The report analyzes stipend and Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) data from January through June 2025 across industries and company sizes. Its findings underscore a clear trend: employers are consolidating perk spend, expanding flexibility, and prioritizing benefits that meet employees’ real-life needs — even as salary budgets remain flat.

A closer look at 2025 midyear trends

• All-Inclusive LSAs dominate: 65% of employers now offer Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs), with 77% funded quarterly. These programs consolidate benefits into a single, flexible budget that employees actually use.
• Employees choose local: 70% of stipend dollars were spent at niche vendors and local and independent businesses rather than major retailers like Amazon or Walmart, reinforcing the impact of flexible, reimbursement-based models over limited vendor marketplaces.
• Professional development surges: 99% of professional development stipends are now annual, with spend flowing to books (19%), AI and emerging tech tools (15%), and courses (9%). The rise of AI stipends points to a major 2026 planning opportunity.
• Regional gains across the U.S.: The West led stipend funding with $1,514 per employee while the Midwest climbed nearly 20% to $754, showing every region is investing more in lifestyle benefits despite economic pressures.

“Flat salary budgets don’t mean you stop investing in people. It just means you have to be smarter about it,” said Amy Spurling, Compt’s Founder and CEO. “Benefits that fit real lives (stipends for gym reimbursements, groceries, childcare, AI skills) are the difference between employees who stay and thrive and employees who leave.”

Other key findings and implications for business leaders

Beyond the headline increase in stipend funding, the report paints a picture of how benefits are evolving in real time. Small companies continue to outspend their larger peers, investing $1,716 per employee (more than double the amount at large organizations). Meanwhile, every region of the U.S. saw an uptick in benefits funding, with the West topping the list at $1,514 per employee and the Midwest making its strongest showing yet with nearly 20% YoY growth.

Equally telling is how employees are using those dollars. While 78% of current spending remains taxable, employers are steadily expanding into nontaxable categories, like cell phone, internet, and student loan repayment, to stretch budgets further.

Taken together, these shifts make the implications for HR and Finance clear: employees want benefits that feel personal, predictable, and future-focused. The playbook for 2026 is consolidation through all-inclusive Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs), consistency through quarterly funding, and forward-looking investments in professional growth and financial wellness.

Download the benchmark report

About Compt

Compt is a global lifestyle benefits platform, trusted by companies in all 50 states and over 75 countries. Compt’s flexible, easy-to-use, tax-compliant platform helps companies offer a broad range of stipend categories, including wellness, professional development, family building, commuter, LSAs, and more.

The post 2025 Midyear Benchmark: Employee Stipend Funding Climbs to $1,029 Per Employee appeared first on COMPT.

I recently sat down with Mary Migiano, Compt’s Head of Customer Success, to dig into our annual Lifestyle Benefits Benchmark Report. During our conversation, Mary gave me her insight on the 85% LSA utilization rate we’re seeing, why personalized benefits are more important than ever, and how to get creative with caregiving stipends.

There’s a lot of juicy data in this report — and Mary turns it into actionable advice that will help your company succeed in 2025 and beyond.

Three big takeaways from our Lifestyle Benefits Benchmark Report and key trends in employee benefits

Trend One: Major shift toward flexibility

When Mary and I first read through the report, we both noticed one major through line: the rise of flexible benefits, with Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs) making up 71% of company budgets. It’s not just one thing people want. I asked Mary what she felt was driving this shift. Her answer was clear: employees are demanding it.

“There’s like five generations in the workforce right now, right? The life changes people are going through — very different things. I look at how my life has changed myself in the past 10 years. 10 years ago [I] was engaged, getting ready to get married and planning for a wedding… [and now] I’ve got three children, I’m worried about caregiving, I’ve been on a mental health journey. With having five different generations in your workforce, we’ve really hit a point where you have to personalize benefits.”

Our report demonstrated how employees need a support system that will back them up wherever they are in life. And for HR leaders, migrating current benefits to a more all-inclusive benefit package that provides the necessary flexibility isn’t a heavy lift.  

Psst: Listen to Mary’s full podcast and watch us yap about lifestyle benefits on YouTube.

Trend Two: High LSA utilization rate

A Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) is a great option that employees can use where they need to. According to our benchmark report, if you give people options, they’ll take advantage of them: We saw an 85% utilization rate for LSAs vs. a 60% utilization rate for standalone stipends.

“Standalone [stipends] are for very specific things. Internet and cell phone — everyone has different rates for that,” Mary points out. “That’s why we see that utilization change because with that flexibility of the LSA, people can flex within the different categories and really maximize the usage of those.”

Offering an LSA quarterly can keep the benefit top-of-mind for employees. But Mary also suggested leveraging standalone benefits for a personalized touch, like one of our customers who uses our spot bonus stipends to do specific company incentives they call “lightning deals.”

“In one case, it was cold and it was winter… so they had all employees go buy fancy socks. Not a huge budget for that, but specifically allocating it to one reason.”

Things like that are an extra special culture builder, creating touch points between people who might not normally interact. (And who doesn’t love a nice pair of socks?) 

LSAs are popular. But if you conduct spot bonus programs regularly and communicate them well, people are bound to participate in those, too.

Trend Three: Regional differences in stipend funding

Another big takeaway from employee benefits trends as shown through our report: The West spent $1,259 in stipend funding per employee, while the Midwest only spent an average of $632. What’s driving these regional differences? 

“With the Midwest, there’s a lower cost of living,” Mary explains. “So when you look at [the] East Coast, West Coast, it’s really that higher cost of living that’s driving that. Ultimately, the Midwest doesn’t really have a need for those additional stipends to make up for things in the same way the East Coast and West Coast do.”

I live on the East Coast, so I know all about that ‘higher cost of living.’ Kansas — looks like I’m coming for you. 

Three data-driven tips for companies who want to support their employees better in 2025

Tip One: Boost utilization rate by communicating benefits well

“[Driving engagement] really comes down to having an effective update in onboarding, making sure people are aware of the benefits,” Mary says. 

A personalized benefit sells itself because it fits everyone’s needs. So your job is simply to make sure employees are aware the benefit exists.

This is important during the onboarding phase, but moving forward, too — during company all-hands, or when having one-on-ones between managers and employees.

“We find that quarterly [cadence] to be the sweet spot,” Mary recommends. “It’s not too frequent where people are having to submit claims all the time, but it keeps them engaged and actively using the benefit.”

While communication needs to be ongoing, that doesn’t mean a year-round stipend is the best option. In fact, I often find myself panic-buying office supplies with my annual remote work stipend during Amazon Prime Day in November. So I agree: Dispersing stipends quarterly is an effective strategy to make sure they’re thoughtfully used.

Tip Two: Improve your retention by supporting caregiving

Caregiving stipends showed a 300% increase in our report, vividly highlighting the caregiving crisis and its impact on employee retention when it comes to noticeable employee benefits trends. I have a young daughter (and another little one on the way!), so I understand the tremendous cost of childcare firsthand — and I’m glad companies are taking action to support employees in this area.

“We’ve seen some companies get really creative with that,” Mary says.

“[One] company has one of those LSA stipends that’s all-inclusive. If somebody had a caregiving expense submitted for their kids, they match the amount. So you still give that flexibility to everyone, but then you support those going through the caregiving expense specifically by matching the amount for them.”

I loved this idea because it works for everyone, even folks who don’t have kids. Everyone gets a lump sum for the quarter for their “family.”

They can use it for daycare if that’s what they need — or for dog grooming, or for elder care. But everyone is getting equitable benefits.

And this flexibility (see that theme again?) will lead to a significant competitive advantage in recruitment and retention. 

Tip Three: Ask your employees questions to pinpoint trends in employee benefits

Finally, when I asked Mary for pointers for companies planning their 2025 benefit strategy, she echoed the same advice we’ve heard many times on this podcast: ask your people.

“You don’t need to create this stuff from scratch. I promise you the answers lie within your employees. What you need is to ask very pointed questions, and that’s going to give you the insights you need.”

Even if you’ve already decided to create a personalized LSA, talking with your team can show you what guidelines to put in place, how to communicate them, or which ad hoc benefits you might want to include.

(Mary recently shared six questions to ask your employees when building a stipend program.)

Listen to the full podcast below

Limber up for your fiscal year planning with Compt

What does Mary expect to see as far as future employee benefits trends in the HR industry? Budget planning is on everybody’s mind right now. And navigating DEI programs moving forward is also a challenge, regardless of which side you’re on. To help these initiatives, flexibility will be your best friend.

Whatever is coming down the pipe, Compt will be here to support you as you support your employees. Get the full picture by downloading our 2025 Lifestyle Benefits Benchmark Report — and while you’re at it, request a Compt demo to see how we can help you offer more flexible benefits this year.

The post We’re in the Era of Flexible Benefits: Trends in Employee Benefits [PODCAST] appeared first on COMPT.

However, when you post a seasonal job, applicants will still look at what you can offer them. That’s how they’ll evaluate your company as a good workplace.

What employers should know about hiring seasonal employees:

To correctly classify an employee or cohort as ‘seasonal,’ ask yourself the following two questions:

• Are they working for a period of six months or less?
• Does the employment period begin around the same time every year?

If the answer to both questions is “Yes” to both, your employee is probably considered seasonal.

Common examples of seasonal jobs include:

• Summer internships
• Holiday shopping season retail workers
• Restaurant staff hired during the tourist or holiday season
• Accountants specifically brought on for tax season
• Ski resort and summer camp workers

An important distinction to make is that seasonal employment is cyclical, not one-time. Graduate interns hired for 12 months, computer programmers brought on for a special project, consultants to fill a short-term need, and temporary call center employees, for example, would not be considered seasonal.

Since regulations surrounding seasonal employment don’t consider benefits as part of the total compensation employees receive, most companies don’t offer their seasonal workers the same benefits packages they provide to full-time staff. But this doesn’t mean your seasonal employees can’t be rewarded with some perks.

What are seasonal employee benefits?

Seasonal employee benefits are fringe benefits employers offer to their part-time, short-term workers. They’re taxable benefits that aren’t legally required by federal law and don’t have to follow specific regulations.

Like the nature of seasonal work, thesebenefits are characteristically smaller and more immediate than those offered to non-seasonal employees. They’re designed to draw the most qualified new talent, ensure they perform well, and reward their hard work.

Our favorite benefits for seasonal employees

Newly hired employees you bring on to accommodate the busy season may not be with you for more than a few months. But they’re still your team members, and engaging them through benefits can help improve their performance and commitment. What’s more, when it comes time to re-hire, they may remember what you offered and be more likely to recommend your company as a great place to work.

Here’s a list of our ten favorite seasonal fringe benefits:

1. Flexible schedules and working arrangements

Even during a holiday season or summer rush, your seasonal employees may have other commitments outside of work. Flexible hours or remote work options can help them manage their schedule and increase job satisfaction.

If you work in a corporate office, the best way to offer flexibility is to allow remote work (and a remote work stipend!).

