Welcome to the ACE Leadership Spotlight, where we recap podcast appearances by our top leaders and share their latest insights.
CareerXroads and ACE at the USA Today Top Workplaces Awards
番茄视频 (ACE) Chief Human Resources (HR) Officer KK Byland joined Chris Hoyt, President of the CareerXroads Recruiting (CXR) Community Podcast, for a special episode from the USA Today Top Workplaces Awards held in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2025. CXR is for talent acquisition leaders to discover industry news, trends and continuous improvements in HR.
Byland and Hoyt discussed ACE鈥檚 unique approach to employee relations within a fully remote workplace culture and how it contributes to being a fourth-consecutive Top Workplaces USA award winner. The award reflects employee satisfaction and feedback, unlike many that focus on high-level, company-wide performance metrics.
How Engagement and Data Build the ACE Culture
A healthy work environment stems from intentionality, especially when it comes to receiving employee feedback and taking it seriously. In the interview, Byland reflected on our most recent employee engagement survey process and how the ACE HR department took a detailed look at the data in order to get ahead of potential challenges. By doing so, they identified trends that indicated areas of opportunity and addressed them before they had too great an impact on organizational health.
Byland said, 鈥淣ot only did we focus on those glaring areas of opportunity, where scores were lower, but we took a look at scores that were 3 to 5% lower than the previous year鈥� We鈥檙e taking a look because those scores went down three to five points in some areas, and we want to get in front of it before it becomes a problem.鈥�
Data-driven HR engagement generates precision in targeting potential issues. Building an award-winning work culture involves approaching areas of opportunity with dedicated and solution-focused strategies. Declining trends in the data inform decisions and invite us to dig deeper and discover why scores have lowered.
Byland and the ACE HR team transform valuable insights from within the organization into proactive employee engagement and focused action. This swift and thoughtful response nips potential challenges in the bud to cultivate a strong company culture that positively impacts employees and leaders. In turn, we better serve stakeholders and meet business objectives.
Enhancing Workplaces With Artificial Intelligence
Hoyt asked Byland about ACE鈥檚 innovative addition to its arsenal of healthy workplace tools, Humantelligence. With innovation as one of our core values, we couldn鈥檛 miss the opportunity to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into our processes to create more efficient, effective and collaborative communication strategies.
Working remotely impacts team members鈥� ability to pop into the office or gather quickly in a boardroom. The software鈥檚 capabilities encourage employees to create profiles and discover how to best communicate with one another based on individual preferences, personalities and work styles.
鈥淲e鈥檙e using the tool to better get to know one another, but more importantly, to move our business forward,鈥� Byland added.
To introduce Humantelligence, ACE鈥檚 Organizational Development and Training team hosted an 鈥楨mpower Hour鈥� webinar. Feedback came in from employees and leaders who experienced the benefits of the tool, including enhanced communication, adaptable leadership and team meeting productivity. Such benefits can lead to process improvements and meeting business goals.
When employees feel understood, it builds trust, creates a sense of belonging and can contribute to retaining top talent, reducing turnover rates and long-term success.
Closing the interview, Hoyt asked Byland, 鈥淚f you were in charge of USA Today for the day and they let you write the headline above the fold of the paper, what would your headline be?鈥�
Byland responded, 鈥淭op Workplaces: Great Cultures, Better Success.鈥�
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