But First, Coffee

But First, Coffee

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But First, Coffee episodes

  • Talent Acquisition Trends for 2026 and Beyond

    In this episode, John Baldino is joined by talent acquisition leader Josh Rock to break down the recruiting trends that will define 2026 and beyond. They challenge the obsession with AI marketing in HR tech, argue for vendor partnerships over product pitches, and make the case that putting heart back into hiring is not optional. From skills-based hiring and realistic job previews to the decline of evergreen job postings and the future of career sites, this conversation gives TA leaders a practical roadmap for navigating a shifting labor market where more candidates now outnumber available jobs.

    Key Takeaways:

    • AI in HR tech is now table stakes; vendors need to show practical workflow impact, not just wave the AI banner
    • The best vendor relationships are partnerships aligned to your strategic goals, not product-pushing sales pitches
    • Putting heart into recruiting means checking in on new hires as whole people, not just filling requisitions
    • The candidate-to-job ratio has flipped back to more candidates than jobs, changing hiring dynamics significantly
    • Skills-based hiring will accelerate in 2026; blue-collar and healthcare sectors have been doing it for years
    • Realistic job previews (RJPs) help both employers and candidates understand the true demands of a role
    • Evergreen job postings are declining because of cost pressure and the perception of dishonesty they create
    • Companies will invest more in robust career sites and less in job board spend like Indeed and LinkedIn
    • AI-powered job search tools crawl the entire web, making strong career pages more valuable than ever
    • Ghosting legislation needs to address both employer and candidate no-shows to be effective

      • 00:00 - Introduction and guest welcome with Josh Rock

      03:48 - Discussion on job numbers recalibration and layoff cycles

      12:02 - Talent acquisition trends and the AI hype in HR tech

      19:16 - Vendor partnerships vs. product pitching in TA technology

      22:52 - Putting heart back into the recruiting process

      30:00 - Candidate experience and the decline of personal ownership in job search

      39:06 - Ghosting legislation and its impact on both sides

      41:40 - Evergreen job postings and why they are declining

      43:23 - Indeed Talent Scout launch and its implications for 2026

      46:13 - OpenAI coming for LinkedIn and the future of sourcing

      48:49 - Prediction: companies shift spend from job boards to career sites

      53:38 - Skills-based hiring and realistic job previews

      Keywords: talent acquisition trends 2026, skills-based hiring, realistic job previews, HR tech AI, career site strategy, recruiting partnerships, ghosting legislation, Indeed Talent Scout, candidate experience, blue-collar recruiting

      1 hr 4 min
    • AI Won't Fix Bad Managers

      John Baldino flies solo to tackle the uncomfortable truth that AI will not fix bad managers but will absolutely expose and replace them. With Oracle cutting 10 to 12 percent of its workforce, August job growth slowing to just 54,000 new positions, and companies across industries tightening budgets, the tolerance for mediocre management has evaporated. John breaks down how AI is already handling tier-one management tasks like scheduling, process triage, and even employee communication with more empathy than some human managers. He also explores the economic pressures hitting workers at every level, from shrinking severance packages to declining compensation benchmarks, and what it all means for managers who rely on busyness rather than results.

      Key Takeaways:

      • AI will not fix bad managers. It will expose them faster and make it easier and cheaper to replace them.
      • Oracle is cutting 10 to 12 percent of roles by end of year, partly because AI now handles portions of work previously done by humans.
      • August 2025 job growth slowed to only 54,000 new positions, signaling a tightening labor market driven by both AI adoption and economic pressure.
      • Companies are overworking good managers instead of developing bad ones. Expect to manage two teams for a slight pay bump while the bad manager gets let go.
      • Busyness is not a substitute for competence. AI eliminates busywork, leaving managers with nowhere to hide if they lack real leadership skills.
      • Bad managers who input poor practices into AI tools will be outed quickly. AI learns from its inputs, and senior leadership will trace bad outputs back to bad management.
      • Compensation expectations need to reset. Job seekers should research current market rates rather than anchoring to their last salary.
      • Small businesses are feeling the squeeze hardest with reduced hours, fewer staff, and less press coverage than enterprise layoffs.
      • Watch for age bias when labeling managers as bad. Older managers at higher price points may be disproportionately targeted.
      • Managers who focus on developing others, innovating processes, and driving revenue will rise to the top. Tactical-only managers are most at risk.

