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

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 564: Recruiting In AI

Ep 565: Building A Strategic TA Function

Ep 566: Skills, AI And The Future Of Hiring

Ep 567: The Strategic Future Of Talent Acquisition

Ep 568: Reshaping Talent Strategies

Ep 569: Culture and Connection In Distributed Teams

Building In Public – Episode One

Ep 570: Sustainable Hiring

Ep 571 – The Road Ahead For Talent Acquisition

Ep 572 – Generative AI: Capabilities and Limitations

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts

A full transcript will appear here shortly

Employer Value Propositions are potent tools that attract talent, retain talent, and shape the future of organizations. However, we don't talk about EVPS enough, and they are regularly confused with Employer Brands when they are discussed. So, what are the benefits of an effective EVP, and do you define one?

My guest this week is Vicki Saunders, Founder of The EVP Consultancy. Vicki is a highly experienced expert in this field and has worked on EVPs in-house at Currys, BAE Systems, and Boots. She has a vast amount of knowledge to share, and this is an absolutely must-listen episode.

In the interview, we discuss:

• The difference between EVP, Employer Branding, and Recruitment Marketing

• The value to employers of an effective EVP

• Strategic workforce planning and building the future of the organization

• Supporting DE&I

• Where should the responsibility for EVP sit?

• Authentic, Differentiated, Resonating, and Future Focused

• Pillars are proof points.

• Measurement

• Internal Comms and Employee Experience

• The role of technology

• Anticipating the future and evolving

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

AI is a game changer for talent acquisition, and as we start to move from the hype phase to the doing phase, its potential capabilities and current limitations are becoming more apparent.

So what can and can't AI do for talent acquisition right now, and how will things develop in the future?

My guest this week is Mona Khalil, Senior Manager Data Science at Greenhouse. As well as building AI into their products, Greenhouse has done extensive research with both TA leaders and job seekers to understand the potential positive and negative impacts of generative AI on recruiting.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Current talent market challenges

• Employer uptake of generative AI

• Reducing bias versus codifying bias

• Levels of nuance in decision-making

• Parsing and normalizing candidate data

• Are employers monitoring AI effectively?

• Asking vendors the right questions about their AI integrations

• How do candidates feel about AI?

• What does the future look like

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

As we come to the end of another interesting year, I know that many of you will be looking towards 2024 and planning for the new year ahead.

One of the best things about 2023 for me has been the opportunity to get back on stage and start presenting again. I've spoken at prominent industry events, including The HR Technology Conference in the US and The CIPD Annual Conference in the UK, and delivered talks and workshops for several employers.

Back in September, I spoke at the ATAP Global TA Day about the future of Talent Acquisition, and I'm delighted to be able to share the audio of my presentation as this week's podcast.

If you're unfamiliar with ATAP, it is short for The Association of Talent Acquisition Professionals, and they do some great work around standards and training in the industry. Their website is here, and you can get a 50% membership discount using the code ATAP50 before the end of the year.

In my presentation, I talk about:

• Why we can't predict the future but how we can have strategic foresight

• Three Forces Shaping Talent Acquisition

• Three Critical Trends for 2024

• Practical steps you can take right now to stay ahead of the curve

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts

The overhiring in the technology sector at the end of the pandemic, the resulting layoffs, and the knock-on effects on talent acquisition have been well-documented this year. However, big tech isn't the only area where this has happened. Other talent markets have also been through a similar journey.

So how can employers hire more sustainably, and what new talent strategies are companies adopting to build more flexibility?

My guest this week is Carina Clingman, Founder and CEO of Recruitomics, a talent consultancy working with start-ups and scale-ups in the Biotech industry. The Biotech industry has had a big issue with overhiring in the last few years. Carina has some insights on sustainable hiring models, which are also relevant in many other sectors.

In the interview, we discuss:

• The changing talent marketing in Biotech

• Challenging for scaling companies

• Aligning talent strategies with business goals

• Fractional hiring

• Understanding candidate motivations

• Balancing growth with sustainable hiring

• The dangers of overhiring

• What can larger employers learn from start-ups and scale-ups

• Total talent thinking

• What is the future for recruiters?

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Whenever I ask people questions about the future on the podcast, I always caveat the question by saying that no one can predict the future. However, you can develop tools, knowledge and techniques to give you strategic foresight to plan for the future. Once you start properly planning for the future, you actually begin to influence and shape what the future will be.