For seasonal jobs in retail and hospitality businesses that may not be as simple to flex hours, you can still promote your employees’ work-life balance in the following ways:

• Allow shift swapping between coworkers
• Offer employees the option to work split shifts to accommodate peak hours
• Rotate weekend and holiday schedules so that everyone gets equal days off

Before hiring new employees, wise employers ask each employee how many hours they can work and specify the times. This allows them to set each employee’s work hours without scheduling conflicts.

2. Health and wellness stipends

You might not be able to offer temporary employees the ability to enroll in your company’s health coverage. What you can do is offer your employees a monthly stipend they can use for health and wellness expenses they incur during their employment.

Seasonal workers might spend their health and wellness stipend on the following:

• Gym memberships
• Classes, like yoga or tai chi, to reduce stress levels during the busy season
• Nutrition counseling or meal planning services
• Mental health therapy sessions
• Wellness retreats or vacations
• Meditation apps

Stipends are great because they’re easy to administer and allow your employees to choose how they spend their money. They’re the ultimate way to include everyone in your health and wellness program, regardless of their needs and interests. Just think of the possibilities your employees could have, all year long…

3. Commuter benefits

One issue with seasonal fluctuations in staffing is that you might not have enough parking spots on your property, and your interns are walking the extra few blocks and paying a meter.

If you’ve ever worked in retail or hospitality, you know it’s an even bigger problem for those workers. So employees clocking in midday frequently spend 20-30 minutes finding parking, only to use the $20 lot across the street.

If remote work isn’t an option, the least you could do is help your temp workers with their commute.

Some of the best commuter benefits include:

• parking expense reimbursement
• public transit reimbursement
• monthly rideshare stipends (for Uber/Lyft)
• gas stipends
• toll reimbursement

Offering these benefits prevents your employees from spending hours’ worth of their pay just to show up to work.

4. Reimbursements

We aren’t talking about business expense reimbursements (though you should definitely handle those efficiently). These are reimbursements your employees can use to pay for predetermined costs, whether directly related to work or not.

Your seasonal employee reimbursement policy might include:

• Childcare expenses
• Meals during long shifts
• Transportation, like Uber/Lyft rides
• Gym reimbursement
• technology expenses (like a new laptop or phone)
• Tuition reimbursement or student loan repayment

Like stipends, the type of reimbursements you offer will be closely tied to your company values. For instance, an employer in the veterinary space might offer its summer interns pet care reimbursement. A tech company might reimburse their gym memberships and cover tuition for summer courses they’re taking along with their internships.

5. Performance incentives

When a seasonal employee works hard and the value shows, it’s essential to recognize that. Some short-term employees have commission incentives (e.g., a sales intern or retail associate). But you should go beyond basic cash bonuses.

Creative performance incentives to consider:

• Peak season ‘survival’ kits with coffee and energy bars
• A summer BBQ for employees after a record-breaking month of sales
• Tickets to a local event (like a concert or sports game)
• Company swag, like T-shirts or water bottles

How will you reward your employees? The rewards could vary by team, as long as they are fair for each employee. Since they’re seasonal, the best way to offer one-off awards for a job well done is through a spot award program. Plus, they’ll be able to choose what they truly want!

6. Paid time off (PTO)

Depending on how many hours per week employees work, you can extend your PTO policy to them. Of course, it’s hard to justify the added employment costs if the personnel you brought on for support is constantly taking work off.

But, there are a few instances where offering PTO makes sense:

• The nature of your entire business is seasonal (e.g., ski resorts)
• Your seasonal employee works 30+ hours per week
• They’ll be with your company for 3-6 months
• Your seasonal program is an initial measurement or probationary period, with your top performers moving to full time.

7. Employee discounts/access to company resources

The general expectation for retail, hospitality, and entertainment workers is that they’ll get some sort of discount on store items or services (or free access). For corporate seasonal workers, you can primarily base this on your offer.

For example, Petco offers its employees access to veterinary care, training classes, and generous discounts on store items. Starbucks baristas get a pound of free coffee or tea per week plus employee discounts at Teavana and Evolution Fresh.

Note: One of the difficulties of offering discounts as a benefit is the lack of personalization (and employee personalization is incredibly important!). While some employees might take advantage of a veterinary care discount, some workers may not be pet owners. One way to combat this is by offering a stipend.

8. Training and development opportunities

One main reason to take on a seasonal role is to gain experience. 55% of employees consider career growth opportunities more important than their take-home pay. And, according to SHRM data, about half of them want to use their current job to advance their career.

Make sure your seasonal employees are learning and growing. You can offer them:

• A professional development account to use on course libraries, books, or anything you deem relevant!
• On-the-job shadowing or mentoring
• Reimbursement for continuing education credits
• Additional career and mentorship opportunities within the company

See how Compt clients use their professional development stipend on a wide variety of items, as shown through our Midyear Lifestyle Benefits Benchmark Report. Even offering a small stipend for professional development books can go a long way:

9. Create a culture of appreciation

The last piece of the puzzle is something that might not cost any money at all: a rewards and recognition program.

There are two types of recognition:

• Peer-to-peer
• Manager-to-peer

This simple act can mean so much. Just think, 65% of employees reported recently that they received zero recognition from their employer in the past year.

Ways to recognize your seasonal workers:

• Include them in company-wide shoutouts for hitting major milestones
• Create a peer bonus program
• Provide shoutouts in a company-wide newsletter (with permission, of course)
• Write thank-you notes or give small tokens of appreciation for work well done
• Give a monthly ‘Intern of the Month’ award
• Create a wall of fame or recognition board in the breakroom for employees who go above and beyond

However you decide to reward your employees, make sure you’re taking time to personally thank them for their hard work and contributions. While rewards are one thing, publicly recognizing their achievements (via Slack or during a meeting) and privately can go even further than a reward alone.

10. Company-sponsored events and outings

While we’re not into the idea of forced fun, it can be argued that a company that plays together, stays together. And as a seasonal employee, it’s easy to feel excluded. Why not use company-sponsored events or outings to build camaraderie and celebrate your team’s hard work?

Event ideas:

• End-of-season party
• Team volunteering opportunities
• Company picnic or BBQ
• Team building activities (escape rooms, bowling, mini-golf)
• Themed happy hours (karaoke night or trivia at a local bar)

Bringing your seasonal employees together in a fun, relaxed environment can help them feel more connected to the company and their team. It also gives them a chance to unwind and have some fun after working hard during peak season.

Attract seasonal talent with the right benefits program

Not sure what to give your seasonal employees? Our clients use Compt to set up benefits packages for every kind of employees, whether or not they’re seasonal or full-time.

Compt is an easy-to-use, scalable platform to offer stipends and bonuses, and manage expenses and reimbursements with 100% tax compliance.

We’ll show you how it works.

Editor’s Note: Originally published in 2023, this post has been recently updated for clarity and relevance for our readers.

The post 10 Examples of Employee Benefits for Seasonal Employees appeared first on COMPT.

In a world where trends fast and furious, and new information comes from every corner, we have to find ways to stay on top of things.

With this list of informative and thought-provoking podcasts, you can take full advantage during your morning routines, lunch breaks, or even while brushing your teeth.

We know that you are looking to be the most successful HR and People Ops professional you can possibly be. And that is why we have compiled a list of the best HR podcasts — including recommendations from influential thought leaders in the industry — to make sure that we are feeding your ambition with the right HR information.

No matter what stage of career you’re in, there’s a little something for everyone on this list. And if we missed anything, let us know! We’re always chatting away on LinkedIn.

Well, we start with C. But you get the point …

CIPD

Recommended by Carly Anadio, Senior Manager Business Development at Everbridge.

Host: CIPD

About: Often referred as the “professional body for HR and people development.” This podcast offers the voice of a worldwide community of members who are committed to championing better work and working lives. Since the series for this podcast began, hundreds of people have taken a turn in the podcast hot seat and CIPD has charted the ebb and flow of an HR profession that’s fast-evolving into an innovative powerhouse.

Favorite episode: “Handling harassment: are you getting it right?“: With scrutiny high and both employees and consumers demanding more transparent business practices, it is essential that HR teams have appropriate policies, processes, and practices in place. Julie Dennis, ACAS, talks about how you can best handle harassment claims and the future of non-disclosure agreements.

Digital HR Leaders

Host: David Green

About: This podcast has an accompanying video series for those who prefer a visual component to their learning. Green speaks with senior HR leaders who are leading the charge toward a more data-driven and digital HR landscape.

Most episodes are around 45 minutes long, allowing Green and guests to delve into a fair amount of detail on the subject at hand. Past topics include collaboration on hybrid teams, employee experience during rapid growth, and strategic workplace planning-as well as case studies on employers like MetLife, H&R Block, Spotify, and more.

Favorite episode: Digital HR Leaders – The New CHRO-CEO Partnership: Leading With Insight and Humanity

In this episode of Digital HR Leaders host David Green sits down with Katarina Berg, the CHRO at On and former CHRO at Spotify, to talk about how HR leaders can step into more strategic partnership with their CEOs and shape business outcomes in today’s fast-moving world. You’ll hear real talk on topics like approaching your first 100 days in a new HR leadership role, why putting the human side back into HR matters especially in the age of technology and AI, and how people analytics can evolve from reporting numbers to influencing big decisions.

One major insight from the conversation is how Katarina frames the CHRO-CEO relationship not just as a reporting line but as a deliberate partnership that must be chosen and built with intention. She emphasizes that strategic HR isn’t about simply managing HR functions but about helping shape culture, drive performance, and support decision-making with data and human understanding — and that when HR shows up with both commercial insight and genuine humanity, it can elevate how organizations navigate transformation and growth.

Drive Thru HR

Host: Mike Van Dervort and Robin Schooling

About: ​Drive Thru HR is a long-standing podcast that’s been delivering quick and insightful conversations on the latest trends, challenges, and innovations in Human Resources since its inception on February 1, 2010. Hosted by Mike Van Dervort and Robin Schooling, the show focuses on real-world HR issues, providing practical advice and expert perspectives to help professionals navigate the evolving workplace landscape.

Over the years, Drive Thru HR features discussions on a wide array of topics from technology and recruiting to talent management, leadership, and organizational culture. The podcast celebrated its 25th anniversary last year (2025), and you can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the WRKdefined Podcast Network.

Favorite episode: Employee Relations in 2026: Risks, Reality, The Road Ahead
If you’re looking for a sharp perspective on where the workplace is headed, I highly recommend listening to this episode with Deb Muller. It’s a sophisticated look at the “Employee Relations 2026” landscape, and it moves well beyond the typical buzzwords.

What I found particularly insightful was her take on the integration of AI within HR. Rather than just focusing on efficiency, she emphasizes the critical need for governance and ethical oversight to ensure these tools don’t compromise organizational integrity.

A few other points that really resonated:

• Trust as a Risk Mitigator: She argues that building organizational trust isn’t just a “nice-to-have”—it’s a core strategic move to reduce corporate risk.
• HR Wellness: There’s a very necessary discussion on the mental health of HR professionals. We often talk about employee burnout, but she highlights how the people managing those relations need support systems of their own.
• Scalability for Small Business: She makes the case that even smaller firms can adopt these high-level strategies by focusing on data-driven feedback and transparent communication.

