Talk Talent To Me

Joining us in conversation today is a talent leader with 24 years of experience across the financial sector. Tune in to hear Simon Evans share an insider’s perspective on the role of a TA, along with his valuable insights on the importance of getting the onboarding process right. You’ll learn why he believes it is so important for HR managers to work closely with recruitment for a successful employee experience. Simon is at a crossroads in his career and shares his experience of interview processes along with the role of a strong and diverse network in navigating transitional times. Tune in for some fascinating insights from both sides of the recruitment experience today.    Key Points From This Episode: Simon’s experience of moving from relationship management in the financial services sector to an in-house TA function. The three aspects that the role of a TA covers. Why it is so important to get the onboarding process right. Why recruitment and HR managers should work collectively. The importance of engagement in creating candidate experience during the interview process. How to keep the candidate engaged during their notice period with sensitivities in mind. An experience Simon had where a candidate was hired and didn’t arrive to his role. Why having a strong and diverse network is so important. What his experience of interview processes has looked like.  The importance of having transparent conversations. What has surprised Simon about his experience on the other side of HR.  The story of an influential relationship Simon built with the HR manager who hired him.   Tweetables:   “If you get the onboarding process right, the attrition lowers. Where if you get it wrong, someone would leave within probably six to 12 months of joining that organization. It’s an integral part to get right.” — Simon Evans [0:07:38]   “The importance of a network is huge and networking is so important during positive times but also in rough waters. Make sure that you have a good, diverse network of industry professionals.” — Simon Evans [0:15:31]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Simon Evans on LinkedIn Talk Talent to Me Hired

Vadim Liberman, editor at ERE, shares some of the most insightful highlights from ERE's recent publications as well as featured speakers from ERE & SourceCon conferences. Vadim explains what the most exciting pitches he hears have in common, and what he wants to see the recruiting space cover in more detail. Key Points From This Episode: Vadim gives some broad information about ERE and the brands that fall under the umbrella.  Reflections on ERE's most recent conference in Atlanta. The rising trend towards finding roles that better fit each individual.  Standout elements of the recruiting landscape right now; Vadim's perspective.   Investigating the grey and examples of why nuance is important in the talent field.   Weighing the usefulness of using quality-of-hire as a metric.  Vadim's thoughts on the hiring ideas that have been overused at this point  Why the data and methodology are important to back up findings and big claims.   Elevating the dialogue around candidate experience beyond the basics.  Bridging the gap between conference content and the reality for recruiting professionals.  Vadim's opinion about the topics in the recruiting space that deserve more attention.    Tweetables:   “I think that any time something still feels new, there’s going to be resistance to it. So when talent leaders are committed to doing it the old or traditional ways, that’s just general resistance to change.” — @VadimsViews [0:08:45]   “The other elephant in the room is that when you have a good employee on your team, as a manager, you don’t necessarily want to lose them.” — @VadimsViews [0:10:03]   “I like anything that feels different, that feels contrarian, that piggybacks off of current news.” — @VadimsViews [0:11:08]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Vadim Liberman ERE Vadim Liberman on Twitter Vadim Liberman on LinkedIn SourceCon Talk Talent to Me Hired

