Rethinking Retention: Inside Sprout Solutions’ the State of HR Summit 2025 and the Human+AI Future of Work

HR leaders uncovered a powerful truth: in an AI-driven world, it’s human connection, purposeful work, and empowered leadership that remain the most vital drivers of employee retention.

What does it take to keep talent in an era where artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the workplace? This question served as the springboard for the State of HR Summit 2025, a one-day gathering of business leaders, HR innovators, and digital transformation advocates held last June 24 at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria.

Organized by Sprout Solutions in partnership with BS Works, this year’s summit bore the theme “Rethinking Retention in the Human + AI Workplace,” drawing over 500 participants from across industries for a full-day deep dive into how organizations can build future-ready people strategies without losing the human touch.

In his opening remarks, Sprout Solutions Chief Operating Officer Kislay Chandra challenged the audience to rethink retention strategies in today’s AI-powered, ever evolving workplace.

“We are making sure that we don’t lose being human. Human and Ai together will make that next big leap, and it is our job to make sure that we push people in the right direction,” he said.

Lufthansa Technik Philippines VP of People Maria Lourdes Ann “L.A.” Cruz delivered the morning’s first keynote, titled “The Great Recalibration: Redefining Work, Purpose and People in the Age of AI.” Cruz spoke candidly about  redefining talent value and championing the human side of AI transformation.

“Continue building AI-augmented workplaces meant to empower people, not meant to replace them but even harness the potential of the human mind and the human capability,” Cruz advised.

Cruz was followed by Cliff Eala, CEO of BS Works, who, in his keynote, introduced a behavioral lens to understanding employee retention: the Job Embeddedness Framework, a model built on fit, links, and sacrifice—factors often overlooked in traditional attrition analysis.  He discussed how these factors shape retention, and how culture, leadership, technology, and AI can help build a stronger, more connected workforce.

Eala shared a startling revelation: while AI adoption in Filipino workplaces has climbed to 62%, it’s not cutting-edge tech that drives employee loyalty—it’s the power of genuine workplace friendships.

This finding is drawn from the 2025 State of HR Report by Sprout Solutions and BS Works, an extensive workforce study featuring responses from 3,819 employees across various industries.

Unveiled during the summit, the report highlights what experts are now calling “The Great AI Retention Paradox”—a phenomenon where, despite growing investments in AI-powered tools, deeply human factors play the biggest role in whether employees stay or leave.

Cliff Eala, CEO of BS Works

Insightful Panel Discussions

In “The AI-Ready HR Team: Powering the Next Chapter of Workforce Strategy,”, Atty. Lester Ople, HR Evangelist at Sprout Solutions, moderated a panel featuring DM Varun of Xoxoday, Mikel Balansag of the International HR Institute, and Thelma Meneses of POWERinU Coaching and Training. They unpacked what HR teams must evolve into: agile, tech-savvy, and data-driven—yet still deeply human.

Atty. Arlene De Castro, Sprout’s Chief People & Customer Officer, moderated “The Fit Factor: Building Careers That Align with Purpose and Performance,” featuring Pierre Monserrate, Chief HR Advisor at FAST Logistics; Dr. Au Caday, ​​CHRO & SVP at Mama Lou’s Group Holdings Inc.; Dr. Aika Buenavista, Lifestyle Medicine Specialist at mWell; and Maria Cristina Reclamado, Chief HR Officer at Remote Staff. They discussed career pathing, performance clarity, and how to support long-term alignment between individual goals and company direction.

The afternoon began with a product showcase that doubled as a milestone moment for Sprout.  Sprout’s product and marketing leads unveiled a refreshed suite of tools, marking the company’s evolution from HR tech provider to full-scale solutions partner.

Talent strategy took center stage in “The New Rules of Talent: Using AI to Evolve Hiring and Keep Great People,” where Angela Merici Fleta, HR Consultant at Citadel Pacific; Vane Macatangay, Group Deputy Chief People Officer & PH Country HR Head at Tonik; and DashoContent Founder Fleire Castro shared how AI is reshaping hiring, onboarding, and engagement. 

Speaking from experience, Castro said, “The hires are matching the profiles to the exact needs of the organization or to the role that you’re looking for. And so the AI tools that we have used, when I introduced it to them, it increased the capability threefold.” 

In a standout panel moderated by Crissy Rollan, Canva’s Alvanson So, Tala’s Mia Lim, and Lufthansa’s L.A. Cruz discussed how empowered leadership functions as the cornerstone of retention. The insight: even the best tools can’t retain talent if managers fail to inspire.

“Help us help you. Make it real when we say ‘retaining talent through empowerment on leadership,” Rollan said, concluding the segment.

Sprout client Margaux Monteiro-Escudero, General Manager of Integrated Office Solutions Inc., closed the program with a compelling case study on digital transformation across the employee lifecycle.

Staying Agile in a Constantly Evolving HR Landscape

In a media briefing session, Sprout Solutions Chief People & Customer Officer Arlene De Castro clarified that the company doesn’t only provide enterprise HR solutions; it also caters to micro, small, and medium enterprises. 

She cited  ReadyCash, a simple and safe way for employees to access salary advances, as an example of a product that could be beneficial to smaller businesses, 

“There’s absolutely no risk on the part of the employer. It’s between Sprout and our third-party provider,” de Castro said. She also claimed that based on Sprout’s surveys, productivity rose to 40% and turnover dipped by 28% in companies that use ReadyCash.

When asked about how Sprout comes to understand the needs of its customers and that it provides solutions that actually meet these needs, Renzo Belardo, Vice President for Growth, said, “We’re super grateful that after 10 years, we are supporting 1,700 customers who employ over 300,000 employees. And when we support them, we do a lot of personalized support. Every month, we have these regular meetings with our clients. Every quarter, we have quarterly business reviews.”

This is to ensure that the issues which led clients to choose Sprout’s software in the first place—whether it was trouble with payroll, handling employee data, or managing their workforce—have truly been addressed and resolved.

During the media briefing, de Castro also doubled-down on Sprout’s mission-vision, which is “to impact the lives of every Filipino by improving businesses here in the Philippines.”

Now on its fourth consecutive run, Sprout Solutions’ annual State of HR summit continues to gain momentum—this year placing the spotlight on fresh, data-backed insights that help organizations strike the right balance between AI integration and people-first workplace culture.