It’s a great listen if you want to understand the shifting dynamics of operational success over the next couple of years.

Getting Personal

Host: Lauren Schneider (yes, that’s me!)

About: Getting Personal with Compt is a show that features individuals dedicated to building a better human experience at work.

Most episodes are 40 minutes long. A wide range of workplace-related topics covered includes handling grief in the workplace, the impact of lifestyle benefits, and strategies for recruitment and hiring.

Favorite episode: In this episode, Patrick Riecke and I talk about how his fitness watch alerted him to an irregular heart rhythm (AFib), leading him to be shocked in his own ER (he works in healthcare) and to realize the dangers of burnout.

HR Break Room

Hosts: Caleb Masters and Chelsea Justice, Paycom

About: A podcast from your friends working in Human Resources, dedicated to bringing you interesting break room conversations with experts on the hot topics of HR and HR Technology industries, one cup of coffee at a time. This podcast is designed to inspire you to harness the power of HR technology to empower your people and organization.

Favorite episode: “Challenge the Status Quo: Empowering Women in the Workforce“: This episode explores how leadership development programs can create more diverse and inclusive workplace cultures, with a focus on supporting today’s female top performers.

Featuring Margaret Spence, global business strategist and founder of the Employee to CEO Project, the discussion highlights the benefits of having women in leadership and how HR can play a key role in fostering this change.

HR Confessions

Hosts: Rebecca Taylor and Kim Rohrer

About: ​HR Confessions takes a candid and humorous storytelling approach to exploring the dynamics of the modern workplace through the eyes of two seasoned HR founders. The podcast is hosted on Apple Podcasts and SkillCycle, a company which Taylor co-founded.

The podcast covers various topics, including the implications of artificial intelligence in HR, navigating workplace incidents in the age of social media, and transforming toxic work cultures.

Favorite episode: “From Perks to Purpose: How One HR Leader Tripled Employee Retention“: We love this episode because it’s aligned with everything we preach about offering perks at work. Here, Taylor and Rohrer discuss the concept of “HR debt” — the accumulation of redundant tools, unnecessary platforms, and superficial perks that don’t do anything for the employee experience. They share the story of Daniela, a VP of HR who turned around a toxic sales culture with high turnover and six-month tenures by ditching ineffective perks and focusing on career pathing and learning programs to drive meaningful growth.

HR unCONFIDENTIAL

Hosts: Turiya Gray & Gina Flaig

About: HR unConfidential is a candid, conversational podcast hosted by seasoned HR leaders who bring 40+ years of combined experience in HR and HR leadership to the conversation. In each episode, they pull back the curtain on what really happens inside organizations and share real stories, honest perspectives, and practical insights that matter to today’s people leaders.

This 20–30 minute podcast covers discussions across all areas of HR, including employee relations, talent and leadership development, HR technology, job search and career navigation, workplace culture, and the evolving role of HR in business strategy. Designed for HR professionals and anyone navigating the modern workplace, HR unConfidential delivers smart, unfiltered conversations grounded in deep experience and real-world context.

Favorite episode: “Befriending AI” Turiya and Gina bring on an expert guest Allyson Carter who is doing real work with AI in her organization and isn’t just talking theory. They talk about both the exciting parts of AI and the things that make people nervous like job impact, ethics, where HR fits, and how teams should even start getting ready for it. It changed how I think about AI not as something scary but as something you can actually get comfortable with if we lean into it thoughtfully.

Plus Carter shares practical resources you can actually use — like newsletters and courses — so it doesn’t feel like you’re just listening to a conversation you can’t apply. By the end you feel like you get AI a bit more and understand how it connects to the future of work, culture, and how HR can lead this shift instead of reacting to it. And you might be inspired too, with Carter saying, “With change comes opportunity to grow.”

HRchat Podcast

Host: Bill Banham, HR Gazette

About: A series of interviews with high-profile HR pros and business leaders who help make a difference to the day-to-day lives of Human Resource executives. This 15-25 minute podcast will open your eyes on discussions related to all areas of HR, including Talent Management, HR Tech, Learning and Development, Company Culture, Employment Law, and Business Strategy.

Favorite episode: “Mental Health, Women in Leadership, and Global HR Collective with Matt Burns“:  This episode emphasizes the importance of prioritizing mental health in the workplace, along with advancing women’s roles in leadership positions. Matt Burns, founder of Global HR Collective and member of the Forbes Human Resources Council, advocates for HR professionals to develop advocacy programs, support mental health initiatives, and create opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

HR Happy Hour

Recommended by Stacey Jaffe Wachtfogel, Head of People at Gotham Greens

Hosts: Steve Boese and Trish Steed 

About: HR Happy Hour is the longest running and top downloaded HR podcast. It focuses in teaching HR professionals about the most important news and trends on human resources, management, leadership, and workforce technology.

Favorite episode: “Harnessing AI for Enhanced Productivity”
You should really listen to this one if you’ve been wondering whether AI is actually helpful at work or just another thing people are overhyping. The episode gets super practical and talks about how teams are actually using AI to save time: like drafting job descriptions, summarizing meetings, and spotting trends in employee feedback without spreadsheet-overwhelm.

What I liked most is that it doesn’t pretend AI is magic. They talk honestly about where it works well, where you need guardrails, and why it’s best used to take busywork off your plate so you can focus on the stuff that really matters. If you’re even a little curious about using AI to work smarter (especially in HR), this one’s worth a listen.

HR Leaders Podcast

Recommended by Neil Williams, Vice President, People & Culture at HealthAxis Group

Host: Christopher Rainey 

About: This podcast shows in-depth discussions with senior HR executives and thought leaders who share their journey, experience, insights and lessons learned. Each episode of the podcast explores a new topic and features successful HR leaders from the world’s leading brands. What does the future of work look like? Why is it changing? What are leading organizations doing about it?

Favorite episode: “The Evolution of Leadership Development and Learning“: Join Susie McNamara, VP Global Leadership Development and Learning at Fortive, to discuss the evolution of leadership and development and learning. Listen to learn about the “Employee Happiness Index” and a way to get benchmark insights from the world’s most engaged workplaces.

HR Party of One

Host: BerniePortal 

About: HR Party of One is a weekly YouTube series as well as an HR podcast. Each episode is under 15 minutes long, delivering the perfect snack-sized HR content. With topics ranging from emerging trends to evergreen HR FAQs, HR Party of One is a great go-to for early and mid-career HR professionals who only have a few minutes to spare. Loaded with practical advice for tackling HR initiatives like succession planning, payroll audits, and skills-based hiring, HR Party of One is a valuable resource for HR practitioners who have their sights set on leadership positions. 

Favorite episode: “Each Generation is Unique. Distinguish Instead of Divide“

This episode of HR Party of One offers a sophisticated framework for leading a historic workforce comprised of four distinct generations. It moves beyond tired stereotypes by advocating for “actionable empathy” to address the specific anxieties unique to each age group.

You’ll learn how to bridge the entry-level experience gap for Gen Z and provide the purpose-driven cohesion that Millennials prioritize to avoid burnout. The discussion also provides strategic solutions for Gen X’s career stagnation and offers ways to combat “digital ageism” facing Baby Boomers. Rather than dismissing these tensions, the guide encourages leaders to implement structured mentorship and specialized training to bridge cultural divides. Ultimately, the goal is to “distinguish instead of divide,” ensuring every employee feels empowered to contribute their specific expertise. It is an essential listen for any manager looking to foster a truly collaborative and high-performing professional environment.

The HR Social Hour Half Hour Podcast

*Concluded, wrapping after 316 shows!

Recommended by Amanda Brunson, Global HR Business Partner at Sabre Corporation.

Host: Jon Thurmond and Wendy Dailey 

About: Interviews with fellow HR practitioners about connecting, giving back, and building your network. This podcast also has an active chat on Twitter to engage with their listeners on a daily basis, Join them each week for the podcast and the fourth Sunday of each month.

Favorite episode: “Special Episode- Jon & Wendy talk to Amy Spurling of Compt“: Shameless plug for a podcast our CEO was featured on. Here’s their review of the episode: “We talk about why Amy started Compt to help HR professionals manage perks for remote employees, why personalizing perks is beneficial, and how COVID-19 has changed many employers’ perception of remote work. We also discuss Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and starting your day with chocolate cake!”

HR Works

Recommended by Danny Rose, Head of U.S. HR Strategy & Talent Management at BioNTech SE..

Host: James Davis 

About: HR WOrks is a podcast focused on providing clear, relevant, actionable information on topics that matter to HR professionals through engaging and insightful interviews with experts and thought leaders.

Favorite episode: “10 Minutes of Recognition Makes All the Difference“: The term “recognition” gets used a lot, and for good reason. Organizations spend so much money, time, and training getting the right people on board. All of that vanishes when that employee walks out the door.

In many cases, retaining employees is achievable with the right set of tools aimed at employee engagement, all under 10 minutes. Join Gregg Lederman, keynote speaker and bestselling author, to learn more.

IdeaCast by HBR

Hosts: Porter Braswell, Harvard Business Review

About: A weekly podcast featuring the leading thinkers in business and management. This podcast features lively interviews with industry professionals, scientists, and journalists, covering one general topic or issue per episode. It’s categorized as a People Management and Marketing podcast, but it allows HR professionals to uncover so much more.

Favorite episode: “Race at Work: Lessons in Diversity and Culture from Mastercard“: This episode is about the role race plays in our careers and lives. In this episode, Porter Braswell, the host, speaks with Donna Johnson, former chief diversity officer at Mastercard, about leading the charge on changing company culture and how diversity can drive real business results.  

I Hate It Here

Host: Hebba Youssef

About: ​”I Hate It Here” is a candid podcast hosted by Hebba Youssef, Chief People Officer at Workweek. What sets Youssef apart is how genuine, charismatic, and funny she is. She’s one of the top HR thought leaders to follow in 2025, and her show provides a platform for HR professionals to discuss the challenges and intricacies of the human resources field, and how they deal with them firsthand.

Most episodes are just under an hour long, and they cover topics like the impact of remote work on professional relationships and the evolving dynamics of office interactions. She and her guests offer practical advice, personal anecdotes, and plenty of laughs to keep the conversation light.

Favorite episode: S7 E4: “Unwrapping the Secrets to Better Workplace Connections” with Ross Langley: Youssef and guest Ross Langley from Snappy delve into the importance of connection, gifting, recognition, and appreciation in fostering successful organizations. They address the growing issue of workplace loneliness and discuss innovative, personalized strategies to enhance employee connections.

Nine-to-Thrive HR

Host: Human Capital Institute

About: Looking for fresh content to solve your human capital issues but don’t have a full hour? Listen to this podcast to gain access to leading HR professionals from Fortune 1000 companies, as well thought-leaders, authors, and academics to cover everything from talent acquisition and analytics to engagement, retention, and development.

Favorite episode: “Engaging the Millennial Sales Force at a Distance“: the challenge of engaging Millennial employees gets even harder when they’re salespeople living and working in the field. This podcast explores ways to use technology to build culture and connect remote Millennial sellers to the organization.

