HR Interviews Playlist

Gerry Crispin crashes into the Chad & Cheese podcast live from the Shaker Green Room at RecFest USA. With a cool 53 years in recruiting under his belt, Gerry takes us through his career, where he picked up a few nuggets of wisdom along the way, all while sticking to the golden rule of fairness—thanks, Johnson & Johnson! After dipping his toes in J&J, Roche, and a fancy boutique executive search firm, he’s got stories for days, each one teaching him more about this wild recruiting world.

When it comes to advice, Gerry’s simple: master the basics, like understanding comp and benefits. If you’re not on top of that, you’re basically flying blind. Sure, recruiting’s a grind, but Gerry’s still loving it, crediting job shadowing (even some low-key undercover ops) for helping him truly get the lay of the land.

As for the whole "AI is coming for your job" panic, Gerry’s not worried. AI’s impact is more "enhancer" than "job destroyer," he says, and it’ll just make everything smoother by crunching numbers and improving the candidate experience. But he’s seriously annoyed that Talent Acquisition leaders aren’t jumping on the AI bandwagon fast enough. Get with the times, people!

He wraps up with a classic Gerry line: find a company that matches your values, take the initiative, and stay positive. He’s still in the game with CareerXroads, bringing optimism and action to the recruiting table—no room for negativity here!

Live from the Shaker Green Room at RecFest USA, Joe Shaker dropped recruitment truth bombs with a side of optimism. Want to know the secret to winning the talent war? Or how MarTech is set to shake up hiring in 2025? Joe’s insights might just save your branding strategy—and your sanity.

HR is at a crossroads. The rapid pace of change, shifting employee expectations, and technological disruption have rendered traditional approaches ineffective. After years of being viewed as the department of policy and paperwork, HR must now become more agile, personalized, and human-centered to meet the challenges of the modern workplace.

So, how can HR and talent teams adapt to a world where change is constant, collaboration crosses boundaries, and employees demand relevance and impact from their work experiences? What practical strategies can HR leaders adopt to build practices that are genuinely fit for the future?

My guest this week is Lucy Adams, CEO of Disruptive HR. A self-described "recovering HR director," Lucy has firsthand experience of what holds HR back—and how to break free from outdated thinking. She shares her vision for transforming HR by moving away from paternalistic policies and embracing a more modern, adult-to-adult relationship with employees. Lucy also reveals practical ways HR can harness continuous learning and AI-driven insights to foster agility, collaboration, and innovation to ensure that HR is an effective force in shaping organizational success.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Making HR more relevant and impactful

• Agility, productivity, collaboration, and innovation

• Principles rather than policies

• The personalization of the employee experience

• Human-centered design

• How do organizations need to think differently about talent?

• Changing the structure of the talent function

• Talent Scouts and Career Agents

• Marketing, consulting, and technology

• What new skills are needed?

• What does the future look like?

Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Employer branding is often misunderstood or undervalued, especially in a landscape of shrinking budgets and rising expectations. Yet, in today’s competitive environment, the ability to measure and communicate its value is more critical than ever.

So, how can employer brand professionals quantify their impact in ways that resonate with the C-Suite? What strategies can they adopt to ensure their work aligns with business goals, drives meaningful results, and operates with the right level of sophistication?

My guest this week is Ben Phillips, Global Employer Brand Lead at Booksy. Ben explains why ROI conversations must be grounded in financial outcomes, not vanity metrics, and highlights the importance of aligning employer branding with the strategic priorities of the business. Drawing from his experience across consumer marketing, recruiting, and culture transformation, Ben shares practical approaches for demonstrating the tangible business value of employer branding.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Communicating the ROI of Employer Branding

• The five things the C-Suite cares about

• Forecasting ROI 

• Degrees of separation from the P&L

• A financial conversation versus a cost-benefit one

• How is employer branding changing?

• Culture, EVP, experience, authenticity and trust

• The difference between consumer marketing and recruitment marketing  

• What does the future hold, and what part will AI play?

Follow this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

Follow this podcast on Spotify.

"Live from the Shaker Green Room at RecFest USA, Jason Pistulka—Assistant VP of Talent Acquisition Operations at HCA Healthcare—graces us with his presence to drop some truth bombs on recruitment. Spoiler alert: he's not here to hand out AI participation trophies. Jason throws shade at the industry’s blind faith in AI as a recruitment savior, arguing that maybe, just maybe, getting your operational act together would be a better idea.

He spills the tea on HCA's branding game—giving their hospitals local names to charm their markets—and flexes their scale and healthcare cred like a boss. Oh, and remember the COVID hiring apocalypse? HCA brought on 200 new recruiters like it was nothing. Now that the chaos has died down, it all seems almost quaint.

Jason also calls out vendors for struggling to grasp the size of HCA’s operation (hint: it’s big) and says they need a crash course in "How HCA Rolls." He’s all about their talent transformation roadmap and teases some snazzy automation initiatives to make recruitment smoother and data capture less of a dumpster fire.

As for AI picking candidates? Nah, Jason’s not buying the hype. But he’s here for automation that makes life easier, proving that even skeptics can be pragmatic. It’s an insightful chat—if you’re into operational excellence, vendor rants, and the occasional AI side-eye."

In this disruptive time, HR and Talent Acquisition must be perfectly aligned with organizations’ business strategies. However, recent research from Eightfold AI and 3Sixty Insights highlights a significant misalignment between the two. This misalignment creates challenges that impact everything from hiring to employee satisfaction and ultimately negatively impact long-term organizational success.

