Amazon has opened The Spheres, an office complex with three glass domes housing about 40,000 plants on its main Seattle campus. Amazon hopes the greenhouselike space spurs worker innovation and creativity.

Some employers who have hired ex-offenders report these "second chancers" are loyal and have a lower turnover rate than other workers do, says Jeffrey Korzenik of Fifth Third Bank. Korzenik offers tips to employers who want to hire people with a criminal record, highlighting the importance of partnering with organizations that work with and support these recruits.

Finding, training and retaining the most talented people require a unified strategy that removes subjectivity from the process, writes Rex Conner, owner of Mager Consortium. Employees are able to thrive when employers outline clear objectives, performance expectations and skills needed to complete tasks.

Bank of America will join the list of companies banning salary-history questions in the job interview process. The bank says the change is another step toward ending the gender pay gap.

Companies that make excuses for not hiring a chief people officer or an HR leader in the C-suite are making a critical mistake, TalentCulture CEO Meghan Biro writes. Biro offers four common reasons companies say they don't have a people chief and explains how the position helps organizations scale up and keep the most talented employees.