People Managing People Podcast

Host: David Rice

About: People Managing People is tailored for people managers and culture creators who want to build workforces that stand the test of time. Each episode features conversations with innovators and thought leaders, exploring topics like technology integration, performance management, workplace culture, and employee experience.

This podcast is particularly valuable for people leaders, managers, and HR professionals committed to building the workplace of the future and developing the talent necessary for organizational success.

Favorite episode: “Why Good Leaders Matter More Than Ever: The Real Cost of ‘Unbossing’“: In this episode, Rice connects with Jordana Cole, founder and principal consultant at Ignited, to discuss the evolving roles of leaders and the potential pitfalls of gutting middle management. She points out that middle managers, especially those at upper-middle levels like directors and senior managers, are critical for bridging strategy and execution, and offers high-level strategies for how to support, develop, and utilize these often-maligned and overlooked roles.

Punk Rock HR

Host: Laurie Ruettimann

About: On this weekly podcast, Ruettimann tells stories that help leaders transform the workplace. Through interviews with HR leaders, Ruettimann reveals the mindsets and best practices that illustrate “how to create workplace cultures that support, empower, and engage workers in a meaningful way.” With a long history of telling stories about work, Ruettiman uncovers the strategies, trends, and practices that are transforming work culture.

Most episodes are under 30 minutes and feature an interview with one HR leader around a specific theme. More inspirational than tactical, Punk Rock HR offers a look inside the world of HR at organizations across industries.

Favorite episode: “The Reality of Work Tech in 2026 with Mary Ellen Slayter and Steve Smith”

This episode is a favorite listen because it bridges the gap between high-level macroeconomics and the daily realities of HR operations, moving beyond “people problems” to discuss “business problems.”

As the guests explain, we are currently moving out of an era of “cheap capital” and into a phase where organizations are under immense pressure to prove capital efficiency and long-term sustainability. For an HR professional, understanding this shift is crucial because it explains why the job market feels “unforgiving” and why many organizations are pivoting from rapid growth to consolidation and operational discipline.

Recruiting Future

Host: Matt Alder

About: Geared toward talent acquisition leaders, the Recruiting Future podcast shines a spotlight on practitioners who are effectively combating the challenges of the fast-changing world of talent acquisition. With insights from thought leaders on trending topics and case studies on employers of choice, this podcast offers a range of ideas and inspiration for leaders in all industries.

Recruiting Future publishes new episodes twice per week and most episodes are less than 30 minutes, so this show is an easy way to stop on top of HR’s biggest trends. The podcast also offers a monthly round-up episode, which summarizes the key takeaways from that month’s episodes in just 10 minutes.

Favorite episode: “The Power of Difference”: Named after the book by writer, broadcaster, and consultant Simon Fanshawe, this episode explores the root of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives and urges leaders to rethink their approach to DE&I in the workplace. Moving away from mere representation and into a place of celebrating (and reaping the benefits of) our differences benefits employees, work culture, and the bottom line.  

TalentCulture #WorkTrends

Host: Meghan M. Biro and Kevin Grossman

About: #WorkTrends is an HR podcast and Twitter chat sponsored by talentculture. On the show, Biro tackles trending HR topics, such as employee engagement, the role of AI, and managing organizational culture. Many episodes feature conversations with leading experts, tech vendors and HR practitioners.

While each episode is a digestible 20 minutes or fewer, the podcast’s website offers an added bonus: an accompanying blog post for each episode with a high-level outline and pull quotes. The companion Twitter chat takes place from 1:30-2:00 pm Eastern and revolves around a monthly theme, which is listed on the podcast’s website.

Favorite episode: How to Avoid Compliance Mistakes in Our Remote World
In this episode of the #WorkTrends podcast, host Meghan M. Biro and guest Jaime Lizotte address the growing complexity of maintaining legal compliance within a distributed workforce. Jaime emphasizes that shifting to remote work does not exempt an employer from strict labor laws, particularly regarding wage and hour regulations. A major focus of the discussion is the risk of misclassifying employees as exempt simply because they work autonomously from home. The experts warn that “off-the-clock” work, such as answering late-night emails, can lead to significant legal liabilities if not properly tracked and compensated. Furthermore, they highlight the “multi-state trap,” where companies inadvertently violate local labor laws when employees move to new jurisdictions.

To mitigate these risks, the episode advocates for implementing transparent digital timekeeping systems and clear communication regarding working hours. Ultimately, the conversation emphasizes that proactive documentation, and regular audits are essential for protecting both the company and the remote employee.

The Hennessey Report

Recommended by Emma Plouffe, VP of People & Culture at Vicarious Surgical

Host: Dave Hennessey of Keystone Partners

About: The Hennessy Report discusses critical issues impacting business success and emerging trends impacting HR and the overall business. Key topics addressed during the series so far include leadership transparency, DEI, and talent acquisition. Interviews include Lisa Kelly-Croswell, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Boston Medical Center, Paul Davies, Head of People Operations at GE, Katie Burke, Chief People Officer at HubSpot, Dave Almeda, Chief People Officer at Kronos, Inc. and many more.

Favorite episode: The HR leader who recommended this podcast to us, Emma Plouffe, said her favorite episode was episode 44 with Emma Woodthorpe, CHRO of Mercury Systems. She continued, “I love this podcast because the CPO’s & CHRO’s are authentic and share actionable tips for current and aspiring People Leaders. Emma’s episode is one that resonated with me above all the rest. I love the quote she shared “You can please all the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, you will never please all of the people all of the time.”

Transform Your Workplace

Host: Brandon Laws

About: The Transform Your Workplace podcast features interviews with HR experts and entrepreneurs on the big ideas that can transform an organization, from culture and technology to social purpose and career development. While this podcast is geared toward HR leaders, everyone on the HR team can learn a lot from every episode.

Most episodes are under 40 minutes and occasional bonus episodes are under 15 minutes. Past topics include managing burnout, quiet quitting, social purpose, and many more of today’s most pressing HR trends.

Favorite episode: “Employee Engagement: Eliminating Quiet Quitting”: In this episode, Laws talks with Joe Galvin, Chief Research Officer of Vistage about the epidemic of low employee engagement, the rise of ‘quiet quitting’ and what leaders can do to address the challenges of the hybrid/remote workplace without sacrificing their expectations or productivity.

Vantage Circle HR Influencers

Host: Vantage Circle

About: The Vantage Circle HR Podcast interviews HR thought leaders who discuss engagement, compensation, benefits, and everything related to HR. They also cover best practices and trends in HR innovation.

Favorite Episode: “Focusing on Moments That Matter to Your Employees.” Episode guest Tim Ringo, an award-winning author and keynote speaker, talks about the moments that matter in HR. Especially when it comes to the employee experience, moments that matter is often regarded throughout the employee lifecycle.

From onboarding surveys and performance reviews to exit interviews, nowadays, many HR leaders are looking at these significant moments as a tool to help them better understand employees.

Workology

Host: Jessica Miller-Merrel

About: Workology is a podcast for the disruptive workplace and HR leader who’s tired of the status quo. The host, Jessica, sits down with guests weekly to discuss trends, tools and case studies for the workplace business leader in 25-minute, bite-sized episodes.

Favorite episode: “How to Use LinkedIn to Build a Personal Brand”: In this episode, guest Sandra Long shares an interesting point: most people spend more time planning vacations than working on their personal brand (largely because so few people take their personal brand seriously). She discusses how LinkedIn users should make their online presence reflect who they are in real life. And she gives actionable tips for figuring out what makes you unique and what you want to express to others.

More HR resources to bookmark

Here are a few more comprehensive resources that can help expand your learnings:

• Top HR Influencers
• Top HR Conferences
• Top HR Books

Sign up for the Getting Personal newsletter and join hundreds of other HR professionals in staying up-to-date on the recent HR data, tools, trends, people to follow, must-read articles, and conferences.

New here? We’re Compt: A global lifestyle benefits platform where companies empower employees with benefits and rewards they’ll use and appreciate – whoever and wherever they are in life.

Interested to see how an employee stipend and benefit platform like Compt can maximize the ROI of your employee benefits program? Request a demo today.

Editor’s Note: Originally published in 2019, this post has been recently updated for clarity and relevance for our readers. As of 2026, all links and content are up to date.

The post The Best HR Podcasts [2026 Update] appeared first on COMPT.

Not all of us work in construction. (And it’s a good thing — you don’t want me to build you a house.) But all of us can relate to a simple concept: You need a sharp saw to cut down a tree. And when it comes to employees working to achieve business goals, the same principle applies. So how can you create a blueprint for talent development?

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Matthew Thomas, VP of People and Organizational Development at Conger Construction, for an episode of our Compt podcast ‘Getting Personal.’ Thomas shared with me about his approach to talent development and how to get organizations to make a concrete commitment to developing their people (too heavy on the construction metaphors? I’ll stop).

Here, Thomas breaks down his journey from mentee to mentor and shares the blueprint he uses to convince companies that professional development is worth it.

Getting to know people 

Initially, Matthew Thomas didn’t plan to go into HR. “When I was going through college, I took like one HR class. They talked about policy and procedure. HR didn’t necessarily move me.”

But at his first full-time job, Thomas had a mentor who was strategically setting him up for success — helping develop his talent before Thomas knew what talent development even was. And slowly, Thomas began to feel out his strengths: building trust, building relationships, and partnering with organizations or departments to achieve culture change to improve employee retention.

“Our safety record wasn’t really where we wanted it to be. I didn’t know anything about safety. [My mentor] entrusted me to take over the whole safety program.”

Thomas was responsible for learning complex rules and regulations and communicating them to the 150 employees involved in the manufacturing sales and services company.

In the first year, the company improved their OSHA recordables by 66%.

“And at the end of the day,” he adds, “we went almost 1,300 days without an OSHA recordable.” All thanks to Thomas’s mentor believing in him and putting him in a position to make the change.

Along the way, Thomas learned lessons that he would take with him for the rest of his career to help him create a blueprint for talent development. One Friday afternoon, his mentor was walking around the floor of a manufacturing facility making small talk, asking about each person’s children by name. To Thomas, this was an obvious waste of time. There was work to be done!

“This was a total trap for me. I go up there, this young punk… I’m like, these people are trying to work, let them go work.”

Thomas’s mentor put his arm around him and said:

Thomas’s mentor was a high-level leader in the organization. He undoubtedly had a million things going on at any given moment. But he still took the time to invest into Thomas early in his career.

And now Thomas is investing in others as he continues his own talent development work — Friday afternoon small talk required. 

(Pro tip: If you’re struggling to squeeze in professional development among your other on-the-job tasks, Compt saves you time by providing a single centralized system that automates workflows and budget tracking while giving employees self-service access.)

Building a leadership blueprint alongside a talent development framework

Many years down the road from that first full-time job, Thomas’s career has now spanned several industries, from manufacturing to healthcare to construction. Has his approach to professional development changed for each one, even as professional development trends shift? Essentially, no. He’s taken his lessons to heart in how to create a blueprint for talent development (and for leadership).

