talks are going on to make PCB understand why the hybrid model is the best way to go for the tournament and why there cannot be an ICC tournament without the Indian cricket team. The sources have also said that top ICC officials are trying to get Pakistan stop making any statements against India. There are discussions going on with the host Pakistan and other participating teams of the Champions Trophy next year about the schedule and it is likely to be out in a couple of days or so, the sources added. India, the 2017 finalists, will not be playing their matches in Pakistan and their matches will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said the source. PCB wrote to the International Cricket Council (ICC) seeking reasons behind India's refusal to travel to Pakistan to play the ICC Champions Trophy next year, Geo News reported. India conveyed its stance of not travelling to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy, citing 'security concerns'. Speaking at a press interaction at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, Naqvi said that PCB is still waiting for a reply from ICC. He also asked not to mix sports and politics."We have sent them [ICC] the questions we had. We are still waiting for their response. I believe that sports and politics are separate and no country should mix the two. Even now I still have positive expectations about the Champions Trophy," Naqvi was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying. He added that all the countries who qualified for the Champions Trophy 2025 are ready to visit Pakistan except India."At this moment, every team that has qualified for the Champions Trophy is ready to come. Nobody has any issues. I will say today also, if India has any concerns, speak to us about them, we can ease those concerns. I don't think there is any reason for them not to visit," he added. Earlier in the month, ICC conveyed to the PCB in writing that India would not travel to Pakistan to participate in the Champions Trophy, which will be held in early 2025.PCB consulted with the Pakistan government on the issue and is looking to present its stance. The Pakistan board wants India to travel to Pakistan as their team also went during the time of the ICC Men's ODI World Cup in 2023. Last year, Pakistan hosted the Asian Trophy, but it was held in a hybrid model, with India playing its matches in Sri Lanka. India and Pakistan played their last bilateral series in 2012-13 in India, a white-ball series and now mostly play in ICC tournaments and Asia Cup. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/tata-to-buy-a-majority-stake-in-pegatrons-iphone-plant-in-india/articleshow/115414852.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/tata-to-buy-a-majority-stake-in-pegatrons-iphone-plant-in-india/articleshow/115414852.cms" target="_blank">Tata to buy a majority stake in Pegatron's iPhone plant in India</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/ntpc-green-energy-ipo-gmp-risk-factors-and-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/115403791.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/ntpc-green-energy-ipo-gmp-risk-factors-and-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/115403791.cms" target="_blank">NTPC Green Energy IPO – GMP, risk factors and all you need to know</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/jiostar-announces-plans-starting-at-15-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/articleshow/115326701.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/jiostar-announces-plans-starting-at-15-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/articleshow/115326701.cms" target="_blank">JioStar announces plans starting at ₹15 – here’s everything you need to know</a>

Top ICC officials trying to convince PCB for adoption of Hybrid model for Champions Trophy: Sources

<keyword id="19902762" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Google" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Google">Google</keyword> laid off thousands of employees in 2023 and many found their lives turned upside down with just an email notification. After all, when you have given your heart and soul to an organisation, it is never easy accepting the fact that you are being asked to leave at a moment’s notice. The situation becomes even more complicated when you have been with the company for more than a decade. Something similar happened with <keyword id="23300967" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nicholas-Whitaker" source="keywords">Nicholas Whitaker</keyword>, who had been working with the company since 2010 and found out about his <keyword id="20118388" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="layoff" source="keywords">layoff</keyword> abruptly. <h2>The 3 am email bringing bad news</h2>“My layoff experience was traumatic. I got an email at 3 am to my personal email, that I only found because a colleague pinged me on Linkedin in the DMs to ask if I was ‘Ok’ and if I was ‘safe’,” Whitaker told <keyword id="21390875" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Business Insider India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Business Insider India">Business Insider India</keyword> in a conversation. He added that when his colleague enquired about his safety, he thought it was a “shooting or some natural disaster.” In other words, he didn’t even imagine that he was being laid off from Google. He then revealed that when he checked his work email, he discovered that he was locked out of his laptop and phone. He then checked his personal email and there it was, the “short and impersonal email” that told him that his role at Google was being eliminated. <h2>The layoff process was uncomfortable</h2>When Google announced large-scale layoffs last year, the company made a lot of headlines for handling them in an unprofessional manner. In March 2023, several Google employees had even written an open letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, asking him to deal with layoffs in a better manner. Whitaker, narrating his own experience, shared with Business Insider India that after receiving the dreadful layoff email at 3 am, he spent the next few months completing formalities to get his payments that were due. He said, “It took all of the next several months for me to mail back my laptop, badge and any gear that I had that was Google property. (I also had to) navigate unemployment, health insurance and get all of the documentation I had to submit to "self Offboard" and to receive payments that I was supposed to get.” “Along the way there were multiple errors and miscommunications from the team that made it all even more uncomfortable,” he said. Whitaker also noted a complete lack of communication and empathy from his old team at Google. “I got a single text message from my prior manager asking how I was doing a few days after I was laid off, but otherwise no one reached out to check on me or offer assistance from my old team. Overall I found the process to be brutally impersonal and inhumane,” he said. <h2>Experience at Google</h2>But was Google always “inhumane” in his experience? Not really. There were some amazing days too and Google, according to Whitaker, was a different company when he had joined. “My initial experience working at Google was like it was a completely different company. I started as a temp, contractor and then a vendor for Google back in 2010, and at the time I think it was something like 40,000 employees. It had a real startup feel to it. Teams were agile and collaborative, and there was a lot of room for growth. It may have been specific to my team and org, but it felt like you had a lot more room for experimentation and autonomy to make decisions, and failure wasn't seen as a bad thing, but a necessary part of innovation,” he said. Whitaker also said that a “class system” was there at Google, especially since he was a TVC (Temporary, Vendor and Contractor). “As a TVC you wouldn't be included in many of the activities and learning opportunities that