Talent On The Rise: Recent Episodes
Brazen
The Chief Talent Officer or the Chief People Officer is a relatively new title for organizations but one of the fastest growing and arguably one of the most important. Unsurprisingly, more and more TA professionals are curious about how to elevate their careers to this level. In this podcast hosted by Joe Matar, Ryan Healy, and Ashley O'Connor we talk with the industry’s top CHROs, CTOs, CPOs and VPs to learn how they got a seat at the table, and what you can do to make talent C-level priority for your organization.
We ask our guests questions like: How do you become a CHRO? What is the future of people, talent, and culture? What rules did you break along the way? Who are your role models? Where do you get inspiration? How do you inspire your teams to greatness? And more.
In this illuminating episode of "Talent on the Rise," host Joe Matar engages in a captivating conversation with Bill Blackford, the Vice President of Talent Acquisition and People Operations at Ellucian. The podcast explores the transformative journey of talent acquisition, tracing Bill's evolution from an unexpected career shift to becoming a stalwart in building high-growth organizations over nearly two decades.
Bill emphasizes the pivotal shift from transactional recruiting to the role of a true talent advisor. He underscores the need for recruiters to align with business goals, delving beyond job requirements to understand organizational objectives. Trust emerges as a linchpin, with Bill highlighting the importance of transparency, reliability, and commitment in fostering strong relationships between recruiters, candidates, and hiring teams.
The discussion delves into strategies for success, focusing on driving clarity and alignment in the recruitment process. Bill introduces a strategic framework—buy, borrow, or build talent—emphasizing the transformative impact of learning boot camps and promoting internal mobility.
The evolving Employee Value Proposition (EVP) takes center stage, with authenticity and transparency being key. Bill paints a vivid picture of talent advisors as true business partners equipped with situational understanding, purposeful curiosity, and the ability to influence and guide informed decisions.
Insights into effective talent leadership traits—structured thinking, levity, and empathy—provide a glimpse into the qualities that set aspiring leaders apart. The episode concludes with a fascinating book recommendation, drawing parallels between the lessons from "Chipwar" and the imperative for talent professionals to stay open-minded and adaptable in the ever-evolving landscape.
As the episode wraps up, listeners gain valuable insights into the multifaceted role of talent advisors and the essential traits defining effective talent leaders. Bill Blackford's call for adaptability and open-mindedness leaves the audience with a sense of anticipation for the future of talent acquisition.
In this episode, Kristin Hamblock, the Chief Human Resources Officer at Rosecrance Health Network, shares her insights on fostering growth and innovation in talent acquisition and HR. Her journey highlights the importance of continuous learning, employee engagement, modern employer branding, and navigating organizational change. Kristin's emphasis on internal promotion and talent retention underscores the significance of nurturing employees and providing advancement opportunities. She also stresses the need for fostering innovation in HR, challenging conventional practices, and addressing employee burnout in the healthcare industry. Kristin's involvement in various non-profit initiatives further reflects her commitment to community impact and purpose-driven work. The conversation concludes with an emphasis on the importance of personal well-being and self-care, serving as a guiding light for HR professionals aiming to create supportive and inclusive workplace environments.
Links from episode:
- Instagram: SantaForAll
- GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/santa-for-all-2023
In this episode, our host, Joe Matar, interviews Keith Vavra, the CHRO at a global technology defense and engineering group. Keith shares insights from his 20-year career in human resources, highlighting his passion for developing outstanding talent.
During the conversation, Keith emphasizes the importance of building authentic partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to cultivate human potential. He shares valuable advice on how HR professionals can gain business experience and understand the margins within the business to make better decisions.
Keith discusses his experiences in HR transformations and the lessons he has learned. He emphasizes the importance of celebrating both successes and failures to avoid repeating past mistakes. Additionally, he encourages HR practitioners to network with peers and learn from their experiences to navigate transformations successfully.
The discussion also covers the significance of employee engagement, talent acquisition, and authentic employee branding. Keith stresses the need to align company values with individual employee motivations to improve productivity and create a positive work culture.
Finally, the episode touches on career paths within HR. Keith advises aspiring leaders to gain experience in various HR domains to understand their passions and strengths better. He highlights the value of walking the walk and appreciating the perspectives of all HR functions while working towards leadership roles.