  Manager of Candidate Experience is a title we have never heard before on this show! Today’s guest, Rebecca Gonzalez from FullStory, is here to tell us how she came to hold such a unique, modern, and candidate-friendly crown. FullStory’s focus is digital-experience intelligence but before Rebecca came into her current role, work needed to be done to enhance FullStory’s candidate experience. Our guest tells us how adding her own personality helped to improve her company’s candidate communications, before explaining what “bionics” means in relation to her company’s values. We learn of the unexpected twists and turns during her professional journey, what she considers to be a successful candidate experience, why rejection communications should also be high-priority, and why, when prompted, she will always give rejected candidates succinct feedback.   Key Points From This Episode:   As we welcome FullStory’s Rebecca Gonzalez to the show, we learn all about her pink mic. What FullStory as a company is all about.  Rebecca’s professional journey.  How she ended up with the unique job title of Manager of Candidate Experience.  The things that were missing from her company’s job postings and outreach emails. How she added her own personality to improve candidate communications.  What “bionics” means in relation to her company values.  When she realized that her current role was possible while she was a recruiting coordinator.   Unexpected turns in her journey of becoming MCE. How Rebecca measures the success of her goals around candidate experience.  What she would say to people who consider rejection emails as low-priority.  How she went about dressing up FullStory’s rejection email.  The way she gives candidates feedback after they’ve been rejected.  Whether it’s possible for rejected candidates to get the job during their feedback session. What Rebecca would say and do if a candidate requested a second shot at their interview.  How she would launch her own candidate experience campaign: a candidate portal.   Tweetables:   “We all don’t like doing things that are manual. So when you encounter a process that is not bionic, we work harder to make that easier.” — Rebecca Gonzalez [0:10:11]   “Job hunting is so stressful and the kindest thing that you can do is be clear.” — Rebecca Gonzalez [0:16:51]   “[Recruiting] is a lot like dating, right? You’re on these dating apps and people ghost you and it’s rude, but you never know when you bump into somebody or who they might know or if they have a friend. So just keep the door open, always end things on a good note.” — Rebecca Gonzalez [0:17:53]   “It is not always just about getting a job, sometimes you learn something about yourself.” — Rebecca Gonzalez [0:24:58]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Rebecca Gonzalez on LinkedIn  FullStory Talk Talent to Me  Hired

Jen Tracy is the VP of Talent Attraction and Acquisition at Spectrum and she is here to tell us how she ended up becoming the leader of almost 100,000 dedicated workers. Our guest breaks down the importance of an employer value proposition, why it makes sense to invest in an employment brand, why changing her company’s applicant tracking system was worth the headache, and how she manages to accurately place candidates when there are over 5,000 different job descriptions within her company. After telling us the similarities between her internal and external recruitment processes, Jen gives us some valuable advice on what you can do to be the success story you’re destined to be!       Key Points From This Episode:   Introducing Jen Tracy, VP of Talent Attraction and Acquisition at Spectrum. What Spectrum as a company is all about.  Jen explains her role at Spectrum.  How she ended up at Spectrum, leading 93 000 employees.  The reason she chose to gain experience by working in different industries.  Why she decided to stay in talent and forge a career in it.  The challenges she faces having to deal 93 000 employees.  How she gathers information from employees on such a large scale.  The importance of an employer value proposition.  Why it always makes sense to invest in an employment brand.  The large campaigns that Jen is busy working on. Whether changing their applicant tracking system was worth the headache.   Jen’s definition of boundary systems.  How she assesses HR technology and ensures that she’s found the right vendors. Why getting a new ATS is all-or-nothing and why she felt that it was necessary. How she manages to find the right roles for people with over 5000 different job descriptions.  Spectrum’s military association and why it matters.  How her internal recruitment process mirrors the external one.  What Jen has done for her career’s success and what you can do for yours.    Tweetables:   “I find those grassroots ‘pull-up-your-bootstraps’ stories really compelling because I really do believe that if you want to do anything at all, you can just invest and make that come to life for yourself.” — [0:06:07]   “Whether it’s marketing or whether it’s the technology, you're never done. You still have to constantly be out in the marketplace listening to what is new and next to see where you might be able to fill in gaps or improve processes for your organization.” — [0:15:35]   “Everything we do in today’s world is done on an app, right? So it’s really not that foreign to me to think that when we get 10 years, 20 years down the road, that the consumer and the recruiting brands will eventually have to come together under one app.” —  [0:21:56]   “Out of our employee base, one in ten of our workforce has a military affiliation. We have one of the highest workforce representations of veterans in our company and we’re quite proud of that.” — [0:26:18]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Jennifer Tracy on LinkedIn  Spectrum  Talk Talent to Me  Hired

