Freedom of Work

In this episode of the Freedom of Work podcast, host Leah Cottham speaks with Rui Bashir, a Global Human Resources Director at a Fortune 500 company. Rui shares how his career began building HR functions in markets where they did not yet exist, starting in Sub Saharan Africa and later leading HR across 11 countries in Latin America. The conversation centers on one core puzzle. How do you take a global strategy and make sure it actually works in reality.

Rui explains the difference between what you must standardize and what you must protect, why compliance is only a baseline, and how language fluency becomes a tool for diagnosing cultural risk. He breaks down why middle managers drive real change, why M and A integration starts long before a deal closes, and how the same sales incentive plan can produce three completely different outcomes across markets. He also shares practical advice on reading employee silence, handling AI anxiety through an equity lens, and his SHIFT method for navigating cross cultural one on ones.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[00:52] Building HR where it didn't exist

[03:16] Scaling HR across 11 countries

[05:00] What to standardize vs protect

[08:25] Navigating the unwritten cultural rules

[11:49] Why curiosity drives great HR

[13:34] Shaping a global work week

[17:22] Where compliance collides with culture

[18:06] M and A integration starts early

[22:52] How one word means everything

[25:11] Let local leaders deliver change

[30:04] Global advice that fails hard

[33:49] One playbook, three outcomes

[38:54] Careful vs checked out employees

[40:46] AI and the fear of relevance

[43:31] Decide who decides

Press play to learn how to lead HR that works in reality, not just on paper.

Host Leah Cottham sits down with Mark Thornton, a Change Manager at a global embedded recruitment function, to talk about neuro diversity in global remote hiring. Mark shares how his son's diagnosis led to his own autism diagnosis and sparked a mission to make workplaces more inclusive. The conversation moves from leading distributed teams across borders to the practical work of building hiring processes that recognize talent in all its forms.

Mark explains why trust, outcomes, and data matter more than monitoring when people are online. He breaks down how bias can creep into every stage of hiring, from how a job advert is written to assumptions made during an interview. He also makes a strong case for offering reasonable adjustments to everyone rather than forcing candidates to identify themselves and risk stigma. Along the way he shares personal stories about masking, flexibility, and applying to 163 jobs before finding a company that got it right.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[00:55] Meet Mark the autistic recruiter

[01:38] Diagnosis journey and dropping the mask

[02:42] Leading remote teams across cultures

[04:00] Donut chats and coffee connections

[05:13] Managing reports across time zones

[06:55] Why trust beats the green tick

[08:03] Flexibility and reasonable adjustments explained

[10:01] His son sparked the mission

[12:09] Creating safe interview spaces

[14:40] Coming out as autistic online

[20:44] Harnessing neurodiverse team strengths

[23:56] Why fair doesn't mean identical

[28:45] The danger of making assumptions

[35:14] Reasonable adjustments for everyone

[38:38] Designing your perfect interview process

[40:49] Advice for building inclusive hiring

If you lead a team or shape hiring decisions, this conversation will change how you think about inclusion. Listen now.

Host Leah Cottham talks with William Tincup, Editor, Analyst, and Advisor at WRKdefined, about what really happens when global remote teams try to buy and adopt HR tech. William brings 25 years of experience as an outsider to the HR world, which gives him a sharp eye for the gap between a dazzling demo and software people actually use.

The conversation covers why practitioners need to ask if a tool solves a real problem before they get sold on it, and why adoption is only a midway step toward getting people to love business critical software. William explains why payroll and compliance have no room for error with distributed teams, how to triple your implementation timeline for a realistic launch, and what he looks for in acquisitions long after the deal closes. He also shares practical advice for HR and TA leaders evaluating vendors, from viewing live software to talking with customers who are just like you.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[00:49] Calling out the BS in HR tech

[03:17] Why outsiders question the establishment

[04:41] Where marketing and HR overlap

[07:16] How Covid sped up remote work

[09:02] The gap between demos and adoption

[11:36] Building products from customer feedback

[14:17] Why every software change disrupts users

[17:58] Adoption isn't the goal, love is

[18:20] Triple your implementation timelines

[23:52] Why payroll has zero margin for error

[30:04] What makes companies worth buying

[33:57] Startups are bands that clash

[36:31] Spotting customer concentration risk

[39:09] How to evaluate vendors before scaling

[47:53] Actionable AI and the future of work

[51:46] Getting comfortable with failure

Listen now to learn how to choose HR tech that survives contact with reality.

Host Leah Cottham sits down with Federico D'Alessio, Talent Leader and AI Builder, for an honest conversation about where AI genuinely helps hiring teams and where the human touch still matters. Federico shares how 15 years in tech and SaaS recruiting led him to start building his own AI tools after realizing recruiters were repeating the same tasks thousands of times.