In the podcast episode of "Talent on the Rise," host Joe Mater interviews Ricky Russell, the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. With over 20 years of experience in HR and talent acquisition, Ricky discusses his passion for growing people and careers, fostering inclusion and engagement, and enabling the future of work.
Ricky shares his background, growing up on a farm in southeastern Kentucky, and how the skills and work ethic he developed there shaped him both personally and professionally.
Throughout his career, Ricky transitioned from talent acquisition into various HR roles in industries such as airlines and healthcare. He emphasizes the importance of persistence, determination, and patience in building a successful career. Ricky feels grateful to be in healthcare, where his work indirectly impacts lives by supporting frontline caregivers.
Ricky shares how important it is to nurture and build relationships with talent without the expectation of them applying to your jobs. You must play the long game when it comes to talent acquisition and build a community of talent.
Joe and Ricky discuss the significance of HR practitioners having a seat at the C-suite table. Ricky believes HR should be involved at all levels of the organization, as every decision made has a people impact. He shares an example of collaborating with nursing leadership to design a centralized resource pool to address staffing challenges. Ricky emphasizes the importance of HR professionals having a broad business acumen, understanding different functional areas, and being able to make decisions that benefit both the organization and its employees.
The episode concludes with Ricky emphasizing the need for HR professionals to know the business they support, even if they are not experts in the field. He encourages HR staff to engage regularly with different departments, gain knowledge about their work, and effectively communicate with candidates during the recruitment process. This strategic partnership between HR and the business leads to better decision-making and ultimately contributes to the organization's success.
Storytelling is a powerful tool for talent acquisition professionals across every facet of the talent acquisition and retention process. At Chipotle, Miller makes it a priority to incorporate narrative into the candidate experience. “The way candidates experience and learn about a brand isn’t radically different than how we learn about a band, or a restaurant, or our favorite sports teams." He uses narrative not only to better connect with job candidates but also to foster strong working relationships with the departments for whom the TA teams finds new teammates. Learn how to use storytelling to help your TA team stand apart in this episode.
The candidate experience is more important than ever now that the tables have turned, where it's an employee job market, not an employer job market according to Brent Schreckengost, Director of Talent Acquisition at Avalara.
As the talent acquisition industry begins to better understand the importance of a positive candidate experience and track this data, we see more and more how this experience impacts the whole talent acquisition program. A single candidate’s experience impacts not only their own decision as to whether to join the company now or in the future, but also the interest of their friends, acquaintances, loved ones, and even the larger job-seeker community. Providing a positive candidate experience is not only about filling a position, but about finding a pool of potential candidates aligned with your company's strategic growth plan.
So how do you put that wow factor into the candidate experience? Here are a few best practices inspired by our conversation with Brent Schreckengost.
In this can't-miss episode, Dawn Mitchell, SVP of HR at Appian, talks about how critical clear communication, business agility, and company culture are in a competitive talent market. Listen to hear this company's unique story of creating a culture-first organization, their differentiated approach to hiring, and insights for how to create a work environment that helps your organization compete for the best talent.
Nick Haubach, CHRO of UI Health, explains how employers can stand out when the market for talent is so fiercely competitive and talks about how a great candidate experience is the best competitive advantage in the war for talent. From application all the way through onboarding, adding personalized touches across the experience helps you stand out so you can better attract (and retain!) top talent.
Having a diverse and inclusive workplace is more important now than ever. On this episode, we talk with ZoomInfo CHRO Alyssa Lahar on how to make diversity, equity, and inclusion a priority not just in your hiring process, but also across the candidate and employee experience. Join us to learn about specific programs and examples ZoomInfo has brought to life within their organization and gather actionable insights you can use to help your organization become an industry leader and best place to work. Don't miss this one!
Whether your company is in growth mode, restructuring or contending with normal turnover, the fight for top talent never ends. This week, we talk with George Randle, author of The Talent War and talent acquisition leader, about what recruiting for Special Ops taught him about potential-based hiring and how organizations today can use this approach to become more resilient and build highly-successful teams. We discuss common hiring pitfalls such as a focus on experience over character, a failure to prioritize talent acquisition as a key driver of business success, and more. You can't miss this one!