full time employees had, and didn't get invited to extracurricular activities. There was a real bias towards culture at the time, and words like Don't be Evil, and be Googly were often used.” However, in general, he added that the atmosphere was positive and full of possibilities. “Colleagues generally were very supportive, collaborative and encouraging to work with. I was excited as this was my first time working in big tech, or Corporate America and I saw that period of time as a real coming of age for me. I learned how to be a professional at Google and appreciated all of the early guidance and support that I got from colleagues and leaders.” <h2>Helping others</h2>It has now been over a year since Whitaker was laid off. He now has his own venture and helps other people navigate their careers. Talking about what motivated him to kick-start his own venture, he said, “After 13 years in big tech, the last few years in particular being particularly difficult due to toxic teams and leaders, I didn't want to jump right back into that kind of experience again. A year before getting laid off, I had experienced a bad <keyword id="19956983" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mental-health" source="keywords">mental health</keyword> crisis that was the result of workplace bullying, gaslighting and toxic leadership. "I wanted to help others avoid and recover from similar situations and create a community where people can find mutual support and coaching on how to best navigate their careers in a conscious way. My severance after working so long at Google allowed me to fund the launch of my coaching business, and eventually ‘changingwork.org’." <keyword id="23300968" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Changing-Work" source="keywords">Changing Work</keyword>, Whitaker explained, is his way of addressing a deep need in corporate life — helping people rediscover their sense of purpose and alignment in their careers and finding ways to build more conscious leaders and businesses. He added, “What makes this so transformative for me personally is that it allowed me to step into a role where I could integrate all the lessons from my own career—especially the parts that were hardest for me. During my time at Google, I saw firsthand how high-pressure environments can lead to burnout, anxiety, and a disconnect from our true selves.” The recent tragic death of a young CA at Ernst &amp; Young (EY) employee in India has turned the spotlight on toxic work cultures prevalent in many high-pressure industries. Broader debates on burnout, mental health struggles, and unrealistic expectations in corporate environments in the workplace have occupied social media platforms. This incident serves as a painful reminder that companies must prioritize <keyword id="21050364" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="employee-well-being" source="keywords">employee well-being</keyword> and mental health to foster sustainable, humane workplaces. And makes the work that people like Whitaker are doing all the more important. “I’ve spoken publicly about how mindfulness practice, coaching and therapy literally saved my life during some of my darkest times at Google. Changing Work is the culmination of that journey. It’s not just about helping others find balance and fulfillment—it’s about creating a space where I can live those values every day,” he concludes.

Fired from Google after 13 years of service, he used his severance to build a business around helping others with their careers

Earlier this week, the death of yet another corporate employee shook the nation. Various other incidents also made headlines last month, where employees of some big companies reportedly died of work pressure. With a rise in such incidents, people are talking about the importance of <keyword id="19901232" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="work-life-balance" source="keywords">work-life balance</keyword> and <keyword id="19956983" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mental-health" source="keywords">mental health</keyword> at workplace. <keyword id="20253489" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Zoho" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Zoho" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Zoho">Zoho</keyword> CEO and Co-founder <keyword id="19914274" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sridhar-Vembu" source="keywords">Sridhar Vembu</keyword>, in a new interview with PTI, has called for a fundamental shift in how companies treat their employees. In the interview, the entrepreneur warned that organisations pushing their workforce to unsustainable limits will not be able to keep up the pace. He also called for a shift in mindset and said that people are being put in a "very big pressure cooker." <h2>Zoho CEO on putting employees in pressure cooker </h2> <keyword id="21154651" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vembu" source="keywords">Vembu</keyword>, who has spent over two decades building Zoho into one of India’s leading tech companies, expressed deep concern over the increasing pressure faced by employees, particularly in large cities. He said that we are creating environments where workers are trapped in a ‘pressure cooker’, referring to the convergence of long working hours, grueling commutes, and the isolation many young professionals experience after migrating from smaller towns. "You already have loneliness, long-commutes, stressful work condition. So, you are throwing people into a very big pressure cooker, and very tragically, some people break, other people are broken," he told PTI. Reflecting on his own experience, Vembu stressed the importance of pacing oneself in order to sustain a long and productive career. “I have been working for 27-28 years, and I hope to work for another 28 if possible. But to do that, I cannot allow myself, or my employees, to burn out,” he explained. He argued that companies prioritising short-term gains at the expense of their workers’ health are doomed to falter in the long run. <h2>What's the solution?</h2>Vembu’s advocacy for a healthier work culture is grounded in his broader vision for corporate India. A long-time proponent of decentralising business operations, he believes that one solution to the high-stress environment is to diversify away from major urban centres. “We bring young people from small towns into big cities, and their first challenge is loneliness. Then, they face commutes that can stretch up to two hours each way, particularly in cities like Bengaluru. It’s no surprise that many feel overwhelmed,” he said. The Zoho chief pointed out that by expanding operations into smaller towns and rural areas, companies can alleviate some of these pressures, allowing employees to stay closer to their homes and communities. This approach, he believes, not only reduces stress but also fosters a more sustainable, human-centric model of growth. Beyond <keyword id="22447710" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="workplace-stress" source="keywords">workplace stress</keyword>, Vembu touched on the role of technology in shaping the future of business. He reiterated his call for tighter regulations on big tech companies, particularly in preventing the monopolisation of digital services. Drawing parallels between email, which is an open standard, and messaging services that are often locked within proprietary ecosystems, he urged the government to push for greater interoperability. “Messaging platforms should not operate in silos. We need standards that prevent monopolies and ensure a level playing field for all,” he remarked. Vembu also praised India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) initiatives, calling them a “shining success story” and a model for other nations. He highlighted how India has become a global leader in digital infrastructure, with initiatives such as the ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) and the health stack setting new standards for the world to follow.

