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

Earlier in the month, in Episode 504, we looked at the evolution of asynchronous video interviewing and the change in candidate attitudes towards it since the pandemic. In this episode, I wanted to dive deeper and find out how it is working in practice. What are the benefits and drawbacks, and how do talent acquisition teams wish to see it develop?

My guests this week are both from Hello Fresh. Maximiliano Trujillo Diaz is a Senior Talent Acquisition Partner, and Mubeen Shariff is Senior Manager Workforce Staffing. Hello Fresh has been successfully using video interviews for specialist and high-volume roles, and my guests have vast knowledge and experience to share.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Scaling up and talent scarcity

• The challenges of high-volume recruiting

• Increasing placements and reducing time to hire

• Improving the candidate experience

• Simplicity and speed

• Limitations and drawbacks

• Does video work for all levels of candidates?

• How should video interviewing develop in the future?

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

We live in rapidly changing times, and it is increasingly difficult for employers to anticipate how the roles in their business will develop. An ageing workforce is a further complicated factor. The growing consensus is that a skills-based approach to early careers recruiting could give employers the flexibility they need to plan for an uncertain future.

But how does skills-based hiring work in early careers, and how should employers develop their strategies in this area?

My guest this week is Matt Kirk, Solution Owner - Talent Acquisition at SHL. Matt has a big focus on early careers and has some incredibly valuable insights to share based on SHL's pioneering work on skills, competencies, and behaviors.

In the interview, we discuss:

• The current state of college recruiting globally

• The impact of the cost of living crisis

• Are graduates the answer to the problem of ageing workforces?

• The growing interest in soft skills

• Using a single talent language

• 11 skills that predict success in graduate hiring

• Building data to facilitate internal mobility and skills development

• How skills differ between countries and industries

• Offering an appropriate candidate experience

• Communication and feedback

• What does the future of early careers look like?

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

As we move through the third anniversary of the first lockdowns, it is a good time to reflect on how the pandemic has changed our attitudes and expectations towards work.

Employers now have to think very differently about culture, employee experience, and recruiting. The new generation joining the workforce is also driving some very different thinking around career progression.

My guest this week is Abby Hamilton, Chief People Officer at LiveIntent. Abby has valuable insights about the importance of creating a human-centric approach to work where employees feel seen, heard, and recognized.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Current talent market challenges

• How tech layoffs are creating opportunities

• The legacy of the pandemic

• Culture, Employee Experience, and Recruiting

• Wellbeing

• Changing career expectations from changing generations

• Video gaming and careers progression

• The role of technology

• Asynchronous communication

• The future of employee experience

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

I always knew that the pace of change would accelerate this year, but it's only March, and we've seen thousands of tech layoffs, bank failures, and the launch of ChatGPT and now ChatGPT 4. Meanwhile, businesses worldwide are still struggling to get the talent they need.

The implications for Talent Acquisition of this pace of change and technological development are profound, and at the moment, it doesn't even feel that there is time to take a step back and understand them. So what does this all mean, and how should TA leaders adapt and plan for such a dynamic future?

What better time to invite my favourite futurist back to show to attempt to get some answers. Kevin Wheeler is the founder of The Future Of Talent Institute and one of the great deep thinkers in our industry. In our conversation, Kevin looks back into the past to give us clues about the future and offers invaluable advice on what we should focus on.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Kevin's take on the current market

• Talent hoarding and over-hiring

• The 1920s versus the 2020s

• Staying skilled and aware

• How will AI impact TA in the short and medium term?

• Augmentation, automation, and replacement

• A structural shift in how organizations see talent

• Internal upskilling and reskilling

• Thinking broadly, holistically, and globally

• What should TA be focusing on

• The demographic and education time bomb

• What skills do the TA Leaders of the future need?

Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

In 2013, I wrote a report on the future of asynchronous video interviewing; while a few employers were experimenting with it, there was widespread skepticism about its usefulness and longevity. Fast forward ten years, and we are literally living in a different world. Post-pandemic video now sits at the centre of the working day for many of us, and asynchronous video interviewing is most certainly here to stay.

So how are candidate attitudes towards video evolving, what problems is video interviewing solving for employers, and how will things develop in the future?

My guests this week are the perfect people to answer these questions and give us a deep dive into the market. Phil Strazzulla is the Founder of Select Software Reviews, and Euan Cameron is the CEO at Willo. Keep listening for a mix of practical advice and informed insights about the future of video interviewing.

In the interview, we discuss:

• How video interview has developed since the pandemic

• Evolving attitudes to video

• Is a video interview now an expectation for candidates?

• Removing interview friction

• Point solution or platform?