Federico walks through Mike, his multilingual AI voice recruiter that handles first stage screening, and Talent Signal, a tool that pulls public information from communities like Hacker News to surface active candidates. He explains why AI should remove repetitive admin work rather than replace recruiters, and why understanding the business and building trust with hiring managers stays firmly human. He also shares a simple way to start experimenting with AI today using small painful tasks first.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[00:49] From Italy to tech recruiting

[02:36] When AI stopped being a buzzword

[03:16] Automating repetitive recruiter tasks

[06:27] The ChatGPT moment that changed everything

[07:42] Discovering AI voice platforms

[09:54] Meet Mike the AI recruiter

[13:07] Why building AI is expensive

[15:12] Talent Signal spots ready candidates

[18:50] Where AI actually saves recruiter time

[21:13] Why AI won't replace recruiters

[24:43] Start small with painful tasks

[30:20] Tackling bias in AI hiring

[33:10] The recruiter of the future

If you want a clear and practical view of how AI fits into hiring without over engineering it, this episode is worth your time.

Host Leah Cottham sits down with Heather Erickson, COO at Obra, to unpack why hiring feels broken and what teams can do about it. Heather brings a career spent at the intersection of HR, technology, and operations, and she explains how AI has flooded hiring inboxes with applications that all look the same.

The conversation digs into a clear shift happening now. Applications have quadrupled since AI took off, yet quality has not kept pace, leaving hiring managers to waste time verifying whether candidates are even real people. Heather makes the case for going outbound, searching directly for candidates by skills rather than keywords, and building real relationships with job seekers. She also shares practical advice on hiring globally, why skills come first and location second, and how partnering with an employer of record removes the payroll and paperwork barriers to international growth.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[00:43] Meet Heather COO at Obra

[03:11] How Ai bots flood hiring inboxes

[06:03] Why job seekers feel ghosted

[07:20] Detecting fake Ai candidates on camera

[09:33] Using Ai the smart way

[10:02] Building global teams that win

[11:53] Why Ai engineers demand going global

[13:50] Applications quadrupled since Ai

[15:47] Hiring is just like dating

[18:47] Why networks beat crowded inboxes

[20:33] 83% now chase passive candidates

[21:38] Matching skills not keywords

[25:15] Skills first then location and culture

[30:00] Make the first move yourself

[32:07] What success looks like 12 months later

[36:02] Putting the job seeker first

If you are tired of drowning in AI applications or wondering how to find top talent across the globe, this episode gives you a clear path forward. Press play and rethink how you hire.

Host Leah Cottham sits down with Gareth Pratten, Global Talent Acquisition Leader at Nuvei, to unpack how AI is reshaping recruitment and where it actually delivers value. Gareth brings over 10 years of experience from high growth payment companies like Checkout.com and Stripe, and he shares a grounded view on where the hype ends and reality begins.

The conversation covers why AI is most useful at the top of the funnel, how to pitch new tools to a CFO by connecting time savings to revenue, and the difference between hiring the best candidate and the right one. Gareth also explains what breaks when you scale hiring across regions, why clean data is the foundation for any AI strategy, and how leaders can take practical first steps without feeling overwhelmed.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[00:42] Gareth's payments recruiting journey

[02:08] When traditional recruiting broke down

[03:50] AI systems fighting AI systems

[06:19] Where AI delivers real value

[06:50] Will AI replace recruiters

[07:46] The emotional side of hiring

[10:44] Pitching AI tools to the C suite

[13:24] Scaling talent teams across regions

[15:57] Adapting recruitment strategy per market

[19:20] Keeping hiring quality high at speed

[22:00] Referrals unlock hidden talent trees

[24:33] Best candidate versus right candidate

[26:46] Start with the problem not the tech

[32:07] Reporting AI results to leadership

[35:39] Fix your data structures first

[39:05] First AI step for beginners

[41:21] Automating repetitive daily tasks

If you lead a talent team and want a clear, honest take on AI in hiring, this episode is worth your time.

Join Leah Cottham and Frank Berretty, Senior Manager of Employee Success People Consultants for EMEA at Salesforce, as they explore what it takes to scale people operations across one of the world's most dynamic companies. With 9 years at Salesforce, Frank has witnessed the company transform from transactional HR to strategic, AI-powered people operations spanning multiple regions and cultures.

Frank shares how Salesforce moved from local HR models to centralized, scalable systems that serve employees from Stockholm to Dubai. He breaks down the People Consultant role, explains how they use data and feedback loops to solve hundreds of employee tickets, and reveals the technology behind their self-service approach. The conversation covers onboarding in remote environments, maintaining culture across different countries, and the constant trade-offs between efficiency and human impact at scale.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[02:16] Frank's 9 year journey at Salesforce

[03:13] Salesforce transformation and HR evolution

[05:19] Adapting to constant change challenges

[06:06] Distributed work vs traditional models

[08:39] Technology enabling global scalability

[10:14] Early career misconceptions about value

[11:32] Remote onboarding challenges and solutions

[17:52] Global people programs vs local flexibility

[23:31] People consultant role breakdown

[27:14] Business impact without the team

[29:59] Balancing efficiency with human impact

[34:06] AI creating jobs not replacing them

[36:04] AI agents transforming daily workflows

[41:35] EMEA expansion advice for HR professionals

[43:23] Values staying constant through growth

Discover how AI is reshaping HR work and why Frank believes the future belongs to those who embrace these tools rather than fear them.