This week, Shelly Holt, Chief People Officer at PayScale, talks about the paradigm shift being driven by remote work on compensation, culture, collaboration, and more. How can we create a culture of inclusion and engagement as we build the future of work? What is the role of the HR leader in helping drive this change across the organization? How will the unexpected demands of the pandemic change how we work and how we attract and retain top talent going forward? How could this evolve compensation models moving forward? In this episode, we discuss all this and more. You don't want to miss it!
In this episode, we talk with Dena Upton, Chief People Officer at Drift, about the impact that great storytelling can have on building a strong employer brand, how to maintain your culture as a fast-growing company, how to equip employees as ambassadors, the state of hiring, onboarding, and employee engagement in the pandemic - and more.
Tami Rosen's experience as a senior HR executive has spanned startups and Fortune 100 companies like Atlassian, Luminar Technologies, Apple, and Goldman Sachs. She's learned that HR leaders must ensure that an organization's people-focused strategies are totally aligned with its overall business strategies. In this episode, she discusses three core traits HR professionals need to develop to be come strategic business partners, why people-centered thinking is key, and how COVID-19 has impacted HR and TA. This is a can't-miss episode!
Recruiting isn't all about your traditional "recruiting" tactics and strategies like sourcing, employer brand, and recruitment marketing. Sometimes, the best recruiting hits a little closer to home. In this episode of Talent on the Rise, John Whitaker, Chief People Officer at Sage Dental, describes how learning and development programs can serve as one of your best recruiting tools in your toolkit. We also talk to John about recruiting technology, the candidate experience, and employer branding. Tune in. You won't want to miss it.
During the recession of 2007-9 it was the CFO that took center stage. During the COVID-19 crisis, the leadership is naturally falling on the people leaders. But are they ready? And is make or break right now for HR / TA leaders to show whether or not they can lead? In this episode, we talk with Barbie Winterbottom, who is the Chief People Officer at Bic Graphics, about how she and her team are handling the crisis. You'll learn about how Barbie's 'people first' philosophy has guided her and the company during this crisis, the impact this crisis will have on employer brand, how HR and TA teams are over-communicating with employees and candidates, how they are creating content hubs on remote work and COVID-19, and many other changes the team is making as well as what this crisis will mean for the future of work.
Our guest, Peter Brooks, VP of Talent Acquisition at Northrop Grumman (and a long time friend of Brazen), joins us in studio to cover topics ranging from how to innovative and take more risks in TA, how to plan for the first 90 days on the job, how to structure and build a TA team, how to assess the strengths and weaknesses or your team, how to use video in your recruiting, who his biggest allies are in the c-suite, what traits are crucial for growth in your career and so much more!
Our guest, Jim Link, CHRO at Randstad North America, shares with us how AI is and will change TA and HR, why HR leaders should be demanding a seat at the table, the difference between the art and science of recruiting, how to actively seek out a mentor, how working on a farm teaches you the value of hard work, why human capital is no where close to being a commodity, what's important for Gen Z and Millennials in the workforce, and much, much more!
Our guest, Debbie Shotwell, Chief People Officer at Saba Software, has a very important role. She not only leads the human capital division at Saba but because she is also a user of the Saba HR/TA technology she and her team have become an integral part of the product development process. Learn more about Debbie's unique role plus hear more about how Debbie believes TA leaders should approach the use of technology (less about technology and more about outcomes), what recruiting metrics we should be using to measure success, and what HR/TA leaders need to do to get a seat at the table.
Our guest, PaShon Mann, VP of Talent at Comcast, discusses why it is so advantageous for organizations to combine their talent management teams with talent acquisition teams, how to be a more strategic thinker (and why this is so important to have a successful career in TA, and why it's so important to care about the whole person.
In this episode, Joe and his co-host, Ashley, sit down in studio to chat with Christina Herrmann, Chief Talent Officer at Shipman & Goodwin LLP about an organizational framework for diversity and inclusion, what it actually looks like when talent leaders have a seat at the table, and how reading fiction can make you a better HR leader. Oh, and a whole bunch more. So join us on another amazing journey on this week's episode of Talent On The Rise!
In the very first episode of Talent On The Rise, Joe and Ryan sit down with Michelle Leighton, Chief Talent Officer at Lifebanc, to discuss how she rose in her career to get a seat at the table, why it's important not to be a passenger on your own career journey, and why it might be a good idea to put your kids on a PIP.