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

Reaching out to past applicants about new roles has always been a challenge in talent acquisition. Poor technology, tight timescales and inflexible processes have often limited the effectiveness of talent rediscovery. However, AI is now starting to drive some change, and talent rediscovery is becoming an ever more effective strategy.

My guest this week is Mike Watson, Head of Customer Advocacy at Eightfold. Before he joined Eightfold, Mike was a long-time Head of Talent Acquisition, and, in our conversation, he shares his unique insights into the benefits and practical results of AI-driven talent rediscovery.

In the interview, we discuss:

• The current state of the market and the effect on talent acquisition teams

• The threat of losing recruiter intellectual property 

• Warm passive talent versus cold passive talent

• What the ATS can't deliver

• Driving ROI but reducing time to hire

• Talent intelligence

• Communication strategies and best practices

• Which employers are doing talent rediscovery well

• Where is the technology taking us next?

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

To say that the talent acquisition market in the tech sector is complex and fast-changing at the moment would perhaps be a bit of an understatement. So how are big tech companies developing employer branding strategies that help them solve their shifting challenges, and what lessons can employers in other sectors learn from them?

My guest this week is Ashlee Gerow, Senior Manager, Employer Branding at Hubspot. I've always been a massive fan of Hubspot's sophisticated and innovative approach to talent acquisition and employer branding. Ashley is very open about their recruitment challenges and how a dynamic approach to employer branding is being used to address them.

In the interview, we discuss:

• The current tech hiring market 

• How employer branding is being used to solve recruiting challenges at Hubspot

• Developing a highly targeted strategy

• Cutting through the noise

• Advanced persona work

• Is who you are externally authentic to who you are internally

• Understanding where you are not converting and adapting accordingly

• How the pandemic changed Hubspot's approach

• Working with cross-functional teams and being deeply connected across the business

• Making sure the EVP is consistent throughout the entire candidate journey

• Using employee's stories to show, not tell

• Employer Branding as a constant marketing machine

• The role of data and technology

• Moving quickly to adapt, sprint and change

• The future of employer branding

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

The pandemic changed many aspects of talent acquisition and perhaps none more so than onboarding. With many people spending less time in their employer's physical offices, how have TA and HR teams evolved their onboarding processes to forge a sense of belonging, develop relationships and ultimately increase productivity and retention?

My guest this week is Sharawn Tipton, Chief People Officer at LiveRamp. Over the last few years, LiveRamp has developed a strategic and very intentional approach to onboarding, and Sharawn has a lot of insight and advice to share.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Shifting from a transactional approach to one that focuses on building relationships

• Providing an immediate sense of belonging

• The impact of the pandemic on onboarding and retention

• Employee Resource Groups

• Wellness and mental health

• Starting onboarding before the hiring process even starts

• Culture

• Moments that matter

• How important are the first 30 days

• Personalization of experience

• EVP & expectations

• Lesson learned and having a growth mindset.

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

I'm finally back in Scotland after a summer of much travelling, so normal service is now resumed, and the podcast is back into its regular rhythm of two new shows a week.

Assessment and selection continue to be an area of debate, investment and technological innovation. So what has been happening in the space over the last 12 months, and more importantly, what is working?

It is my great pleasure to welcome Netherlands-based consultant Bas van de Haterd back to the show as my guest this week. Bas has been on the podcast a few times discussing new thinking in assessment and runs an awards program for innovation in assessment. His 2022 awards have just been judged, and he joins us to update us on what is working and discuss the different approaches the shortlisted organisations have taken.

In the interview, we discuss:

• The current state of the market

• Innovation in assessment and selection

• Increasing diversity by selecting on quality

• Engagement, motivation and stress resilience

• Cynicism and the importance of results and ROI

• Open hiring - innovating by having no assessment

• Neuroscience and brain-based assessment

• Reducing attrition

• Skills versus experience

• The importance of using the right tools

• How will assessment techniques and technologies develop in the future?

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Diversity and Inclusion strategies are often just about moving existing talent between organisations rather than growing talent pools and giving more opportunities to more people. So how should employers be thinking about diversity hiring, and what kind of organisations should they partner with to increase the spread of opportunity?

My guest this week is Linc Kroeger, President of Knight Moves. Knight Moves is a limiting profit company helping to create the next generation of technology professionals by offering training with an intentional focus on Native American, rural and urban underserved communities.

In the interview, we discuss:

• What can change diversity outcomes in the technology space

• Building physical communities of technology talent in rural areas

• Inspiring teenagers 

• Teaching instantly usable skills

• Longer-term transformational impacts

• What value are employers getting?