        • 00:00 - Introduction and Jackie Clayton update

        02:52 - Football season opens: Eagles vs Dallas

        07:26 - AI and today's management discussion intro

        07:40 - Oracle announces 10-12% workforce reduction

        12:50 - AI handling tier-one management tasks

        15:24 - Will AI replace bad managers entirely

        15:59 - Breaking news: August adds only 54,000 jobs

        18:37 - Doing more with less is the new reality

        22:03 - Management development: thrown into the deep end

        27:30 - Job growth slowdown and bad manager exposure

        30:18 - Severance packages are shrinking

        36:09 - Economic pressures: streaming, tipping, and consumer cutbacks

        44:01 - Compensation expectations must reset for job seekers

        53:00 - Bias risks in labeling bad managers

        55:55 - What separates managers who will survive from those who will not

        Keywords: AI replacing managers, bad managers fired, AI workforce reduction, Oracle layoffs 2025, management accountability, doing more with less, compensation trends, job market slowdown, leadership development, AI in management

        1 hr 6 min
      • Why Mentorship Matters in Career Development

        John Baldino is joined by guest co-host Robin Schooling, author of Real HR, to explore why mentorship remains one of the most powerful yet misunderstood development tools in HR. They compare formal corporate mentorship programs with informal, organic mentoring relationships and make a compelling case that the best mentoring often happens outside structured programs. The conversation covers how to ask someone to be your mentor, why mentorship should not be limited by age or seniority, and how HR professionals can embed themselves deeper into their organizations by simply asking questions and spending time in other departments.

        Key Takeaways:

        • Formal mentorship programs often feel cold and artificial. Matching strangers across departments with a curriculum rarely produces lasting relationships.
        • The best mentoring relationships start informally, often from a single conversation at a conference, chapter event, or break room.
        • It is okay and even powerful to ask someone to mentor you. Normalize the ask instead of waiting for a program to assign one.
        • Mentorship is not age-dependent. Younger professionals can mentor seasoned leaders on emerging skills, content strategy, and fresh perspectives.
        • Micro-mentoring moments matter. Brief hallway conversations, expo floor chats, and quick coffee breaks can deliver profound career insights.
        • HR professionals must go beyond reading the P and L. Physically sit in other departments, shadow workers, and understand how people actually fill their time.
        • Over-programmatizing mentorship kills its effectiveness. Sometimes the best investment is giving someone fifty dollars to take a colleague to lunch.
        • Values misalignment causes HR burnout. A mentor can help you distinguish between a company failing your values and having unrealistic expectations of what organizations can embody.
        • Asking good questions is the foundation of mentoring. Shadowing, curiosity, and genuine interest open doors that formal programs cannot.
        • Before leaving a job over frustration, get a mentor to help you see whether the issue is systemic or a matter of perspective.

          • 00:00 - Introduction with guest co-host Robin Schooling

          01:55 - Workday Rising announces Duran Duran performance

          05:33 - Robin Schooling's book Real HR

          06:44 - Topic intro: mentorship in career development

          07:00 - Formal vs informal mentorship experiences

          09:00 - The cold reality of corporate mentorship programs

          12:14 - The power of informal mentoring relationships

          16:03 - Asking someone to be your mentor

          24:53 - Reverse mentoring: learning from younger professionals

          28:08 - Micro-mentoring moments at conferences and expos

          36:07 - Approachability as an underappreciated mentoring skill

          39:07 - Values misalignment, burnout, and when to seek a mentor

          47:14 - Cross-functional knowledge through formal programs

          54:00 - Stop over-programmatizing mentorship

          Keywords: mentorship programs, informal mentoring, career development HR, reverse mentoring, mentor mentee relationship, HR professional development, cross-functional mentoring, workplace mentorship, finding a mentor, employee development strategy

