Unmuted Podcast | Episode #70
Topic: From Listening to Recognition: How AI Will Shape Engagement in 2026
Guest: Rob Catalano – Chief Engagement Officer & Co-Founder at WorkTango
Guest Website: https://www.worktango.com/
Host: Jeff Waldman – Founder & HR Tech Evangelist at ScaleHR & SocialHRCamp
Episode Overview:
Employee engagement is evolving. For years, organizations treated employee listening and recognition as separate initiatives. Surveys lived on one side. Recognition programs lived on the other.
But heading into 2026, that separation no longer makes sense. Engagement is becoming a continuous loop where listening, insight, action, and recognition are deeply connected.
And what’s accelerating that shift? AI.
Not as a replacement for human judgment, but as an amplifier.
AI is helping HR teams:
• Make sense of massive volumes of employee feedback
• Identify patterns earlier
• Personalize recognition at scale
• Close the gap between what employees say and what organizations actually do
In this episode, Rob Catalano joins us to unpack how AI is reshaping employee engagement and what HR leaders need to rethink now if they want to stay ahead.
We explore:
👉 Why listening and recognition can no longer operate as siloed initiatives
👉 How AI changes the equation for engagement strategy
👉 What smarter, continuous listening really looks like in practice
👉 How AI can help close the action gap between insight and impact
👉 What HR leaders should start doing today to prepare for 2026
If you're responsible for employee engagement, culture, or performance, this conversation will challenge how you think about listening, recognition, and the future of employee experience.
About Rob Catalano:
Rob Catalano is the Chief Engagement Officer and Co-Founder of WorkTango, an award-winning Employee Experience platform helping organizations improve engagement, increase retention, and boost performance through employee surveys and recognition & rewards software.
About WorkTango:
WorkTango is an Employee Experience platform that helps leaders improve engagement, increase retention, and boost performance while reducing costs through integrated Employee Surveys and Recognition & Rewards solutions.
Learn more:
👉 https://www.worktango.com/
About ScaleHR:
The Unmuted Podcast is powered by ScaleHR (https://goscalehr.com), a rapidly growing company supporting emerging HR, Recruitment, and Work Tech startups and SMBs with brand awareness and lead generation.
Our proprietary solution, Catalyst, blends content strategy, influencer marketing, and omnichannel distribution to help brands cut through the noise.
📩 Connect with ScaleHR: https://www.goscalehr.com/
#Podcast #EmployeeEngagement #HRTech #AI #FutureOfWork #Recognition #EmployeeExperience #PeopleAndCulture #UnmutedPodcast
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