Recruiting Future with Matt Alder - What's Next For Talent Acquisition, HR & Hiring?

The idea of a TA Tech stack has gone mainstream very quickly. It makes perfect sense as employers look to have fit for purpose technology to support all elements of their talent acquisition strategy. While integration is a lot easier than it was a few years ago, there are still significant challenges that TA leaders need to understand and prepare for. So what are the key issues? My guest this week is the perfect person to talk us through the current market situation and provide some practical advice. Peter Gold has been working in the ATS market since day one and has a vast amount of knowledge and experience to share. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The current state of the ATS market ▪ The key integration issues ▪ Asking for evidence of integrations ▪ Marketplaces ▪ Marketing spin versus implementation reality ▪ Challenges in volume ▪ AI, humans and automation ▪ Advice for TA Leaders Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

Building and engaging with talent pipelines has been something we have been discussing for years, but it has always surprised that there are so few employers who do it well and even fewer that do it over extended periods. Technology, recruiting and communication have evolved significantly over the last two years, opening up opportunities for companies to devise very sophisticated pipelining and engagement strategies to help address resourcing challenges such as diversity hiring and skill shortages. So who is doing this well, and how are they doing it? My guest this week is Jason Boone, Diversity & Military Outreach Leader at Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin has a long-term talent pipeline strategy that sees them engage some communities of talent for 3 to 8 years before hiring. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The recruiting challenges at Lockheed Martin ▪ Investing in the emerging workforce ▪ Long term engagement strategies to increase diversity ▪ The role of time and touchpoints in building the brand, creating relationships, driving efficiency and improving offer acceptance ▪ Content strategies ▪ Time focused candidate-centric resources. ▪ The most surprising hiring success ▪ The role of technology ▪ Pushing talent across the enterprise ▪ Mashing up strategies and technologies Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

Back in April, I ran a live podcast conference on the future of talent acquisition in partnership with the team at TA Tech. We had ten excellent speakers across five topic sessions, and I'm delighted to now be able to bring you the content to you as a series of podcasts. I'm releasing these every Friday for the next few weeks, so if you don't want to miss them, make sure you have subscribed to the show. Following on from the Recruitment Marketing session last week, this week's release is the panel debate on Recruitment Advertising. My highly knowledgeable guests were Ellie Harte, Recruitment Partner Talent Attraction from Atkins and KJ, CEO of Joveo. We are at a real inflection point with recruitment advertising now, and this discussion will give you some clear insights into the strategies and technologies that will shape the future. In the conversation, we discuss: ▪ The current state of the market ▪ Shortening attention spans and changing media consumption habits ▪ The imbalance between supply and demand ▪ How can employers stand out ▪ Outcome-based advertising ▪ Data and predictive analytics ▪ Understanding target audience and segmentation ▪ Testing messaging ▪ The power of authentic content ▪ Automation ▪ What future shifts can we expect to see? Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

There is currently daily speculation about what the future of work will now look like and how employees might be feeling about it. Rather than trading in speculation and assumptions, I wanted to bring you some proper data to help us find out what is actually happening. With that in mind, my guest this week is Jon Wilson, CEO of Totaljobs. Every year Totaljobs work with their international partners in The Network in conjunction with Boston Consulting to produce the largest survey of employees and job seekers in the world. The latest research is built on data gathered from over 200,000 respondents across 190 countries and looks at the pandemic's impact on employment preferences and global talent mobility trends. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The methodology behind the research ▪ Remote work and whether employees expect it to continue ▪ The advantages and implications of remote work across borders ▪ Employee experience, what is important to people now ▪ DE&I ▪ Sustainability and environmental issues ▪ Reskilling and career changes ▪ What happens next Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

The last 12 months have been transformational for recruiting technology, with both employers and vendors having to adapt very quickly to the new market realities. So what does the technology landscape now look like in talent acquisition, what are the key trends and what do we need to keep an eye for the future. My guest this week is David Wilson, CEO of industry analysts Fosway Group. Fosway. as ever, have been watching the market closely and have just released an updated version of their influential 9 Box Grid on TA technology. Keep listening to hear David's insights on how technology has evolved in the last 12 months and where it is going. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The 9 Box Grid methodology and the type of vendors included ▪ How vendors have responded to the pandemic ▪ The pandemic as a catalyst for change in TA technology ▪ The ATS, CRM, TRM evolution ▪ Talent mobility and talent marketplaces ▪ Room for improvement in data analytics ▪ What will the next 12 months look like Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