“You have to establish a clear strategic foundation first. That hasn’t changed. But the means and the ways of executing on your strategy have definitely changed. Online learning, automation, podcasts… all of those things are truly great and vehicles to the end goal. But the bottom line is the foundation. [It] doesn’t really change.”

Thomas puts it this way. When he walks into an organization, they first need to define their why — what leadership means to that organization. Once they figure out that foundational definition, they can build on it to create a blueprint. After everyone is on the same page, he moves forward finding facilitators or in-house experts to execute on the training. 

And one other non-negotiable? Everyone needs to participate. 

If you have high-level leaders in an organization who aren’t interested in going through something they’re sending their own employees through, that sends a clear signal about their attitude, their character, and their own leadership skills. 

Personal development isn’t something you graduate from. There isn’t a point where you can sit back and relax. This is a journey that should continue throughout the rest of your career, no matter what level of your career you might reach. 

Sharpening the saw (of talent development)

Whether people are trying to get out of professional development or they’re simply busy with their to-do list (raising my hand on that one), I figured Thomas might hear a common protest: “This is going to take me away from my work!”

He does — and for those people, he has a response prepared. Their job is to grow and develop their full-time job. That’s part of their job. That’s part of the responsibility. 

“One of the leaders of the organization I worked for once said, ‘Promotion is optional. Growth is mandatory.’ Put it on your calendar just like a meeting. There’s a saying:

But practically, how do you deliver training when people have jobs to do? Thomas thinks this is largely situational depending on what the training is. Maybe you have a leadership training course focusing on relationship building. In that case, you may just need to plan ahead to get coverage, knowing that the value of you being off the job learning for those few days is greater than the value of you being there.

In other cases, professional development training could be done asynchronously. Thomas shares an example from a decade ago that worked well for his organization: “Depending on what the training is, sometimes you have to go to your customer. We created this gamification training program that was online where people, no matter where they were, could just log onto the computer and accomplish a challenge that was sent to them.” 

By completing challenges, employees earned points that showed up on a public leaderboard. A winner was declared at the end of the 13-week challenge. (You can use Compt for a skill development program like this one.) But the important part was that Thomas helped his company achieve its goals of knowledge transfer.

“We got feedback, ‘While I was killing time with this concrete pour, I was able to jump on, do the challenges, learn what I needed to learn, and then move on to the pour.’ So it all depends on what you’re trying to accomplish and aligning the vehicle to the end goal.”

Break new ground with Compt’s professional development platform

These days, Thomas himself is working on his mental toughness, aiming to be someone who is a calm, strategic leader for others in chaotic circumstances. And for Conger Construction, he’s excited to build relationships and help people make an impact — in their community and beyond.

“And what that looks like is building a blueprint. That’s why I wake up in the morning, right? If we can put together that solid foundation for people to build their lives around, and knowing that I was part of creating that blueprint… that’s a purpose I can feel really, really good about.”

Create your own professional development blueprint with Compt. Professional Development Pro by Compt streamlines requests, approvals, and budget tracking, creating simple workflows in a single location where employees can grow and develop.

Schedule a demo to see how Compt can help you manage professional development requests. 

The post How to Create a Blueprint for Talent Development: Sharpening the Saw with Matthew Thomas appeared first on COMPT.

“I’ve been in HR my entire career,” Corey says, summarizing her past 20+ years.

“I was an HR leader in lots of different organizations. And then I moved into my rebellious phase, where I started really trying to challenge and do things differently. And that moved me into my pay-it-forward phase where I’m still doing that. I’m still shaking things up, but I’m doing it in a more intentional and proactive way.”

For Corey, HR is second nature. She provides consulting services, is a frequent keynote speaker, and has published six books on industry topics. And on the latest episode of our monthly podcast ‘Getting Personal,’ she gave me an inside look at how HR teams can stay flexible to take care of their people in the best way possible. 

Walk through Corey’s career milestones where she’s taken risks to provide her people with better benefits — and learn how you can, too. 

Making an impact with flexible benefits

We all have our own story of our ‘rebellious’ moment (think: sneaking out of the house in high school). I wanted to hear from Corey an experiment she risked because she thought it could positively change company culture. 

“I was doing a review of our global benefit programs at a company [via] focus groups. Every single focus group talked about wellbeing — but everybody had a different thing written on their card. That’s where we came up with the idea of a wellbeing allowance.” 

The wellbeing allowance was a specific sum of money (around $500 annually) based on employees’ locations that could be used on ‘anything’ that could improve overall wellbeing. Employees simply had to provide their goal, how they would reach it, and the cost of the chosen activity or equipment.

Corey was nervous to let employees use their allowance on whatever they wanted. But after all, she had just co-written a book called ‘The Rebel Playbook.’ So, she decided: “I’m going to be a real rebel. I’m going to say, you know what, you can do whatever you want to do.”

Corey did put up some guardrails by having all employee requests come through her for approval. And in the end, her gamble panned out. In fact, the impact lasted well after she was gone. 

By listening to people and implementing a scalable, supportive program, Corey is still making a major impact in this company, even long after she’s left. The wellbeing allowance supports employees on whatever unique journey they’re on. And we’re not surprised: Health and wellness stipends continue to be one of our most popular employee stipend categories among our Compt customers, offering employees ultimate flexibility in how they live their best lives.

A small ‘rebellious’ choice for a major positive impact.

Flipping the script on employee recognition 

Is recognition a form of rebellion? At first glance, you might not think so. But so many companies are slacking with employee recognition — often without even realizing it — that it could take a little rebellion to get there.

Many times, recognition in the workplace takes a top-down approach. 

“Why are we spending all of our recognition money on the top 3-5% of our people?” asks Corey, who has written two books on employee recognition. “Why can’t I spread it like peanut butter across all the other people who are doing great things?”

Debra’s recognition pyramid does exactly this, with four levels to show the different types of employee recognition employers can offer at their organization.

Psst: We have more employee recognition ideas in our blog post with 9+ examples to create a culture of appreciation. 

65% of employees say they haven’t received any form of recognition from their employer within the past year. And it’s just common sense that if people don’t feel appreciated, they aren’t going to stick around. I clearly remember my college job at a shoe store, where my manager saddled me with the type of responsibilities that would be handled by an assistant manager — but when someone new started, she gave them the assistant manager position instead. I quit a couple of days later. 

Corey believes the informal side of recognition (what is often called peer-to-peer recognition) is more important than we know. Formal recognition programs created by HR are great. But often, the informal things — “how you develop your people, how you promote your people” — are what stick with us long into the future (for better or for worse, like my shoe-shelving fail).

Start with these simple free or low-cost ideas for recognition:

• Create a dedicated Slack channel for shout-outs 
• Highlight employees on social media
• Allow employees to give each other a small monetary peer bonus 

(Even better: Let us work with you to create a turnkey, tax-compliant rewards and recognition program for your people!)

Providing personalized flexibility 

As Corey and I wrapped up our conversation, I asked her about what she’d learned about trust and flexibility in the workplace and how she’d seen these ideals evolve over time.

“How critical they are,” was her immediate answer. Years ago, Corey found herself stuck in a situation where she wanted to run focus groups about benefit programs. 

“That’s what I pay you to do,” her boss said to her. Corey’s leadership team didn’t think that employees ever needed to be involved in benefit planning.

That voice stuck in Corey’s head for a long time. But now she counters: Why wouldn’t you do this? We need to leverage employees’ fresh ideas and thoughts. As HR, our employees are our ‘customers,’ and they’re going to help make our ‘product’ better.

This is especially true, Corey says, when it comes to flexibility. For employees, flexibility drives engagement. But flexibility also means something different for everyone — the ability to work from home because of chronic illness for one person, the ability to come into the office to escape a challenging home situation for someone else. The solution? Once again, listening to your employees. 

Throughout her career, Corey has been a rebel for a cause: making a difference in people’s lives. And she’s succeeded. A few months ago, someone commented on her social media, saying they remembered Corey — that she’d encouraged them to join the company’s 401K back when they were 21 years old. And they were so thankful she had done that.

“We have ripple effects that we don’t even know we’re causing in HR. And that’s what makes it such a gratifying field to be in,” Corey says. And since I’ve started speaking with HR leaders all over the world, I just have to say: We see you, and we truly appreciate you.  

Take care of your people with Compt

Data from our 2025 Annual Benchmark Report backs up Corey’s emphasis on flexibility. For example, employees love the broad choices they get from Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs): All-inclusive LSAs have the highest utilization rate among stipend programs at 85%. That’s almost 15% higher than programs that don’t include an LSA.

At Compt, we’re here to help you design programs that make your people feel recognized, valued, and supported, both at work and in their personal lives. And if that takes a little rebellion, well… so be it. 

Compt’s employee stipend software equips your HR team with everything you need to support your employees. Enjoy a flexible reimbursement system, low-effort employee recognition features, streamlined expenses management, and other valuable features. Learn more by scheduling a demo today. 

The post Rebel for a Cause: Debra Corey on Recognition, Flexibility, and Ripple Effects appeared first on COMPT.

While there are many efforts towards disability-inclusive workplaces, there are still gaps. In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate for people with disabilities at 7.2% in 2023, approximately double the rate for those without disabilities (3.5%). The employment-population ratio for people with a disability is currently 22.5%, meaning 22.5% of the working-age population with disabilities are employed.

Among those who are employed (or who are actively seeking employment), there are other challenges. Discrimination, both conscious and unconscious, is a significant barrier to employment for people with disabilities. In a recent survey, 1 in 4 respondents told Indeed they faced discrimination in the job interview process. And one-third said they “do not feel comfortable disclosing their disability.”

Building an inclusive workplace for those with disabilities requires a cultural shift toward understanding and acceptance. It’s something that will pay off in the long run, not only for the individual employee, but for the organization as a whole. 

Why Is It Important to Build a Disability-Inclusive Workplace

According to the CDC’s most recent data, 70 million American adults report having a disability. That’s 1 in every 4.

Disability inclusion ensures nobody with a disability is discriminated against. Instead, they’re celebrated for who they are and what they achieve. In the workplace, disability inclusion means being careful not to set those with disabilities at a disadvantage.

The reason this matters: “disability” ≠ “inability.” While the number of people with disabilities is quite high, only 7.24 million disabled workers received SSDI benefits in November 2024, the most recent reported data. These are the individuals who have been assessed as having disabilities severe enough to prevent substantial gainful activity.

For the other 60 or so million, having a disability doesn’t mean they can’t work. It just means they may need certain accommodations or adjustments to be able to perform their job duties effectively. In a survey run by the American College of Healthcare Executives, nearly all managers (92%) who are aware that one or more of their employees have a disability reported that these individuals perform the same as or better than their peers without disabilities.

And by creating a workplace that’s inclusive, you can tap into the skills of this often-overlooked segment of the talent market, create a more diverse and dynamic workforce, and improve overall productivity.

From a legal standpoint, it’s also a must-have. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other related laws explicitly prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in all employment practices. And they require companies with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities.on. You’ll also comply with the discrimination laws against disabled persons, saving you expensive lawsuits.

