What did Gallup find about U.S. employee engagement in 2026?

U.S. employee engagement fell to 29% in the third quarter of 2026, its lowest level since 2011, according to Gallup. Only 37% of employees strongly agreed that their supervisor or someone at work cares about them as a person, down from 40% in the first half of the year.

Why does employee recognition matter in healthcare?

Recognition is linked to burnout and retention. In a 2026 study of more than 10,000 nurses published in the Journal of Nursing Management, only 40% said they felt valued at work, and nurses who felt valued had less than half the odds of burnout. Hospital RN turnover reached 17.6% in 2025, according to NSI Nursing Solutions.

How often should managers recognize employees?

Monthly recognition makes a measurable difference. According to Kudos' 2026 research, employees whose manager recognizes them monthly are 3.2 times more likely to say they will stay and 4.2 times more likely to report a better relationship with their manager.

Can a recognition calendar work outside healthcare?

Yes. Any industry with shifts, rotations, or peak seasons faces the same challenge: manufacturing runs rotating shifts, tech teams cover on-call rotations, and retail and hospitality peak on weekends and holidays. A recognition calendar gives managers, supervisors, and frontline leaders a plan for noticing people at every level and on every shift. Hacking HR is asking its community which industry should get the next calendar.

Hello Community,

U.S. employee engagement just fell to 29%, its lowest level since 2011, according to Gallup.

But the number that stayed with us was this one: only 37% of employees strongly agree that someone at work cares about them as a person.

We’ve been thinking a lot about how we can better serve you. So, together with our friends at Kudos, we decided to do something a bit different: map an entire year of celebrations, awareness days, and faith observances, and turn it into a month-by-month recognition plan.

We are testing the idea with healthcare because this is an industry that never closes. People work nights, weekends, and holidays, and recognition often misses the people who need it most. In a 2026 study of more than 10,000 nurses, only 40% said they felt valued at work. And hospitals lost 17.6% of their RNs in 2025.

So, in this edition, we are sharing the Healthcare People & Culture Celebrations Calendar 2027.

Now we need your help. Is this worth building for your industry? Vote below and tell us which one we should tackle next. 👇

Inside this Edition:

The Healthcare People & Culture Celebrations Calendar 2027
Poll: Would a recognition plan tailored to your industry help you?
Upcoming Bootcamps and events
Hacking HR 2027 conferences, summits, and more
A lot is happening in the Hacking HR community

🗞️ In case you missed it: Next week, join the webinar “Autonomous HCM: Delivering the Future of Work with Agentic AI.” In this event hosted by SAP SuccessFactors, you will hear from one of the authors of SAP’s 2027 Future of Work report, explore predictions about how HR’s role and the future of work may evolve, and learn what Autonomous HCM could mean for your organization. Plus, see a live demonstration of Joule Assistants and Joule Agents.

📅 Wednesday, November 18 | 8:00 AM PT | 11:00 AM ET | 4:00 PM GMT | 5:00 PM CET. ➡️ Register here

SAP webinar banner titled "Autonomous HCM: Delivering the Future of Work with Agentic AI."

HR INSIGHTS | HEALTHCARE RECOGNITION

Plan a Year of Recognition for Every Shift

Q: What is the Healthcare People & Culture Celebrations Calendar 2027?

It is a free guide created by Hacking HR and Kudos® that turns the 2027 healthcare year into a recognition plan. It includes month-by-month themes and recognition ideas, full pages for nine featured observances with manager messages and AI prompts, printable planners with nearly 100 healthcare, cultural, and faith observances, and a toolkit with recognition ideas by role and metrics to track.

Healthcare teams celebrate more than almost any workforce: Nurses Week, Pharmacist Day, Patient Safety Day, and dozens of awareness dates in between. Without a plan, those moments pile up in the busiest months and skip the people who need recognition most.

The Healthcare People & Culture Celebrations Calendar 2027 gives HR and people leaders one place to plan the whole year.

Inside, you'll find:

Month-by-month plans: a theme, one number to know, and four recognition ideas for every month.
Featured observances: full pages for nine key dates, from Stress Awareness Month to Emergency Nurses Day, each with a ready-to-send manager message and an AI prompt.
Printable planners: a monthly grid and a day-by-day list of nearly 100 healthcare, cultural, and faith observances, holidays, and HR planning windows.
Practical toolkit: recognition ideas by role, message starters, an AI prompt library, and a few important metrics to track.

Where a manager recognizes monthly, employees are 3.2x more likely to say they will stay, according to Kudos' 2026 research. Plan once in January, and give every shift a reason to feel seen all year.