Back in April, I ran a live podcast conference on the future of talent acquisition in partnership with the team at TA Tech. We had ten excellent speakers across five topic sessions, and I'm delighted to now be able to bring the content to you as a series of podcasts. I'll be releasing these every Friday for the next five weeks, so if you don't want to miss them, make sure you have subscribed to the show. First up is our session on the future recruitment marketing featuring Allyn Bailey from Intel and Chris Forman from Appcast. This was a really lively debate with a big focus on the current inversion we are seeing in the talent market and the transformative effect it is likely to have on recruitment marketing. In the conversation, we discuss: ▪ The inverted job market and the change it might drive in recruitment marketing. ▪ What is driving the change in job seeker behaviour? ▪ A critical need to think differently ▪ Precision targeting and segmentation ▪ Recruitment marketers need to be technology wizards. ▪ The rise of the dedicated recruitment marketing function ▪ Autonomous matching ▪ What recruitment marketing will look like in two years Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Virtual communication has been the mainstay for all of us for nearly 18 months now. As employers consider how they will work post-pandemic, the debate about what stays virtual in the future is going to dominate the next few months. There is always lots of discussion about the negative aspects of endless Zoom or Teams calls, but what would we lose if we return to our old ways of working? To help provide some perspective on this, I have a very special guest. Jackie Weaver became an instant celebrity after a Zoom recording of a chaotic meeting of Handforth Parish Council went viral. As well as cheering us all up during a very long miserable locked down winter, Jackie has used her platform to champion the work of town and parish councils and increase the diversity of their membership. There are some interesting parallels for employers here, and Jackie most definitely does have the authority. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ That Zoom meeting and instant global internet fame ▪ The positives of virtual communication ▪ Engaging with diverse audiences through virtual platforms ▪ Inclusivity and accessibility ▪ Virtual, face to face and hybrid ▪ What can employers learn from what is now happening to parish and town council meetings? ▪ What Jackie Weaver is doing next Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

The challenges for recruiting in hospitality at the moment are unprecedented both in the US and the UK. The jobs market has inverted, and there are currently many more roles than there are people searching for jobs. The extent of this imbalance has taken the industry by surprise and put many companies on the back foot and struggling to reopen fully. So what can employers do to get the talent they need, not just in the hospitality industry but also in other sectors where talent is in short supply. My guest this week is Brandon Batt, Director of People at Savory Restaurant Fund. Savory has several restaurant brands and is being very successful at staffing them despite the current talent market crisis. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The current challenges in the hospitality industry ▪ An unprecedented imbalance in supply and demand ▪ The importance of thinking creatively ▪ Focusing on the fundamentals of culture ▪ What is important to employees ▪ Telling employee stories and reflecting the EVP ▪ Equipping employees with the right tools for referrals ▪ Using recruiting technology to its full extent ▪ Thinking outside of the ATS ▪ Communicating with candidates in their chosen channels. ▪ What does the future look like for recruiting? Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts. `

Health and wellbeing are now front and centre of the employee experience and fast becoming a critical factor in talent acquisition and retention. This is especially true in the retail industry, whose employees have had to face massive amounts of uncertainty during the pandemic and genuine concerns about their personal safety. Next week retail industry charity retailTRUST is holding an online event to champion the health and wellbeing of the retail workforce following the reopening of non-essential shops across the UK. As part of the build-up to the event, I spoke to Chris Brook-Carter, CEO of retailTRUST and Louise Stonier, Chief People Officer at Pets at Home, about the renewed focus on health and wellbeing in the employee experience. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The work of retailTRUST and how it has been supporting the industry during the pandemic ▪ What is essential to retail employees right now ▪ The vital importance of transparent and clear communication ▪ Building a coalition of employers to champion health within the sector ▪ Retail as a post-pandemic force for good ▪ How health and wellbeing are now critical for talent acquisition and retention Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

It's becoming increasingly clear to me from the conversations I'm having with talent acquisition professionals worldwide that what happens in the coming months will set a course for a wholesale transformation of our industry. Talent markets are changing, technology is changing, employers are changing, and the very nature of work itself is changing. So how do we navigate these disruptive times? My guest this week is Joe Mullings, Chairman and CEO of the Mullings Groups of Companies. Joe has some very strong and very well informed opinions on what the future looks like for talent acquisition. Take a listen to our conversation, and I would love to know whether you agree or disagree with him. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ What happens next? ▪ The challenges of the hybrid workforce ▪ Disruptive forces in the talent market ▪ Building a hiring brand ▪ The golden age of recruiting ▪ The difference between HR and Talent Acquisition ▪ Who has the leverage? ▪ Talent Acquisition versus Talent Access ▪ Advice for Talent Acquisition and HR professionals Follow this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

Round up is the monthly show on The Recruiting Future Podcast channel that highlights episodes you may have missed and gives you my take on some of the key learnings from the guests. Episodes mentioned in this Round Up: Ep 342: Trust & Accountability Ep 343: Scaling Up Ep 344: The Future Of Talent Acquisition Ep 345: How To Work Alone Ep 346: Emotional Wellness Ep 347: Change Management & Adoption Ep 348: Diversity and Disability Ep 349: Automation & Candidate Experience Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts

As the adoption and sophistication of recruiting automation gather pace, it's essential to understand its constituent parts and the advantages and disadvantages of automating specific recruiting processes. One area of the recruiting experience that doesn't get much attention is interview scheduling. A recently published research report from Cronofy has shed new light on the impact interview scheduling has on the candidate experience. I wanted to explore this in more detail. With that in mind, this episode has a bit of a different format. My first guest is Adam Bird, CEO Cronofy, to talk us through the report's findings. I then expand out the conversation and bring in talent acquisition leaders Izzy Hung, Global Executive Hiring Lead at Forgerock and Ben Gledhill, Head of Resourcing at Thames Water, to get their thoughts on interview scheduling and recruiting automation in general. In the conversation, we discuss: ▪ The report's methodology and key findings ▪ The impact of a poor interview scheduling experience on candidate decision making ▪ Does automation work for all levels of recruiting? ▪ The impact of the pandemic ▪ Candidate feedback ▪ Using technology to facilitate workflows ▪ Technical integration ▪ Driving differentiation through tech stacks ▪ The future for recruiting automation Download the report Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

Back in Episode 335, I published an interview where we talked about Neurodiversity in the workplace. The episode generated a lot of interest, and many organisations got in touch with me to share their stories. One that really stood out was a non-profit called Creative Spirit, which helps create integrated employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Creative Spirit is doing some vital work, and I'm delighted that their Co-Founder Laurel Rossi joins me as my guest this week. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Creative Spirit's backstory and purpose ▪ Being a genuinely inclusive employer and how the pandemic is changing everything ▪ Busting the myths about employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities ▪ Success stories and shout outs ▪ Advice to Talent Acquisition Leaders ▪ How to get involved with Creative Spirit Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

The growth in adoption of Recruiting Technology is continuing to speed up exponentially. There is always a lot of focus on the types of software companies should be buying but often not as much focus on the amount of internal change management involved to make the technology work within the organization. So what how should companies be thinking about this, and what kind of strategies should they be building? My guest this week is someone who helps to design change management and adoption strategies on a daily basis. Jen Wilks is VP of Professional Services at Eightfold Ai and has a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience to share on what makes technology implementations successful. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Why change management is so important in software implementation ▪ Achieving executive buy-in ▪ Pilots and early wins ▪ Common pitfalls and mistakes ▪ Communication strategies ▪ Adoption Planning ▪ Gamification ▪ Outcomes and success criteria Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

After the events of the past twelve months, employees' emotional well-being should be right at the top of the agenda for all businesses. So what can employers do to help, and how does the support they give sit right at the heart of their employer brand and values? My guest this week is Dan Anastas, VP of Total Rewards and HR Operations at UI Path. UI Path has made their employees' emotional health a business imperative and uses several different tools and approaches to help them. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ How the pandemic has affected employee experience ▪ Emotional health as a crucial part of well being ▪ How UI Path is supporting its employees ▪ Thinking about the whole person ▪ The role of digital tools ▪ The importance of feedback mechanisms ▪ Reducing the load ▪ Emotional health and Employer brand ▪ The future of work and what is next for UI path Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

Working at home and working alone has always been a challenge at the best of times. When you add in a global pandemic that forces millions of people to become solo home workers with no guidance or planning, it's no wonder things are tough for many people. So what are the secrets to successful solo working, and what is the future of work and the workplace going to look like? My guest this week is broadcaster and journalist Rebecca Seal. Earlier in the year, Rebecca published one of the most useful and timely books I've ever read. It's called " Solo: How to Work Alone (and not lose your mind)" and I'm delighted to able to talk to her about it. So whether you are just trying to get through to the end of the pandemic, trying to work out whether home working is what you want to do in the long term or considering starting up in business on your own, then I guarantee you'll get a lot of value from Rebecca's insights. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The challenges of working alone ▪ Why the last 12 months are not representative of working from home ▪ The opportunity to take a human-centred approach to business operations ▪ ▪ Why do we still work in a way designed for the industrial age of the 19th Century? ▪ The importance of measuring broader outputs than time worked. ▪ Practical advice for people who are struggling and what can leaders do to help ▪ The scientific basis of Zoom fatigue ▪ Virtual worlds ▪ Why it's too early to make decisions on the future of work. Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

It's April 2021, and we really are standing at a crossroads in terms of the future of talent acquisition. Labour markets are changing, there is a rapid adoption of new technologies, and there is a reinvention in the way we work. So how best to strategically navigate through these changing times. Well, who better to help point the way than my guest this week. As the preeminent analyst in talent technology, Josh Bersin doesn't need much of an introduction. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ How the pandemic is affecting talent markets ▪ Job automation ▪ The need for constant reskilling ▪ Talent mobility ▪ Internal talent marketplaces ▪ Gig work, deconstructing jobs and the evolution of employment ▪ Medium and long term trends to be prepared for Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

I've always found it fascinating to study high growth companies and start-ups that are seriously scaling up. Things move at a million miles an hour, and some serious lessons can be learned about culture, skills development, talent management and talent acquisition. My guest this week is Sandy Scholes, Chief People Officer at Flipp, a fast-growth retail technology company based out of Toronto. Toronto is a highly competitive talent market, and Sandy has some very valuable insights to share on acquiring and retaining the right talent for a scale-up business. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The people challenges at Flipp ▪ How do you build a culture? ▪ How the pandemic has changed Flipp's approach to employee experience ▪ Ensuring the right skills are in the business. ▪ How to stand out and attract talent in a tough market ▪ Raising the bar on recruiting. ▪ Career Journeys Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts. Sign up for the live Recruiting Future event

