Thom: The award-winning AI coach transforming connection at work
Updated
19 November 2025
We’re thrilled to share that Thomas has won Best Implementation of AI in Employee Engagement at the 2025 Engage Awards! It's a proud moment for our team – and for the thousands using Thomas Connect to build stronger, more connected workplaces around the world.
At the heart of Thomas Connect is Thom, our AI coach powered by people science. Alongside the Connection Measure, it helps people connect with purpose - so managers can lead with confidence, teams work more effectively, and individuals feel more fulfilled.
Let’s take a closer look at why the judges called it award-winning.
A smarter way to build connection:
Thomas Connect is designed to help people build better working relationships - and keep them strong over time.
It brings together three simple but powerful elements:
- Thom, your AI coach offering real-time, personalised guidance at work based on validated behavioral insights.
- The Connection Measure, a short pulse survey that highlights how connected people feel at work - across key areas including trust, cohesion, and wellbeing.
- Sharable insights that teams and managers can use to improve communication, support, and day-to-day collaboration.
Together, they turn behavioral data into something useful and actionable - helping people check in, speak up, and work better together.
Why we built it:
You asked, and we listened. Leaders told us that annual surveys weren’t cutting it. Managers needed tools they could use in the moment. And teams wanted insights that led to action - not just reports that gathered dust.
At the same time, global engagement is declining. Gallup estimates disengagement is costing the world economy $9.6 trillion a year. That’s roughly $1.3 million lost every working second.
It was clear to us that organisations need better ways to:
- Understand what’s really going on with their people
- Support conversations without overwhelming busy managers
- Provide tools that are flexible, easy to use, and backed by science
So, we built Thomas Connect as a way to measure connection, support growth, and create momentum.
Meet Thom, your AI coach and connection guide:
Thom is the first AI coach built entirely on behavioral science. Using your Behavioral Profile - and those of your team - Thom gives practical, bite-sized coaching tailored to real situations: giving feedback, resolving conflict, supporting change, and more.
Whether you’re preparing for a difficult conversation or helping someone through a challenge, Thom gives advice that’s relevant, grounded, and ready when you are.
“Thom gives me quick, personalised tips that are actually relevant to what my team needs to thrive.”
Kira van Niekerk, Global Connection Enablement Director
With AI, we could build behavioral coaching that meets you where you are - so you can lead more effectively and bring your best self to work.
Why we won: Real value, real impact
“The judges were impressed by this exciting innovation, particularly how it puts tools, insights, and conversations directly in leaders’ hands. Using a variety of approaches to tackle the challenges of building a positive culture in today’s changing workplace, the AI Coach Thom stood out as a brilliant way to help leaders digest information and take tangible action. A smart, evidence-based application of AI in the workplace.”
Engage Awards 2025 Judging Panel.
The win recognises the real-world impact of Connect to both identify what’s truly going on within teams but also to help managers and teams actually do something about it.
Here are just some of the ways we’ve seen it making a difference:
- Helping new joiners hit the ground running
With access to team insights from day one, onboarding becomes faster, smoother, and more personal. - Supporting managers when it matters most
Thom AI offers just-in-time coaching for everyday leadership moments - building clarity and confidence that takes some of the overwhelm out of managing in 2025. - Driving continuous improvement
Regular Connection Measure surveys give teams a rhythm of honest check-ins, helping spot small issues early and start discussion. Then Thom steps in to help you take regular, consistent action. - Enabling culture transformation
By surfacing the right insights at the right time, teams can have more open conversations and take shared ownership of change. - Making hybrid teams feel more connected
In hybrid or remote settings, the Connection Measure helps reveal unseen dynamics and keeps teams aligned, wherever they are. And Thom makes every interaction count. - Scaling personal development without extra overheads
Thom offers tailored support for every manager - no training required. And every recommendation is grounded in validated behavioural science - designed to help people grow, not replace them.
What’s next?
We believe connection is the foundation of great performance. With Thomas Connect, we’re giving teams a smarter, more human way to stay connected - even as the world of work keeps shifting.
It’s scalable, easy to use, and built for impact - at any size, in any setting.
Discover award-winning AI coaching
Meet Thom, your partner in employee engagement.
A fresh, practical way to use people science, Thom puts the power of psychology straight into the hands of your employees. Winner of the 2025 award for Best Implementation of AI in Employee Engagement, judges at the Engage Awards called it the tool that can drive “real cultural change.”
