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TECH

Not your mother’s compliance training

Roxanne Petraeus

A queer person, a Black person and a disabled person enter a coffee shop. No, that’s not the beginning of an off-color joke—it’s actually the scenario depicted in a compliance training video one New York-based company sent to its employees last fall.

The thing is, besides the odd and unrealistic setting in which these actors came together to share stories about microaggressions they’d faced at work, employees probably won’t recall any of the compliance details discussed.

“A static, 60-minute video, not high tech, not that much you can do with it. If suddenly it becomes really dated, you…toss the whole thing out and start over,” said Roxanne Petraeus, CEO and co-founder of compliance microlearning platform Ethena.

IRL experience. A former army engineer and civil affairs officer and McKinsey and Co. alum, Petraeus can draw a bold line from her experiences in the US Army and at the consulting powerhouse to the riveting world of compliance training.

Keep reading here.—AD

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TOTAL REWARDS

Executive incentive

Money overlayed on a graph and two business hands shaking.

Illustration: Anna Kim, Photos: Adobe Stock

More than three-quarters (77%) of US companies in the S&P 500 tied executive incentive plans to at least one environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metric in 2024, matching the 2023 rate, according to a new study by WTW. However, the payout rate for hitting ESG metrics is about 10% higher than it is for reaching financial goals, leading some investors to worry that ESG aims are being set too low, the report said.

ESG incentives were paid out at an average of 122% of target compared to financial incentives that were paid out at 114% of target, the report said. Kenneth Kuk, senior director of work and rewards at WTW, said there’s no evidence that the goals are only being met because they aren’t challenging.

The most popular ESG metric among US companies is the social category, with 74% of organizations using the segment, which includes diversity, equity, and inclusion.. Governance and environmental issues are tied at 45 and 44%, respectively.

DE&I programs have been under attack since 2023, when the Supreme Court struck down the use of affirmative action in college and university admissions. Still, DE&I metrics remain a part of long-term incentive plans at 54% of companies.

Keep reading here.—TA

TECH

US-AI-D

Apps for ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Copilot, Poe, and Gemini on a mobile phone screen

Kenneth Cheung/Getty Images

Federal agencies are having a Rear Window moment, but they don’t know who’s behind the binoculars.

On Jan. 15, Google began rolling out an update to its Workspace utility suite that turned on its AI assistant, Gemini. For some companies—including Morning Brew—this update arrived without warning and required IT staff to disable the feature. That’s because the feature is opt-out, José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson, told IT Brew via email.

For staffers at beleaguered federal agency USAID, the update came as a surprise at a time when they were already under stress due to job cuts and uncertainty about the future. Staffers were told by leadership during a meeting in late January that Gemini was turned on and likely recording any conversations using the company’s Workspace features.

According to two sources at the agency, who spoke to IT Brew anonymously for fear of retaliation, the warning came as agency leadership in the Jan. 31 Google Meet agency meeting seemed to be acting stilted and scripted. Often, one of the sources explained, such meetings are not recorded and thus staff feels comfortable being candid, so the difference was noticeable to them. The warnings about the AI tool, the sources said, were delivered verbally. Another concern expressed by sources is that private conversations, like HR reports, could conceivably be recorded.

Keep reading on IT Brew.—EH

together with Paylocity

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WORK PERKS

A desktop computer plugged into a green couch.

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Some 42% of US workers interested in finding a new job would consider switching sectors. (LinkedIn News)

Quote: “They didn’t see the emotional, mental and physical damage…I didn’t matter to them, because they fire one person and hire five more.”—Cristy, an undocumented worker who was employed at one of Elon Musk’s worksites in Austin, Texas, on her experience working there (Bloomberg)

Read: The best working model isn’t about the mandate—it’s about the work environment and practices a workplace creates after policies are set, new research finds. (McKinsey)

Plan ahead: Are your new hires driving your org towards its goals? Grab Paylocity’s Headcount Management Playbook to learn what it takes to build a scalable strategy and boost efficiency. Check it out.*

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EVENT

Reading minds (minus the magic)

Morning Brew

Ever feel like there’s a disconnect between leadership’s vision and what employees actually experience? Join Morning Brew’s very own Per My Last Email co-hosts Kaila Lopez and Kyle Hagge this Thursday, Feb.. 20, as they break down what’s working in workforce culture—and what’s just corporate noise.

JOBS

Looking for a job where your values and skills are understood? CollabWORK links you with roles curated within trusted communities, from niche Slack workspaces to industry newsletters like HR Brew. Discover new opportunities without the job-board fatigue—join CollabWORK today, or click here to browse jobs chosen for HR Brew readers.

Human Resources Business Partner at TestEquity (in person)
Talent Acquisition Manager at Sintegra (in person)
Talent Acquisition Manager at an industrial manufacturing organization (in person)

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Written by Adam DeRose, Theresa Agovino, Eoin Higgins, and Paige McGlauflin

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