People being thrown in pressure cooker, different mindset is needed: Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu on India’s work culture

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Amazon has announced a five-day return-to-office policy for corporate staff starting in January.</li><li>Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and others have also enforced strict RTO mandates.</li></ul>The list of companies abandoning remote work is growing.Last week, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told corporate staffers that they would <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ceo-return-to-office-mandate-5-days-week-2024-9">need to be in the office five days a week starting in January</a>, up from the previous three-day policy. This is part of the firm's bid to return to how things were before the COVID-19 pandemic.Earlier this month, Big Four firm PwC announced to its 26,000 UK employees that they must spend at least three days a week on-site or with clients starting in the new year. The accounting giant will begin tracking their working locations to ensure these requirements are being met.Citigroup, HSBC, Barclays, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs are all among the companies that have mandated at least some workers <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-requiring-return-to-office-rto-mandate">to return to the workplace five days a week</a>.The office isn't dead. But for some experts, remote work won't die either. If anything, it will only become more of a perk.<h2 id="bf36b8da-ecfa-42d0-854b-aa932d5a708d">Remote work as a competitive advantage</h2>For Kate Palmer, the employment services director at Peninsula UK, a human resources, employment law, and health and safety services provider, if return-to-office mandates become even more common, the companies that continue to offer flexible work patterns will start to really push them to recruit new staff."There's a big race for talent out there," she told Business Insider, adding that "attracting talent into a business is hard these days."Palmer said if remote and hybrid work options make a business stand out as an employer of choice, it will likely start highlighting that in job ads and descriptions. The firm would also probably raise it as a perk in interviews to differentiate from the competition.Daniel Wheatley, a reader in business and labor economics at the University of Birmingham, said applicants in a post-pandemic world probably just expect remote work to be part of the package.Now that high-profile employers like Amazon are beginning to reverse this norm, flexible work will once again become an important part of the recruitment process for companies that stick to it."That would have been very common before the pandemic," Wheatley told BI, referring to working remotely's pre-pandemic status as a perk.<h2 id="4c200ca5-d8ec-4e6e-ba23-5bb157bc2e84">RTO policies could hurt recruitment</h2>The work-from-home experience is different for everyone.Some have expressed feeling isolated from their colleagues and unable to adjust to online communication. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/working-remotely-feel-isolated-from-coworkers-quit-2024-7">One tech startup remote worker</a> previously told BI that they eventually quit their job because they felt less connected to their company, having lost the personal trust and camaraderie of being in the office.For others, flexible work has become a game changer and one they can't see themselves looking back on. Many cite being <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dream-job-in-office-work-full-time-flexibility-benefits-2024-3">more productive</a> and are grateful for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-from-home-save-money-2019-8">the money saved</a> from cutting back on transportation, work lunches, and in some cases, even <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-home-after-college-save-money-pros-cons-2024-7">rent</a>.Wheatley said some employers will start to move back to pre-COVID-19 work habits, trying to replicate what the office used to be like. In contrast, other companies will continue to embrace the advantages of flexible work.Strict RTO mandates could be quite detrimental to recruitment, he said."I think there are a lot of benefits to be had from maintaining this push for remote and hybrid work," he said, adding that we may start to see a rise in people applying for companies that offer these options.Amazon declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider but pointed to the memo Jassy sent to employees, in which he said the company continues "to believe that the advantages of being together in the office are significant."We've observed that it's easier for our teammates to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture; collaborating, brainstorming, and inventing are simpler and more effective; teaching and learning from one another are more seamless; and, teams tend to be better connected to one another," Jassy wrote.