Now imagine what being able to shape the future would mean for your strategic planning and, more importantly, your career.

I'm tapping into the body of knowledge Recruiting Future has built up over the last nine years to create an online course that will help you identify and understand the key trends that are driving talent acquisition, predict where they are likely to take us and develop the mindset you need to proactively develop your career in an industry where disruptive change is going to be the norm for years to come.

I'm going to build the course in public, and I'm launching this podcast mini-series to document my journey from the initial idea to the final product. Please listen to this first episode to learn more and join the mailing list to ensure you are the first to know when the course launches.

Three and a half years on from the first pandemic lockdowns, the debate about returning to the office still rages on. However, despite all the noise this year, as some large well-known companies tried yet again to force their employees back to the office, many employers have embraced the reality of remote and hybrid and are working hard to adjust and deal with the challenges of having a distributed workforce. 

Culture and connection are often cited as reasons companies want to bring people back to their offices, particularly when supporting the new generation entering the workforce. So, what are remote and hybrid organizations doing to address these challenges without invoking a mandatory return to the office? 

My guest this week is Dena Singleton, Chief People Officer at Kajabi. Kajabi strongly focuses on developing its culture and building connections within its organization, and Dina has some excellent advice to share.

In the interview, we discuss:

• The unique market that Kajabi serves

• TA challenges

• Job vs Opportunities

• Building culture and connection

• Foster community

• Supporting the new generation in the workforce

• Onboarding

• The impact of AI on the talent function

• The future of work

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

The last 18 months have seen colossal talent market disruption in the tech industry, with large-scale layoffs continuing as the companies attempt to rebalance after a post-pandemic hiring frenzy. So how has this ongoing disruption affected start-up and scale-up businesses in the tech sector, and what lessons could the wider talent acquisition community learn from the way talent strategies are being reshaped

My guest this week is Lorraine Buhannic, SVP & Head of Talent at VC firm Juxtapose. Lorraine advises Juxtapose's portfolio companies on the talent strategies they need to hire, develop and retain high-performing talent in these very volatile times. 

In the interview, we discuss:

• Current market challenges

• Recruiting CEOs

• Developing a board-level community of talent

• Why talent is even more critical in a downturn

• The compression of middle management

• The long-term implications of losing experienced managers

• Why the most interesting jobs are often at early-stage companies

• Removing silos in the talent function

• The impact of leadership on hiring and retention

• What does the future look like

Subscribe to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

Transforming TA into a strategic function that can prove its long-term value to the business has been a critical topic on the show this year. 

AI, uneven talent markets and challenging economic factors continue to cause widespread market disruption, and TA leaders need to drive their function in a more strategic direction. As we race towards 2024, I will continue to seek out strategic thinkers who can share the insights we need to move the industry forward.

My guest this week is Marcel Rütten. Marcel is a consultant, author, podcaster, conference organiser and former Global TA Leader who knows what it takes to build a highly strategic TA function.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Talent market trends

• Proving TA's strategic importance to the C-Suite

• Aligning TA strategy with business strategy

• Uncovering the real issues in hiring and retention

• Tools and technologies

• Root cause analysis 

• The balance between time, cost and quality

• Using data to analyse candidate behaviour

• What impact will generative AI have on talent acquisition

• What will recruiting look like in 5 years?

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

The rapid development of AI and the increasing sophistication of skills-based hiring methodologies are two potent forces shaping the future of talent acquisition. 

So what kind of future can we look forward to, and will we see the increase in talent mobility and the decrease in bias that we need to make hiring more equitable and ensure employers have better access to the talent they need?

My guest this week is Ben Porr, Chief Customer Officer at Harver. Ben is a highly experienced I/O psychologist who has been working to reduce bias in the hiring process. Ben's knowledge and experience have given him expert insights that can help us understand what the future of talent acquisition looks like when you combine the power of AI with the potential of skills-based hiring.

In the interview, we discuss:

• The biggest challenges in the talent market

• Bottlenecks in the hiring process

• The evolution of skills-based hiring

• Increasing talent mobility

• Strategies to reduce bias

• Combing pieces of evidence 

• Does AI increase or decrease bias?

• AI as a job creation tool

• How can talent acquisition better use data

• What does the future look like, and how quickly will the recruiter's role change?

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.