From AI to Human Value: What's Really Changed in the World of Work: Kyle Forrest (LIVE @ Transform 2026)
WATCH: https://youtu.be/d8Jj4TvFiys
Recorded live at Transform 2026, this is Kyle Forrest's third appearance on the show — and the conversation has never been more timely. Kyle is a consultant at Deloitte with a finger on the pulse of workforce trends, HR transformation, and the evolving relationship between benefits, talent, and business outcomes across industries. A year ago at Transform, the room was buzzing about AI products and features. This year, Kyle observes, the conversation has fundamentally shifted: everyone is now asking what work should be done by humans, and how organizations can invest in the uniquely human capabilities that AI simply cannot replicate. That reframe sets the tone for a wide-ranging discussion on what it means to build a workforce strategy in 2026.
Kyle brings hard data from Deloitte's generational research to make the case that pay alone is no longer the primary driver for any of the four generations currently in the workforce — and that purpose, mental wellbeing, and financial wellness are now the differentiators that attract and retain top talent. The conversation moves into some genuinely forward-looking territory: the sandwich generation (employees simultaneously caring for children and aging parents), the untapped opportunity in post-natal and women's health benefits, performance psychology coaching as a mental wellness differentiator, and the TA technology innovation that's giving every candidate a fair shot at 5:30 AM or after the kids are in bed. For HR leaders, total rewards professionals, and anyone trying to understand where the workforce is heading, Kyle's research-backed perspective from inside one of the world's leading consulting firms is essential listening.
Connect with Kyle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleforrest/
These episodes of #thePOZcast, live from Transform 2026 in Las Vegas, are proudly brought to you by our friends at Overalls
What if your employees had one central hub to handle real life? Meet Overalls. A smarter way to support your team, combining expert human LifeConcierges™ with AI to solve everyday challenges across healthcare, caregiving, benefits, insurance, finances, life admin, and more.
From start to finish, Overalls handles the details — using existing benefits where they fit, and filling in the gaps where they don’t. So employees save time, reduce stress, and stay focused at work, while employers boost engagement and get more value from their benefits. Overalls is redefining how work supports life, helping employee teams from Reddit, Patreon, BeatBox, and more cross pesky to-dos off their lists every day.
Learn more at https://getoveralls.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=pozcast
Thanks for listening, and please follow us on Insta @NHPTalent and www.youtube.com/thePOZcast
For all episodes, please check out www.thePOZcast.com
About:
Kyle Forrest is the Future of HR Leader for Deloitte Consulting LLP. The Future of HR team advises, implements, and helps business and HR leaders drive business and workforce outcomes through Deloitte’s knowledge and practical understanding of HR operating models, processes, AI and automation capabilities, HR technology and vendor partner strategies, and evolving HR skills and capabilities. Forrest also serves as the dean of Deloitte’s Next Generation CHRO Academy, bringing together senior HR leaders aspiring for the CHRO role to advance their careers.
Takeaways:
1. The AI Conversation Has Moved On — and That's a Good Thing
A year ago, every conference session was about AI features. In 2026, the more important question has taken center stage: what should humans be doing? Organizations that are answering that question well are investing in the uniquely human capabilities — creativity, presence, novel thinking, relationship-building — that AI cannot replicate.
2. No Generation Is Primarily Motivated by Pay Alone
Deloitte's research across all four workforce generations is consistent: salary is table stakes, not a differentiator. Purpose, mental wellbeing, financial wellness, and a sense that the company cares about the whole person are what actually move the needle on attraction and retention.
3. Mental Wellbeing Benefits Are Now a Business Outcome, Not a Perk
The link between employee stress and productivity is well-documented. Organizations that invest in mental health benefits aren't just being compassionate — they're protecting output, engagement, and retention. Gen Z's comfort with this dialogue has accelerated adoption across the board.
4. The Sandwich Generation Is the Next Big Benefits Frontier
A growing number of employees are simultaneously raising children and caring for aging parents. This dual caregiving burden creates stress, distraction, and leave risk that compounds over time. Benefits that help employees navigate elder care — not just time off, but actual guidance and support — are going to become a significant differentiator in the next few years.
5. Women's Health Benefits Have an Underserved Second Chapter
The fertility benefits conversation has expanded — but Kyle points to a significant gap: supporting mothers through recovery, healing, and the early transition to parenthood after birth. There is growing investment in this space, and the companies that get ahead of it will have a meaningful advantage.