• The importance of remote working

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Despite some highly publicised layoffs in the tech sector, macro trends are still driving a high demand for highly skilled tech professionals. This is particularly true in data science and AI, where hiring the right talent can have a significant business impact. 

So what do employers need to do in the current market to ensure they are getting the talent they need?

My guest this week is Kevin Dewalt, CEO of Prolego, a leading AI consultant for Fortune 500 companies. Prolego has recently published a report to help companies get better at hiring data science talent, and Kevin has some valuable insights to share.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Why we are only at the beginning of a long-term trend in AI adoption and innovation 

• The current state of tech hiring

• Why there is no new wave of talent in the market

• Creating the right working environment to be an employer of choice.

• Attention and attraction

• Gathering talent intelligence to understand motivations

• The critical importance of the hiring manager and why you should include them in the JD

• Longer-term structural considerations

• Prioritising learning and the importance of non-management career paths

• How to compete for talent with big tech

• The future of AI in recruiting technology

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

I know that many of you who listen to this podcast are very aware of the quality of your employee experience and the importance of your employer brand reputation. However, as the balance in the workforce between permanent hires, contractors, and project-based workers evolves, do you still truly understand all the factors influencing your employer brand?

My guest this week is Tanya de Grunwald, journalist and founder of The Good And Fair Employers Club. Tanya is a long time campaigner for the rights of young people in the workplace and has been working tirelessly to expose the use of exit or training fees by some IT outsourcing companies. This interview is an absolute must listen for everyone working for an organization that contract in workers from external providers.

In the interview, we discuss:

• What are exit fees, and what are their implications for young people?

• The implications of denying people the right to move jobs

• The legal position

• Activism

• Outsourcing and placement: who is and isn’t an employee?

• Why have employers been so slow to act

• Ethics in procurement and supplier management

• Providing consistent values and experience for the entire workforce

• Whistleblowing & PR disasters

• Good and fair employers

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

I'm on holiday at the moment, but I want to make sure that you have plenty of Recruiting Future content to listen to until I'm back. So for the next couple of weeks, I'm going to republish some of my favourite episodes with conversations that you may have missed the first time round.

This week's replay is my conversation from earlier in the year with Maggie Spong, VP of Talent Acquisition at AstraZeneca. It is one of the best examples I've had on the show for a while of a company developing holistic, long-term strategic solutions to deal with ongoing skill shortages. It is well worth a listen, even if you have heard it the first time around.

In the interview, we discuss:

• How Talent Acquisition is evolving at Astra Zeneca

• Using Talent Scouts to build external talent pipelines for hard to fill roles and where there are gaps in internal succession planning

• Building a personalised and inclusive candidate experience.

• Giving feedback to all interviewed candidates

• The challenges of the pandemic

• Encouraging candidate self-selection by showcasing the authentic employee experience

• Turning The Great Resignation into The Great Opportunity

• The role of technology

• Employer brand advocacy

• Investing in development and the Talent Acquisition Academy

• Astra Zeneca's focus for 2022

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

I'm on holiday at the moment, but I want to make sure that you have plenty of Recruiting Future content to listen to until I'm back. So for the next couple of weeks, I'm going to republish some of my favourite episodes with conversations that you may have missed the first time round.

This week's replay is my interview with Rory Sutherland, Vice Chair of Ogilvy and one of the world's leading thinkers on behavioural science. I firmly believe that behavioural science will take a leading role in talent acquisition in the future, particularly when it comes to automation and personalisation, and that's why I wanted to give you all a second chance to listen to what Rory has to say.

In the interview, we discuss:

• Why Behavioural Science is the science of knowing what economists are wrong about

• The dangers of defensive decision making

• Finding psychological truths and the importance of emotions

• Why Uber has a map

• Recruiting for diversity of thought

• How Ogilvy have redesigned the recruiting process to find people of exceptional non-standard ability

• While the average is not the optimal solution

• The difference between equality of opportunity and diversity of opportunity

• Why work is a relational relationship, not a transactional one

• Cost reduction versus lost opportunities

• Personalising the value exchange between employer and employee

• The future of work and why it has taken a pandemic to get us there

Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts.

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 442: Lessons From Elite Cycling

Ep 443: The Nowhere Office

Ep 444: Workplace Culture

Ep 445: Happiness At Work

Ep 446: The Competitive Advantage Of Employee Experience

Ep 447: Dealing With Disruption

Ep 448: Proving The Business Value Of Talent Marketing