📈 AI Talent Surge, 2025's Onboarding Playbook, Workplace Romance Risks - Jul 21, 2025

Hello, People Leaders! ✨ AI’s taking over hiring faster than you can say “skills gap.” Let’s rethink how tech and talent can work together—no résumé scanning robots required.

On today’s agenda:

📈 AI talent surge

🆕 Onboarding playbook

💘 Workplace romance risks

🧩 Zoho People review

THE HR SPOTLIGHT

📈 Smart Hires Ahead: The AI Talent Surge HR Can’t Ignore

With AI job listings spiking globally in the last year alone and companies expanding deeper into global markets like Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), HR leaders are facing a new kind of hiring heatwave—and it’s powered by algorithms, not ambition alone.

⚠️ The situation: Robots are hiring (and being hired).

• Global AI hiring is booming—Deel alone saw 60％ YoY increase.

• U.S. companies are chasing top tech talent across borders.

• The demand for AI skills is outpacing supply—and quickly.

• HR teams risk lagging if they don’t move quick enough and think at a global level.

Per Deel’s report via The Recursive, “AI-related senior job roles have tripled in the past year.” That’s not just a trend—it’s a talent war.

✅ What HR can do: Work with the bots.

• Go global: Tap into emerging markets (like CEE) for tech talent.

• Use AI smartly: Let AI screen resumes, not replace judgment.

• Upskill now: Train current teams to work with (not fear) AI.

• Review pay scales: AI skills = premium packages.

Don’t let AI hiring outpace your human strategy. See how Deel can help your recruitment team hire smarter and faster at scale:

TOGETHER WITH iSPRING

🆕 Why Your Onboarding Is Broken, Even If It Looks Fine | iSpring’s Expert Onboarding Playbook

Ask any HR pro and they’ll tell you: onboarding should be clear. But once you add in disengaged managers, scattered tools, and a lack of consistency — it gets complicated fast.

The iSpring team interviewed 10+ HR and L&D leaders across industries to get to the root of what’s really going wrong — and how to fix it. 

Download the 2025 Onboarding Playbook to learn: 

⚡ 6 mistakes that ruin the new hire experience from day 1 

⚡ The true cost of onboarding for your company 

⚡ Real-world onboarding challenges and how top HR leaders solve them 

⚡ A proven framework to onboard and retain top talent 

🍟 Wage Hike, Job Dip? - HR Grapevine

• What’s unfolding: Fast food job losses in California are being linked to the recently implemented $20/hour minimum wage.

• Why it matters: This is a red flag for multi-state HR leaders managing wage strategy—prepare for automation impacts, budget shifts, and workforce planning if other states follow suit.

🏢 Target Tightens RTO Rules - HR Dive

🐠 HR-Themed Phishing Bait Clicks - HCA Mag

COMPLIANCE CORNER

• What’s unfolding: Colorado’s groundbreaking AI law, taking effect next year, demands stringent risk-management controls on both AI developers and users—raising the bar well above typical state standards.

• HR implications: HR teams must prepare for AI governance roles by updating internal policies and training staff in compliance best practices, while keeping an eye on similar laws popping up nationwide.

• What’s unfolding: NYC has expanded on the state’s paid prenatal leave law—mandating updated policies, notices, records, and pay-stub tracking for the 20‑hour leave bank.

• HR implications: HR leaders in NYC must revise leave policies, inform employees, and adjust payroll systems by mid-July to prevent compliance headaches and potential fines.

• What’s unfolding: The USDHS & USCIS may replace the traditional H‑1B visa lottery with a criteria-based (likely wage-driven) system—upending decades‑old selection dynamics.

• HR implications: Missouri HR teams should start communicating changes, revise handbooks, and consider offering equivalent voluntary benefits to mitigate morale and retention risks.

HR TECH WATCH

🧩 A Review of Zoho People: The Modular HR Sidekick

Why we selected it: A favorite among growing teams, Zoho People is an all-in-one HR software suite that's both economical and surprisingly flexible for businesses of any size.

Key features:

1. Employee Self-Service Portal – Empowers staff to update info, request leave, and access documents.

2. Custom Workflows – Automate everything from onboarding to performance reviews with drag-and-drop ease.

3. Time & Attendance Tracking – GPS and IP-based clock-ins make hybrid and remote tracking seamless.

4. Performance Management – Set goals, run appraisals, and track progress with ease.

HRAddict rating: ★★★★☆ 4.4
A flexible, affordable HR toolkit that scales with your business.

This is an independent review using aggregated insights and publicly available data.

BREAKROOM

📬 Missed Friday’s issue on ‘Missing Managers’? Read it »