Steps Towards Providing Disability Inclusion in the Workplace

Disability-focused strategies continue to come into focus as more employers commit to disability-inclusive hiring. Here are steps to take to promote disability inclusion in your workplace.

1. Make it Easy for Disabled Applicants to Apply for Your Jobs

UN statistics reveal a higher unemployment rate for persons living with disabilities in developed nations than those without. Beyond discrimination in their sexual orientation, race, and status, disabled persons face more barriers, hence the need to create a level field for job application processes.

The first step to disability inclusion at the workplace is identifying the barriers that may block disabled applicants from applying for jobs at your company. These barriers include

• Advertisements: Do you have inclusive job postings? Do they portray that you support people with disabilities?
• Applications: Is the application format accessible to people with disabilities who have unique requirements?
• Interviews and assessments: Do you find out if the candidates have accessibility requirements, and are your activities suitable for all groups of people?
• Onboarding process: Do you have a process implementing the adjustments required to hire disabled people?

Upon evaluating the above, look at each through an inclusivity lens and make necessary adjustments to ensure disability inclusion. These include writing the job descriptions in plain language, using application formats like videos, removing aptitude tests, and providing access to the interview questions in advance.

2. Have a Comprehensive Understanding of Disabilities and Disability Etiquette

Understanding disability etiquette means learning about the lived experiences of people with disabilities and finding out about the other organizations that are within the disabled people community. By supporting these organizations, employers will spread awareness to others and act as a resource for educating themselves and colleagues.

3. Promote Company-Wide Education

Company-wide training and education for managers, leaders, and employees on disability awareness and workplace accommodations is critical to creating a more inclusive environment. The training should be in-depth and extensive, including handling requested accommodations and addressing the stigma around employees with disabilities. This way, it will be easier to create a comfortable environment where people with disabilities within the organization can voice their needs and concerns.

4. Create Safe Spaces and Provide Physical Accessibility

Most disabled workers have hidden or visible intellectual or physical disabilities but never feel safe to disclose them, hence the need to pay close attention to how you discuss disability as a company. By normalizing and openly discussing disabilities, avoiding specific phrases, and aligning your messages to the social rather than medical model of disability, your employees may find a safe space to talk about it, enabling you to know what to adjust to make their stay comfortable.

Providing physical access to your workplace is another critical way to support employees living with disabilities.

For instance, consider voice-to-text software or a bigger monitor for a partially-sighted employee, wheelchair-accessible restrooms, and ramps for persons on wheelchairs in your plans for developing an inclusive team and culture.

To sustain the above commitment, have a straightforward accommodation process and statement for candidates with disabilities to request the accommodations they need. You can also share this internally with your employees in case they need it for their current disability or one that occurs in their future course of work.  

For maximum effectiveness, your accommodation statement should feature two contact methods, phone and email, for accessibility purposes, and the response on the next steps should be at least within 24 hours.

5. Leverage Technology for Inclusive Workplaces

Diversity and inclusion at the workplace mean that all people, regardless of who they are and what they do, feel supported, represented, valued, and equally empowered in all areas at work. Through workplace learning in an increasingly remote and hybrid setting, it is worth accommodating all people in technology use, regardless of their limitations.

When developing new websites and services, build accessibility into the design process, and involve employees with disabilities in the testing and design phases, it is much easier to design an accessible website than to fix the gaps later. Undergoing an accessibility audit is also helpful filling all the gaps around web information used by people with disabilities.

6. Offer Remote Work and Flexible Hours

Post-COVID, most employers are transitioning back to the office, and 7 in 10 said they’d be doubling down on their RTO policies in 2025. However, to accommodate people with disabilities at your workplace, consider flexible hours such as start and finish times, the option to work from home, and taking more breaks. Here are some benefits of offering the option to work remotely and flexible hours.

• It allows employees time to care for their health limitations through weekly appointments or to manage chronic pain.
• It increases employee productivity.
• It reduces stress by providing a better work-life balance.
• It makes it easier to attract, hire, and retain employees.

It’s important to discuss flexible employee time requests to address their concerns better. Afterward, decide whether to grant the request without discriminating against them.

7. Develop Supportive Policies

Developing supportive policies to protect disabled persons in your organization is critical. Start by incorporating disability-inclusive language in your policy statements. This means including the words “people with disabilities” and “disability” in your policies and affirming them in your commitment to equal opportunities for these groups of people. Also, list your company’s accommodation with the equal employment opportunity statement and put it at the bottom of your job descriptions so everyone can see it.

Offering benefits for disabled employees is also crucial. Your policies should address leave policies, healthcare benefits, and fringe benefits.

8. Provide Career Development Opportunities

Providing inclusive career development opportunities starts by hiring people with disabilities. You can accomplish this through the blind hiring program, eliminating biases around disability recruitment. If a person with a disability makes it to the shortlist, they will be there on merit, and depending on the disability, the recruiter does not necessarily have to reveal that the candidate is disabled to the hiring team until when making the hiring decision, during which they can discuss the disability in question and provide necessary accommodations.

Often, employees with disabilities get stuck at entry-level or learner positions because employers provide them with little to no opportunity to climb their career ladders.

You can build a disability-inclusive workplace by assigning mentors to assist in career or professional development, identifying skills gaps, and encouraging persons living with disabilities to apply for promotions.

9. Establish Open Communication

After moving through the above steps to build a disability-inclusive workplace, you must provide a space for your employees to give feedback and connect with others with disabilities.

The employees should be able to identify the barriers and concerns to inclusion and, without fear, communicate to employers, confidentially or anonymously.

Another alternative to getting feedback from your disabled employees is through the disability-focused Employee Resource Group (ERG). Through ERGs, these employees can network, address common concerns and issues, and get support from others sharing similar experiences and backgrounds.

Finally, disability inclusion is a continuous process, requiring you to make changes over time to accommodate employee needs as they come. Through employee feedback, monitoring, and evaluation, you will be at par with the trends to improve your strategies.

It’s time to make disability inclusion a priority

Employers can do a lot to ensure an inclusive workplace, from training their current workforce to accommodating their disabled employees. These steps require additional work and a willingness to implement specific policies and practices that impact the organization and community members. If the company follows through, it will result in a happy and loyal team, improved productivity, and a better brand image.

About the Author

David Gevorkian started Be Accessible because of his passion for website accessibility and ADA compliance. He spent much of his career working for financial institutions creating websites and mobile applications. He earned his Master’s in Business Administration from Salve Regina University in Rhode Island. David is an advocate for creating web interfaces usable by all people. He enjoys recording music and playing soccer with friends.

 Originally published in 2023, this post has been recently updated for clarity and relevance for our readers.

The post 9 Steps for Employers to Build a Disability-Inclusive Workplace appeared first on COMPT.

If you’re interested in fostering your team’s professional development, a professional development stipend can help you do just that.

Professional development stipends are a fantastic way to give employees the freedom to choose what they need to evolve in their careers. Since every job and every department is different, the flexibility of a stipend helps HR teams accommodate their organization’s diverse needs. 

Yet, despite the advantages of this popular employee benefit, many employees struggle with concrete ways to use it. In this article, we’ll go over eight ways our very own team here at Compt uses their professional development stipend, which is exactly what has happened with the recent launch of Professional Development Pro™ by Compt.

One of my favorite things about working for a fast-paced HR tech organization like Compt is that we get a firsthand look at new stipends being rolled out, to give our product team real-time feedback from the employee perspective.

Those who use Professional Development Pro by Compt also get a look at what others are using their stipends for in our community feed, which has real-time reviews from users on their professional development uses. The coolest thing about this (in my opinion) is that you can look at users outside of your own company, so if you’re the only Head of Brand and Comms (ahem) on a small team (definitely not me), then you can see what others in a similar field or position to you are doing, too.

Here’s a look at what Compters are spending their professional stipend dollars on this year:

1. Attend conferences, seminars, or webinars

Joining a conference, seminar, or a webinar allows you to fully immerse yourself in your chosen community, whether you want to be surrounded by engineering wizards, HR visionaries, accounting pros, or marketing gurus. These settings present so many opportunities for networking and can be especially beneficial for smaller teams, which are more likely to have ‘departments of one.’ 

Depending on the flexibility of the professional development program you create, a stipend can help employees choose the right support, such as: 

• professional membership fees
• travel expenses associated with attending a conference
• conference registration fees
• supplies needed to participate in a workshop

Compt’s Founder and CEO, Amy Spurling, talks about how she uses her stipend: 

“I used our stipend to attend a professional meetup for HR professionals. It’s always great to talk shop with fellow HR leaders and form valuable connections within the industry. Some of the people I’ve met have contributed their unique insights to our content and a few have even referred customers!”

Our Vice President of Finance, Megan Dunn, used her stipend to attend a virtual webinar hosted by the CFO Leadership Council.

“I used my professional development stipend to attend a fascinating webinar led by Andy Fastow, whose tenure at Enron is a cautionary tale in business ethics. Ethical excellence is a central priority for out organization and this benefit helps reinforce that by providing an opportunity to draw on wisdom from others in the field.”

2. Hire a career coach

Career coaches can help employees develop managerial skills, minimize burnout, and address many other common challenges that professionals deal with today.  

A coach provides the support and accountability that keeps you on track and ensures you meet your development goals, whether your employees are getting ready to assume a role with more responsibility or they’re simply looking to improve in their current role. 

Our VP of Marketing, Sarah Bedrick, has relied on coaches to help her achieve her potential: 

“Earlier in my career, after months of feeling stuck, I decided to take a bold step and invest in myself by hiring a coach. Little did I know, it would be a decision that would change the trajectory of my career.

With the guidance and support of my coach, I embarked on a journey of self-discovery, uncovering my strengths, passions, and untapped potential. I gained clarity on my career goals and developed a roadmap to achieve them. All of this was made possible because of Compt’s professional development stipend.”

3. Buy career-related books

Employees can use professional development stipends to buy books related to general career development or industry-specific knowledge.

Our Head of Customer Success, Mary Migiano, recently used her stipend to purchase a slew of books from Amazon.

“During insightful discussions about career growth, my manager suggested several business books tailored to my interests, like ‘Shoe Dog’ and ‘Good to Great’ by Jim Collins. These books will remain on my bookshelf for years to come!”

Our Head of Engineering, Francisco Calderon, also used his stipend to purchase books on management. 

“Professional development isn’t just about gaining new technical skills; it’s about evolving as a leader. Through my professional development stipend, I’ve been able to purchase books like ‘Engineering Management for the Rest of Us’ and ‘The Coaching Habit’ to deepen my understanding of effective leadership and engineering management.”

Even a small quarterly stipend can go a long way toward showing your employees you care about their continued development.

Pro tip: According to our customer data, funding for professional development stipends can range from $100 per employee annually, all the way up to $2,000. Even a little goes a long way!

4. Brush up on foundational skills

With the technology and tools needed to be successful at your job changing at lightning pace (hello, AI), even the basics are evolving quickly. Think about the type of programs you used 10 years ago, and consider that there are likely tons of updates, tips, and tricks you don’t know about to help you become even more equipped to handle day-to-day tasks. That was the case for Mary, who used her stipend (again!) to take a dedicated Excel online course.

