October 21, 2026

Presented By

Hello there! Spooky season? Please. Anyone who works in HR knows there’s nothing scarier than open enrollment season. The endless emails. The missed deadlines. The benefits left on the table by the employees who insist they didn’t see the previously mentioned endless emails. It’s not too late to ~~turn on the lights~~ listen to the open enrollment episode of our People Person podcast...

In today’s edition:

💸 Plan B, C, and D

💰 Everything in moderation

🪜 Tips from the top

—Courtney Vinopal, Paige McGlauflin

TOTAL REWARDS

Common cents benefits

Getty Images

A recent conference hosted by the financial wellness platform Stream brought into focus the stress workers are currently feeling with regard to their pay and finances.

“We’re in pretty tough economic circumstances right now in America, especially if you’re on a low-to-moderate income,” Stream’s chief impact officer, Emily Trant, told HR Brew ahead of the Sept. 29 FinWell conference. She referenced MIT’s Living Wage calculator, which as of February showed that no state had a minimum wage high enough in order for workers to earn a “living wage,” i.e. enough to cover a family’s basic needs.

In light of these trends, Trant said she hoped employers would consider pulling levers that would “make a difference to people, even beyond benefits.” This might include assigning more predictable hours, or taking a closer look at their compensation.

Short of raising wages, benefits leaders who attended FinWell said they’re considering paying employees more frequently, redesigning healthcare plans, and connecting them with already-available programs.

For more on how HR leaders are considering taming financial stress, keep reading here.—CV

Sponsored By Leapsome

Your agentic HR team is only six months away…

Most HR leaders can see where AI is taking their function. Few have had someone beside them who has made the move before.

This is HR’s moment to lead their company’s AI transition, and Leapsome believes an ambitious people team can build an agentic HR team within six months.

To help, customers who sign by Dec. 31 get Leapsome’s Agentic HR Accelerator Program and the Leapsome Agentic HRIS Foundation package for free with any Leapsome Talent Suite module.

For six months, a dedicated Leapsome point of contact works with your team alongside a cohort of HR leaders making the same move, with a live expert series led by Jessie Zwaan. HRIS migration can be as fast as two weeks, handled end-to-end by Leapsome’s migration experts, so you’re live before your first program session.

Start your six months.

TOTAL REWARDS

More of the same

Getty Images

Economic uncertainty and considerations around talent are weighing heavily on employers’ salary budgets going into 2027, a recent survey from global professional services firm Marsh (formerly Mercer) found.

Employers plan to grant merit raises of 3.2% on average in 2027, according to a survey fielded in mid-July. Total salary increases—which include not only merit raises, but also promotions, cost-of-living, and other adjustments—are set to rise by 3.5%.

These moderate increases are largely in line with what employers granted between 2024 and 2026, leaders with Marsh told HR Brew.

Given salary raise budgets look likely to grow at a moderate pace in 2027, HR teams can consider finding creative ways to differentiate awards among their workforce, John Legg, US commercial leader for Marsh Workforce & Rewards, said.

For more on how moderate raise budget increase may affect compensation strategy, keep reading here.—CV

HR STRATEGY

Tips from the top

Erika Irish Brown, global head of talent management and engagement at Citi

Illustration: Morning Brew Inc., Photo: Erika Irish Brown

Welcome to another installment of Tips from the Top, a series featuring HR leaders’ career advice for people professionals with big aspirations. Have insights you want to share? Get in touch here.

Culture comes from the top. One way today’s HR leaders can better invest in and prepare future people leaders is through demonstrating good leadership, Erika Irish Brown, Citi’s global head of talent management and engagement, told HR Brew.

“Role model leadership is very important. It’s not like parenthood where you say, ‘Do what I say, not as I do.’ You have to expect that people will do as you do,” said Brown, whose team is focused on developing talent and leaders, and maintaining an engaged workforce of roughly 219,000 employees.

That partly comes through sheer exposure. The banking giant has an HR shadowing program, through which two professionals have shadowed Brown in her day-to-day work. In addition to bringing them to meetings, she’s also explained to them her reasoning for what she says and does.

However, not everyone in HR has that level of exposure to her or other leaders. Because of that, it’s imperative that HR leaders intentionally role model positive traits like good behavior, team dynamics, and empathetic leadership, she said.

For more on why role modeling is critical for developing future HR leaders, keep reading here.—PM

Sponsored By Noom

The problem won't fix itself. GLP-1 spend per member per month rose from about $1.50 in 2019 to more than $24 in 2024.¹ Employees want coverage, and finance wants lower costs. Noom Health’s 2026 GLP-1 Benchmark Report shows benefits leaders how to deliver both.

work perks

A desktop computer plugged into a green couch.

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Amazon didn’t get the memo that holiday recruitment among retailers is expected to slow this year; the ecommerce giant announced plans to hire upwards of 300,000 seasonal workers, up 20% YoY. (Bloomberg)

Quote: “When the economy sniffles, Black unemployment catches a cold.”—Jared Bernstein, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Biden, on the labor market disparities facing Black workers (the New York Times)

Read: Donna Morris, Walmart’s chief people officer, knows what it takes to get ahead at work. She oversees the promotions of some 500 employees every day. (Business Insider)

Agentic HR: Customers who sign by Dec. 31 get Leapsome’s Agentic HR Accelerator Program and the Leapsome Agentic HRIS Foundation package for free with any Leapsome Talent Suite module. Start your six months.*

^{*A message from our sponsor.}

Procuring AI Tech

A robotic hand and a human hand clinking coffee mugs together.

Morning Brew Inc.

Tech procurement is becoming a vital part of workforce planning, and vice versa. This deep dive looks at how AI is changing the way HR teams think about buying technology.

Check it out

Share the Brew

Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag.

Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win.

Your referral count: 0

Click to Share

Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
hr-brew.com/r/?kid=9196cb13

✳︎ A Note From Noom

¹McKinsey, R., “What Does the Data Show on GLP-1 Prescribe Rates, Coverage, Costs?” Workspan Daily (WorldatWork), July 1, 2025.

Written by Courtney Vinopal, Paige McGlauflin, and Vicky Valet

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Get smarter in just 5 minutes

Business News: Morning Brew
Tech & AI News: Tech Brew
Markets News: Brew Markets
Real Estate News: The Playbook
Money & Career: Bossy

Take The Brew to work

Interested in podcasts?

Check out People Person on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

ADVERTISE//CAREERS//SHOP//FAQ

Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here.
View our privacy policy here.

Copyright © 2026 Morning Brew Inc. All rights reserved.
22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011

☕ Back-up plan