Remote work could become a secret weapon in the battle for top talent

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a Swiss biopharma firm, focuses on worker well-being and DEI.</li><li>Purvi Tailor, head of human resources in its US business, is on BI's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/workforce-innovation-board-tackles-topics-such-as-c-suite-innovation-ai-worker-wellness-2024-8">Workforce Innovation board</a>.</li></ul>A lot of companies say they are like a family, but at Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a privately owned biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Switzerland, family-centrism is part of doing business."In the US, we are a leader in several therapeutic areas, including reproductive medicine, orthopedics, and gastroenterology," said Purvi Tailor, Ferring's head of human resources in the US. "Our mission is to help people build families and live better lives. It's a purpose that the employees that work here can feel very connected to."Tailor joined Ferring in 2021 following roles at Johnson &amp; Johnson, American Express, and JP Morgan.She said that Ferring has grown more intentional about focusing on worker well-being, which is particularly important for the highly competitive field of healthcare. "The war for talent is always on and the best talent always have options," she said.The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.What are the benefits for companies focused on worker well-being?Our overarching philosophy is that if our workers have a good sense of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/flexibility-can-increase-worker-well-being-2024-8">well-being</a>, ultimately, it helps our business be that much more successful. We've defined well-being in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/employee-wellbeing-programs-help-companies-perform-better-and-manage-cost-2024-7">holistic way</a>, so it's not just about physical well-being; it's also about mental well-being and financial well-being. We've implemented various initiatives in the last two to three years that focus on each of those.You can provide a lot of tools and resources, but if you don't have the right culture within the company that people are experiencing, that obviously has a much more detrimental impact on employee experience. So, our approach is twofold. First, the benefits and the policies. And second, creating the right type of workplace that people want to be a part of.What specific programs are targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion?Relative to other companies that I've worked for, in some ways we've had the luxury to start a little bit later. Whereas some companies have been doing this for 20 years, for us it became more of a burning platform over the last couple of years.Since Covid and all the various things that have happened since, having an inclusive culture has really become one of the more important things for us.Because inclusion is something that can be very personal and difficult, we're partnering with an external event vendor to create smaller group experiences. We put a lot of things on the table and really try to make it an inclusive environment for understanding, sharing stories, and talking about different scenarios that happen in the workplace.We used scenarios that we've seen either happen at Ferring or outside, but real, lived, everyday kind of things that actually happen. Leaders found that really meaningful because it gave them an opportunity in a very safe environment to explore those situations and recognize them when they see them.The goal is to make sure that when they go back to their offices or desks, they're like, 'Okay, actually, I'm gonna be able to use that as I start to see things.'As Ferring has grown in the US, you've had to start many programs from scratch. What advice do you have for other companies that are just getting started thinking about DEI and worker well-being initiatives?What's really important is to ensure that whatever you're doing, you can connect it with the values of your company.With all of the various things that we're doing, especially in the wellness and DEI space, they align well with our values and our mission of helping people live better lives. It needs to come from an authentic place. Because it's sort of obvious when people are faking it.Our head of DEI in the US has so much passion for this space, and that really drives her as an individual and her purpose. The quality of what she puts out is remarkable, and she's able to create the right narrative that employees and leaders who are in positions to share it are able to grab some of that enthusiasm.What policies demonstrate your focus on worker well-being?One of the biggest things we've done in the last two years is a fertility benefit program called Building Families at Ferring with unlimited financial support for your journey, whether that's IVF, surrogacy, or adoption. So it covers all the many pathways that people could take to build a family.It also offers 26 weeks of paid parental leave and the policy is agnostic of your marital status and your family structures. It's truly a benefit for all that want to build a family.It's so core to our business. We thought we needed to give back to employees in the same way that we want to show up in the marketplace.What workforce issues are commonplace in the pharmaceutical industry?Attrition is systemic; it's just the norm. Over the last few years, we've managed to really stabilize the organization from an attrition perspective more so than we ever have in the previous five years.For us, retention of our talent is critical, as I know it is for all companies. You want to retain the best and make sure that they're developing and getting to whatever their aspirations are. Pharma is very competitive.We recently launched a uro-oncology business, and in the early part of this year, we hired about 60 people with roles across functions, including sales, marketing, finance, and medical. If the pharma market is generally very competitive, oncology is even more so. The things that we can do to make this a great place to work are a big part of how we approach that piece of talent management.

In the competitive world of pharma, companies need to focus on worker well-being to retain top talent, says Ferring's HR exec

