The Human Cloud Podcast

Recorded live from SHRM25 in the SHRM Labs booth, host Tony Buffum talks with Zain Zaidi, Founder and CEO of TransCrypts, about how technology can make background checks and verifications faster, smarter, and employee-owned. Zain shares the personal experience that sparked the idea, how the platform saves HR teams millions in time and costs, and why real-time proof of employment can prevent costly delays.

Leaders,In this episode, Kris Tait, Chief Business Officer at Croud, discusses how marketing is evolving in the age of AI and why flexible talent is becoming essential for global brands, from his start in a small English town to leading a 650-person agency with 3,000 on-demand “Croudies,” Kris shares how Croud blends data-driven performance with creative brand strategy to deliver results. He explains how AI is reshaping marketing, why local nuance is key to global success, and how agencies are shifting from pure execution to becoming strategic partners. Real-world examples from brands like Netflix, Figs, and Nespresso reveal how Croud’s model delivers speed, security, and scale, while keeping the human oversight needed for quality and creativity in an increasingly automated world.

Leaders,In this episode, Connor Heaney, President EMEA at CXC Global, draws on more than a decade of experience building one of the world’s leading extended workforce firms to reveal what it takes to engage and support independent talent at scale. He breaks down how AI is redefining efficiency, why navigating local compliance is critical for global freelance programs, and how CXC’s end-to-end solutions help organizations pivot quickly in today’s fast-moving market. Along the way, Connor shares how his father’s journey in gig work ignited his commitment to fairness and drives his view that technology and human insight must go hand in hand. Tune in for actionable advice on forging strong relationships, future-proofing your workforce, and leveraging innovation to stay ahead.

Jocelyn King, founder and CEO of Virgil HR, joins host Tony Buffum to talk about what it takes for HR to lead in today’s tech-driven workplace. With a background as an HR practitioner, Jocelyn shares how she built a compliance automation platform to eliminate the manual headaches HR teams face daily, especially when navigating fast-changing laws across cities and states.They explore why HR is still behind other functions in digital transformation, the barriers to adopting new tech, and how HR can become more tech literate without losing its human focus. Jocelyn highlights the importance of change management, explains how AI is changing the HR workforce, and breaks down why upskilling HR professionals is more important than ever.If you’ve ever struggled with implementing new tools, questioned how to stay compliant without slowing down, or wondered how AI will impact the people function, this episode is for you.

Leaders,In this episode, Craig Short, Co-Founder and CTO of Gigged.ai, shares how a side project connecting freelancer friends turned into an enterprise platform trusted by global brands. Craig walks through Gigged’s evolution from a simple gig-matching tool to a skills intelligence platform helping companies manage AI, internal talent, and flexible workforces.He explains how AI is boosting productivity without replacing people, and why human interaction remains critical in enterprise hiring. Craig also shares what it’s like to build a tech company in Scotland, why job titles are becoming less meaningful, and how the future of work depends on visibility into skills and the ability to match people and agents effectively.

Leaders,Beau Billington joins us to share his path from corporate burnout to launching The Free Agent, a boutique talent platform built on transparency, curation, and strategic impact. Motivated by the need for better work-life balance and more meaningful connections, Beau explains why flexible talent is quickly becoming essential for growing companies.He breaks down what has changed in the last two years, how business leaders are rethinking traditional roles, and what it takes to build trust between companies and their talent. From the origin story behind the name The Free Agent to how he scopes and prices fractional talent engagements, Beau shares practical insights from building a model that works for both clients and executives.If you're building a modern workforce, figuring out how to scale strategically, or want to understand what “fractional” really looks like in practice, this episode brings clarity and real-world perspective.

Leaders,In this episode, Ryan Tlustosch, Founder and CEO of Ourly, brings over two decades of experience in flexible labor marketplaces and 14 years in professional temporary staffing to the conversation. He shares lessons learned from his time at Robert Half and explains how Ourly was designed for knowledge workers who prefer W2 employment. Only handles payroll, benefits, and workers’ comp while averaging 36-hour weeks on engagements that often run from three months up to 18 months or more. He also reveals how a self-sorting community and hiring-manager-led vetting process maintain quality, and why educating organizations about W2 models is essential. Whether you’re exploring ways to tap specialized expertise or looking to reduce co-employment risk and streamline workforce planning, Ryan shares practical insights for both enterprise and SMB teams. 

Leaders,Tony joins us to break down what over two decades of crowdsourced software development can teach us about the future of work.He shares how Topcoder evolved from a coding competition into an enterprise-ready platform within Wipro, and why the crowd remains essential for solving complex, outlier problems that AI alone can’t handle.We unpack how AI and the crowd can complement each other, what makes crowdsourcing work at scale, and why flexibility, skill loyalty, and clear outcomes matter more than ever.Tony also reflects on lessons from the dot-com era, emphasizing that customer problems, not technology, should drive decision-making, and how leaders can get started with crowdsourcing today without needing to “read a book first.”If you're navigating how to build better and faster with fewer constraints, this episode is a masterclass in what works.

Leaders,In this episode, Ian reveals how his journey through tech startups led him to challenge the status quo in HR with Charthop. He discusses breaking into the HR space as an outsider, why traditional HR systems fall short of strategic workforce planning, and how embracing flexible structures, from matrix teams to on-demand talent, drives resilience in a rapidly changing workforce. Ian unpacks the transformative power of AI in people analytics and real-time scenario planning, showing HR leaders how to shift from compliance to a strategic partnership. Tune in to learn practical steps for integrating data and AI to build a future-ready organization.

Leaders,Cüneyt Erpolat joins us to explore how AI, flexible talent, and global reach are transforming customer experience. With over 30 years in tech, including leadership roles at Microsoft, Alibaba, and now as Co-Founder of Champs CX, Cüneyt shares why CX is far more than call centers—it’s about delivering meaningful, human interactions at scale.He explains why Champs chose Turkey as its base, leveraging the country’s deep talent pool and multilingual workforce to build a globally competitive CX platform. Cüneyt also discusses why customers still crave human connection, how AI is reshaping, not replacing, the CX landscape, and what today’s enterprise leaders need to rethink when scaling support operations.If you're leading a CX budget or rethinking your workforce model, this conversation will challenge how you define quality, loyalty, and operational flexibility.