Roadshow Recap Takeaways and Learnings

Over the past few months, the Epoch team has been on the road, traveling across Los Angeles, Scottsdale, Denver, San Diego, and New York, bringing together employee experience leaders through dinners, roundtables, and panels. 

Along the way we were joined by amazing speakers, including Daniel Bird, VP of People & Culture at GumGum in LA, followed by Mira Shane, Director of DEIB at Justworks and Liz Llewelyn-Jones, Head of Employee Engagement & Events at Ørsted in NYC. Each brought their own perspectives on how work is evolving and what organizations should be focusing on next 

Across these conversations, a few themes came up consistently, highlighting what leaders are actively thinking about, experimenting with, and trying to solve right now.

Here’s what stood out most.

AI Enablement Is a People Challenge

Across each conversation, one thing became increasingly clear, AI is reshaping how work happens, but adoption is still catching up. As Daniel Bird shared, “GenAI has really been the first exponential leap in the way that we might think about the types of work that we do in offices.”

While concerns are often raised about AI replacing jobs, similar to past waves of technological change, there’s also an emerging perspective that entry-level talent is becoming even more important. As organizations experiment and adapt, these roles play a key part in scaling and operationalizing new ways of working. Even with this shift, many organizations are still early, and leaders are recognizing this as a people challenge, not just a tech one.

A consistent theme is that AI adoption isn’t just about access to tools, it’s about enabling people to use them effectively. More employee experience and L&D leaders are stepping into roles tied to AI transformation, reflecting how central this shift has become. As Mira Shane noted, “Things are happening really quickly and we're trying to innovate, a lot of folks are coming at it at a different learning level depending on their role.” Across organizations, teams are learning in real time and doing their best to keep up. This is making structured, role-specific enablement increasingly critical, rather than relying on individuals to figure it out on their own.

Leaders also pointed to the role of community in driving adoption. ERGs are helping employees engage with AI in more trusted, low-pressure environments, sometimes even seeing higher adoption. Alongside this, there’s growing excitement around AI’s potential to improve day-to-day work. As Liz shared, “From a communications side, there's a lot of excitement about what AI could mean and how it could help optimize the work that we do.”

In-Person Is More Intentional, and More Critical

As work becomes more digital and AI-driven, leaders are seeing more clearly what’s lost when people aren’t physically together. One of the biggest gaps is around learning, mentorship, and relationship-building. As Daniel Bird put it, “The biggest hidden cost of remote work is junior talent missing out on mentorship, informal learning, and the professional networks that define careers.” In other words, some of the most important aspects of career growth are built through everyday, in-person interactions that are difficult to fully replicate remotely. These moments of learning and connection are difficult to replicate remotely.

At the same time, organizations are rethinking how they bring people together. The office works when it’s purposeful, and what’s driving participation isn’t mandates, it’s leadership. Senior leader presence sets the tone and signals what matters. As Liz shared, “When our new CEO started, the first thing she wanted to do was get around as many offices as possible, it made such a big difference to the level of trust.” Across conversations, it’s clear that while bringing people together has always mattered, it’s now becoming more intentional and more critical as organizations look ahead to what work will require in 2026 and beyond.

Belonging Is Built Through Community

Alongside AI and in-person strategy, belonging continues to be a core focus, but leaders are reframing how it’s built. The consistent takeaway is that belonging isn’t something you run as a program, it’s embedded in culture. When culture is strong, it creates psychological safety, and that’s what ultimately unlocks better work and stronger engagement across teams.

What stood out in conversations is how belonging is being built in practice. It starts at the team level, through smaller, more human interactions, and is reinforced through real moments of connection. As Liz shared, “For me, there’s nothing that beats getting people together in person, whether that’s an offsite, volunteering, or a grassroots social activity.” That idea of grassroots connection kept coming up, less about formal programming, and more about organic, shared experiences that bring people together.

There’s also a shift in how leaders are talking about this. As Mira Shane said, “I’ve stopped saying ‘belonging’ and just started talking about community and having honest conversations, that feels more natural and raw.” The focus is moving toward creating more authentic, honest spaces for connection that can scale more naturally across teams and geographies.

 Across every city, conversation, and perspective shared, one thing was consistent: employee experience is becoming more intentional. Whether it’s how organizations are approaching AI adoption, rethinking the role of in-person connection, or building belonging through culture rather than programs, leaders are navigating the same underlying shift, how to support people through change in a way that actually works.

Thank you to everyone who joined the conversations on the road, contributed insights, and shared openly throughout these sessions. A special thank you to all the sponsors and leaders who spoke and participated in panels and discussions across Los Angeles, Scottsdale, Denver, San Diego, and New York. These conversations are what shape the thinking moving forward, and we’re grateful to everyone who helped bring them to life.

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