AI in HR: The next generation of employees won’t search HR. They’ll ask it.
By Rashika Fazali We spent decades teaching employees how to navigate HR systems. AI is beginning to reverse that relationship. Think about the last time you wanted to know something. Maybe you wanted to know how to fix something at home, understand a medical term, compare two products, or plan a trip. Not long ago, […]
What is agentic AI and why does it matter in 2026?
If you ask 10 HR leaders what agentic AI is, you will get 10 answers. Here is the short one: Agentic AI in HR is the use of AI agents that are given a goal, work out the steps themselves, use HR systems and tools to carry them out, and act across multiple steps with […]
Labour market 2026: What BFSI, manufacturing and telecom tell us about the year ahead in HR tech
Global employment looks stable on paper. Underneath, three industries are being reshaped in three very different ways and the HR technology decisions taken in 2026 will decide which employers keep up. The International Labour Organization opened 2026 with a deceptively calm number. Global unemployment is projected to remain unchanged at 4.9% this year. Read no […]
Mandatory EPF for non-Malaysian employees: What Malaysian payroll teams must have in place
For decades, EPF contributions for foreign workers in Malaysia were voluntary. That ended with the October 2025 wage cycle. Mandatory contributions now extend to all non-Malaysian citizen employees holding a valid pass, excluding domestic servants, and both employer and employee contribute 2% of monthly wages.1 For payroll teams, this is not a rate change. It […]
Payroll for the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh: Managing complexity at scale
Bangladesh’s ready-made garment sector exported USD 38.70 billion in FY2025–26, accounting for 80.62% of the country’s total export earnings, according to Export Promotion Bureau data compiled by BGMEA. The sector employs more than four million people, the majority of them women. Behind those numbers sits one of the most demanding payroll environments in Asia. A […]
What if your best employees don’t want to be promoted?
Why career growth doesn’t always mean promotion and what that means for modern talent management By Rashika Fazali For most of my career, I’ve unconsciously understood career progression in one direction. Up. You become good at your job. Then you become senior. Then a manager. Then a head. Then a director. And onwards you climb […]
The HR strategy playbook for 2026: From managing people to designing the workforce
For years, HR transformation focused heavily on digitising HR. Move paper processes online. Introduce employee self-service. Automate workflows. Centralise employee data. Modernise payroll and attendance. Those foundations remain important. But the strategic question facing HR leaders in 2026 is different. How do we redesign the workforce for a world where people and AI increasingly work […]
GenAI and ethics in HR: What HR tech leaders must know
Generative AI has moved through HR faster than almost any workplace technology before it. Gartner surveys of 197 HR leaders in June 2023 and January 2025 found that the share of organisations piloting or implementing generative AI rose from 19% to 61% in under two years, and Gartner predicts that half of all current HR […]
The Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act 2026: What changed and what HR must do now
Bangladesh has just rewritten the rules of employment. The Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act 2026 was passed by Parliament in April 2026 and took effect from 10 April 2026, following the Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, promulgated on 17 November 2025 under the Interim Government. Together, the Ordinance and the Act introduced roughly 90 legislative changes […]
One region, many rules: The new reality of HR and payroll compliance across ASEAN and South Asia
For a regional HR leader, there is rarely such a thing as “Asian payroll”. There is Singapore payroll. Malaysia payroll. Thailand payroll. Sri Lanka payroll. Bangladesh payroll. And every other jurisdiction in which the organisation employs people. Each comes with its own tax rules, statutory contributions, employment requirements, reporting schedules, employee classifications, and regulatory authorities. […]