• The case for asynchronous

• DE&I

• Improving hiring outcomes

• Will the resume ever die?

• How does AI fit into the future of video interviewing?

Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

The climate emergency is the greatest challenge humans have ever faced, and it affects all of us. In August of last year, as part of The Inflation Reduction Act, the US federal government pledged $365 Billion to fight climate change. Since then, over 100,000 climate jobs have already been created in the US economy. Despite the seriousness of the situation and the obvious relevance to our sector, climate jobs and the climate emergency don't seem to be things we are discussing. This needs to change.

My guest this week is Natalie Lavery, Marketing Lead at Climate People, a Climate Tech recruiting firm. Climate People are fighting to make every job a climate job. It was brilliant to get Natalie's insight into a critically important market that is full of opportunity.

In the interview, we discuss:

• The reimagining of the global economy

• What is Climate Tech, and what are Climate Jobs?

• Is Climate Tech the future of all jobs

• Barriers to jobseekers taking climate jobs and how to break them down

• Awareness, mindset, and incentives

• The importance of diverse talent and diverse voices

• What can we all do to make our jobs climate jobs?

Listen to this podcast in Apple Podcasts.

Digital Talent, the second book co-authored by Mervyn Dinnen and myself, came out a year ago this month. We've been blown away by the response to the book and want to thank everyone who has bought, read and shared it.

Twelve months is a long time in our industry at the moment, so I sat down with Mervyn to discuss the book's key themes and how things have developed over the last year. We recorded the conversation in a proper studio, so there is also a video version of this podcast (link in the show notes), which is worth watching just to take in the full glory of Mervyn's shirt. Enjoy the conversation

In our conversation, we discuss:

• The acceleration of Digital Transformation

• The ongoing disruption of Talent Acquisition

• Redefining talent

• Results versus noise in DE&I

• Taking a more strategic approach to hiring

• Talent Experience

• Talent Mobility

• Skills

• AI & Personalization

• The new future of work

• Another book?

The video version of this episode

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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 493: The Growing Value Of TA Operations

Ep 494: Confidence and Resilience

Ep 495: Results Not Noise

Ep 496: Challenging A Narrow Definition Of Talent

Ep 497: Rethinking Recruiting To Break Down Silos

Ep 498: The Early Careers Labour Market

Ep 499: Strategic Talent Acquisition

Ep 500: Ask Me Anything

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The rise of remote working and the widespread adoption of technology has made it much easier for all sizes of employers to tap into global pools of talent. The urban population of the African continent is projected to reach 1.1 billion people by 2040, making it the largest global workforce. With an ever more diverse base of skills across 54 countries, it's not surprising that outsourcing to Africa is on the rise.

So what can employers do to tap into this enormous talent pool? My guest this week is Valerie Bowden, founder, and CEO of CRDLE. Valerie spent years traveling and working in Africa and now helps US and European businesses connect to talent in the world's second-largest continent.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Tapping into global talent pools

• Why Africa?

• Language and timezones

• Types of skills

• Interns

• The social impact of outsourcing

• Are you already using African talent?

• Advice for effective outsourcing

• The importance of onboarding and training

• The future of remote teams

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

A full transcript will appear shortly.

In October 2008, I started writing a blog called Recruiting Future, and over the next seven years, I regularly documented the changes that were happening in talent acquisition. As part of my blog, I started publishing interviews with industry practitioners, sometimes as videos but often as audio files embedded in my blog posts. I called these "Recruiting Future Expert Interviews". I soon realised that I had found something I absolutely loved doing and looked for ways of going all in and making this a bigger part of my work.

The growth of podcasting gave me the opportunity I was looking for. On the 10th of January 2015, I published Episode One of The Recruiting Future Podcast. It was far more challenging to make than I expected, and the sound quality left a lot to be desired, but I didn't care. I was all in and would focus on building a resource to help talent acquisition make sense of the radical transformations ahead.

Eight years and 499 episodes later, here we are. I'm still blown away by everything the podcast has achieved. None of it would be possible without the fantastic people I get to interview, the brilliant, supportive sponsors, and all of you who listen and spread the word about the show. 

For the 500th episode, I thought I would do an Ask Me Anything episode as something a bit different. Thanks to everyone who submitted a question, and I'm sorry that I couldn't include them all; what follows is a representative sample of the kind of topics people were asking about

This episode features questions from:

Jessica Adams

Matthias Schmeißer

Mervyn Dinnen

Sara Dalsfelt

Victoria Williams

Viktor Nord

John Wallace

Topics covered include: 

Strategic Talent Acquisition, Conversational AI, Future Skills in Talent Acquisition, Recruitment Marketing, Assessment, and Podcasting.

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.