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Hiring for skilled trade roles has traditionally relied on resumes, applications, and interviews, which consume valuable time. These require coordination, depend on subjective judgment, and offer limited insight into how a candidate will actually perform. Hiring cycles lengthen, effort increases, and decisions are often made with incomplete information. In industries like construction and manufacturing, where the stakes of a bad hire can be high in terms of performance, retention, and productivity, this approach is no longer sufficient. The process is often driven by urgency, which can lead to rushed decisions that miss key factors like an applicant’s ability to adapt, collaborate and fit into the company culture. This is the hiring reality TEQ Connect solves. Designed specifically for skilled trade and manufacturing roles the company offers a premier hiring tool from Piccadilly Software Group. It addresses a long-standing gap in trade workforce hiring and provides far more insight into a candidate’s employability than traditional methods. By improving clarity around fit and performance expectations early in the process, the company helps organizations reduce turnover and build more stable, higher-performing trade workforces. “We looked at how much time, money, and analysis go into hiring at the executive level and asked why that same rigor does not exist for the trade workforce,” says Raymond Dick, co-founder and CEO. “TEQ Connect takes that level of assessment and makes it practical to use at scale for skilled and hourly workers.”
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, organizations confront ongoing market fluctuations and intricate global challenges. Adaptability is now the defining characteristic that distinguishes effective leaders who stay ahead from those who struggle to keep pace. Leadership today demands the ability to navigate uncertainty, drive innovation, and guide teams through volatile environments, making adaptability a crucial factor in achieving success. Top Notch Finders, a premier executive search firm with over 30 years of experience, is pioneering a new way of identifying and nurturing leadership talent. Building on the need for adaptable leaders, Top Notch Finders, a premier executive search firm with over 30 years of experience, is pioneering a new approach to identifying and nurturing leadership talent. As companies face more complex and unpredictable challenges, the firm has redefined the traditional recruitment process by integrating cutting-edge neuroscience, AI-driven insights, and a focus on emotional and cognitive agility. This approach focuses on how a leader will perform in the face of ongoing disruption. The firm is not just placing executives to meet today’s needs, but also identifying individuals who have the potential to shape the future of business. Its methods ensure that organizations are equipped with leaders who can adapt to new circumstances, embrace emerging technologies, and manage the complexities of an interconnected world.
In today’s competitive and rapidly evolving workforce, employee benefits are no longer just about providing traditional protective or growth benefits like health insurance or retirement plans. More companies are recognizing the importance of offering instant benefits that address employees’ most pressing needs. For millions of workers burdened by student loan debt, these instant benefits can drastically improve their financial well-being, alleviate stress, and, most importantly, preserve productivity at work. Student loan debt is an issue that’s weighing heavily on today’s workforce. With 68 percent of jobs requiring postsecondary education, many employees are forced to take on significant debt to pursue their careers. The average monthly student loan payment is around $536, which can often compete with essential living costs such as rent, healthcare, and daily expenses. This financial pressure spills over into employees’ professional lives, leading to decreased focus, engagement, and overall productivity. For employers, the cost of this lost productivity is substantial. When employees are distracted by financial stress, their work suffers, as does their commitment to the company. It’s clear that the need for instant benefits—those that provide immediate, real-world financial relief—is more urgent than ever. Paidly was created with this critical need in mind. By offering student loan repayment assistance and flexible payment options, Paidly provides a solution that addresses the instant benefit gap many employers have yet to fill. Through this benefit, employees can immediately reduce their student loan balances, lower their interest burdens, and free up funds for other essential living expenses, all of which have an immediate, tangible impact on their financial and mental well-being.
Brandon Springle, Director, Talent and Succession Planning, Shaw Industries
Suzanne Haslam, Partner, Senior Vice President, Woodruff Sawyer
Liz Yovich, Director of Global Engagement and Employee Benefits, Worldwide Broker Network (WBN)
Candace Villafanez-Dukes, Corporate Human Resources/Payroll & Benefits Manager, Long John Silver’s, LLC
Heather Torres, Director of Learning and Development for Employee Benefits, Brown & Brown
Employee loan repayment benefits enhance financial wellbeing, workforce retention, and engagement through structured support, flexibility, and integrated financial strategies.
The workforce solutions sector is evolving through regional alignment, adaptive innovation, and disciplined collaboration to strengthen talent pipelines and economic resilience.
Execution and Accountability in Workforce Leadership
The cover story TEQ Connect, recognised as Employee Workforce Solutions of the Year 2026, addresses one of the most persistent challenges in workforce management: hiring and retaining skilled trade and manufacturing talent at scale. By introducing validated employability assessments early in the hiring process, TEQ Connect brings executive-level rigour to trade workforce recruitment. Its Total Employability model evaluates behavioural traits such as coachability, adaptability, motivation, and role fit alongside technical capability, enabling employers to make better-informed hiring decisions. The platform reduces hiring friction, improves retention, and supports defensible, organisation-specific workforce decisions.
This issue also highlights companies advancing specialised areas of the HR ecosystem. Top Notch Finders, recognised as Executive Search Firm Company of the Year 2026, is acknowledged for its focused approach to leadership placement, supporting organisations where executive alignment and performance impact are critical. Paidly, recognised as Employee Loan Repayment Benefit Solutions of the Year 2026, addresses employee financial wellbeing through structured loan repayment benefits, strengthening retention and reducing financial stress.
Leadership insight further anchors this edition. Vince Guerra, Area Vice President, Human Capital | Employee Benefits at Gallagher, outlines how high-performance health plans can significantly slow healthcare cost growth through preventive care engagement and proactive chronic condition management. Alongside this, Holly Stover, Vice President, Employee Engagement and Relations Manager at Shore United Bank, emphasise that employee engagement only delivers value when leaders visibly act on feedback.
Together, the stories in this issue reinforce a central theme: sustainable workforce performance is built on disciplined execution, accountability, and action. Readers are invited to explore these perspectives and engage with the strategies shaping the future of HR leadership and workforce management.
