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

Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology.  This episode is about Talent and Foresight. We're no longer dealing with a world that's simply volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous - we've arguably entered something far more challenging: a reality that's brittle, anxious, nonlinear, and incomprehensible. This shift is turning traditional workforce planning completely on its head. Three-year strategic plans become meaningless when entire job categories disappear in months, when AI capabilities jump overnight, and when market conditions change faster than planning cycles can adapt. So how can employers develop effective talent strategies in highly uncertain times, and how might talent acquisition step up to take a strategic role? My guest this week is Toby Culshaw, VP of Strategy for Talent Intelligence at Lightcast. In our conversation, Toby explains how real-time talent intelligence is needed to build talent strategies that can respond to rapid change and why TA teams are uniquely positioned as invaluable sources of business intelligence. In the interview, we discuss: Moving from a VUCA world to a  BANI world Dramatic change with significant compound effects The implications for long-term planning Why it is now easier to better align TA with workforce planning Signals and real-time talent intelligence The shortening half-life of job skills The anxious workforce Surfacing insights from TA War gaming and scenario planning The importance of data What might the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Simon Van Hijfte, a seasoned Marketing Manager at Adecco Belgium, and Ritu Mohanka, the innovative CEO at VONQ, dive into the transformative impact of AI on recruitment. They discuss how AI agents are enhancing candidate experiences by streamlining application processes and increasing satisfaction. The conversation shifts to the need for transparency in recruitment with new scoring systems, addressing both efficiency and inclusivity. They also tackle the challenges posed by AI-generated applications, emphasizing a people-first approach to hiring.

This week, Meredith Johnson, Chief Product Officer at Greenhouse, sheds light on the transformative role of AI in recruiting. She discusses how to maximize AI benefits while minimizing risks, particularly against rising fraudulent applications. Meredith emphasizes the importance of ethical AI, ensuring it enhances rather than replaces human judgment. The conversation covers building strong C-suite support for AI initiatives, embedding AI in recruitment workflows, and maintaining transparency to foster trust in hiring practices.

Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology.  This episode is about Influence and Technology. When employers invest in talent acquisition technology, they are expecting efficiency gains and improved hiring outcomes. Yet, many organizations find themselves struggling with implementations that fail to deliver promised results and don't align with the organization's broader business objectives. So, what's the key to building transformation strategies that actually work and provide the measurable value that TA teams need? My guest this week is Sarah Smart, Co-Founder of HorizonHuman. Sarah is a former TA leader who now consults with enterprises around digital transformation. She has seen both the successes and failures of large-scale technology implementations firsthand and has practical insights to share on what makes the difference between a successful transformation and a costly disappointment. In the interview, we discuss: The most significant changes in the talent landscape The biggest challenges in TA Transformation Aligning with business objectives Outcomes, measurement, and sustainment Why having a clear vision is critical Developing the mindset for transformation Building a compelling but realistic business plan The skills TA Leaders now need What does the AI-driven future look like Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Recruiting Future is a podcast that helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing their strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology.  This episode is about talent. Economic uncertainty and disruption has reached a whole new level in 2025, with companies freezing hiring plans and candidates hesitating to make career moves. But if talent attraction strategies fail during market volatility, how can organizations that need scarce and specialized talent survive and thrive?  So, when candidate markets are tight, how can TA teams turn uncertainty into opportunity? My guest this week is Dave Napeloni, Senior Vice President of Global Life Sciences at Korn Ferry. Dave's team is helping life sciences companies navigate talent scarcity by transforming how they engage with candidates during economic disruption. Dave has valuable insights to share, on effective talent engagement and pipeline building, that are changing how organizations compete for talent in these uncertain times. In the interview, we discuss The talent market challenges in Life Sciences Dealing with long-term uncertainty  The impact on candidate behavior How successful companies are using volatility as a competitive advantage  The critical importance of EVPs and employer branding Building candidate engagement through purpose-driven messaging Extending the role of TA beyond onboarding and into talent management How AI can radically improve the candidate experience What the future might look like Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Recruiting Future is a podcast designed to help Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology.  This episode is about technology and foresight. AI terminology is getting confusing, which is compounded by vast amounts of marketing focusing on future promises rather than the current reality. Beyond the jargon and hype, how can AI agents be used to tackle today's recruiting problems? My guest this week is Shiran Yaroslavsky, SVP Product at SmartRecruiters. Shiran shares the importance of using customer research to build AI solutions for genuine recruiting challenges and to create the right vision for the future . In the interview, we discuss: Building products in disruptive times The difference between AI co-pilots and AI agents Using AI to Solve real TA productivity problems with AI Why customer research is critical for meaningful AI innovation The importance of building agents that collaborate across platforms How TA leaders should be evaluating AI vendors The importance of visionary innovation What is the ultimate future vision for TA? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify. A full transcript will appear here shortly.

Recruiting Future is a podcast designed to help Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. This episode is about technology. Most HR tech projects end in disappointment because organizations focus all their energy on implementation rather than adoption. If successful transformation is dependent on what happens after the go-live date, how can employers build sustainable tech adoption that delivers lasting business value? My guest this week is Melissa Hojwall, Global HR Tech Leader at H&M. H&M has over 100,000 employees, the majority of whom are frontline workers, making internal tech adoption both challenging and high impact. In conversation, Melissa talks about the strategies around implementation, adoption, and continuous change management that help make TA and HR Tech projects successful. In the interview, we discuss: HR Digitisation at H&M How AI can solve TA & HR challenges Predictive analytics The skills needed to get the right balance between humans and AI Tech adoption and change agility Investing in what happens after the go-live date Using resistance as a superpower Finding and showcasing the benefits to the bottom line Disrupting how we interface with technology What does the future of HR Tech look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

For the last five months, the excellent people at Purple Acorn have been broadcasting the Alder Hour live on LinkedIn on Monday afternoons. It's an hour-long show where I team up with my co-hosts Rhona Pierce from Perceptible Studios and Jocelyn King from Virgil HR to talk about TA and HR headlines we've spotted during the week, analyze real-life workplace dilemmas, debate what's trending and what's ending in recruiting and interview a different guest every week. I am dropping the audio podcast version of this week's show in the Recruiting Future feed so you can take a listen to what we've been doing. I'd love to know what you think and whether I should drop the show into this feed more regularly. This week, we covered the merging of technology and HR departments, AI bias, mental health at work, why the use of Resumes is way past its sell-by date, and RecFest founder Jamie Leonard dropped in to talk about the most significant issues for TA Leaders at the moment. You can catch the Alder Hour weekly on my LinkedIn profile, via The Purple Acorn LinkedIn page, or on their YouTube channel. Let me know whether I should drop more Alder Hour episodes into this feed in the future. Enjoy the show

Recruiting Future is a podcast designed to help Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable impact by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology.  This episode is about talent and technology. Many employers are facing an increasing problem with candidates' use of AI. Along with dramatically increasing application numbers, AI tools are, in some cases, allowing potentially unsuitable candidates to jump to the front of the queue, endangering the integrity of the recruiting process. One potential answer to this challenge is to deploy science-based psychometric testing much earlier in the process than has traditionally been the case. So, how should assessment tools and technologies evolve to combine scientific robustness, candidate engagement, and resilience against AI manipulation My guest this week is Alan Bourne, Partner at Omatti and an expert in assessment innovation. Alan highlights the issues with legacy assessment tools and sets out a blueprint for transformation that embraces AI to enhance both the candidate experience and the predictive accuracy of the tools. We also discuss the role of assessment in the move to skills organisations. In the interview, we discuss: The real impact of candidates using AI Why resumes & interviews are the least effective and least fair way of assessment Defensive proctoring versus proactive innovation Using AI to develop immersive, simulation-based assessments Getting the right balance between science and engagement The progress of skills-based hiring The danger of just replacing experience-based CVs with experience-based skills What will the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

Recruiting Future helps Talent Acquisition teams drive measurable value by developing strategic capability in Foresight, Influence, Talent, and Technology. In this episode, we'll be focusing specifically on technology. The fundamental shift from complex software user interfaces to conversational recruiting technology is happening right now, with profound implications for how we think about the ATS.  What are the implications for both recruiters and candidates when the recruiting system becomes an invisible part of the flow of communication? My guest this week is Michal Nowak, SVP of Engineering at SmartRecruiters. In our conversation, Michal shares his insights on how conversational interfaces can transform recruiting from an admin-heavy profession to one focused on meaningful human connections and strategic thinking. In the interview, we discuss: How AI has shifted development priorities Keeping up with the technology Working with TA professionals to spot use cases that don't exist yet How AI can help recruiters build connections faster Moving to chat-based interfaces Using adaptive UI to deal with complexity Ethics, transparency, and trust What does the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.