Trust at work has been in the news a lot recently. Whether it's Zoom fatigue caused by too many pointless meetings, employers using software to spy on employees in their own homes or forced returns to the office, it is clear that our new world of work still doesn't sit comfortably with some employers. So how should we be thinking about trust at work now, and does rethinking our whole approach to accountability hold some of the answers on how we move forward? My guest this week is Carolyn Taylor, a global thought leader on corporate culture change. Carolyn has written a brilliant new book called Accountability@Work, which offers some very practical advice on building a scalable system of accountability that will help everyone who leads a team. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Why culture really matters during the pandemic ▪ Types of trust: reliability, motivation and capability ▪ Empowerment and equality ▪ What is accountability ▪ Being counted on ▪ Mitigating risk ▪ Outcomes and learning experiences ▪ Inclusion and hybrid working ▪ Our relationship with technology ▪ Predictions on the future of work Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

Round up is the monthly show on The Recruiting Future Podcast channel that highlights episodes you may have missed and gives you my take on some of the key learnings from the guests. Episodes mentioned in this Round Up: Ep 335 Neurodiversity Ep 336: Jobs At Risk Ep 337 – Interview Intelligence Ep 338: Future Brainfood Ep 339: Diversity Hiring Ep 340: Changing Candidate Experience Ep 341: Culture Fit Doesn’t Exist Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts

An area that has been of genuine interest to me recently has been company culture and how some of the core ways we used to think about it are being disrupted. Remote working has meant companies are having to think much harder about how they work and showcasing their culture during the recruiting process has become a real challenge. Another significant area of debate has been the use of culture fit as an assessment criteria and whether culture fit even exists. My guest this week is Bret Putter, CEO of Culture Gene and author of several books on company culture. Brett spends a significant amount of his time researching corporate cultures with a strong recent focus on companies that were already working remotely before the pandemic. He has some very valuable insights to share on what company culture now means in our much disrupted times. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The definition of culture ▪ The culture challenges of remote working ▪ Best practices of remote-first organisations ▪ Asynchronous communication ▪ Why there is no such thing as culture fit ▪ How can employers leverage culture in a virtual recruitment process? ▪ What long time changes are we likely to see post-pandemic Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

Candidate Experience has been a regular topic on this podcast as long as this podcast has existed. People often get frustrated that we keep having to talk about it as poor candidate experiences still persist for many. However, improving the candidate experience isn't a single time-limited problem; it is an ongoing process that evolves in line with expectations and technology. With that in mind, talent acquisition teams must treat candidate experience strategically as a science rather than as a one-off project. My guest this week is Kevin Grossman, President of The Talent Board, the organisers of the Candidate Experience Awards. The Candidate Experience Awards have been running for ten years now, and Kevin has a massive amount of valuable data-based insights to share on how the candidate experience challenge has been evolving. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The methodology and data behind The Candidate Experience Awards ▪ Candidate Experience as an ongoing challenge, not a single problem ▪ Transparency and feedback ▪ The challenge of sustaining a high-quality experience ▪ How the pandemic has increased transparency ▪ The rise of recruiting automation and how it is improving the candidate experience ▪ Taking a more scientific approach ▪ How chatbots are filling the communication gap ▪ Technology doesn't fix flawed processes. ▪ What might the future look like Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are critically important. However, despite much discussion and debate, many employers are still failing to improve their hiring diversity. Those employers that are moving the needle are those that have actionable strategies and leadership accountability. My guest this week is Rachel Hirsch, who is a Recruiter at Frame.io. Frame.io have a genuine focus on diversity equity and inclusion and have tangible results to show for it. In our conversation, Rachel shares the strategy and identifies the key elements that have driven their success. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The key recruiting challenges at Frame.io ▪ How unconscious bias affects diversity in sales leadership ▪ Narrowing requirements to the things that matter most ▪ The complications of the pandemic ▪ Building trust with candidates ▪ The critical importance of allyship and leadership accountability ▪ The results have Frame.io seen from its strategy ▪ What does the future look like Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

It's fair to say that trends in recruiting technology are moving quickly. The events of the last 12 months have turbo boasted some aspects of the market and radically disrupted others. So what's changed, what's accelerating and what does the future look like? My guest this week is the perfect person to ask and was the most requested guest in the audience survey that I ran earlier in the year. Hung Lee is the Editor of the leading industry newsletter Recruiting Brainfood and a keen observer of recruiting technology. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Changing trends ▪ The rise of assessment tech ▪ Interview analytics ▪ The future of automation ▪ Ethics ▪ What happens after the pandemic ▪ How the way the industry educates itself on technology has changed Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Interviews have always been the central tenant of the hiring process and the one area where it has been most challenging to collect meaningful data. The mass move to video interviewing in the last 12 months has potentially changed everything. So, what data can we now gather, and how can it be analysed to drive actionable improvement in the interview process. My guest this week is Siadhal Magos, the Co-Founder and CEO of Metaview. Metaview is a technology start-up that is helping some well know employers gather data and act on interview intelligence in new and innovative ways. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Using data to make sense of interviews at scale ▪ Two techniques to improve interviews ▪ Will technology replace traditional interviews? ▪ What are the critical interview data points? ▪ The correlation between hiring funnel efficiency and interview rigour ▪ Bias and inclusivity ▪ Addressing privacy concerns Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