Dear readers, As we approach yet another weekend, here are some key developments across various sectors. Nvidia has surpassed Apple to become the world’s largest company, driven by the AI boom. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates, by 25 basis points to 4.75%, the second such reduction in 2024. In the workplace, Gen Z’s approach to mental health got attention, with one employee taking a week off after a breakup. Additionally, Indian banks are expecting steady growth, despite challenges in unsecured lending. Read on for all the details! <h2>Top stories from the week </h2> Indian banks to have steady growth in earnings over next 3-4 years, fees from unsecured lending may dip, notes Jefferies report Jefferies forecasts steady earnings growth for Indian banks over the next 3–4 years, with a 13% annual loan growth rate. However, a decline in unsecured lending could reduce fee income. While net interest income is expected to grow at 12%, challenges such as rising defaults and a potential dip in rate cuts could affect profitability. Despite this, banks’ return on equity and assets remain promising. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/indian-banks-to-have-steady-growth-in-earning-over-next-3-4-years-fees-from-unsecured-lending-may-dip-notes-jefferies-report/articleshow/115048179.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> Nvidia becomes world’s largest company amid AI boom, surpasses Apple in the race Nvidia has surpassed Apple to become the world’s largest company by market capitalization, driven by the AI boom. The company’s strong performance is fueled by surging demand for its chips used in AI technologies. With a market cap hitting $3.43 trillion, Nvidia continues to dominate the AI hardware sector, powering data centres and AI research. The company’s revenue growth of 122% YoY further cements its leadership in the AI space. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/nvidia-becomes-worlds-largest-company-amid-ai-boom-surpasses-apple-in-the-race/articleshow/115003223.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> ‘He had a breakup and took a one-week leave’: Manager shares about his Gen-Z employee, internet reacts A manager’s tweet about granting a Gen Z employee a week off for a breakup sparked widespread debate. While the manager expressed frustration over project delays, internet users defended the employee’s mental health needs, criticizing the manager’s lack of empathy. Some supported the manager’s view, pointing out generational differences in work culture. The incident went viral, furthering discussions about Gen Z’s unique workplace expectations. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/he-had-a-breakup-and-took-a-one-week-leave-manager-shares-about-his-gen-z-employee-internet-reacts/articleshow/115041747.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> US Fed cuts interest rates by 25 bps, Powell notes Trump’s victory to have no impact on policy decisions The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.75%, the second such reduction in 2024. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized the Fed’s independence despite Trump’s criticism and suggested that the economic outlook remains uncertain, though the Fed is focused on inflation targets. Trump’s policies may lead to higher inflation, adding complexity to the Fed’s efforts to stabilize prices. Experts anticipate that bond yields will stabilize, benefiting emerging markets like India. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/us-fed-cuts-interest-rates-by-25-bps-powell-notes-trumps-victory-to-have-no-impact-on-policy-decisions/articleshow/115070690.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> Big Tech’s winners and losers from Donald Trump’s win, according to the market After Donald Trump’s election victory, tech stocks surged, with companies like Tesla seeing significant gains. Tesla’s rise was fueled by Trump’s public support for CEO Elon Musk. Conversely, companies like Apple faced challenges due to fears over potential tariffs on China. While some, like Google, might benefit from lighter regulations, others like Meta could face political challenges. Overall, the election results reshaped market expectations for Big Tech’s future. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/here-are-big-techs-winners-and-losers-from-donald-trumps-win-according-to-the-market/articleshow/115067798.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Read more</a> <h2>Top web stories</h2> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/webstories/donald-trump-on-screen-a-look-at-his-iconic-cameos/slidelist/115045250.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Donald Trump on screen: A look at his iconic cameos</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/webstories/8-lifestyle-mistakes-contributing-to-health-problems-in-india/slidelist/115051791.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">8 lifestyle mistakes contributing to health problems in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/travel/india/webstories/10-magical-indian-experiences-every-traveller-should-try/slidelist/115052527.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">10 magical Indian experiences every traveller should try</a>

Weekend wrap: Nvidia’s AI-driven surge, Indian banks’ steady growth and more

It's impossible to talk about workforce innovation without addressing artificial intelligence.During a virtual roundtable, we asked Business Insider's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/workforce-innovation-board-tackles-topics-such-as-c-suite-innovation-ai-worker-wellness-2024-8">Workforce Innovation board</a> to tell us how AI would transform companies over the next year.One major topic was reskilling and upskilling employees. BI's Tim Paradis, who focuses on the future of work, asked whether there were any fears that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vinod-khosla-universal-basic-income-ai-job-loss-2024-9">dire predictions of AI</a> outpacing human capabilities to learn, like those advanced in a recent article by Sun Microsystems cofounder <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.khoslaventures.com/ai-dystopia-or-utopia/">Vinod Khosla</a>, would prove true."The basic drivers of job creation will change with a technology that does not only augment human capabilities, but also may surpass them altogether," Khosla wrote, "leaving education and upskilling — a historical avenue for retraining and relevance — somewhat impotent."Board members rejected the grim prognostication."I disagree with that statement," said Justina Nixon-Saintil, IBM's vice president and chief impact officer, though she agreed that AI would exacerbate the digital divide."We made a commitment to scale 2 million people in AI by 2026," Nixon-Saintil said. "There's a sense of urgency in making sure we are not leaving people behind."AARP's Marjorie Powell argued that the global labor shortage was evidence of an enduring need for human workers but that no one can afford to be complacent. "You're going to have to relearn how to do your job," Powell said.Others described the importance of communicating clearly with workers about what AI means for their jobs now and in the future."We're trying to figure out how this transformation is going to occur," said Chris Deri, the president of the corporate advisory businesses at Weber Shandwick. "There has to be transparent communications and stakeholder engagement alongside figuring out these enterprise and strategic matters."The following has been edited for length and clarity.<h3 id="4a721470-9d79-4540-a871-62ad779b2870">How will the most innovative companies be transformed by AI over the next 12 months?</h3><h2 id="58f968af-3acb-493b-870e-b8d2bf021db1">Justina Nixon-Saintil, vice president and chief impact officer, IBM</h2><h3 id="a436d836-8481-4230-8a70-68bd3cfe6353">"Any tasks or jobs in the company that could be automated by AI will happen within the next year."