6. How a Company Handles Pregnancy Loss Is Now Part of Its Employer Brand
Word travels fast — especially on social media. How an organization supports an employee through the loss of a pregnancy or a failed IVF cycle is the kind of story that gets shared widely. It's become a visible signal of company culture and values that candidates and current employees pay attention to.
7. Benefits ROI Lives in Attrition and Time-to-Hire Data
Kyle's framework for building the business case: calculate the cost of slow hiring and high attrition, then show how the right benefits mix moves those numbers. Unfilled roles have a direct revenue impact — and retaining the right people means not missing out on sales, delivery, or growth.
8. Performance Psychology Coaching Is the Most Interesting New Benefits Category
Drawing on decades of research in elite sports, performance psychology coaching helps employees handle high-pressure moments, navigate stress, and show up at their best — consistently. It's distinct from traditional mental health services and addresses a different, underserved need in the workforce.
9. Asynchronous Interviewing Is Democratizing the Candidate Pipeline
Tools that let candidates complete interviews and skills assessments on their own time — at 5:30 AM before work or after putting the kids to bed — are surfacing qualified candidates who would have otherwise been filtered out by scheduling friction. Companies using these tools are finding people they would have missed.
10. Modern HR's Job Is Strategy, Not Inquiry
The more benefits navigation and routine HR questions can be handled through technology and concierge services, the more HR professionals can focus on what actually moves the business: partnering with leaders to personalize benefits for their specific workforce mix, build better teams, and make smarter people decisions.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Welcome Back, Kyle Adam welcomes Kyle Forrest back for his third appearance and sets up what's different about Transform 2026 compared to previous years.
02:00 – The Shift: From AI Features to Human Value Kyle's big observation from the conference circuit: last year was about AI products; this year is about what work should remain human — and why that's the more important conversation.
04:30 – What AI Still Can't Do The uniquely human capabilities that no model can replace: being present in the room, generating novel ideas, building real relationships, and innovating in ways that go beyond the existing body of human knowledge.
07:00 – Four Generations, One Workforce, Zero Agreement on Pay Deloitte's generational research shows that across Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers, salary alone is not the primary motivator — and what that means for how companies structure total comp.
09:30 – Mental Wellbeing as a Business Outcome How Gen Z's comfort with mental health dialogue has pushed organizations to take wellness benefits more seriously — and the research linking stress reduction directly to productivity and engagement.
12:00 – The Sandwich Generation Problem A growing segment of the workforce is simultaneously caring for kids and aging parents. Kyle makes the case for why navigation benefits for elder care aren't just nice to have — they're becoming critical.
15:00 – Benefits That Remove Burden from HR How smart benefits design reduces the volume of questions HR has to field — freeing people professionals to spend time with business leaders on strategic workforce decisions instead.
17:30 – The Modern Role of HR Kyle's take on how the HR profession has evolved over nearly 100 years — and where it needs to go next: less inquiry-answering, more personalized workforce strategy in partnership with business leaders.
20:00 – Fertility Benefits and the Overlooked Healing Journey The growing investment in women's health benefits — and the often-missed opportunity to support mothers not just through the fertility journey, but through recovery, healing, and the transition to parenthood.
23:00 – Supporting Loss in the Workplace A candid moment: how companies show up for employees who experience pregnancy loss or failed IVF is becoming a visible differentiator — and word spreads fast, in both directions.
25:30 – The ROI Case for Benefits Investment Kyle's framework for justifying benefits spend: tie it to time-to-hire, attrition rates, and the measurable revenue impact of unfilled roles and disengaged employees.
28:00 – Performance Psychology Coaching One of the most interesting emerging benefits: coaching that applies lessons from elite sports psychology to help employees navigate stress, pressure, and high-stakes moments at work.
30:30 – TA Tech Innovation: Interviewing on Your Time The candidate experience innovation Kyle is most excited about: asynchronous interview and skills assessment tools that let candidates go through the process at 5:30 AM or after bedtime — and the pipeline results companies are seeing.
33:00 – Where to Find Kyle & Deloitte's Research Kyle points listeners to Deloitte's Insights to Action platform and his LinkedIn for the latest research and workforce intelligence.