“This isn’t just another boring Excel course, Kat keeps it fun and engaging! I loved that she included templates so you can practice as you go. I’d say I’m an intermediate user, and while I picked up some cool new tricks, there weren’t any huge takeaways for me. If you’re a beginner looking to level up your Excel skills, I totally recommend this course. The lessons are super easy to follow and broken down into digestible sections. When you sign up, you also get her newsletter, where she also shares helpful tips and tricks!”

5. Join an improv class

Even if your job doesn’t involve working as a standup comic, there are so many tremendous benefits that come from improv skills such as communication, collaboration, and adaptability. 

Compt’s Head of Brand, Lauren Schneider, used her professional development stipend for an improv class at Happy Valley Improv.

“It’s amazing to see just how much I could apply the skills learned in improv classes to my work. With improv, there’s no script to follow, no predetermined lines to recite. Instead, you’re challenged to think on your feet, adapt to unexpected situations, and communicate clearly with others — this comes in handy in a number of ways, such as when I host our show ‘Getting Personal with Compt’!”

6. Subscribe to a newsletter or industry trade publication

Subscribing to a paid newsletter offers individuals a direct pipeline to curated, high-quality content tailored to their professional interests. Unlike free resources, paid newsletters often feature exclusive insights, expert analysis, and in-depth research, providing subscribers with a competitive edge in their field. 

Many people find daily or weekly newsletters to be beneficial as the information is packaged in bite-sized pieces by thought leaders in their industry. 

Our VP of Product and Operations stays up to date with trends in Product through a targeted newsletter: 

“I used my stipend to purchase a subscription to Lenny’s Newsletter — it’s a weekly product newsletter that I love! They share lots of valuable insights from product/engineering leaders all around-many of the learnings I’ve applied to our work here at Compt.” 

7. Take a course or workshop

The great thing about a stipend is employees aren’t limited to the vendors within their geographic area. This is especially advantageous if your team is remote.

You can take a virtual course, an in-person course at a community college-the options are truly limitless. 

Divya Laul, our California-based Senior Manager of Go To Market Content, has used her stipend for courses from the Product Marketing Alliance. 

“Utilizing my stipend to enroll in the Advanced Product Marketing Certified course has been a game-changer for me. This investment not only deepened my expertise in product marketing but also equipped me with both the tactics and overarching strategy to help me achieve the best results when I’m crafting content.”

On the other side of the United States, Head of Content Chloe Thompson uses her stipend to capture the variety of courses and webinars that Marketing Profs has to offer all year long, with a dedicated professional development plan to make sure it fits her schedule and career goals.

“I immediately spent my stipend on a Marketing Profs subscription, which gives me access to tons of content, everything from their on-demand presentations from annual conferences that I couldn’t attend, to dedicated coursework on AI content creation, writing for different audiences, and best-in-class marketing workshops.”

8. Invest in productivity tools

Our professional development stipend program is fairly flexible, so it does include things like productivity tools and other areas that some professional development accounts might not consider. But as we saw with this year’s Lifestyle Benefits Benchmark Report, flexibility is critical when it comes to a successful professional development design, as our own Compt customers used their stipend in countless different ways.

So we do see quite a few reimbursements on productivity tools, such as Claude, which I use on the regular to hone in on different tone of voices and craft inherently awesome copy. I use it as a bit of a sparring partner to bounce ideas off of and help me refine our content.

On the other hand, we’re all really big fans of Fathom, with Mary (yes, her again! She’s an overachiever.) being one of our biggest champions for the call-recording tool.

“My day is a combo of strategy, coaching, team collaboration, and customer convos. I rely on this to record, transcribe, summarize key takeaways, and assign action items. It makes me more efficient, freeing up time to help me focus on my growth rather than just managing daily tasks. Being able to revisit all of these conversations sharpens my communication, allows me to spot trends, and enhances my skills in real-time.”

Is your business set up for professional development success?

Our dedicated product, Professional Development Pro by Compt, centralizes and streamlines requests, approvals, and budget tracking. It completely eliminates the need for complicated workflows, forms, spreadsheets, and workarounds in expense management tools.

Sound like something your team could use? We’re just a click away!

Originally published in 2023, this post has been recently updated for clarity and relevance for our readers.

The post 8+ Example Ways to Use Your Professional Development Stipend appeared first on COMPT.

In this article, we will explore some of the most important employee milestones to celebrate and discuss how acknowledging these milestones can contribute to higher levels of employee satisfaction and productivity. 

What are Employee Milestones?

An employee milestone is a significant event, achievement, or development stage in an employee’s career. Promotions, work anniversaries, completing a project, receiving special recognition, and reaching a specific performance goal are all examples of employee milestones.

Common Employee Milestones

As a perk stipend platform, we have unique insight into the types of employee milestones companies frequently like to recognize. We’ve identified the following employee milestones as the most commonly celebrated in a professional context:

1. Onboarding

The onboarding process marks the beginning of an employee’s journey with a company. By celebrating this milestone, organizations can make new team members feel valued and welcome, setting a positive tone for their future engagement. 

2. Promotion

Promotions are significant career milestones that reflect an employee’s hard work, professional growth, and potential. Celebrating promotions demonstrates the organization’s commitment to recognizing talent and providing opportunities for advancement. Companies that celebrate promotions reward and motivate the promoted employee and inspire others to work towards similar achievements, fostering a culture of excellence and ambition.

3. Anniversaries/Years of Service

Work anniversaries or years of service milestones celebrate an employee’s long-term commitment and loyalty to the organization. Recognizing these milestones demonstrates appreciation for an employee’s dedication, hard work, and valuable contributions over time. 

Pro tip: It’s common for companies to celebrate a 5-year or 10-year anniversary with a special gift or experience, such as an extra vacation day or a personalized award. But in 2024, the average tenure for employees aged 25 to 34 is just 2.7 years, meaning most won’t reach the traditional 5-year milestone. Recognizing achievements in the earlier years will make this more effective.

4. Training and Development

Investing in employees’ growth through training and professional development programs is crucial for their professional advancement and the company’s success. Celebrating employee milestones related to training and professional development, such as completing courses, earning certifications, or acquiring new skills, emphasizes the value placed on continuous learning. By acknowledging these milestones, organizations inspire a culture of learning, encourage employees to enhance their skill sets, and create a more productive workforce.

5. Performance

You can celebrate role-specific milestones that are tied to an employee’s performance. For example, if a sales rep closes their biggest deal ever, a team celebration might be in order. Or if a healthcare employee receives multiple commendations from patient families, recognition at the next team meeting will make them feel incredibly valued. Performance milestones can be team milestones, too — for example, if the marketing department achieves an all-time high for website traffic, this could be considered a milestone.

6. Retirement

Retirement is one of the most significant moments in an employee’s personal and professional life and should be celebrated to honor their contributions. This milestone marks the transition into a new phase of life and symbolizes the end of a successful career. Recognizing retirees’ contributions shows appreciation and helps foster positive relationships and a sense of continuity within the organization.

7. Company Achievement

A company milestone represents a significant achievement or turning point in the history of a business. Some examples of company milestones include exceeding revenue goals, celebrating company anniversaries, securing a partnership, and winning an industry award. 

Personal Employee Milestones

It makes sense that most companies’ recognition efforts are dedicated to professional milestones. However, recognizing personal milestones can help you take your employee recognition strategy to another level.

Birthday

Celebrating an employee’s birthday is a simple yet powerful way to recognize and appreciate them as an individual. It shows that the organization values and acknowledges their existence beyond their professional role. Whether it’s a virtual celebration, a thoughtful gift, or a personalized message, honoring an employee’s birthday helps create a sense of camaraderie and makes them feel valued, boosting their overall morale and job satisfaction.

Becoming a Parent

Welcoming a new addition to the family is a significant milestone in an employee’s life. Recognizing and supporting employees during this time shows compassion and strengthens their bond with the organization. Providing parental leave, flexible work arrangements, or even organizing a baby shower or sending a thoughtful gift can make a tremendous difference. By acknowledging the joy of becoming a parent, employers foster a culture that prioritizes healthy work-life balance, enhances employee loyalty, and showcases a long-term commitment to employee well-being.

Psst: We have a lot more ideas on how to support employees with fertility and family-friendly benefits.

Engagement/Marriage

Getting engaged or married is a momentous event in a person’s life. Organizations can demonstrate that they’re paying attention these happy milestones by celebrating it with their employees. Some ideas: be Send a congratulatory message, flowers or gifts, or even grant (more) time off for the wedding or honeymoon.

By celebrating this milestone, employers convey support and appreciation for their employees’ personal lives, contributing to positive work-life integration and overall job satisfaction. This shows that companies value employees far beyond their professional contributions.

Why is it important to celebrate employee milestones?

Research from Great Place to Work reveals that ~65% of employees report receiving no form of recognition from their employer in the past year.

And out of organizations that have recognition programs, only 31% rate their programs as ‘highly’ or ‘very highly’ effective, with cost and inconsistent application cited as primary challenges, according to HR.com’s 2024 State of Rewards and Recognition Programs and Tools report.

But research from Workhuman and Gallup reveals that employees who received high-quality recognition in 2022 were 45% less likely to have left their jobs by 2024, which emphasizes its role in increasing job satisfaction and reducing voluntary turnover.

Milestone celebration is one of the most important forms of employee recognition at work. Not only does it recognize and appreciate their individual achievements, but it also strengthens their bond with the organization and connects them to your company culture.

By acknowledging and celebrating these milestones, employees feel recognized, motivated, and engaged. It can…

• Boost employee morale further
• Strengthen their sense of belonging
• Ultimately, enhance employee loyalty and retention

Not to mention, it’s one of the easiest to implement. With a rewards and recognition platform like Compt, you can set the date for milestone celebrations and send automated reminders to managers or team leads to recognize employees on their special day. You can also trigger monetary rewards (e.g., a stipend) to automatically disburse.

How to Recognize Employee Milestones

Employee experiences don’t matter much if they’re not effectively recognized. In fact, how you acknowledge employee milestones is just as important as whether or not they get recognized at all.

Many organizations implement a recognition program to ensure they’re celebrating milestones thoughtfully and at regular intervals. Here are some common methods for an employee milestone recognition program:

Personalized Recognition

• Writing a handwritten personal note to express appreciation and value.
• Creating personalized videos where team members share their congratulations and appreciation for the milestone achiever.
• Peer-to-peer recognition in the company Slack channel.
• Note: It’s especially important they hear from their boss. In a Talker Research survey of 2,000 employed Americans, nearly half (48%) said ‘personal thank you’s from their direct boss’ was the most way they felt most appreciated at work.

Team or Company-wide Events

• Organizing celebratory lunches, dinners, or social events where the entire team can come together and congratulate the employee.

Gifts & Monetary Rewards

• Offering tangible rewards such as physical gifts (including company swag), spot bonuses, or incentives to recognize the employee’s accomplishments.
• Note: With Compt, managers can easily send spot bonuses for personal and professional milestones. Your team can also celebrate employee milestones by sending peer recognition awards!