</h3>A lot is going to change. Any tasks or jobs in the company that could be automated by AI will happen within the next year. For any jobs that cannot be automated, workers will need to understand how to work alongside AI.You need to understand what AI means for your role, how to use it to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-use-ai-save-time-work-best-ways-use-chatgpt-2024-9">increase productivity or efficiency</a>, and how to create new products and solutions leveraging AI. That's going to be the big shift, and here we actually continue to upskill our employees to prepare for that shift.Last year, we had an AI challenge across the company, and a huge percentage of our employees participated. They had to get training first, and then they were part of a team to come up with innovative solutions leveraging AI. We did it again this summer. So the company is very focused on how to upskill all employees, because it's going to impact every role in the company.<h2 id="82ccd740-f6d2-4536-8e3d-54d9f225dac0">Anant Adya, EVP, service offering head, and head of Americas delivery, Infosys</h2><h3 id="66cbaa75-725e-4e65-880c-285d5d102e74">"How can we eat our own dog food right before we start telling customers to adopt AI?"</h3>We have two objectives. One is to become an AI-first enterprise. The first task is to see how we can start using AI in everything we do, whether it's in our claims or travel expenses, procurement, or handling invoices.Our philosophy is very simple. AI is not about replacing an individual or replacing an employee but how we can amplify our productivity by using the tools. How can we eat our own dog food right before we start telling customers to adopt AI?Second is that for all the offerings that we have today, we want to make sure we infuse AI into them. When we go and talk to our customers about task-level automation, coding or developing an application, or migrating a workload into the cloud — how can we infuse AI into everything that we do? So it doesn't just become a people-based offering but a people-plus-AI-based offering.<h2 id="961badc0-cb06-4d47-9329-ac1f1b2d70dd">Marjorie Powell, chief HR officer and senior vice president, AARP</h2><h3 id="0aee923e-e647-43c9-bf57-4c2ecc03a872">"It's important that everyone learns how to deal with prompt engineering; we are not going to hire prompt engineers."</h3>We believe there's going to be a greater emphasis on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-will-change-most-jobs-employers-help-workers-keep-up-2024-8">upskilling and reskilling</a> alongside AI technologies.It's important that everyone learns how to deal with prompt engineering; we are not going to hire prompt engineers. It's going to become a skill for employees to craft clear and specific prompts, adjust to the right audience, and utilize elements and problem-solving skills to identify inaccurate responses.It's about adaptability. Employees are going to have to be open to continuous learning and adapting to new AI tools and technologies in their jobs. So we make sure we're providing some kind of atmosphere and culture for being excited and energetic about learning.The workforce will have to problem-solve regardless of the tool and the technology, and it will require test-and-learn approaches. We created a "community of practice" in the company where individuals can join and help with peer learning and have a sandbox to play around with AI, depending on where they are.They can cross-pollinate across business-unit lines, and that has become very exciting. We also use that group to pilot the new technologies we're considering rolling out to the company.Data literacy is going to be very important — understanding how to read and interpret and tell a story of the data.We're also developing power users in the company, people who are really, really good at this that other employees can tap into when they need help.<h2 id="0ef1d87b-57f3-4474-bfdc-21c4f4fc1b74">Alicia Pittman, global people team chair, Boston Consulting Group</h2><h3 id="dd47519b-c973-4a00-b508-f05159afdea8">"Gen AI also offers an opportunity to avoid leakage of human capital, which obviously we all care quite a lot about."</h3>We have 35,000 employees, and north of 70% are active users of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-using-ai-bain-survey-roi-2024-6">generative AI</a> now. We've taken a full-company approach of upskilling and rolling out both custom and off-the-shelf tools, regardless of the job.The bottom-up innovation power of gen AI is super exciting. For example, our teams and employees have created more than a thousand custom GPTs, mini automation machines, to-do scripts, and dashboards to create bespoke analyses and build newsletters — it's super quick, and it doesn't require big investments or processes.That's one thing that's specific to gen AI versus other types of technology innovation — it's sparking a lot of energy and unlocking human capacity.Gen AI also offers an opportunity to avoid leakage of human capital, which obviously we all care quite a lot about. It really changes the game in terms of the amount of learning you can keep within the team and not lose as people move around.We're also seeing how gen AI is creating an exoskeleton for generalists to be able to take on more technical tasks. It's not going to turn a generalist analyst into an expert coder, but actually our analysis would show that they can get 80%-plus there on some coding tasks, which then you still need the expert coder to do quality control.<h2 id="d130e1cc-4600-48d2-941b-e5e5b1eddc1f">Maggie Hulce, chief revenue officer, Indeed</h2><h3 id="d4c2bf89-e522-4f0d-bbff-d8d4f916c1e1">"Do I have to build this huge team of AI engineers? The answer is no."</h3>We're trying to infuse AI in all our externally facing products and solutions to make them more insightful, intuitive, and delightful to use — and, in many ways, to create experiences that mimic what a personalized human experience might be like, but at scale.We also see most roles and workflows becoming augmented with AI. That's becoming more and more obvious as the months go on and as teams engage with AI and find applications and new ways of working.I was at Dreamforce recently in San Francisco. What Salesforce <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2024/09/17/google-autonomous-agent-partnership/">unveiled</a> was how it wants to help companies essentially launch AI agents in sales, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/verizon-is-using-generative-ai-to-streamline-business-relationships-2024-7">customer service</a>, marketing, and commerce.For many companies to get the full power of what AI can do, you have to be able to link up lots of different datasets that are usually in disparate places. It's hard work, and it's very time-consuming. To hear the stories of companies being like, "Guess what, you don't actually have to move that data around anymore," this is going to change how a lot of companies experiment and start to play with AI-oriented applications that will fundamentally change their operations.There are a lot of companies out there that have already started to light it up. We're thinking a lot about how sales, customer service, marketing, and product have operated for a long time in various silos. When you think about customer experiences, they really shouldn't be that way. They should be much more integrated than they are today. Some of these technologies can be part of the accelerants for how customer experiences can be reimagined.Part of what's been hard for people is like, "OK, but do I have to get all of these disparate parts of my company to all work together in a new way? Do I have to build this huge team of AI engineers?" The answer is no. You don't have to be the tip of the spear in terms of sophistication.