The future of jobs in an age of AI and automation has been a popular topic on this show. We've tended to talk in quite theoretical terms and never truly considered what practical solutions there might be to the inevitable job displacement. Millions of jobs have already been lost in the pandemic, and the World Economic Forum predicts that an additional 85 million jobs with be lost to automation by 2025. So what type of jobs will disappear, and how do we upskill and transition the large proportion of the workforce who will be affected? My guests this week are Madeleine Gabriel and Karlis Kanders from Nesta, the UK's innovation agency for social good. Nesta has just completed a significant piece of research called Mapping Careers Causeways, which is intended to support job transitions and inform skills policy in a labour market that AI and Automation will forever change. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The uncertain future of work ▪ Which jobs are at risk of automation ▪ Identifying pathways from high-risk occupations to safer ones ▪ Why women are twice as likely to be displaced than men ▪ The three types of core skills that will help people transition ▪ The critical importance of training ▪ The role of talent acquisition ▪ Thinking differently about hiring ▪ Why the best way to predict the future is to create it Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

Back in 2019, I interviewed Theo Smith about Neurodiversity at work. At the time, I didn't have much of an understanding of Neurodiversity, and it was great to learn from Theo about the challenges neurodivergent people face in the workplace, what employers can do to support them and the enormous benefits this support would bring to everyone. Theo has since teamed up with Professor Amanda Kirby, and they are about to publish a book on Neurodiversity at Work. A couple of weeks ago, I caught up with them to find out more about the book and what talent acquisition professionals can be doing to be more inclusive in recruiting and assessment. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ What is Neurodiversity ▪ How do we get the best out of everyone at work? ▪ Cognitive strengths and cognitive struggles ▪ Spiky profiles ▪ Unrealistic job descriptions ▪ Focusing on what people can do rather than what they can't do ▪ Making interviews and assessment more inclusive ▪ How will work change post-pandemic Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcast

Round up is the monthly show on The Recruiting Future Podcast channel that highlights episodes you may have missed and gives you my take on some of the key learnings from the guests. Episodes mentioned in this Round Up: Ep 328: Authentic Hiring Ep 331: Transforming Recruitment Marketing Ep 333: Automation, Simplicity and Experience Ep 332: Careers Site Systems Ep 329: Assessment Lessons From Elite Sport Ep 334: Fair AI Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

The number of talent acquisition technology solutions offering AI continues to grow exponentially. However, we must look at AI's role in recruiting through a critical lens to ensure transparency and that technologies are fair and ethical. If AI is being used to improve the candidate experience and remove bias, how do we make sure it isn't actually making things worse. My guest this week is Barb Hyman, CEO of Predictive Hire, an AI based interviewing solution. Predictive Hire has recently published a paper on Fair AI in recruiting intended to provoke debate and help Talent Acquisition leaders ask the right questions when they are buying a solution. Barb has an HR leadership background which gives her a unique perspective on the dangers and opportunities of the AI revolution. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Fair AI in Recruiting ▪ The importance of vendor self regulation ▪ Why AI should be unbiased, inclusive, valid and explainable ▪ Building trust with talent acquisition leaders and candidates ▪ When AI isn't AI ▪ Why a human candidate experience is critical Download “Fair AI In Recruitment” Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

As regular listeners will know, I often collaborate with HR Technology Analyst Mervyn Dinnen to produce research reports on various aspects of talent technology. Our latest report was published a few weeks ago with support from the learning and performance management platform Bridge. I wanted to bring some of the highlights of our findings to the podcast, so keep listening to hear what we discovered about how the landscape for learning and performance management has been changing during the pandemic. In the episode, we discuss: ▪ Critical skills gaps ▪ The challenges of talent mobility ▪ The importance of specialist and fit for purpose technology ▪ Training to support remote management ▪ The employees perspective ▪ Peer to peer interaction Download the Learning and Performance Management report Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

The events of 2020 / 2021 will shape how talent acquisition operates for years, especially when it comes to recruiting automation. In the past automation in recruiting has often been dismissed as impersonal and ineffective. However, as technology has developed and strategies have changed the immense value and inevitability of automation is becoming clear. My guest this week is Jeff Uden, Head of Talent for UK supermarket, Iceland. Like all frontline food retailers, Iceland has faced some unprecedented talent acquisition challenges during the pandemic. Jeff gives us an insight into the innovations these challenges have driven, and Iceland's successful use of automation to radical enhance both the candidate and hiring manager experience. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The challenge of hiring 5,500 people in 8 weeks ▪ Maximising simplicity and efficiency in the recruiting process ▪ The critical importance of candidate experience ▪ Automation with a human touch ▪ Keeping hiring managers empowered ▪ Return on investment from technology ▪ Change management and stakeholder engagement ▪ The future of talent acquisition at Iceland Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