Download Free

Hacking HR and Kudos banner on a dark slate background with a colorful wave in purple, pink, and orange. The headline reads “Recognition, well-being, and planning ideas for the people who care for patients, every shift, all year long.” On the right, the cover of the Healthcare People & Culture Celebrations Calendar 2027 is tilted against a teal shape with small gold stars, showing two smiling healthcare workers in blue scrubs.

Healthcare isn’t the only industry that never sleeps.

Manufacturing runs on rotating shifts.
Tech teams cover on-call rotations and support queues around the clock.
Retail and hospitality peak on weekends and holidays.

In every one of them, the people who keep things running are often the hardest to reach with recognition.

That’s why a calendar like this one does more than list dates. It gives managers, supervisors, and frontline leaders a plan for noticing people, and it helps your values show up in everyday moments, at every level and on every shift.

📅 🎉 Want a 2027 celebrations calendar for your industry?

Help us choose the next guide to build. Click your industry to vote.

HACKING HR LEARNING PROGRAMS & CONFERENCES

Bootcamps

🤖 AI Essentials Bootcamp: One morning, three hours: prompting, working with your own documents, connectors, and safe use. Choose November 19 or December 1, 8:00–11:00 AM Pacific. Level: Basic.

Included with your Premium or Premium+ membership.

2027 Conferences and Summits

🌄 BUILD Conference. 250+ HR leaders are already going to Scottsdale to join our first major in-person HR conference on March 10, 2027, at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. We’ll have optional workshops on March 9. And Angela Briggs-Paige, Trent Cotton, and Tracie Sponenberg will be the MCs. The tickets are affordable: $299 through December 31, including meals and the sunset reception. If you want to come with your team or peers, group rates are 10% off for 4 to 6 passes and 15% off for 7 or more.

🎙️ AIX People Summit 2027. You can already register for our upcoming AIX People Summit, live in London on June 17, 2027, at 1 Basinghall Avenue, co-organized with People Strategy Hub. Confirmed so far: Nico Decock (Distrilog Group), Sergio Caredda (Campari Group), and Frida Monsén (SVT).

HACKING HR COMMUNITY EVENTS

The Hacking HR Community is buzzing with free events where you can meet HR peers around the world, in person and online. Explore the full calendar on our public page, then log in to the LAB to register and connect with chapter leaders and members. ➡️ Explore all events →

Chapter Meet-ups

Year-End Social | Hacking HR Chicago Chapter | Tonight, Nov 11, 5:30 PM CST | House of Blues Chicago
Hacking HR Connect: Conversations & Connections | Southeast Wisconsin Chapter | Nov 13, 1:00 PM EST | Virtual
Your Next Move: Landing the Role in an AI-Driven HR World | Dallas Chapter | Nov 17, 6:00 PM CST | Toyota Music Factory, West Las Colinas Boulevard

Learning Pods

We’re Looking After the AI. Who’s Looking After the Humans? | Wellbeing at Work | Nov 12, 3:00 AM EST | Virtual
Hacking HR Connect: Conversations & Connections | L&D, Culture, and Capability Building | Nov 13, 1:00 PM EST | Virtual
What We Got Right and What We Didn’t | Ethical AI: Ethics, Governance and Impact | Nov 17, 10:00 AM MST | Virtual

HACKING HR STORE

Holiday Gift Guide 2026

We created a full catalog of gifts for the office exchange, your HR team, and the colleagues you keep closer to your heart. There's something for every gift budget: stickers starting at $4.49, gifts under $10, and mugs, candles, and more under $25. Shopping for the whole team? Bulk pricing starts at 12 items. 👉 Shop the Holiday Gift Guide

Hacking HR Shop gift box marked “Approved,” with HR mugs and stickers.

SPONSORSHIPS

For CMOs in HR Tech

If you are a CMO in the HR Tech space, we would love to connect. Every Friday we host a Hacking HR Live Webinar Planning session with Q&A at 09:00 AM Pacific Time. 👉 Register here→

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Kay Wakeham2 days ago

Thank you so much for your leadership in tackling this massive engagement dilemma. In the last Hacking HR class of Women Leading AI Transformation, one of the focus areas is on the overwhelming impact of organizational change initiaves on employees. Leaders need to understand, especially in HR, they they need to prioritize the key change initiatives and start removing other less signifcant ones. It would be interesting to isolate the impact of AI adoption on engagement if there is a study that does that. Managers have the most leverage to positively or negatively impact employee engagement. This is a key area to address.

Employee Engagement Hits a 15-Year Low: Why Recognition Needs a Plan