Talk Talent To Me
Starring recruiting leadership from everywhere under the talent acquisition sun, Talk Talent To Me is a fast-paced rough-and-tumble tour through the strategies, metrics, techniques, and trends shaping the recruitment industry. Brought to you by your pals at LHH.
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Freewheel Chief Global People Officer Quentin SaLay
<p>Quentin shares what it actually means to future-proof a workforce, introducing his the three box framework for simultaneously maintaining the present, abandoning the past, and building the future, and walks through a real case study from the SDN era when network engineers resisted upskilling into software roles, with consequences that still inform how he approaches change management today. The conversation digs into who owns career development, why network leadership across companies matters more than most HR functions realize, and the concrete steps Quentin is taking right now to audit skills gaps and redesign workflows with AI. This is essential...
Conviction, Crank, and Craft with Rox Talent Lead Erin Wilson
<p>Show Notes</p> <p>Rob reunites with Erin Wilson, Talent Lead at Rox and a returning champion from the very first episode of Talk Talent to Me. Erin breaks down the two things Rocks screens for in every conversation, conviction and crank, explains why he still writes his own outreach by hand despite being one of the most AI-enabled recruiters working today, and walks through the exact tools and workflows he has built inside Claude and Slack to run a world-class talent function as a team of one. If you want a ground-level view of where recruiting is headed...
Crisp SVP People Ops Joe Bast
<p>Rob welcomes back Joe Bast, now SVP of People Operations at Crisp, for a wide-ranging conversation that covers what it really takes to operate at the executive level, why AI is not the equalizer most people think it is, and how the definition of retention needs a complete overhaul. Joe brings 25 years of hard-won perspective on building high-performing people functions at growth-stage companies, and he does not hold back. From managing up to a CEO, to the slow erasure of entry-level talent pipelines, to why your critical talent should want for nothing, this episode is a masterclass for any...
Re-Thinking Retention with Langan CHRO Donovan Mattole
<p>Donovan shares how he deliberately hires business leaders into HR, why TA and retention must operate as a single strategy, and how he's making the case to Millennial and Gen Z employees that staying at one company for a full career can be the best financial decision they make. If you lead a team or manage talent at any level, this episode is full of frameworks you can apply immediately.</p> <p>Key takeaways</p> Hire business leaders into HR: Top field leaders and MBAs with no HR background can elevate an HRBP team faster than traditional hiring. Business c...
Building a Future-Proof People Agenda with Lisa Skinner Källström
<p>Lisa is a seasoned CHRO with over 20 years in HR to explore what it looks like to intentionally pause, reflect, and reimagine your next career chapter. Lisa shares how she recognized the natural end of a mission-driven CHRO role, why she's now considering a move into consultancy and fractional work, and what that says about how senior HR professionals are rethinking their careers. The conversation moves into broader territory around the future of the people function: how HR can stop fighting for a seat at the table and just earn it, why the people agenda must be woven into...
Rachel Duran, HPE Head of Global Employer Brand & Recruiting Marketing
<p > Rachel Duran has spent nearly 15 years building her career at the intersection of marketing and talent acquisition, moving through ad agencies, RPOs, and major tech companies. Rob and Rachel cover how the flood of AI-generated applications is forcing a fundamental rethink of what "success" looks like in recruiting marketing, why the candidate experience has to meet consumer-grade expectations, and how employer brand practitioners can earn and keep their seat at the table.</p> <h2 >🔑 Key Takeaways</h2> AI-driven mass applications have made quality of applicant the new priority over volume Top-of-funnel thinking is out. attracting the right candidates matters mor...
ProDriven Global Brands CHRO Kevin Bohan
<p>Kevin breaks down how HR leaders can drive real business impact by aligning talent strategy directly to company goals, with a focus on scaling coaching as a lever for workforce performance and development. He shares how listening to employee feedback and preparing for the next phase of growth led his team to invest in coaching at scale, enabled by new technology that makes it accessible beyond just executives. Kevin explains how coaching improves performance, engagement, and retention, how to measure its impact, and why it plays a critical role in developing future leaders in a skills-based economy. The conversation...
Liberty Mutual VP of Early TA Maura Quinn
<h2 >📝 Episode Summary</h2> <p >Maura explains why investing in early talent remains a high-impact, data-backed strategy despite growing narratives around AI replacing entry-level roles. She shares how Liberty Mutual has built a long-term pipeline that drives retention, accelerates promotion, and produces global leaders, while also evolving programs to align with shifting skill demands. The conversation explores how Gen Z brings new expectations around purpose, flexibility, and development, why career paths are becoming more dynamic and non-linear, and how organizations must balance technical skill-building with human capabilities like communication and adaptability in an AI-driven workplace.</p> <h2 >🔑 Key Takeaways</h2> Early...
PepsiCo VP Global TA Ilona Kremer
<h2 >Episode Summary</h2> <p >Ilona explains what it takes to transform talent acquisition at a 300,000-person organization. From consolidating a sprawling, decentralized TA function into a unified operating model to simplifying a bloated tech stack and driving global process adoption, Ilona shares how her team moved from fragmentation to focus. The conversation explores the difference between operational busy-ness and strategic impact, why process discipline must come before innovation, and how talent leaders can elevate their influence with the C-suite by telling a smarter story with data. Ilona also reflects on career growth, embracing discomfort, and the power of saying...
Atlanta Hawks Chief People D&I Officer Camye Mackey
<h1 >📝 Episode Summary </h1> <p >Camye Mackey, EVP and Chief People, Diversity & Inclusion Officer for the Atlanta Hawks, joins Rob to talk about building culture inside one of the most community-connected brands in sports. From embedding inclusion into both workforce strategy and marketplace impact, to designing a "Talent Blueprint" that future-proofs the organization, Camye shares how HR can operate as a true business partner. The conversation explores generational diversity, AI adoption, workforce skill gaps, and why DEI remains a business imperative, not a buzzword. If you're thinking about how to architect a modern people strategy that reflects your community and scal...