As I said at the start of the last episode reinventing recruitment marketing is a big topic for talent acquisition this year. Long term listeners to the podcast will also know about my deep-held belief that careers sites are the critical element of recruitment marketing that remains very much underutilised. Many forward-thinking employers are now turning to careers site systems to maximise the recruitment marketing benefits of careers site and minimise their development pain points. So what happens when we start thinking about careers sites as sophisticated software solutions rather than one-off creative projects? My guest this week is James Saunders, CEO of Attrax. Over the last few years, James has been one of the pioneers of careers site systems and has a massive amount of knowledge and experience to share. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ What is a careers site system? ▪ The focal point of employer branding ▪ Strategic positioning ▪ Why employers should invest in their own asset ▪ The dreaded "log in to apply." ▪ The core elements of sophisticated careers sites ▪ Optimising the candidate experience ▪ Personalisation and AI ▪ Unique stats and analytics ▪ Learning from eCommerce ▪ Future innovations Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

It's still early in the year, but the reimagining of Recruitment Marketing is already a big topic for 2021. This has been clear in several conversations I've had with talent acquisition leaders and in the results of the audience survey I currently have running. Many employers are looking to transform their recruitment marketing to meet the new challenges they have and leverage emerging techniques and technologies. So what is cutting-edge thinking in recruitment marketing and what steps do talent acquisition teams need to take to unlock the power of what is possible? To give us some insights to answer these questions, I'm delighted to welcome Allyn Bailey, Global Recruitment Marketing Leader at Intel, back to the podcast. Allyn is one of the most progressive thinkers in our industry, and this is genuinely a must-listen interview. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Why and how recruitment marketing is transforming ▪ Data decision mapping ▪ Collecting target audience data via automation ▪ Segmenting audiences by behaviour and motivation ▪ Candidate data infrastructure ▪ Predictive modelling in recruitment marketing ▪ Building purposeful engagement plans ▪ Providing genuine value with content ▪ Advice to talent acquisition leaders on how to start their transformation ▪ What does the longer term future look like for recruitment marketing Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

We are living through a time of immense disruption the full scale of which we don't yet fully understand. The pandemic has caused millions to lose their jobs and changed the business models of entire industries. Understanding the skills now needed in the labour market and the level of reskilling required is further complicated by the rise of artificial intelligence and automation. So what does the future of work now look like and how can companies and individuals navigate the next few years? My guest this week is Dr Michelle Weise, Senior Advisor at Imaginable Futures and author of the book, Long Life Learning - Preparing for jobs that don't even exist yet. Michelle specialises in the future of work and the future of learning and has some incredibly valuable insights to share In the interview, we discuss: ▪ A more positive vision for the future of work ▪ The lack of a common skills taxonomy ▪ Data infrastructure for talent mobility ▪ Why employers are struggling to articulate the skills they have and recognise the gaps ▪ The role of technology ▪ Restructuring the working day to enable reskilling ▪ Developing an "Education GPS" ▪ What does the future look like and how can we solve these problems Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

Understanding and assessing talent is something I don't think we talk about in enough detail in our industry. Advances in both technology and neuroscience are challenging traditional thinking in recruiting if this will be another key topic for me this year. To get the conversation started my guests this week have a simple fascinating story to share. Eric Castien and Andries Van der Leij are the founder and CTO of Brainsfirst. Brainsfirst is a Dutch company that uses cognitive psychology and machine learning to help elite football teams identify future talent. They have brought their learnings into the business world and have some incredible insights to share. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Talent identification in elite football ▪ Studying the link between specific brain function and performance ▪ Learnability over capability ▪ How understanding brain skills can drive talent redistribution ▪ Only assessing skills you can actually quantify ▪ Seeing a role as a set of desired behaviours ▪ Focusing on future fit ▪ Eliminating bias Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

Over the last six months, we have talked a lot about transformation in talent acquisition with a large number of employers working hard to reinvent their strategies to meet the new challenges they face. So what does great talent acquisition now look like in 2021? Well, that's a question I'll be focusing on a lot in the coming weeks and months. My guests this week are Rona Anhalt, and Ed Nathanson, the Chief People Officer and VP of Talent and Talent Branding at disruptive pharmaceutical startup EQRx. Since their launch early last year, EQRx has done fantastic work in talent branding and talent acquisition and really is a benchmark for what hiring strategies should now look like. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ How EQRx is disrupting the pharmaceutical industry ▪ The challenges of scaling up talent acquisition in a pandemic ▪ Building a purpose driven culture ▪ Diversity, Equality, Fairness and Inclusion ▪ Culture add over culture fit. ▪ Superpowers ▪ Being bold with talent branding ▪ The power of people stories and authentic interviews ▪ Candidate experience as the ultimate differentiator ▪ What they will be focusing on in the next 12 months Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

