AI agents are arriving fast, but the proof is lagging. This week’s Paper Cut looks at the widening gap between “efficiency” claims and employee reality, why retention is built on systems not slogans, and what a tighter hiring mood means for employer brand leaders.
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If layoffs are now a feature of modern work, not a bug, then employer branding has to stop acting surprised and start telling the truth. What you say, and do not say, when people leave matters more than any “top workplace” badge.
AI will keep stealing the headlines. The 2026 talent story is quieter: calendars, workflows, and entry routes. This edition looks at how organisations turn promises into operating choices, protecting time, building skills, and keeping pathways into work open.
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Skills based hiring was meant to replace pedigree. In many organisations it has simply learned to live alongside it. Degrees vanish from job ads, but preferred schools and brands still dominate shortlists, while “skills evidence” shows up as one more hurdle at the end of the process.
In 2025 employer branding grew up. AI rewrote jobs, RTO became a reputational event, CEOs turned into brand signals, and radical honesty replaced generic “great place to work” claims. This Almanack distils 28 stories into practical rules.
As organisations look to 2026, EVP must shift from broad promises to clear, tangible impact. The focus is on evidence, storytelling and demonstrating how empowerment and people experience directly influence outcomes and business performance.
As organisations look to 2026, EVP must shift from broad promises to clear, tangible impact. The focus is on evidence, storytelling and demonstrating how empowerment and people experience directly influence outcomes and business performance.
After a year of wall-to-wall AI, we wanted to know whether 2023’s confident forecasts were substance or spin. Here is what held up, what did not, and how to use the evidence to shape employer branding, talent attraction, culture, and organisational transformation in 2026.
No one knows exactly what 2026 will bring, but the forward-thinking companies are already experimenting, learning and adjusting, not because they’ve mastered AI or automation, but because they can see how quickly work, expectations and confidence levels are shifting.
AI bosses insist agents will not replace people, yet headlines still read layoffs, freezes, and low trust. Hybrid work is a lifeline for some and a pressure cooker for others. This week: automation hype, labour market whiplash, culture shocks, and the trust test for employer brands.
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