Communication and Sharing

• Publicly acknowledging the employee’s achievement during team meetings or company-wide gatherings.
• Sharing the milestone announcement on internal communication channels like company newsletters, emails, or social media platforms.
• Encouraging colleagues to congratulate and share their well-wishes creates a sense of community and support.

Time Off

• Many companies give employees time off to celebrate a milestone. For example, if they’ve completed a particularly challenging project, a few days off to recharge is a nice gesture that can prevent burnout. This is sometimes referred to as a duvet day. 

Continuous Feedback and Growth

• The milestone celebration will allow constructive feedback and discussions about the employee’s future development and goals.
• Providing resources, training, or mentorship opportunities to support ongoing growth and career progression. For example, a professional development account could be offered to someone in a new leadership role to help them take management courses.
• Consider promotions or opportunities for career advancement as a special reward for significant milestones.

FAQs on Recognizing Employee Milestones

Ready for an employee milestone program?

Employee milestones are pivotal moments in an individual’s professional journey, and celebrating them is crucial for promoting workplace happiness and success. Recognizing milestones such as onboarding, promotions, years of service, training and development, performance reviews, and retirement demonstrates employee appreciation and fosters a positive work environment. 

Want to recognize employee milestones thoughtfully while maintaining tax compliance? Schedule a demo today with Compt.  

Originally published in 2023, this post has been recently updated for clarity and relevance for our readers.

The post 7 Important Employee Milestones Worth Celebrating appeared first on COMPT.

1. Learn a skill.
2. Get specialized on-the-job training.
3. Move up the corporate ladder after X amount of time.

Today, career mobility is more lattice-shaped — employees move vertically, horizontally, and diagonally within and outside their organizations. And broader skills like leadership and strategic thinking are more valuable than technical skills alone.

A professional development program is a structured initiative designed to enhance employees’ skills, knowledge, and competencies, thereby improving their performance and career progression.

While the importance of such a program is trending upward due to technology-driven skills gaps and employees’ increasingly looking for employers who offer clear pathways for professional growth, less than half of employees think their companies are helping them invest in the skills they need to advance.

The reason: Most professional development programs haven’t adapted to the level of personalization and agility required to keep employees engaged, loyal, and successful in their roles.

Leading companies have mastered this formula needed for professional development success, building programs that are modern, personalized, and effective to help employees reach their career goals. 

Here’s a look at 10 examples of companies doing just that.

10 companies with unique and innovative professional development programs

1. Blackstone: Leadership training programs

To address the talent shortage in the data center industry, Blackstone established the Data Center Academy within its portfolio company, QTS. Launched as part of the broader Blackstone Career Pathways program, its goal is to “constructively disrupt hiring” by training candidates for specialized technical roles and offering direct mentorship, internships, and leadership development opportunities through their employee development plans.

Since its inception, the Data Center Academy has led to the hiring of 100 new, trained employees, accounting for 8% of QTS’s total workforce.

And of those who have completed apprenticeships through the Academy, 73% have been converted to full-time roles, with 15% receiving promotions within their first year of employment through further leadership training.

The takeaway: By taking a proactive approach to training and developing employees in their current roles, you can kill two birds with one stone: addressing skill shortages in your industry and retaining top talent within your organization. Plus, you’ll improve overall job satisfaction.

2. Laing O’Rourke: Technical skills workshops

Laing O’Rourke, a multinational construction company HQ’ed in England, revolutionized its staff training by adopting “bite-sized” continuous learning modules inspired by social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. With their tech partner, they offer over 350 courses covering topics from artificial intelligence to on-site safety.

They designed the training to be easily accessible and consumable (one of the most important considerations for your professional development program).

That way, employees could learn in as if they were teaching themselves via “the university of YouTube.”

This approach has significantly increased employee engagement, with participation rates rising from 35% to 95%.

The takeaway: By adapting to the preferences of your employees, you can make learning more engaging and effective for your workforce.

3. LinkedIn: Mentorship initiatives

LinkedIn has expanded its professional development offerings (which already include LinkedIn Learning access, employee resource groups, and mentorship opportunities)  by providing one-on-one coaching sessions with certified career coaches to all individual employees, not just senior executives.

This initiative addresses soft skills gaps and personal challenges like team dynamics and imposter syndrome, aiming to enhance overall employee well-being and performance.

Since its launch, the program has seen enthusiastic participation, with approximately 80% of the initial enrollees being individual contributors.

The takeaway: Personalizing the coaching experience helps each employee address the specific challenges they’re facing in both their individual work and broader career development, and build a more confident and resilient workforce.

4. Amazon: Cross-functional leadership training

Amazon emphasizes its 16 Leadership Principles, which guide employees’ decision-making and problem-solving processes. They also serve as the foundation for its leadership development initiatives.

Amazon offers tons of different programs, like the Pathways Operations Leadership Development Program targeting candidates with advanced degrees or military backgrounds.

Within these professional development plans, participants engage in rotational assignments, which give them exposure to different business areas and leadership skills and challenges.

The takeaway: Encourage employees to improve skill gaps outside their immediate role and to explore different areas of your business mobility.

5. PwC: Leverage international experiences

PwC leverages its multinational presence by facilitating short-term placements and secondments for its employees across the company’s dozens of international offices. For instance, in 2023, Helene Bevilacqua, a senior PwC associate, traded her position in London for a four-month stint in Warsaw.

On a macro level, allowing your staff to gain diverse experiences and broaden their professional perspectives means they can bring fresh ideas and effective solutions to your business.

Plus, it helps them find a niche within the company (and the world) they wouldn’t have otherwise.

The takeaway: However you can, give your employees the opportunity to experience new cultures and ways of thinking through an expansive employee development plan.

6. Intuit: Internal mobility

LinkedIn’s 2024 Workplace Learning Report found that just 1 in 5 employees are confident about their ability to transition to new roles within their current company. Intuit is addressing this problem by building a culture of mobility through:

• Formal rotation programs
• Internal job postings and manager support
• Campaigns for employee awareness and leadership accountability
• An employee recognition program through a system of achievement badges

The takeaway: No matter which development perks you offer your team, it’s ultimately your culture that will either promote or suppress internal mobility.

7. South Western Railway: Unconvential ways to boost emotional intelligence

South Western Railway recognized the need to boost confidence and communication skills among their Gen Z employees, who generally prefer digital communication to face-to-face. To address this, they partnered with The Free Association, an improvisational theatre company, to conduct workshops for their apprentices.

The sessions involve unscripted scenarios and role-playing exercises designed to push participants out of their comfort zones.

According to SWR’s apprenticeship compliance manager, Keeley Quinn, the unconventional approach works because it gives employees a “safe place to make mistakes among a group that were all in the same boat.”

The takeaway: To develop soft skills like communication, listening, and decision-making, create an environment where employees can practice and learn from their mistakes without fear of judgment.

8. Compt: Professional development stipends

One of the most inclusive and personalized ways to make professional development accessible to all your employees is to offer a stipend. It’s easy. You can do it with software. Everyone can spend it on the resources they feel would be most valuable to them. While Compt offers its own program to our employees, here a closer look at one of our client’s programs:

One of our clients in the financial industry uses Compt to give their team of ~300 an annual stipend of $5,000 for college tuition and professional development activities through its Tuition Assistance and Professional Development Program.

With manager approval, regular full-time employees can get up to $5,000 per calendar year reimbursed to help with the cost of continuing education in subjects related to their current position or future career prospects. 

They even collaborate with nearby universities to give students co-op opportunities across their company. Over 50% of those co-ops are hired post-grad, then advance to new roles or receive promotions within 18 months of joining.

Now, in 2025, it’s even easier to operate a program like this than it was back then. With our new Professional Development Pro module, requests, approvals, and budget tracking are completely centralized. There’s no need for complicated workflows, forms, spreadsheets, and workarounds in expense management tools.

The takeaway: Access to professional development opportunities is just as important as the opportunities themselves. Learning and development stipends are easy to administer and allow employees to take ownership of their own learning and growth.

9. Heineken: Focus on upskilling

At Heineken, 86% of senior leaders double as mentees. Yes… You read that right.

While the brand isn’t getting any older, there are new potential customers turning 21 every year. And with massive, hundred-plus-year-old companies with older leaders at the top, you’ll run into a lot of decision-making that doesn’t speak to today’s younger demographics.

Heineken solved this by introducing reverse mentoring, where junior employees mentor senior leaders.

The approach allows executives to gain fresh perspectives and insights into emerging trends, as well as skills in areas like social media and technology, which younger and less senior employees are generally more attuned to.

The takeaway: Upskilling shouldn’t just flow from the top down. Encouraging a culture of peer learning at all levels can drive innovation and keep your company agile.

10. Atlassian: How to develop remote professional development programs

According to the latest Gallup data, 81% of companies are either fully remote or have some sort of hybrid model. Less than 2 in ten are on-site. But remote workers are 31% less likely to receive promotions than their in-office peers.

And 90% of CEOs say they’re more likely to prioritize in-office workers for projects, raises, and promotions that everyone needs to advance their careers.

As a leading provider of collaboration and project management software, Atlassian is, at its core, a company that supports remote work. So, it’s no surprise its approach to professional development is also tailored to a distributed workforce.

• Virtual live classes and on-site training sessions through Atlassian University.
• Periodic team gatherings throughout the year to foster in-person connections and collaboration.
• Engage 4 Good, the skills-based volunteering initiative matches employees with nonprofit projects that align with their expertise.

This is all in addition to a continuing education stipend (which covers courses and professional certifications), individualized development plans, a structured mentorship initiative, online course subscriptions, tuition reimbursement, opportunities to attend industry conferences, and more.

The takeaway: Remote professional development requires both a digital and human touch. Building in opportunities for real-life interactions levels the playing field between remote and in-office employees.

There are 100s of ways to do professional development. Stipends are the easiest and most accessible.

While there are tons of companies offering all sorts of internal opportunities and investing into different types of learning, there’s one approach that stands out as the most efficient and accessible.

Our dedicated product, Professional Development Pro™ by Compt, centralizes and streamlines requests, approvals, and budget tracking. It completely eliminates the need for complicated workflows, forms, spreadsheets, and workarounds in expense management tools.

It solves some of the biggest problems with traditional professional development programs:

• Gives employees self-service access and eligibility info.
• Less overwhelming for employees compared to a massive course library.
• Automates backend processes like budget tracking across individuals, departments, and the company.
• Our global activity feed is like Yelp for L&D — see what your colleagues are learning, doing, and enjoying.

Plus, you can use it to build and run your entire stipend program, not just for education and career development. And you can use it to manage ad-hoc requests around things like tuition reimbursement.

The success of today’s companies doesn’t just hinge on individual team members’ technical skills and expertise. The real differentiator is their collective ability to learn, adapt, and excel in an environment where the only constant is change. Request a demo to get started today.

The post 10 Examples of Professional Development Programs for Employees appeared first on COMPT.