Start Smart

The Start Smart podcast has a simple premise: The best way to succeed in talent acquisition is to begin by using the latest data to pinpoint the characteristics that matter in the workforce. So, what’s the key data point for today’s recruiters? It’s that Millennials are now the largest single cohort in the workforce. They make up more than one-third – 35 per cent, in fact – of all workers, and by 2030, just six years from now, they will comprise 75 per cent of the working population. Said another way, the policies, processes, practices and technology employers have used to recruit what used to be the largest workforce cohort – Boomers – must now be reconfigured for Millennials and GenZs. In this episode of Start Smart, I am joined by Heather Tenuto, CEO of TheMuse.com and FairyGodBoss.com, two linked sites that focus on serving next-gen professionals and the employers that are actively recruiting them. We cover a broad range of social, cultural and workforce topics and hone in on why TheMuse has positioned itself as “the first values-based career platform” for net-gen workers and how employers can use “authentic employer brand storytelling” to connect with them. It’s a fascinating conversation, so listen in.

In one recent survey, over two-thirds of the respondents said they thought that AI would replace them on-the-job. Among many HR and Talent Acquisition professionals, there’s been a similar level of anxiety and sometimes even fear about the impact of the technology. So, what I wanted to explore in this episode of Start Smart is how recruiting teams can capture the benefits of AI without trashing recruiters in the process. My guest for the show is Adam Godson, the President & Chief Product Officer at Paradox.ai. We explored several aspects of the topic, including: It’s a fascinating conversation with a guy who’s been both a recruiter and a technologist, so his insights are on point and extremely helpful.

The Start Smart podcast with Peter Weddle A recent survey found that only half of all business leaders use feedback loops to keep track of the changes among their customer base. If that’s true on the consumer side of a business, it’s probably also true in talent acquisition. And that’s problem. Talent technology is almost always acquired to improve KPIs – to see an upgrade in recruiter performance – and it’s next to impossible to reach that goal without the effective use of feedback loops. Happily, there’s no one more expert in applying feedback loops than my guest for this episode of Start Smart, Maury Hanigan, the CEO of SparcStart. Maury and I crammed about two hours of discussion into our 30 minute show, so we covered everything from the difference between using a feedback loop when implementing talent technology and simply monitoring a new product’s introduction. We discussed who should be invited to participate in a feedback loop for a new technology-based tool and the steps involved in setting it up as well as the benefits that can accrue to both the recruiting team and the employer from doing so. It’s a conversation that explores both the strategic and tactical aspects of feedback loops and the challenges and opportunities that come from using them to implement talent technology. Take a listen!

In this episode of Start Smart, the TAtech podcast that focuses on maximizing the ROI you derive from technology by beginning with its effective implementation, Peter’s guest is Oliver Feakins, Founder & CEO of TrackFive, a company that manages job boards in healthcare, transportation and other fields. The acquisition of new technology is often justified by the assumption that “it will free recruiters up to do what they do best.” Oliver and I discuss just what skills that activity encompasses – in recruiters performing at their peak – and the thorny question of whether they’re prepared to take on that role. After all, if recruiters have been unable, at least to date, to use those skills, isn’t it possible – maybe even likely – that they have atrophied or worse disappeared altogether. In addition, is there any evidence that recruiters actually want to take on that activity, since doing so may change practices in which they are now competent and comfortable? It’s a fascinating exploration of change management – join us! Links mentioned: TrackFive Connect with Oliver on LinkedIn

In today's episode, we have a very special guest, Mona Tawakali, the Chief Strategy Officer at Recruitics. Join us as Mona shares invaluable insights and strategies for successfully implementing technology in talent acquisition. We'll explore the importance of user adoption and satisfaction, the role of technology within organizations, and the key factors that lead to successful implementations. From user-centric design to addressing feedback and gaining buy-in from stakeholders, Mona will guide us through the intricate process of integrating technology in a way that maximizes its potential and drives long-term success. So grab your headphones and get ready to Start Smart! Links mentioned: Recruitics Connect with Mona on LinkedIn

In this episode, we delve into the facts and findings from the 2023 Talent Acquisition Research Report by Symphony Talent. Based on a survey of 300+ individuals in large employers (2,000+ employees), it explored their process and practice challenges and needs as they deal with the shifting expectations and behaviors among job seekers. The report organized the findings into two sections: The current state of talent acquisition (which, based on the report, definitely needs some improvement) and talent acquisition technology and services (with respondents indicating a strong commitment to the addition of new products). As is our custom, we focused our discussion on three of the report’s more interesting findings. First, we examined the view of the survey’s respondents that the process is the problem in recruiters’ ability to get their work done efficiently and effectively. Next, we talked about the astonishing finding in the report that a significant segment of the survey population still doesn’t have an employee value proposition, even though other surveys have found that such a statement is essential in attracting top talent. And third, we discussed TA teams’ growing reliance on talent technology and the key drivers in their selection of a solution provider. As always, we try to tease out the key implications of the data for recruiters, and hope you find our conversation helpful. Links mentioned: The 2023 Talent Acquisition Research Report TAtech Talent Technology Implementation Management Handbook & Job Aid Mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Acquire ROI Acquire is a brand-new solution that’s just been released by Keloh, an established recruitment marketing and technology agency. It is a programmatic jobs distribution with easy apply, developed to address the shortcomings and pain points within the programmatic recruitment marketing space. Say goodbye to logging into different platform accounts to manage your jobs and candidates, and say hello to Acquire’s one-stop shop. For more information, check out the link below: AcquireROI.com

In this episode of the podcast, we took a look at the recent report by Sapient Insights Group that presents the results of their 25th Annual HR Systems Survey. As its title indicates, the research covers the entire HR systems field, so we focused on the findings related to talent technology. The data were collected from 2,515 organizations in 65 countries. Those organizations represented industries ranging from professional services and healthcare to manufacturing and retail/wholesale, with better than half of them (59%) employing 500 or more workers. As we usually do, we pulled out and discussed three summary findings: Unlike what happened during economic slowdowns in the past, the vast majority of the larger organizations in the survey plan to increase their tech investments in the next year. In addition, the #1 area in which they plan to invest is talent technology, in effect putting the horse before the cart because you can’t manage the resources you don’t have. And finally, an astonishingly large number of the respondents were not reporting key metrics up the chain of command, which could derail their plans for continued investment in talent technology. As always, there was plenty of food for our conversation, so we hope you’ll join us and listen in. Links mentioned: 25th Annual Sapient Insights HR Systems Survey Mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Acquire ROI Acquire is a brand-new solution that’s just been released by Keloh, an established recruitment marketing and technology agency. It is a programmatic jobs distribution with easy apply, developed to address the shortcomings and pain points within the programmatic recruitment marketing space. Say goodbye to logging into different platform accounts to manage your jobs and candidates, and say hello to Acquire’s one-stop shop. For more information, check out the link below: AcquireROI.com

A recent whitepaper published by AMS entitled “Exploding Digital Myths in Talent Acquisition” grabbed our attention as it sets out to debunk some of the most common misperceptions found among today’s recruiters. Shelia and I focused on the first of five myths the company will eventually address: ‘Talent technology will replace the need for recruiters and sourcers.’ It’s a concern that, like the cockroach, never seems to be finally and forever squashed. Our discussion looked at both some of the issues embedded in the myth and the views that are feeding it. AMS reports, for example, that recruiters believe technology will reach a tipping point within the next decade (and therefore during their careers) when smart machines will generate more revenue for companies than even the smartest human workers. So, we explored whether that outcome will cause huge reductions-in-force among employers and thus eliminate the need for recruiters. In other words, technology may not replace recruiters and sourcers, but it could make them irrelevant. And, that’s just the first of three topics we cover in this 30-minute episode of the podcast. Take a listen! Links mentioned: Exploding Digital Myths in Talent Acquisition - AMS Mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Acquire ROI Acquire is a brand-new solution that’s just been released by Keloh, an established recruitment marketing and technology agency. It is a programmatic jobs distribution with easy apply, developed to address the shortcomings and pain points within the programmatic recruitment marketing space. Say goodbye to logging into different platform accounts to manage your jobs and candidates, and say hello to Acquire’s one-stop shop. For more information, check out the link below: AcquireROI.com

TA organizations large and small are constantly being stretched and pulled by the new and always morphing expectations and behaviors of candidates. In response, some and perhaps many of those organizations are now looking to reset the model with which they establish their functional capabilities and the mix of roles and skills required to execute them. In this episode of the podcast, we take a look at one such model, a paradigm that was developed by WorkTech and described in its report entitled “Future Proof Your Talent Acquisition Strategy: The New Model for Talent Acquisition Leadership. We began the show by discussing the five priorities or needs of modern TA organizations that WorkTech identified in the survey and interviews it conducted for its report. It then used those priorities to determine the “specialists” that would be needed to augment recruiters in its new model for a talent acquisition organization. As we analyzed the structure, it seemed reasonable in concept but, we concluded, probably well beyond what most TA organizations could afford. In addition, as the report notes, creating such a high-powered organization also revives the question of where it should reside in the enterprise. The report offers one view, Peter counters with a very different one, and Shelia argues that the question is irrelevant if the rationale for what the future TA organization should be can’t be effectively communicated to the CEO with numbers. It’s a though-provoking conversation about a very interesting and important bit of research. Links mentioned: ‘Future Proof Your Talent Acquisition Strategy’ – WorkTech Mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Acquire ROI Acquire is a brand-new solution that’s just been released by Keloh, an established recruitment marketing and technology agency. It is a programmatic jobs distribution with easy apply, developed to address the shortcomings and pain points within the programmatic recruitment marketing space. Say goodbye to logging into different platform accounts to manage your jobs and candidates, and say hello to Acquire’s one-stop shop. For more information, check out the link below: AcquireROI.com

Shelia was unable to be here for this episode of the podcast, but we were very fortunate to have Thad Price, CEO of Talroo, join the conversation. Our topic was flexibility at work and a report by McKinsey & Company entitled Americans are embracing flexible work—and they want more of it. The report was based on a survey of 25,000 Americans, so the findings are limited to their view of this workforce trend. Nevertheless and as is apparent from the report’s title, McKinsey concludes that flexible work is no longer a temporary pandemic response, but rather is now an enduring feature of the modern world of work. We take a look at that claim – especially as it’s manifested in the current push to work from home (WFH) among both employees and job seekers – and how employers can respond to the fact that over 40% of all workers labor in jobs where WFH is simply not feasible, yet still want the individual autonomy it provides. We also examine McKinsey’s findings that flexible work programs may inadvertently undercut companies’ DE&I goals particularly for women and “older” workers and discuss the implications of the larger trend of what Peter calls “sovereign work” – the accelerating desire among workers to be the masters of how their job is integrated into their lives. As always, it’s a thought-provoking 30 minutes so give it a listen. Links mentioned: 'Americans are embracing flexible work—and they want more of it’ – McKinsey Talroo Connect with Thad Price on LinkedIn Mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Acquire ROI Acquire is a brand-new solution that’s just been released by Keloh, an established recruitment marketing and technology agency. It is a programmatic jobs distribution with easy apply, developed to address the shortcomings and pain points within the programmatic recruitment marketing space. Say goodbye to logging into different platform accounts to manage your jobs and candidates, and say hello to Acquire’s one-stop shop. For more information, check out the link below: AcquireROI.com

Driven by shifts in candidate behaviors and expectations, the war for talent is now much more than a competition among employers for new hires. It also encompasses changes in process, technology, and culture in recruiting teams and in the greater priority they are accorded by the c-suite. The reset is not universal, to be sure, but it is widespread enough to be reshaping what it takes to succeed in talent acquisition, today and into the future. That’s just one of the topics we discuss in this episode of Start Smart. Stephen O’Donnell, the CGO at TAtech, joins us in our review of a report from industry research company Aspect 43, entitled The Talent Acquisition Technology 2022 Market Guide. In addition to our discussion of organizational change, we also explore the impact of an accelerating introduction of and greater reliance on new technology among recruiting teams and the challenges of making the right product acquisitions and effectively implementing those products in an employer’s tech stack. As always, it’s a lively 30-minutes of point-counterpoint that’s guided by the facts, the latest findings in TA research. Links mentioned: Aspect43's 2022 Guide to Talent Acquisition Technology TAtech Leadership Summit on Applications of Recruiting AI for Enterprise Employers

