What the FTE? is a podcast by Certn where we explore the tough questions surrounding the future of work, risk management, and employee experience. Whether you’re an HR leader, a TA newbie, or simply curious about the changing nature of work, this podcast provides you with practical insights to help you secure your seat at the table.
This week Certn’s CEO, Andrew McLeod, interviews Susy Martins, an executive coach and people operations leader with over 20 years of experience. As the Founder & CEO of Advise2Rise, Susy serves as a strategic people partner to executives. In this role, she curates services and delivers on core strategic HR projects. She also helps drive alignment and peak performance for rapid scale-up and strategic rightsizing for high-growth businesses.
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As I discussed last week in my conversation on AI in HR with Steve Cadigan, AI is no longer a distant future, it’s here, transforming the way HR leaders attract talent, build strategies, and drive organizational success. Beyond AI, the real game-changer is how HR leaders adapt, connect, and innovate in this new environment.
This week on the podcast, I caught up with Susy Martins, an executive coach and people operations leader with over 20 years of experience. As the Founder & CEO of Advise2Rise, Susy serves as a strategic people partner to executives. In this role, she curates services and delivers on core strategic HR projects. She also helps drive alignment and peak performance for rapid scale-up and strategic rightsizing for high-growth businesses.
In our conversation, Susy emphasizes the power of connection and adaptability in HR strategy. She shares her experience working with companies at every stage, from startups to Fortune 500s.
Our conversation really struck a chord; the more connected employees feel, the more engaged they are.
For years, the conversation has revolved around productivity, efficiency, and talent retention. Though, Susy and I reflect on the fact that in today’s world of remote and hybrid teams, global expansion, and shifting employee expectations, the organizations that win are the ones that master connection at scale.
Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room: engagement.
Culture Wars: The Global Talent Trap No One Talks About
As I’ve learned leading Certn through several acquisitions, expanding into new markets isn’t as simple as hiring a team and expecting them to operate like HQ. One-size-fits-all doesn’t work.
Cultural differences go way deeper than holiday traditions and time zones. They shape how people work, make decisions, and communicate, and if leaders don’t get this, they end up with teams that are misaligned, disengaged, and totally frustrated. Here’s an interesting article by the United Language Group about high context and low context cultures, which is used to highlight differences in verbal and nonverbal communication. For example, low-context cultures expect communication to be explicitly stated so that there’s no risk of confusion, and if a message isn’t clear enough, it slows down the process of communication. This is just one example. There’s so much more I could say on this.
“In global roles, you have to understand that work culture isn’t universal,” Susy says. North American companies emphasize collaboration and brainstorming, while many Asian and European cultures prioritize direct leadership and execution. If your global team isn’t clicking, ask yourself whether you’re leading for them, or just expecting them to work like you do. Ignoring culture isn’t just an oversight, it’s a hiring and retention nightmare waiting to happen.
HR’s Next Challenge: Engagement for a New Era
“We measure engagement all day long, but I think we should be talking about connection. How connected do you feel to the organization?” – Susy Martins
While employee engagement continues to lead HR’s priorities for the fourth consecutive year in Lattice’s State of People Strategy Report, many teams still face significant barriers to improving it. These challenges are exacerbated by widespread reports of HR teams feeling overwhelmed and understaffed.
Employee engagement is essential for an organization to retain and motivate its workforce. We hear this all the time: When employees feel connected to their work, productivity, innovation, and commitment to company goals rise. A dedicated workforce also supports a positive work culture, encouraging collaboration and proactive problem solving.
According to Gallup research, companies with high employee engagement experience 18% more productivity and 23% more profitability than those with low engagement. Gallup also reports, employee engagement in the US fell to its lowest level in a decade in 2024, with only 31% of employees engaged. This matches the figure last seen in 2014.
Admittedly, we’ve seen this at Certn. When we launched a weekly 30-minute engagement call, team sentiment improved overnight. When we paused it, engagement declined. It wasn’t about the format or flashy production, it was about employees feeling connected to the mission, to leadership, and to each other.
As I alluded to up top, the future of work isn’t just about AI, automation, or hybrid models, it’s about connection. If HR leaders focus on helping employees feel aligned with a shared purpose, retention and productivity will follow. Feeling seen and valued is important, too.
As Susy puts it, recognition has to be intentional. People are sprinting to meet goals, but if they never feel seen or valued, it leads to burnout. So the question is: How are you fostering connection in your organization today? How connected do employees feel to the company, their team, and their work?
Organizational Network Mapping
Research shows that employees today are, on average, connected to only three people in their organization. That’s a crisis. Susy suggests organizational network mapping—a process that visually tracks who employees interact with—to reveal gaps in connection.
To prioritize connection, Susy recommends that HR leaders focus on:
- Clear, Frequent Communication – Employees want to know what’s going on. Leaders need to provide regular “state of the union” updates. As I mentioned from personal experience, a simple weekly check-in covering company wins, challenges, and what’s ahead can do wonders for alignment and morale.
- Building Meaningful Relationships – Remote work can make casual workplace friendships more challenging. The average employee today is only connected to three colleagues. If we want engagement to improve, we need to create space for genuine relationships, whether through in-person meetups, mentorship programs, or intentional networking within teams.
- Recognition That Feels Personal – It’s no longer just about salary bumps and bonuses. What employees value most is appreciation that resonates. Some might prefer a cash reward, while others would choose an all-expenses-paid trip to an industry conference or an executive health checkup. Recognizing top performers in meaningful ways drives loyalty. Instead of just offering cash bonuses, I’m experimenting with experiential rewards like global assignments, AI conferences, and executive coaching. Susy has seen elite teams choose development opportunities over cash, because the long-term ROI is greater.
TL;DR When employees feel seen, valued, and connected, they perform at their highest level
The #1 HR Metric No One Is Measuring: Connection
I’ve talked about this with a number of HR leaders now, HR’s AI-powered future isn’t about replacing humans. It’s about making HR more human. AI? It’s a tool, not a strategy. The real game-changer? Connection.
HR leaders who get this aren’t just tracking headcount and turnover, they’re measuring real engagement. How connected do employees feel to their teams? To leadership? To the work they do every day? If people don’t feel seen, valued, and heard, no amount of AI magic will save retention.
Susy says it best: “HR leaders who build deep, meaningful connections, and rethink success beyond the usual metrics, will be the ones shaping the future of work.”
So, the question isn’t how you’re using AI, it’s how you’re making work more human. And if you’re not measuring connection yet, it’s time to start.
Tune into the full podcast: https://certn.co/podcast/