Host Leah Cottham sits down with Tannum Sullivan, People Experience and Culture Senior Manager at RentSpree, to explore building authentic employee engagement across distributed teams. Tannum shares her journey from the radio industry to managing employer brands for 4 different companies under Golden Hippo's umbrella, eventually creating dedicated people experience functions from scratch.

The conversation dives into practical strategies for scaling culture programs across RentSpree's Seattle and Bangkok headquarters. Tannum reveals how employee podcasts became her most successful engagement tool, creating content that works for introverted team members while building pride and connection across time zones. She discusses the challenges of measuring people experience success without traditional ROI metrics and balancing hands-on execution with strategic thinking as a team of one.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[02:21] From Radio to People Experience Journey

[06:32] Strive for Progress Not Perfection

[08:51] Creating Your Own Job Description

[13:25] Employer Branding as a Two-Way Promise

[15:00] Employee Podcasts Drive Engagement Success

[20:35] Balancing Hands-On Work with Strategic Vision

[29:20] Bridging Global Teams Through Storytelling

[34:38] Measuring Success in People Experience

[39:09] Maintaining Authenticity While Scaling Programs

[43:42] One Size Fits All Doesn't Work

[47:39] The Evolution of People Experience Functions

[50:23] Be Authentic and Advocate for Yourself

Discover how to maintain authenticity while scaling people programs and why asking the right questions beats assuming what employees want.

Host Leah Cottham sits down with Nadia Vatalidis, Head of People at Doist, to explore the critical strategies for scaling remote organizations from 70 to 1000 people across 40 countries. Nadia brings extensive experience from GitLab and Remote, sharing practical insights on organizational design, performance systems, and the evolving nature of work in the AI era.

The conversation covers essential frameworks for building flexible organizational structures that adapt during hyper growth phases. Nadia explains how companies can maintain transparency and accountability without becoming overly rigid, emphasizing the importance of continuous iteration in processes like onboarding, documentation, and communication systems. She shares specific examples from Doist's open source career framework and their innovative approach to performance evaluation that ensures equity across all roles and locations.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[03:40] Strategic scaling from 70 to 1000 people

[07:50] What breaks structurally before culturally

[10:20] Iterating onboarding every two weeks

[14:30] Building for the people you work with

[18:10] Defining high performance in distributed companies

[20:40] Adaptability versus technical skills development

[25:00] Bringing authentic self to work boundaries

[28:15] Leadership accountability in tool implementation

[33:50] Creating clarity without rigid job descriptions

[39:15] Regular feedback culture over performance cycles

[42:35] Highly leveraged specialists in the AI era

[46:00] Embracing paradox with AI adoption

[51:35] Performance evaluation evolution with AI integration

[55:35] Never starting with perfect when scaling globally

This episode provides actionable guidance for people leaders navigating the complexities of distributed team management and preparing for the future of work where AI and automation reshape traditional job descriptions and performance expectations.

Host Leah Cottham sits down with Katrina Kibben, CEO and Founder of Three Ears Media, to explore how recruiters can maintain their humanity while leveraging AI tools effectively. Katrina brings deep expertise from her work helping recruiting teams optimize their processes and her extensive research into AI's impact on the industry. The conversation tackles the biggest misconceptions companies have about AI in hiring, particularly the false belief that AI should replace human workers rather than enhance their capabilities.

Katrina shares practical strategies for building experimentation cultures, creating transparent hiring processes, and fixing the fundamental problems with job descriptions that lead to poor candidate matches. She emphasizes the critical role of setting clear expectations, measuring success against defined benchmarks, and ensuring human oversight remains central to any AI implementation. The discussion covers everything from onboarding automation to ethical decision making frameworks, with actionable insights for both recruiters and job seekers navigating this evolving landscape.

Key topics covered:

[00:00] Intro

[02:23] AI replacement misconceptions in hiring

[05:17] Creating experimentation culture over fear

[08:05] Recognition drives AI adoption success

[11:00] Making AI feel like enabler not threat

[14:13] Critical thinking beats machine outputs

[16:22] Avoiding bias through human detection training

[22:08] Why resumes might finally die

[24:53] Human first onboarding with AI automation

[27:25] Job description copy paste problems

[29:55] 70 percent rule for candidate applications

[33:04] 37 percent quit within 90 days

[36:03] Rebuilding trust through transparency expectations

[39:21] Measuring AI with clear benchmarks

[43:30] Ethical AI decision making framework

[45:45] Lean into community over technology

Tune in for expert guidance on balancing technology with the human elements that make great hiring possible.