When the global pandemic took hold a year-plus ago, fast-casual restaurants found themselves at a distinct disadvantage to quick-service chains that already had significant infrastructure in place for both pickup and delivery.

As a company whose success depends on change management, Cognizant puts a premium on its internal culture. From the vantage point of a lifelong career in human resources, Becky Schmitt talked with The HR Digest about the various programs which have put Cognizant on the global map as one of the top companies for star performers.

Cognizant, which has about two lakh employees in India, is also providing an additional $2 million (about ₹15 crore) in emergency funding to UNICEF in India to help address acute shortages in oxygen and deploying medical and testing supplies.

Indian information technology (IT) companies are increasingly focusing on elevating and retaining more women in leadership roles and ensuring there is diversity at the top.

Human-centered design thinking helps make people feel more understood, and provides plan sponsors with a way to support their employees as they age.

With intelligent machines all around us, it is only natural for them to follow us to work. Companies today are redefining their approach towards analytics, and AI and robotics are well on their way to complement human effort across industries.

In a bid to support its associates in India and their communities fight the second wave, Cognizant has launched Operation C3 – Cognizant Combats COVID-19.

AI is used in many areas of insurance, and it can help workers save time, digest large volumes of data and erase human errors. But is there a need for a human touch when it comes to complex claims, and how do we master the balance between humans and robots?

In 2021, artificial intelligence has found its stride. By replacing anecdotes, assumptions and gut feelings with real-world data and learning-based models, AI is powering a global pandemic response that rises above policy and privacy differences to unlock the value of data sharing and cross-organisational collaboration.

While digitally enabled "jobs of the future" are still below their pre-pandemic level, new data suggests they are on the way back.