          1 hr 4 min
        • How to Navigate Layoffs with Empathy and Grace

          Jackye Clayton and John Baldino tackle the difficult reality of layoffs in today's economy, sharing firsthand experiences from both sides of the table. They discuss how HR leaders and managers can conduct reductions in force with genuine empathy and grace, why traditional outplacement services often fall short for frontline workers, and what practical support actually helps displaced employees land on their feet. The conversation also covers major HR tech industry news including the Dayforce privatization deal, Bed Bath and Beyond's 49-state reopening strategy, and what these moves signal about the shifting business landscape.

          Key Takeaways:

          • Layoffs are business decisions, not personal judgments. Remind displaced employees their worth is not defined by a reduction in force.
          • Let employees keep their laptops so they have immediate tools to begin their job search without disruption.
          • Provide LinkedIn Premium access, Coursera subscriptions, or other learning resources as part of the severance package.
          • Vet outplacement partners carefully. Many providers give better service to senior-level roles and neglect frontline or blue-collar workers.
          • Extend benefits through the end of the month at minimum. Cutting someone off mid-cycle is both harmful and potentially non-compliant.
          • Offer severance even if modest. Displaced employees increasingly need 60 to 120-plus days to find their next role.
          • Grace is an individual decision, not a corporate policy. Managers must personally choose to treat exiting employees with compassion.
          • Encourage displaced workers to focus on transferable skills rather than chasing the same job title that may no longer exist.
          • Do not let LinkedIn applicant counts or AI job matching tools psych you out during a job search. Those numbers rarely tell the real story.
          • Take care of basics first: personal hygiene, nutrition, exercise, and mental health support before diving into mass applications.

            • 00:00 - Introduction and morning banter

            06:00 - Breaking news: Dayforce goes private in $12.3B deal

            09:27 - AI's limits and why people still matter in business

            11:00 - Bed Bath and Beyond reopening in 49 states

            27:15 - The layoff conversation begins: doing it with empathy

            33:43 - Letting laid-off employees keep their laptops

            36:01 - LinkedIn Premium, Coursera, and outplacement support

            38:22 - Why outplacement services fail blue-collar workers

            42:00 - Benefits continuation and compliance during layoffs

            44:30 - Focus on skills, not job titles, after being displaced

            49:30 - Don't let LinkedIn applicant numbers discourage you

            55:00 - Grace is personal: be the person who shows up for others

            Keywords: layoffs with empathy, reduction in force best practices, severance package tips, outplacement services, employee displacement, HR layoff strategy, workforce reduction, job search after layoff, compassionate leadership, transition support

            1 hr 4 min
          • The Role of Employee Voice in Organizational Success

            Jackye Clayton and John Baldino explore why employee voice has become dangerously undervalued in organizations obsessed with efficiency and AI-driven cost cutting. They examine the real-world fallout from mass layoffs at companies like Oracle, where the very people who built the cloud infrastructure were replaced by the technology they created. The conversation digs into how annual engagement surveys fail as the primary channel for employee voice, why silence in an organization is terrifying rather than reassuring, and how budget cuts to seemingly small things like office coffee can devastate morale. They also confront sobering workforce data showing 300,000 black women laid off since February 2025 and challenge HR leaders to define what organizational success actually means before measuring anything.