So, why is this misalignment happening, and what can HR leaders do to address it? Could AI help bridge the gap and drive better outcomes for both HR and the wider business?

My guest this week is Teresa Wykes, Senior Director of Talent-Centered Transformation at Eightfold AI. Teresa shares valuable insights from the research, and we explore some of the root causes of the misalignment and assess potential solutions to the problem.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Business strategy development. C-Suite collaboration and talent strategy alignment.

• The extent and causes of misalignment of HR with the business

• The implications of prioritizing an administrative culture over strategic initiatives

• The crucial difference between being data driven and data literate.

• How HR is deprioritizing the activities that could help them achieve their objectives.

• Solving the problem

• The new skills needed in HR and Talent Acquisition teams

• Dealing with resistance to change

• What does the future look like?

Access the full report here - Aligning the Path Forward: How to Bring HR and Business Strategy Together.

Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Behold! A holiday spectacle so dazzling, so insightful, it’ll practically guarantee you a promotion (results may vary, void where prohibited, don't quit your day job). We've wrangled all our favorite (and some we just tolerated) guests from 2024 to deliver scorching hot takes on the burning dumpster fire that is talent, tech, and recruitment. Think less "fireside chat" and more "dumpster fire chat."

From AI’s inevitable robot overlord takeover of recruiting (will they finally fix the ATS? Don't hold your breath) to the thrilling return of the office (aka mandatory fun times!), we've got the scoop you need to maybe survive 2025. Or at least have something to complain about at the next holiday party.

Witness the assembled brain trust, including:

🎧 Smash that subscribe button NOW!

Chapters

00:00 - A Special Holiday Message for YOU!

1:12 - Will AI Replace Recruiters?

7:47 - Sponsor: Shaker Recruitment https://shaker.com

8:41 - Importance of Employer Branding in Tech-Driven Recruitment

11:17 - The Uncertain Future of DEI

15:40 - Automation's Effect on Workforce Dynamics

18:22 - Return to Office Policy Comeback

24:29 - Sponsor: Paradox AI https://www.paradox.ai/

24:59 - Sponsor: Job Pixel https://www.jobpixel.com/

26:10 - Immigration and Workforce Challenges

30:17 - Shocking Layoffs of 2024

35:30 - Tech Trends of 2024 that Stand Out

38:33 - So in 2024, What Surprised You the Most?

41:51 - Sponsor: Harri https://harri.com/

42:53 - Advice for 2025

There has probably never been a more difficult time to work in employer branding. Survey after survey shows that employers consider it vitally important to have an effective employer branding strategy; however, employer brand functions and budgets have been scaled back significantly in the last two years.

So, how can employer brand professionals navigate this challenging landscape? What does it take to build meaningful strategies with limited resources, and how can failure and authenticity become tools for growth rather than obstacles?

My guest this week is Claire D'Souza, co-founder of The EB Space and head of Employer Branding at a major UK retailer. Claire emphasizes the importance of learning from failure and why embracing vulnerability is critical to success. She also shares practical advice on demonstrating ROI, building strong stakeholder relationships, and aligning employer branding with business strategy.

In the interview, we discuss:

• The biggest challenges in employer branding at the moment

• Demonstrating ROI

• Being part of the puzzle

• Aligning goals and strategy with the company's needs and vision

• The importance of talking about failure

• Why technology is often used as a scapegoat

• Do employers have the fundamentals in place to innovate

• Building stakeholder relationships

• What does the future look like

Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Broadcasting live from the Shaker Green Room at RecFest USA, Tim Sackett—dropped some truth bombs with Joel Cheesman about the cringe-worthy mistakes corporations make in their talent acquisition hustle.

Oh, and guess what? Sackett's cooking up another book, creatively titled Talent Fix Volume 2—because one wasn’t enough. Expect fresh content, hot takes, and, presumably, a few digs at HR's favorite buzzwords.

Sackett didn't hold back on the AI hype train, either. Turns out, he's underwhelmed by the industry's cutting-edge "meh" when it comes to applying AI in TA. Meanwhile, corporate America is flailing with performance management as everyone adjusts to the post-pandemic reality of low unemployment. Spoiler: leaders are still allergic to honest performance conversations.

Fast forward to 2025, and Sackett has a bold prediction: recruiters won't just recruit anymore—they'll transform into talent advisors, focusing on team dynamics and playing corporate therapist. Vendors, take note: Sackett thinks it's your job to coach TA leaders through this glow-up. No pressure.

For years, a candidate experience that delivers truly personalized feedback at scale has been an unattainable dream for talent acquisition teams. Candidates have always wanted tailored feedback, advice, and the opportunity to ask questions, but the sheer volume of applications has made this impossible

So, is AI now revolutionizing the candidate experience and finally making mass personalization a reality? What does it take to create an ethical, transparent system that provides candidates with two-way interactions and personalized feedback, all while improving efficiency and reducing workload for TA teams?

My guest this week is Sam Dhesi, CEO of Popp AI. Despite only being 18 months old, Popp AI is already partnering with FTSE 100 companies and global staffing organizations. In our conversation, Sam shares real-world results on how AI enables conversational assessment, provides personalized candidate feedback, drives engagement, and vastly improves hiring efficiency.

In the interview, we discuss:

• How AI is changing the way employers interact with assess candidates

• Building in an ethically and responsible way

• The importance of human oversight and explainability

• Delivering constructive personalized feedback at scale

• Facilitating mass candidate engagement

• Using assessment via conversational AI as a replacement for the resume

• Which employers are doing all of this well, and what tangible results have they achieved

• What does the future look like? Where will hiring be in five years time?

Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Follow this podcast on Spotify.