🎰 RTO Roulette, 20+ Excel Templates, AI's LMS Rewrite - Jul 23, 2025

Hi, HR Heroes! 🦸 RTO mandates have been going for a long while already—but why do some office chairs still spin empty? This week, let’s explore RTO Roulette and how HR can ace this comeback game.

On today’s agenda:

🎰 The RTO roulette

📊 Excel analytics bundle

📚 LMS rewritten by AI

📥 AI compliance template

THE HR SPOTLIGHT

🎰 RTO Roulette: Why Some Office Seats Stay Empty…

Back-to-office blues? HR pros across the U.S. are watching office chairs stay stubbornly empty—even as RTO mandates roll in harder than Monday morning coffee cravings.

🚨 The situation: Not all roads lead back to the office. Despite a wave of strict RTO policies, many workers just aren’t budging—and it's not always just about convenience.

• Relocation could be a dealbreaker: Amazon faced internal backlash after telling their employees to relocate or resign without severance (Bloomberg). Some quit rather than pack up.

• Gender imbalance alert: Women, especially caregivers, are less likely to return full-time due to household demands. Forcing a rigid RTO risks deepening existing gaps (The Work Times).

• Employee disengagement is rising: Mandates without flexibility are causing morale to dip—many feel unheard, unseen, and unmotivated.

📋 What HR can do? Make the office worth the commute. Here’s how HR leaders can bring people back without burning bridges:

• Incentivize meaningfully—Think beyond pizza Fridays. Childcare support, commuter benefits, or team-led scheduling go further.

• Flex the mandate—Hybrid by design beats "butts in seats" rules. Let teams tailor their rhythms.

• Audit your office culture—Do people want to be there? A welcoming, inclusive vibe matters.

Need some creative inspiration? Try reimagining hot desking for more flexibility and stock the office breakroom with supplies your employees will love.

📊 20+ Excel Templates to Strengthen HR & Workforce Strategy

Take the guesswork out of workforce planning and reporting with our curated collection of 20+ HR Analytics Excel Templates. Designed for busy HR professionals, these templates help you work smarter—not harder.

Use these templates to:

• Elevate your HR reporting with clear, presentation-ready insights
• Support leadership with data-driven recommendations that shape strategy
• Optimize workforce management for improved productivity and employee engagement

Whether you're focused on streamlining operations or driving long-term impact, these tools can help you turn HR data into confident strategies.

🕖 Community promo ends July 25, midnight.

🔌 AI Expert Pulls the Plug - HR Grapevine

• What’s unfolding: Scale has axed multiple AI projects and slashed jobs after Meta took a stake in the company. The pivot appears to stem from strategic realignment—and maybe a touch of Big Tech whiplash.

• Why it matters: When innovation stalls, so does employee trust. During tech-led restructuring, prep for talent uncertainty, especially in high-growth areas like AI. Clear communication and internal mobility options are vital for such shifts.

• What’s unfolding: Dell employees are reporting rising burnout and morale dips after a double whammy: layoffs and a rapid-fire AI integration push. Even high performers are feeling stretched thin.

• Why it matters: Digital transformation doesn’t mean overnight human transformation. Without support, speed becomes a stressor. Invest in training time, set realistic expectations, and build two-way feedback loops to address fatigue before it fractures culture.

• What’s unfolding: A recent study predicts that hybrid work could add a whopping half trillion and more to the U.S. economy by 2045 through increased productivity and workforce participation.

• Why it matters: The numbers don’t lie: flexibility isn’t just good for employees, it’s good for business. HR teams should use data like this to push back on rigid RTO mandates and pilot flexible models that boost both retention and results.

COMPLIANCE CORNER

• What’s unfolding: The U.S. has updated the fees for foreign nationals applying for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), potentially slowing down hiring pipelines for visa-holding talent.

• HR implications: HR teams should proactively review upcoming visa renewals and international candidate timelines to budget for added expenses and prevent hiring delays—especially if global talent plays a key role in staffing strategy.

• What’s unfolding: The Trump-aligned Labor Department is proposing some rollbacks on OSHA’s reach, minimum wages, and more, drawing concern from worker advocates and labor groups.

• HR implications: Leaders should stay alert to potential legal shifts; if adopted, these rules may affect compliance, worker classification, and other liabilities—making early audits a smart move.

• What’s unfolding: A financial firm has reached a settlement with the EEOC after claims that it failed to address workplace harassment complaints—putting its compliance practices in the spotlight.

• HR implications: This is a timely reminder for HR to audit complaint handling procedures, reinforce anti-harassment training, and ensure every report—no matter how minor—is documented and followed up.

BREAKROOM

📬 Missed Monday’s issue ‘AI Talent Surge’? Read it »