            Key Takeaways:

            • If no one is talking to you at work, they are talking about you, and silence is not good news
            • Annual engagement surveys reviewed months later cannot be your only channel for employee voice
            • Organizations must clearly define what counts as organizational success before measuring it
            • The Oracle layoffs show that building the technology does not protect you from being replaced by it
            • Budget cuts should involve HR professionals who understand the morale impact of decisions like removing coffee
            • Retention metrics are meaningless unless you ask how many of those who left you actually wanted to keep
            • Middle management is being hollowed out but will need to return when companies realize someone must develop talent
            • Your HR technology should already be able to provide the analytics you need so use what you have
            • Silencing one voice in an organization affects the psychological safety of everyone watching
            • Employee voice is temporal because the influential people shaping your culture may not be there next year

              • 00:00 - Introduction and casual conversation

              11:48 - Employee voice is disappearing in 2025

              13:55 - Oracle Cloud layoffs and who defines organizational success

              16:33 - AI flattening organizations back to late-90s structures

              22:48 - Employee experience and morale going downhill

              24:04 - The coffee budget cut that broke teacher morale

              26:37 - Annual engagement surveys are broken

              34:54 - Layoff data: 300,000 black women displaced since February

              40:27 - Why retention metrics tell the wrong story

              43:43 - When you silence one voice it affects everyone

              50:00 - Using HR technology to track what actually matters

              56:00 - Organizational success must be defined before it can be measured

              Keywords: employee voice, organizational success, engagement surveys, workplace morale, AI layoffs, employee experience, retention metrics, HR technology, workforce data, psychological safety

              1 hr 3 min
            • Upskilling and Reskilling: The Future of Workforce Development

              Jackye Clayton and John Baldino tackle the upskilling and reskilling challenge head-on, revealing why most workforce development programs fail before they even start. The problem is not the training itself but the broken foundations underneath it: vague job descriptions that read like wish lists, performance evaluations driven by feelings rather than objectives, and managers who only invest in employee growth when someone threatens to leave. They connect the dots between solid job descriptions, fair performance management, talent mobility, and meaningful skills development. The conversation also addresses how job seekers in transition should approach reskilling strategically, the role of AI in reshaping required competencies, and why continuous learning should be normalized rather than treated as resume filler.

              Key Takeaways:

              • You cannot upskill employees if you do not know what their current skills actually are
              • Job descriptions should define day-to-day expectations, not serve as a managerial wish list
              • A wish-list job description instead of a clear one is a sign of poor management
              • Performance evaluations based on feelings rather than objectives undermine all development efforts
              • Reskilling that only happens when an employee threatens to leave makes the relationship transactional
              • Talent mobility should not be a dirty word because internal movement retains institutional knowledge
              • Organizations owe employees awareness of evolving technology even if AI is not used internally
              • Job seekers should focus reskilling efforts on transferable skills relevant to their target roles
              • Posting every certificate on LinkedIn can dilute your personal brand if it lacks clear relevance
              • Continuous learning should be a cultural norm, not an exception triggered by crisis

                • 00:00 - Introduction and casual conversation

                08:27 - Jackie's LinkedIn Learning course on job descriptions and AI

                09:00 - The disconnect between job descriptions and performance management

                11:39 - Job ads versus job descriptions versus competencies

                13:42 - The wish list problem and its hot take on poor management

                16:04 - Training as a gift and why companies resist investing

                22:16 - How feelings-based evaluations destroy upskilling efforts

                31:04 - Why foundational management must come before any skilling program

                39:19 - Bill Gates, ChatGPT, and the pace of AI change

                41:02 - How job seekers should approach reskilling during transition

                51:08 - Making upskilling transferable and telling your story

                Keywords: upskilling employees, reskilling workforce, job descriptions, performance management, talent mobility, AI workplace skills, workforce development, employee training, career transition, skills-based hiring

                1 hr 6 min
              • HR's Role in Corporate Social Responsibility

                Jackye Clayton and John Baldino dive deep into corporate social responsibility (CSR) and whether organizations are truly making a difference or just going through the motions. They challenge the conventional approach of writing checks to charities and instead advocate for hands-on, community-driven involvement that creates measurable impact. The conversation explores how companies of all sizes, especially small businesses, can align their CSR efforts with genuine community needs, from volunteering at local shelters to supporting urban agriculture programs. They also draw a powerful connection between internal workplace culture, DEI, and external social responsibility, arguing that organizations must first take care of their own people before trying to change the world.