It's only the end of January, and I think we can all clearly see that 2021 will be another challenging year. So what can talent acquisition leaders do to motivate and build resilience in their teams during these incredibly stressful times? My guest this week is Jen Thornton, a former Global Director of HR Operations who is now founder and CEO of 304 Coaching. Jen is an expert in conversational intelligence, something that can help everyone improve the quality and outcomes of their communication. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ What is Conversational Intelligence ▪ Applying neuroscience to workplace communication ▪ Having better conversations ▪ Motivating Talent Acquisition teams in tough times ▪ The importance of resilience and coping with change Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

Recruiting Automation will be a topic we explore in a lot of detail over this coming year. The key to any automation strategy is removing friction in a way that saves time and resource but at the same time enhances the experience for candidates, recruiters and hiring managers. I wanted to bring this to life by looking at a very specific recruiting process area, interview scheduling. As we all know, talent acquisition has many nuances, and generic scheduling automation tools can often create more work than they save and damage the candidate experience. So how should we automate and what are the real benefits of doing it properly To help answer this question my guests this week are Adam Bird CEO and Co-Founder of scheduling platform Cronofy and Jon Eyers founder of tech recruitment company Harvey Thomas. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Automating interview scheduling in a smart way ▪ Improving the candidate, recruiters and hiring manager experience ▪ Factoring recruiting nuances into automation ▪ Reducing friction to save time and increase value ▪ Remembering what humans are good at and recognising what computers are good at ▪ The future of recruiting automation Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

In this short episode, Matt reflects on the past 12 months and looks forward into 2021. Episodes Mentioned in this Round Up: Ep 321: The End Of Jobs Ep 32: Better Recruitment marketing Please help make the podcast better, fill in the audience survey. Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

Recruiting at the C-Level presents some unique challenges, perhaps the most prominent being the long-standing inequality of the number of women hired at board level. The sudden move to remote recruiting has also significantly disrupted executive search's traditional high touch candidate experience. My guest this week is Venesa Klein, a partner at international search firm Calibre One. Venessa worked as an in house recruiter earlier in her career and has some valuable knowledge and insights to share on the current challenges in executive recruiting and the drive for more equality in the C-Suite. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Building an effective in house executive recruiting team ▪ How high touch candidate experience has adapted to remote ▪ Is female representation in the C-Suite improving and what are the key issues ▪ Why internal career pathing is critical to equity at the top ▪ Being inclusive ▪ How has 2020 changed the market ▪ The value of the CHRO Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

I've been involved in recruitment marketing and employer brand for a couple of decades now. I've consistently felt that although there is some outstanding work in this space, the overall quality of output is not as good as it could be. So how can we fix this and who can we learn from to make things better? My guest this week is Nick Thompson, Global Talent Marketing Team Manager at IBM. Nick and the teams that he has worked with have done some brilliant work in recruitment marketing and employer branding in the last few years and have developed ways of working that everyone can learn from In the interview, we discuss: ▪ How can talent acquisition step up the quality of recruitment marketing and employer branding ▪ Judging recruitment marketing against other types of marketing. ▪ Effective methodologies and processes ▪ Failing fast and iterating ▪ Understanding your audience ▪ Giving employees a voice ▪ The role of technology ▪ Thoughts and predictions for the future Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcast

The past nine months have thrown up multiple challenges for talent acquisition leaders. While technology isn't ever the whole answer, it has been interesting to see how employers have been using emerging recruiting technologies to help address the unique problems 2020 has created. My guest this week is Michael Watson, Senior Director of Talent Transformation Advisory at Eightfold.ai. Michael has previously been a TA Leader and some great insights to share in terms of driving practical value from AI technology. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The current challenges for talent acquisition ▪ Using technology to separate the signal from the noise ▪ What value does AI bring to talent acquisition? ▪ Using technology to reduce bias ▪ Enhancing human interaction by automating repeatable tasks ▪ Mobility and retention ▪ Building meaningful engagement ▪ What's next for recruiting technology Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

Careers Sites continue to be a much-neglected aspect of recruitment marketing. The fact that they receive so little attention has always been a pet hate of mine. Careers Sites are critical. They are also being required to do more heavy lifting than ever before, with the ever-increasing levels of interest employers are getting in their open jobs, ongoing talent shortages in specific markets and the need to showcase effective, authentic employer brands. So what can employers do to make their careers sites fit for purpose? My guest this week is Bas Van de Haterd, a consultant and leading global expert on careers site. Bas publishes some annual research in this area and has some hugely valuable insights to share. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ How the market has developed ▪ What makes a good careers site ▪ The importance of total experience ▪ Why you shouldn't let your ATS dictate your application experience ▪ Careers Site Systems and middleware ▪ Who is doing this well? ▪ What to focus on first ▪ The future of careers sites Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