<h2 id="8b49bd10-b04d-4857-afbc-b2979d5711e9">Kenon Chen, executive vice president of strategy and growth, Clear Capital</h2><h3 id="550eee1b-ffef-4a90-bbea-a94d7a6ba7a2">"As AI accelerates, you also have to accelerate the handling of data in a way that can produce accurate models."</h3>At Clear Capital, we participate in the highly regulated housing-finance industry. To enable AI to be used in accordance with our clients' expectations of governance and quality control, we've taken a three-pronged approach.First, we've been investing in creating good industry standards and working with the industry to ensure there's agreement on how AI models should be tested, how they ensure compliance with antidiscrimination and fairness practices, and how the data should be handled.Second, we've been investing a lot in higher-quality data. As AI accelerates, you also have to accelerate the handling of data in a way that can produce accurate models. So we've invested quite a bit in better digitization and generation of data.Third is fostering collaboration between innovators, industry players, policymakers, and regulators. We participated this year in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's generative-AI tech sprint, where about 80 leaders from different aspects of the housing industry brainstormed ways to apply generative AI to the lending process to improve borrowers' experience.One thing that became clear after participating in that was where we have more tools and more capabilities to accelerate. We always have to go back to the why: What is the mission? And we have to make the mission at the company level that much more clear so that as we apply these new tools, it's always for the sake of the mission.<h2 id="5e045b5f-3490-4435-8321-bab58740eaa8">Chris Deri, president, corporate advisory businesses, The Weber Shandwick Collective</h2><h3 id="79930c20-445b-4959-b644-53f07e252292">"There's a mega-trend need for all of us to adopt AI and understand it, but that means something different for different parts of our organization."</h3>We're a public-relations firm, so we're looking at AI for ourselves and for our clients.In terms of our own people, one lesson we've already learned is that there was an instinct to take a top-down approach, as in everybody's got to figure out how AI is going to change their business, but we need to take a bottom-up approach.In the simplest sense, we do consumer marketing, healthcare marketing, and corporate advisory work. We really need to design training for each of the different practitioner types.There's a mega-trend need for all of us to adopt AI and understand it, but that means something different for different parts of our organization.Another thing we're doing is creating a futuristic think-tank group in our company — three or four people who have been putting together an ecosystem to give us constant learning. We also have academic institutions, investors, technologists, and other practitioners to help.We're also looking at our business model and how we budget and scope. The classic assignment we get is companies call us and say, "We want to map our stakeholders and what their expectations are of us." That used to be a project that we would figure out with just consultant time. Now we're applying AI to do some of that.We need to figure out how to take advantage of those efficiencies to add new value — that human value. So we need to relook at our entire business and service model, and we haven't figured it all out yet.Anant talked about "eating your own dog food." We've mapped out the implementation of that stack for ourselves to test and learn, and then we will start to use that in how we show up as advisors to our clients on the same journey.<h2 id="3bf33684-0da6-43af-856a-e0d807c42725">Sharawn Tipton, chief people and culture officer, LiveRamp</h2><h3 id="2513253b-1145-4ac9-afad-cb752e1513d8">"What we're trying to do is really keep people at the center of this transformation."</h3>We're thinking a lot about the AI trust gap. I'm in San Francisco today, and I was walking around and I saw all these autonomous vehicles, and it dawned on me that my mother would never ride in one. She just does not trust that technology.As a data company, we're thinking a lot about how do we ensure that our customers, our clients, and our partners trust that we're going to protect their data and use AI when appropriate and be certain that we have safeguards for when it isn't appropriate. And then I think the biggest area that my team is focused on with this trust gap is job security and what this means for the average worker.So what we're trying to do is really keep people at the center of this transformation. We're thinking a lot about employee resource groups. That way we've been able to reach all different types of team members. So how do we target our ERGs and think about who are the slow adapters? Who are the folks that typically get left behind, and how do we give them a little extra push?What we want to do is think about how to continue to have our team members trust their leaders, but also trust AI and where we're going, and get them to understand this isn't about replacing jobs. We are really focused on transforming jobs. That is a huge shift and a huge opportunity for us.<h2 id="c0d7e4c7-96a5-41d7-8c3f-29dee443e291">Shane Koller, senior vice president and chief people officer, Ancestry</h2><h3 id="2fb41060-9718-4c06-940a-5ac8246457b5">"The more people we get thinking about governance, the better AI technology will be used."</h3>There are a lot of different points of view on what AI will and will not do and how quickly.I was reading an article in The Wall Street Journal over the weekend that said for every one person who believes that AI is going to replace everyone's jobs, there are three or four who think there's going to be this boom in AI and then it's going to settle down. And that the promise we think AI is going to deliver will probably take longer than we think to come to fruition.One of the things that we've been doing at Ancestry very intentionally is bringing up the subject of governance, because I think we all think of AI as this steamroller that's going to come and either we're going to step aside from it or we're going to get steamrolled.The more people we get thinking about governance, the better AI technology will be used. And I say that within Ancestry as well as within companies in general and within governments. We have more of a role to play in how this rolls out than we think.We've been building AI into our product for over 10 years now, and we've been giving more thought to how would we govern the use of AI within our own company so that we're not, for example, putting our customers' data at risk. We're very conscious that security and privacy is first and foremost in every discussion. It's really about how you govern such an amazing technology.