                Key Takeaways:

                • Corporate social responsibility should start inside your organization before extending outward
                • Writing a check to charity without involvement or follow-through is often performative
                • Small businesses make up the majority of US companies and can still make meaningful CSR contributions
                • Companies should involve key stakeholders in deciding what causes to support and why
                • Following the money and measuring real impact is essential for authentic CSR programs
                • Community gardens, shelter volunteering, and back-to-school drives are accessible CSR activities for any size company
                • DEI and employee well-being are foundational to genuine corporate social responsibility
                • Organizations that remove DEI protections while claiming social responsibility are contradicting themselves
                • Giving employees paid time off to volunteer builds engagement and authentic community connection
                • CSR does not require a formal ESG program to get started with meaningful action

                  • 00:00 - Introduction and casual conversation

                  05:46 - What is corporate social responsibility and who decides

                  09:17 - The hard thing about CSR: who gets to define it

                  14:00 - Why so much CSR is performative

                  16:22 - The simulated society game and understanding systemic poverty

                  20:00 - Sharing CSR stories with customers and clients

                  27:36 - How organizations must define and decide their CSR commitment

                  32:46 - Volunteering at the local animal shelter as real CSR

                  42:00 - Inclusive CSR: involving employees in choosing causes

                  48:01 - DEI, workplace safety, and the real first social responsibility

                  55:00 - Practical CSR ideas for any size organization

                  Keywords: corporate social responsibility, CSR strategy, DEI workplace, employee volunteering, community impact, ESG programs, nonprofit partnerships, small business CSR, workplace culture, social impact measurement

                  1 hr 5 min
                • The Connection Between Leadership and Employee Retention

                  Why do employees really leave? It is rarely just about a bad boss. This episode unpacks the real drivers behind employee retention and reveals why leadership transparency, open-door policies, and honest conversations matter more than perks or pay raises. Jackye Clayton and John Baldino share firsthand stories about keeping communication lines open with departing employees, creating psychological safety through vulnerability, and why the best leaders treat leadership as a practiced skill rather than an inherited expectation.

                  Key Takeaways:

                  • People leave organizations for growth opportunities, not just bad managers
                  • Keeping the door open for returning employees builds long-term loyalty and trust
                  • Transparency during difficult times bonds employees to the organization rather than driving them away
                  • Leadership is a skill set that must be developed, not an automatic expectation of the role
                  • Self-awareness and personal therapy make leaders more effective and authentic
                  • Employees can detect when social media branding does not match internal culture
                  • Cyclical layoffs at large companies are business blueprints, not leadership failures
                  • Radical Candor, Crucial Conversations, and Thinking Fast and Slow are essential leadership reads
                  • Nonprofits and corporations both require leaders who invest fully in their teams
                  • Mental health breaks should be normalized and supported without closing doors permanently
                    • 00:00 - Opening banter and technical difficulties
                    • 05:00 - Personal stories and the many faces of Jackie
                    • 10:00 - Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic brand history
                    • 15:00 - Why people leave great bosses and keeping doors open
                    • 22:00 - Transparency as a leadership superpower
                    • 28:00 - Leadership as a skill set versus an expectation
                    • 30:00 - Essential leadership books and development
                    • 33:00 - Legacy and organizational perception
                    • 38:00 - Social media branding versus Reddit reality
                    • 43:00 - Big box layoffs and cyclical business models

                      • Keywords: employee retention, leadership transparency, why employees leave, open door policy, leadership development, workplace culture, talent retention strategies, psychological safety, leadership skills, honest leadership

                      58 min

                    About But First, Coffee

                    From the publisher's feed

                    But First, Coffee is a live weekly talk show where Jackye Clayton and John Baldino bring candid, insightful conversations about the world of work, leadership, and all things people. Each episode…