The Thomas Story: Best Implementation of AI in Employee Engagement

Thomas earned the Engage Award for Best Implementation of AI in Employee Engagement with a people-centred AI coach that turns decades of behavioural science into real-time, practical guidance for everyday work

For those unfamiliar with your entry, can you summarise how you’ve utilised AI in employee engagement?

We’re proud to have developed Thom, our AI-powered coach which is designed to make people science both practical and personal. Thom supports users of the Thomas Connect platform by helping them apply the insights from psychometrics in their everyday work life.

With Thom, employees and managers receive real-time, tailored advice based on each person’s unique behavioural profile, created from an initial psychometric assessment. Whether it’s giving feedback, navigating tough conversations, understanding team dynamics, or finding the best way to motivate colleagues, Thom is there to guide users instantly.

What makes Thom special is how it turns complex insights into simple, actionable advice — right in the flow of work. Instead of relying on one-off surveys or reports that gather dust, Thom provides continuous support, helping people understand themselves and each other better. The result? Stronger relationships, clearer communication, and empowered teams building a more connected, engaged culture from the ground up.

What inspired your AI initiative, and what employee-focused ambition drove it?

Our initiative was born out of a pressing global challenge: workplace disconnection. Research from leading sources such as Gallup and Gartner, combined with direct feedback from our clients, reveals a clear reality - traditional employee engagement methods are no longer enough.

Despite being more digitally connected than ever, employees often feel mentally and emotionally disconnected. Annual surveys may highlight these issues, but they’re slow, retrospective, and rarely actionable. This leaves managers and teams without the real-time insights they need to address problems as they arise — ultimately widening the gap between connection and engagement. We saw an opportunity to apply our 40 years of expertise in people science to create a more effective solution that tackles the sentiment behind those falling employee engagement results.

Our ambition was to empower every employee by putting valuable insights directly into their hands. We wanted to move beyond simply identifying problems and instead provide a tool that helps people build stronger connections and improve their working relationships. By creating an AI coach that offers tailored, practical advice, and embedding it alongside the Connection Measure (our scientifically validated measure for tracking organisational connection), we aimed to give individuals and managers the confidence and support needed to create a truly connected culture, enhancing both performance and wellbeing.

Which feature or outcome of your AI solution are you most proud of?

We are most proud of how Thom makes sophisticated psychological insights accessible and practical for everyone in an organisation. Thom AI translates complex behavioural data into simple, conversational advice that can be applied immediately in real-world scenarios. Not only does this increase individual productivity and help teams to communicate better, but it also democratises people science, empowering employees at all levels to improve their interactions and build stronger relationships without needing to be experts in psychometrics. Previously this sort of insight would only have been available to leaders and people professionals. It now has the potential to really help organisations to accelerate cultural change.

And the outcome is tangible. At Thomas alone, there’s been a real shift in how teams communicate and collaborate. Seeing individuals use Thom to prepare for one-to-ones or understand a colleague's communication style better, is incredibly rewarding. It confirms we have created a tool that not only provides data but also genuinely helps people connect on a more human level. This in turn leads to more supportive and effective work environments.

When did you first see AI delivering meaningful results for colleagues?

We saw Thom AI start delivering meaningful results early on, particularly within our onboarding process. For new hires, joining a company (especially in a hybrid setting), can often be a time of uncertainty and second-guessing their relationships. With access to Thom and the team’s behavioural profiles from day one, new colleagues reported that they were able to understand their team's communication preferences and working styles before they even started. This immediately reduced the initial awkwardness and helped them integrate much more quickly.

The feedback we received was that new starters felt more confident and reassured, as they could tailor their approach to make a positive first impression. One new manager described it as being able to ‘meet’ the team before their first day, allowing them to build rapport faster. This demonstrated that Thom was becoming a tool with practical utility, that directly addressed the human challenges of starting a new role.

What aspect of your AI implementation truly represents category-leading innovation?

Our category-leading innovation lies in the ethical and scientifically rigorous application of AI to interpret and deliver psychometric insights. Thom does not operate like a generic chatbot; its advice is grounded in over 40 years of psychological research and validated behavioural science. Dealing with such personal data, we knew we had an ethical responsibility to our users. So we worked hard to create a tool that could provide personalised, context-aware coaching that is both safe and accurate. If Thom does not have a scientifically backed answer, it will not pretend to. And that makes it pretty unique in a world of AI which needs extensive fact checking.

This fusion of cutting-edge AI, with a deep understanding of human behaviour, is what sets us apart. We have successfully translated complex data into a tool that supports better conversations and stronger relationships in the moments that matter. The judges at the Engage Awards recognised this, calling it a "smart, evidence-based use of AI" that helps turn insight into action and drive real cultural change.

What impact has the technology made on your people, culture or ways of working?

The technology has had a significant impact in helping us to create a culture of open communication and shared responsibility. By providing a common language to discuss behavioural styles and preferences, Thom and the Connection Measure have empowered our teams to have more honest and constructive conversations. This has been particularly valuable in our hybrid working model, helping to maintain strong connections regardless of physical location.

For our managers, it has provided scalable, in-the-moment support, acting as a sounding board for day-to-day leadership challenges. This has improved their confidence and capability, especially when navigating difficult conversations or supporting team wellbeing under pressure. Overall, it has shifted our approach to understanding employee engagement, moving us away from a top-down, annual survey event to a continuous, team-owned process that is embedded in our daily work. Employees feel more involved in our engagement initiatives - and that has had a direct impact on our culture.

Why did you choose to enter, and what does winning mean to your team?

We chose to enter the Engage Awards because we believe we have created something genuinely new and impactful in the employee engagement space. We wanted to share how we are combining our deep expertise in psychology with ethical AI to address the widespread challenge of workplace disconnection. We felt that our focus on making people science accessible and actionable for everyone was an innovative approach worth highlighting.

Winning this award is a tremendous validation of our team's hard work, research, and commitment to our vision. It recognises our innovative spirit and confirms that our approach to tackling employee engagement through connection is leading the way. For the team, it serves as powerful encouragement and reinforces our belief that we are making a real difference in creating more human and connected workplaces.

What advice would you share with others exploring AI for employee engagement?

Good question. Our advice would be to ensure that any AI solution is grounded in a deep and ethical understanding of human behaviour. AI is a powerful tool, but for it to be effective in employee engagement, it must be built on a foundation of proven science and a people-first approach. Focus on creating a tool that empowers employees and enhances human judgment, rather than one that seeks to replace it.

Start with a clear, employee-focused problem you want to solve, and be rigorous in your research and validation. Transparency is also key; be open about how the AI works and how data is used, to build trust. Ultimately, we believe that the goal should be to use AI to create better human connection and understanding - creating a more supportive and productive work environment for everyone.

To register your interest for the 2026 Engage Employee Summit click here: https://www.engageemployee.com/engage-employee-summit-registration