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<ul class="summary-list"><li>AI companies have been adjusting their election offerings and guidelines ahead of Election Day.</li><li>Perplexity launched an Election Information Hub with information on candidates, voting logistics, and results.</li></ul><a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-donald-trump-swing-states-sun-belt-polls-2024-11">Election week</a> has finally arrived. This time around, it will serve as an important test for the AI companies willing to provide their users with election-related information and updates on voting results.ChatGPT didn't exist during the last presidential election in 2020. Its <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-openai-company-chatgpt-elon-musk-founded-2022-12">launch two years ago</a> kicked off a wave of generative AI chatbots and tools integrated into popular consumer products like Google Search.Ahead of the election, the companies behind the products had to decide what restrictions, if any, they would implement on AI-generated content related to the election, analyzing the associated risks.Some, like the AI startup Perplexity, are loudly leaning into it.The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/perplexity-ai-startup-lawsuit-allegations-targets-funding-2024-10">AI search engine</a> launched a dedicated "Election Information Hub" that uses AI to provide information about the upcoming election and results tracking. The hub includes details about voting requirements, how to find your polling place and poll times, and AI-summarized analysis on ballot measures and candidates, the company <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/blog/introducing-the-election-information-hub">wrote</a> in an announcement.<div type="image" title="Perplexity providing information about how to vote in New York" height="1358" width="2876" msid="114958491" hostid="261" sizebytes="107828"></div>"Perplexity uses a process called Retrieval-Augmented Generation to identify relevant information and summarize it in a way that's tailored to a user's query," Perplexity spokesperson Sara Platnick told Business Insider.For election-related questions, the company is using a "curated set" of non-partisan and fact-checked sources, the company said. The separate hub doesn't use stored knowledge from the model's training data in its responses, which helps minimize hallucinations, Platnick told BI.Perplexity will also start offering live updates on elections on Tuesday by using data from The Associated Press. Other responses will use information from Democracy Works and other non-partisan factual sources like Ballotpedia and news organizations, Platnick said.<div type="image" title="Response to query about who will most likely win the election" height="1184" width="1579" msid="114958489" hostid="261" sizebytes="78204"></div>Alon Yamin, the cofounder and CEO of AI-based text analysis platform <a target="_blank" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/copyleaks.com/__;!!JZyed81S!itOc7IDeF_76NxsTUPRsm7xTzocjiL3rm1gW5KKoRo7WetzRSjCOUxm_bOIxkDmjSF4sJyCQNmuN0oTLaA$">Copyleaks</a>, said Perplexity's approach "can certainly help filter and contextualize content," helping users access reliable sources.Yamin said there are potential benefits that come with using AI for election information. AI can provide real-time updates and help identify trends, voter sentiment, and key issues.However, Yamin said that the chance of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/snowflake-ceo-sridhar-ramaswamy-ai-hallucination-rates-2024-11">AI hallucinations</a> and accuracy issues presents risks.Other companies are taking different approaches. OpenAI will continue to integrate election-related responses into ChatGPT while providing some extra features in light of the election.<div type="image" title="ChatGPT response to query about who will win 2024 presidential election" height="1289" width="1719" msid="114958486" hostid="261" sizebytes="114838"></div>Starting on November 5th, those who ask ChatGPT about election result queries will see a message encouraging users to check sources like the Associated Press and Reuters, or state and local election boards for "the most complete and up-to-date information," the company said in a <a target="_blank" href="https://openai.com/index/how-openai-is-approaching-2024-worldwide-elections/">post</a> updated on October 31.OpenAI said it was "actively testing the safeguards" put in place over the last year and monitoring for any issues. It also said it will continue to adjust its protective measures, which include transparency around AI-generated content and preventing chatbots from pretending to be real people.ChatGPT will also direct users to the US voting information site <a target="_blank" href="http://CanIVote.org">CanIVote.org</a> when asked procedural election-related questions.Anthropic's Claude similarly implemented a pop-up feature that allows users who ask for voting information to be redirected to TurboVote, a nonpartisan resource from Democracy Works, it <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.anthropic.com/news/us-elections-readiness">wrote</a> in a post.Anthropic has other guardrails in place, including prohibiting users from using it to promote a specific candidate or issue. It said it would also prevent the chatbot from being used to generate misinformation about election laws, candidates, or related topics. In its post, the company said outputs will be limited to text-only to help eliminate "the risk of election-related deepfakes."While the live election updates may be helpful to users, AI-generated election content poses a number of risks.Yamin said AI can spread biased information, misinterpret data, and create false narratives. He also added that these models are "only as good as the data they are trained on," which opens the risk of AI-generated responses reflecting the bias of the data they are trained on.Misunderstandings could be amplified if AI misinterprets information and serves up inaccurate results, especially in a fast-moving and closely followed election environment, Yamin told BI.<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-gemini-ai-layoffs-innovation-boring-2024-2">Google</a>, which experienced some <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-scales-back-ai-in-search-feature-overviews-eat-glue-2024-5">highly publicized AI fails</a> with its Gemini AI and AI Overviews, chose to implement constraints on what users can ask its AI products about the election. Google has said is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-restricts-gemini-ai-chatbot-answering-election-questions-trump-biden-2024-3">restricting its AI chatbot Gemini</a> from answering questions about <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/elections">elections</a> "out of an abundance of caution."<div type="image" title="Screenshot of Trump query in Gemini" height="1239" width="1651" msid="114958488" hostid="261" sizebytes="42396"></div>A similar search on Google's main search product on Monday didn't trigger an AI Overview summary, showing the "Top Stories" carousel of stories from publishers. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.Brad Carson, cofounder and president of the nonprofit Americans for Responsible Innovation, told BI that while Google's approach is commendable, it's not a global solution to the problem.Carson said that combatting disinformation is "not an easy task," and while it's smart for companies to try and do more to limit misinformation, the government should work on legislation that requires AI companies to clearly label the information they serve to users."I feel that other products will probably fill the gap that Google is vacating, but I think it is responsible of Google to try to step back a bit from this," Carson said.

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