Chéla Gage is the Senior Vice President of Reformation, a climate-positive and sustainability-focused fashion company. Chéla explains how her personal history shapes her role in recruitment and how she connects it to her passion for diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and belonging. I ask questions about her different career paths, how to scale up and scale down, and why she views managing talent acquisition as an agnostic career experience. Chéla explains her idea of how to create a company with attributes and values that a diverse workforce can be a part of and why this relates to differentiated EVPs.   Key Points From This Episode:   What is Reformation? How Reformation is sustainability-focused. Chéla’s role in the company. Why DEI and sustainability are long-term games. How Chéla ended up in talent acquisition. Chéla’s experience of owning her own firm. Why TA is industry agnostic. The different career paths Chéla has followed. Chéla's experience of scaling down from a large enterprise to Reformation. How to recognize when it is time for larger-scale processes (three major indicators). How Chéla got the sign-off for RPO changes. The impacts of COVID-19. How to use EVP in a meaningful way.   Tweetables:   “Employment changes lives.” — @tweetatche [0:06:58]   “Talent acquisition is truly the bridge that takes an organization from where they are to where they really want to be.” — @tweetatche [0:10:00]   “In talent acquisition, you have to have a backbone.” — @tweetatche [0:22:31]   “I think it takes a talent expert to listen to the organization and find out what’s necessary and then adjust and adapt.” — @tweetatche [0:25:02]   “An employee value proposition consists of proper change management. It tells an employee why they should work here, and why they should continue to work here.” — @tweetatche [0:36:04]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Chéla Gage on Twitter Chéla Gage on LinkedIn Reformation Talk Talent to Me Hired

How do you earn, manage, and keep your employee trust? Soni Basi is here to explain why we need to start valuing authenticity, vulnerability, and throw away our cookie-cutter approaches. Soni is the Chief People Officer for Edelman, a communications company with an extraordinary reputation for being a global PR agency of choice, and explains how she uses a powerful combination of people skills and analytics to achieve success. Soni tells us about what she values in job positions, the importance of having a creative license, and how even performance management can be shifted to meet your personal values and goals. We hear about the outcomes of a low level of perceived trust, what employees are beginning to value, new expectations being placed on employers, and the potential results if these standards aren’t met. Key Points From This Episode:   A look at Edelman: number one PR agency globally. Soni’s role in Edelman. How Soni ended up working for Edelman. The different roles and job titles Soni has had in large companies. Common themes in how Soni chooses a particular job. Four important factors Soni desires in her role in a company. Why Soni values having a creative license. The findings of the Edelman Trust Barometer Report.  The growing sense of community within a workplace.  Current employee worries and new expectations. How companies can increase levels of trust between their employees and the organization. Soni shares a personal, vulnerable leadership story.   Tweetables: “When you show that you can do great work, you show how passionate you are, and you build a network, I think your career can take you to many places.” — Soni Basi [0:07:46]   “Action earns trust.” — Soni Basi [0:09:06]   “The more you can do to showcase what you stand for as an organization and what actions and behaviors you’re taking, the more likely you are to earn trust.” — Soni Basi [0:18:15]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Soni Basi on LinkedIn Edelman  2022 Edelman Trust Barometer Report Talk Talent to Me Hired

How do you create attainable, measurable, and sustainable diversity goals? Eric Thomas is the Global Chief Diversity Officer of Genesys, a global market leader offering customer experience solutions, and manages its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We hear why, and how, Eric uses data to provide useful and meaningful insights that help him not only drive his way forward but pivot when needed. Eric explains how to create a space for employees to have open conversations, and the measures to put in place to make sure their voices are heard. We begin to understand the importance of strategic conversations, how to promote systemic changes, and create plans for inclusive sustainability. Join us to start to understand how to ensure that you are focused on the right initiatives, recognize companies’ window-dressing attempts, and be an inclusive leader.   Key Points From This Episode:   What is Genesys? How Eric ended up in Genesys. How Genesys responded and evolved after the George Floyd incident. Why Eric felt aligned with his role as Global Chief Diversity Officer. How to define a good DEI office. How to assess an organization for meaningful, genuine DEI commitments. How to see window dressing versus a real commitment. The impacts of the great reshuffle/great resignation. Why Eric is well suited for his role at Genesys. How Eric is different from traditional DEI/HR leaders. Why we need collective standards for DEI. How to see (and deal) with people who are unwilling to promote and create DEI. How Genesys is measuring its success rate for its implemented DEI goals. How Genesys handled responses received in its employee surveys. Genesys’ long-term goals. Three things to help you achieve your long-term diversity goals.   Tweetables:   “Window dressing is when you have a lot of good marketing on your website, but you can’t point to any real material gains that you're making either in representation or in employee sentiment.” — Eric Thomas [0:11:29]   “DEI is a true key business imperative; it’s not a nice-to-have. Companies that are treating it like a nice to have or take the window dressing approach, they are short-changing themselves.” — Eric Thomas [0:13:08]   “What I don’t think we have yet is a collective effort or body that comes together across the industries to set standards and define what good DEI looks like so that you don’t just have your own self to benchmark against.” — Eric Thomas [0:17:25]   “It isn’t just about hitting that [diversity] goal; it is the work that has to happen, the attainment of that goal, and the work that goes into play that allows you to put in place a sustainable set of operating procedures.” — Eric Thomas [0:31:44]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Eric Thomas on LinkedIn Genesys Talk Talent to Me Hired

  CBRE is the largest commercial real estate advisory firm in the world, and today’s Guest, Chris Volney, is the Senior Director of their Americas Consulting group focused on labor analytics. Almost everything has changed since the pandemic, including CBRE’s consultation process, the analytics they’ve been asked to provide their clients, and indeed their hiring procedures. After sharing his background and how he ended up in his current role, Chris details the service that CBRE offers and how they’ve been able to adjust, post the global pandemic, to directly attend to their client’s changing needs. Our guest speaks to some of the commonalities that exist between his clients and how he advises them on choosing their desired work system. The after-effects of the pandemic have led to more and more business hiring outside of their local markets and Chris describes some of the administrative challenges that occur, before explaining why he thinks that a targeted hiring approach is still better in the long run. If your company is fully remote then you may struggle to retain your employees, Chris explains why that is and why you need to always understand each particular market’s rules and regulations, and why your internal processes need to be set in stone first.   Key Points From This Episode:   A warm welcome to Chris Volney and defining what CBRE does as a company.  How consultations have changed since the pandemic.  Why Chris and his company have done more, in recent times, to service clients on their level.  Chris’ background and how he ended up at CBRE.  A closer look at the service him and his company provides.  The inputs that govern how he interacts with his clients to get them what they want.  Commonalities among his clients that are more apparent since COVID.  How his clients decide whether to be in office, remote, or hybrid.  The administrative challenges of the remote hiring process.  Why a targeted remote hiring approach is still better than a broad one.  How it could be difficult to retain employees in a fully remote system.  Understanding the various rules and regulations when hiring outside of your local area.  Different markets that surprised Chris with their great opportunities for hires.  The internal processes that need to be figured out before hiring away from your local market. Chris’ advice to all companies that are looking to streamline their approach to hiring.    Tweetables:   “Our tagline is, ‘We’re helping clients to solve for place before space.’ So, before they get to any type of real estate decision, we’re making sure that they’re placed in the right markets from a talent and operations perspective” — @cvolneycbre [0:01:42]   “Before [the pandemic], every project was almost the same in that it ended in a real estate transaction. We were picking one market to hire and scale in. Now, a lot of companies said, ‘Wow, we’re free from geography now. Let’s go hire anywhere, everywhere, geography doesn’t matter.’” — @cvolneycbre [0:10:10]   “Geography still matters. Even if you’re not going and leasing an office space, where you hire really does matter. It can create different risks or opportunities for your business.” — @cvolneycbre [0:22:43]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Chris Volney on Twitter Chris Volney on LinkedIn CBRE  CBRE Market Reports Talk Talent to Me  Hired

Dominic Heeraman is the Talent Acquisition Manager at Funding Circle, the number one provider of small business loans in the UK (to date, they have lent 13.7 billion pounds!) In this episode, he joins us to talk about how he has transformed their recruiting process by improving a number of valuable metrics (such as their time to hire and offer acceptance rates) and ensuring that each and every candidate leaves the interview process with a positive mindset towards the company, no matter the outcome of the interview. We also get into Dominic’s journey from talent partner to talent manager, remote versus hybrid work, and what employers can do to support the mental health of their staff.    Key Points From This Episode:   The motivation behind the founding of Funding Circle in 2010. The impact that Funding Circle has made since its founding. Dominic shares the journey that led him to become the Talent Acquisition Manager at Funding Circle. How Dominic transformed the interview process at Funding Circle. Changes in the job market that necessitate changes in recruitment processes. Goals that Funding Circle aims to achieve during the recruitment process. What recruiters at Funding Circle look for in potential hires. The work environment at Funding Circle.  Why Dominic has chosen a hybrid work style rather than being fully remote. Funding Circle’s approach to enhancing the mental health of its employees. Positive progress that Dominic and his team have made since the beginning of 2022. How Funding Circle moves candidates through the hiring process as quickly as possible. An overview of what Dominic’s role consists of.   Tweetables:   “There are candidate shortages everywhere, in tech especially. We need to move with the times and make sure we're selling to the candidate every step of the process.” — Dominic Heeraman [0:09:32]   “No matter what level the candidate is, whether they're successful, if they're unsuccessful, we want them to go away with a really positive mindset about Funding Circle.” — Dominic Heeraman [0:11:45]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Talk Talent to Me Funding Circle Dominic Heeraman on LinkedIn Hired  

Jennifer Tardy is back to discuss how her company, Jennifer Tardy Consulting, is training recruiters to eradicate historical under-representation. You’ll hear all about our guest: why she started her company, why the company stands out from the rest, and who can make use of their services. We also discuss what companies who seek out Jennifer’s help want to achieve, what Jennifer needs to know about them to assist, how she uses shock value to challenge deep bias, and her philosophy of ‘calling people in.’ Jennifer explains how our bias leads to problematic perceptions of who is qualified and who isn’t qualified and tells us why we need to have a more accurate understanding of what a qualification actually is before explaining under-representation and why it is a huge problem when it comes to diversity. She also explains her company’s term Lived Experience Intelligence and tells us why increasing diversity is a long journey that requires commitment from a company as a whole. So, to hear all about how you can become committed to playing an active role in increasing diversity, join us now!   Key Points From This Episode:   An introduction to today’s guest, Jennifer Tardy.  A bit about Jennifer’s background and what led her to start her company. What makes Jennifer Tardy Consulting unique.  What Jennifer wants to learn about the companies she assists with diversity.  What the employers that go to Jennifer for help are actually looking for.  The problems surrounding our biased perception of qualifications.  How Jennifer unpacks peoples’ deep unconscious bias: shock-value.  The importance of ‘cleaning up’ the idea of who is qualified and who isn’t qualified.  The challenges of under-representation and what it is.  Jennifer’s company’s philosophy of ‘calling people in.’ The importance of positioning recruiters as a partner.  Why increasing diversity is an ongoing process that is going to take time and teamwork.  The difference between noticing the problem and being committed to making change.  How she would advise people on any resistance they may face from people in senior positions. Jen explains the concept of Lived Experience Intelligence.  Which organizations could make use of Jennifer Tardy Consulting.    Tweetables:   “[Employers are] looking to shift the mindset of the people who are on the front lines of doing this work - so that they're able to identify when bias is presenting itself so that they can mitigate it, dismantle it, remove it so that the most competitive person can get hired.” — @JennTardy [0:06:12]   “The biggest hurdle that we face on the front lines of increasing diversity is our ineffective perception of who is qualified to do the job.” — @JennTardy [0:06:59]   “Diversity includes everyone.” — @JennTardy [0:13:50]   “In order to find the most competitive candidate, we have to remove biases, because that's filtering who can get through, who's seen as competitive to begin with.” — @JennTardy [0:23:17]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Jennifer Tardy Consulting Jennifer Tardy on LinkedIn Jennifer Tardy on Twitter Jennifer Tardy on Instagram Talk Talent to Me Hired