The Future Of Work has always been a popular topic on this podcast; however, it is also a topic that needs some serious recalibration in light of the events of 2020. Remote working, flexible working and automation are just three of many areas that have seen an utterly unpredicted acceleration in the last few months. So what does the future of work now look like and how should talent acquisition leaders be preparing for it? My guest this week is Jeff Wald, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of WorkMarket. Jeff has recently published a brilliant book on the future of work which is based on historical analysis and robust data. I have to say that this is one of my favourite ever conservations that I had on this topic. It's a must-listen. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Why Jeff wrote his book ▪ How to learn from past historical shifts in work and jobs ▪ Fluid always-on work from anywhere jobs and the pressures that come with them. ▪ Remote work versus flexible work ▪ What is an agile corporation? ▪ Technology, automation and the future of jobs ▪ What do talent acquisition leaders need to be doing right now? ▪ The Future Of Work Prize ▪ What does the near term future of work look like Subscribe this podcast in Apple Podcasts

With work stress levels at all-time highs and remote working set to continue at scale for the foreseeable future, one of the essentials things that 2020 has given us focus on is the necessity to build and scale cultures for both productivity and wellbeing. My guest this week is Ruth Penfold, People Practice Lead at Launchpad, a start-up accelerator focused on clean energy. Ruth has helped codify culture in several high growth companies and has a personal mission to improve wellness and wellbeing at work. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Bringing your whole self to work ▪ Building, codifying and scaling culture ▪ Honesty ▪ How cultures evolve ▪ Co-creating the culture story with employees ▪ Wellbeing and productivity ▪ How leaders need to show up for themselves Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

As employers increase their efforts to improve diversity in their hiring, there is a growing debate about the role technology can play in solving diversity challenges. It is evident that tech isn't a silver bullet here with something that is very much a human problem; however, there are certainly ways that technologies such as AI can help to identify the scale of the problem. My guest this week is Mahe Bayireddi, CEO and Co-Founder of Phenom. Mahe is a thought leader in the AI space and has some valuable insights to share on the role it can play in diversity, equity and inclusion. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Bias in recruiting ▪ Why D&I issues can't be solved with AI ▪ When AI makes things worse ▪ How AI can create an awareness of bias that can be used to change human thought processes ▪ Leadership, accountability and the importance of C Suite goals ▪ Redesigning talent and reimagining work for the future Register for Phenom's IAMHR event here Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

Back in May, I spoke to author Scott Berkun about Design Thinking, and we touched on some of the ways it can be used in talent acquisition. I now wanted to dig a bit deeper into some of the practicalities of this and explore the value that design thinking can bring to recruiting. My guest this week is Jodi Brandstetter, talent strategy consultant and author of the book Hire By Design. Jodi has previously worked as a Director of Talent Acquisition and has some great experience of applying design thinking to recruiting challenges. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ The current state of the market ▪ What is design thinking? ▪ How can design thinking be applied to talent acquisition? ▪ The importance of empathy ▪ Improving the candidate experience ▪ Journey mapping ▪ The role of technology ▪ What should talent acquisition leaders be doing now to prepare for the future Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

To say that 2020 has been a tough year would be somewhat of an understatement. The health and economic challenges have put massive pressure on everyone and changed working life dramatically. Unsurprisingly some recent research from employee engagement specialists Glint reports a 33% rise in employees reporting burnout. So what can employers do to deal with this burnout crisis and what support are employees asking for? To answer these questions and talk about their research, my guest this week is Steven Buck, Head of People Science at Glint. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ What is employee burnout? ▪ The decline in connectedness and belonging ▪ What can employers do to help? ▪ No one size fits all solutions. ▪ Wellbeing and work/life balance ▪ Building habits around conversations fed by good data. ▪ What is the role of HR Technology? Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

Recruiting transformations are currently underway in many companies to solve both the problems of the present and create a vision of the future. Change is tough, and it's always good to hear from talent acquisitions leaders who have been successful in innovating their company's approach to recruiting. My guest this week is Trent Cotton, Director of Talent Acquisition at BBVA. Trent has successful transformed BBVA's approach to talent acquisition with the heavy influence of agile methodology and design thinking. He is now seeking Recruiting Utopia and has the vision to get there. This is a must-listen interview for everyone. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Adopting Agile and Design Thinking in talent acquisition ▪ The development of Sprint Recruiting ▪ Priorities and feedback loops ▪ The four principles of Sprint Recruiting ▪ WIP limits on candidate submissions ▪ Managing the change ▪ The role of recruiting technology ▪ What is Recruiting Utopia and how might we get there Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts

Employer Branding, it's a been a topic we've mentioned in passing a lot on the show this year, but unusually we haven't done a deep dive into it for a quite a while. So what are the current trends in employer branding, how are the events of this dystopian year shaping what employers are doing and what should employer brand strategies for the future look like? My guest this week is the perfect person to answer all of these questions. David Thompson is a highly experienced employer brand consultant and the founder of Employer Branding Made Easy. Keep listening to hear his thoughts on the present state and future direction of employer branding. In the interview, we discuss: ▪ Employer brand trends that are being accelerated by the pandemic ▪ Three key areas where employer brand is now having an impact ▪ The importance of great stories and how to tell them ▪ Keeping employees engaged by strengthening emotional ties ▪ Managing reputation ▪ Where should employer brand sit within organisations? ▪ Do we overcomplicate employer brand? ▪ How should employers be shaping their employer brand strategies for the future? Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts