The HCL Review Podcast cover art

The HCL Review Podcast

The HCL Review Podcast

By: WRKdefined Podcast Network
Listen for free

This Season's Biggest Deal | $0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo. after 3 months - terms apply.
Summary
 Want to listen to your favorite HCL Review article on the go?! We’ve got you covered! Catch all of your favorites right here in your podcast feed!All rights reserved by WRKdefined Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Where I Fit: Why Belonging Has Become the Clearest Signal of Who Stays, and How Leaders Can Build It Into Everyday Work

    Where I Fit: Why Belonging Has Become the Clearest Signal of Who Stays, and How Leaders Can Build It Into Everyday Work
    Nov 15 2026
    Abstract: Belonging, the experience of being accepted, valued, and connected as a member of a workplace, has moved from a cultural aspiration to a measurable predictor of retention. The Society for Human Resource Management's Q3 2026 Global Employee Monitor, a survey of 5,107 workers in 26 countries, found that belonging was the only workplace characteristic that significantly predicted engagement, retention, turnover intent, and job search. At the same time, reports of exclusion are rising, loneliness remains common, and hybrid schedules have thinned the everyday contact through which people come to feel they fit. This article defines belonging and its neighboring constructs, reviews evidence on its prevalence, drivers, and consequences, and synthesizes five evidence-based organizational responses: belonging-centered onboarding, deliberate rhythms of connection, inclusive manager behavior, structured peer spaces for shared experience, and measurement that surfaces exclusion early. It closes with three long-term capabilities that turn belonging from a survey item into an operating discipline.
    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • Watch Your Back: Why Workplace Undermining Spreads When Jobs Feel Insecure, and How Leaders Can Make Cooperation the Safer Bet

    Watch Your Back: Why Workplace Undermining Spreads When Jobs Feel Insecure, and How Leaders Can Make Cooperation the Safer Bet
    Nov 14 2026
    Abstract: A November 2026 survey of 1,014 employed U.S. adults found that 69% had experienced at least one form of workplace undermining in the past year, from being blamed for problems to having information withheld or credit taken. These findings arrive amid continuing layoff anxiety, AI-attributed job cuts, and record-low employee engagement. This article synthesizes research on social undermining, knowledge hiding, knowledge theft, job insecurity, and tournament-style incentives to explain why threat pushes employees toward zero-sum behavior and what that behavior costs organizations and individuals. It then outlines five evidence-based organizational responses: redesigning evaluation and rewards to value collective contribution, making credit and attribution visible, reducing threat through fair and transparent workforce decisions, enforcing conduct norms without regard to status, and building trust-based knowledge-sharing systems. Documented examples from Microsoft, Atlassian, Adobe, Nucor, Uber, Netflix, Pixar, Toyota, Virginia Mason, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Wells Fargo illustrate both effective practice and common failure. The article closes with three long-term capabilities for making cooperation the rational choice even when jobs feel uncertain.
    Show More Show Less
    15 mins
  • The Blended Bench: Why Contract Workers Are Moving From the Margins to the Core of Workforce Plans, and How Leaders Can Integrate Them Without Building a Two-Tier Workplace

    The Blended Bench: Why Contract Workers Are Moving From the Margins to the Core of Workforce Plans, and How Leaders Can Integrate Them Without Building a Two-Tier Workplace
    Nov 13 2026
    Abstract: Contract, temporary, and freelance workers are no longer a stopgap at the edge of the organization. A Harris Poll survey of 1,006 U.S. hiring decision-makers released in November 2026 found that 71% of companies now build contract workers into their staffing strategies and that contract workers complete an estimated 11% of the work at U.S. companies. This article examines what that shift means for leaders. It defines the main forms of nonstandard work, reviews evidence on prevalence and drivers, and synthesizes research showing that blended workforces can strain standard employees' loyalty, expose temporary workers to higher injury risk, and create legal exposure around misclassification and joint employment. It then sets out five evidence-based responses: deliberate workforce architecture, floor standards across the extended workforce, integration at the team interface, shared safety duties, and classification governance. Organizational examples from technology, logistics, healthcare, automotive manufacturing, consumer goods, aerospace, and education technology illustrate each response. The article closes with three long-term capabilities for leading the whole workforce, not only the payroll.
    Show More Show Less
    26 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.