Almost half of the candidates in a recent study said they don’t even bother to read the communications they get from recruiters. The same study also found that many employers reverted to bad behavior during the pandemic and no longer communicate with candidates and applicants on a regular basis. The net result is a crisis in communications that is undermining both the candidate experience and employer’s recruiting results. In this episode of the Start Smart podcast, we explore some of the findings of a recent report from Aptitude Research entitled “The Rise of Text Recruiting and the Business Impact.” First, we noted that the communications crisis is often driven by recruiter overload and burnout, and that problem deserves as much attention as the need for new tools that can improve candidate outreach. Second, we discussed what recruiting teams are trying to accomplish (or need to) with their candidate communications. And third, we talked through some of the benefits of text cited in the report and whether the medium was sufficient, in and of itself, to shoulder the bulk or even all of an employer’s candidate communications. Links mentioned: The Rise of Text Recruitment and the Business Impact – Aptitude

Go to most HR conferences and you’ll quickly sense the prominent role that HR tech plays in modern talent acquisition. It’s not an inappropriate position, of course – HR tech products for compensation and benefits administration, human capital management, HRIS, and learning and development are definitely important and helpful, but there is a caveat. When it comes to cutting edge technologies, today’s HR tech can’t match the contribution TA tech is making to recruitment. In this episode of the Start Smart podcast, we take a look at Gartner’s whitepaper entitled “Six Emerging HR Technology Trends” and its assessment of where those technologies are in their development and implementation. In every case – whether it’s Virtual assistants in HCM, Internal talent marketplace, Employee productivity monitoring, DEI in HCM, Blockchain in HCM, or AR/VR applications in corporate learning, the implementation of those technologies is behind their use in recruiting. And not by a little, but by as much as five to ten years, based on the products’ positioning in Gartner’s HCM Hype Cycle. So, tune in and take a listen to the show that’s all about the facts in talent acquisition. Mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Khelo Are you looking for better talent acquisition? Well, you’ve found it! At Keloh, we provide proven results. We’re a team of high-level Developers and Recruitment marketing Gurus specializing in talent acquisition optimization. We consistently and programmatically deliver our client’s quality leads while simultaneously lowering advertising spend. At Keloh, we create meaningful solutions to make your talent acquisition easier. Keloh.com

For a show that’s all about the data, today’s report from Appcast has hit our sweet spot. Its “2022 Recruitment Marketing Benchmark Report” is based on an analysis of 136 million job ad clicks that led to 8.1 million job applications from 3,100 employers, collected between January and May, 2022. What’s the bottom line? As Appcast says right at the beginning of its report, “What a time for recruiting!” In this episode of Start Smart, we explore the implications of three of the report’s findings: Based on cost-per-application and cost-per -click data, it ain’t getting any easier to hire good talent and the c-suite needs to get the message; Based on apply rates, we have a long way to go in capturing the full capabilities of our recruiting technology and optimizing the performance of our ads; and Based on the differences in apply rate among job categories and locations, it is now more critical than ever to carefully target our outreach to job seekers. It’s a lot to unpack, but the message is clear – regardless of the economy’s direction, only those employers that make smart investments in their talent acquisition function will be able to prosper in the post-pandemic market. Start Smart is sponsored by Keloh. Visit their site today. Links mentioned: 2022 Recruitment Marketing Benchmark Report - Appcast June job openings decrease; hires and total separations change little – JOLTS The Soporific Job Posting – TATech Recruiting Grabs a Seat at the Table Next to HR Mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Talent.com Talent.com is the solution to finding talent, your way. Work with the fast-growing, tech-savvy company dedicated to making the search for candidates easy. Are you looking to fill one job? 1,000 jobs? Do you need a way to integrate your recruitment technology? Talent.com can find the answers for your business, on time and on budget. Start growing with Talent.com. Talent.com

Hiring has become a business issue, not just an HR or recruiting concern according to a new research report from Lighthouse Research & Advisory. The study surveyed 1,000 job seekers and 1,054 employers and collected its findings in “Hiring Is More Central Than Ever: How Employers and Candidates are Evolving in the Current Market.” In this episode of Start Smart, we discuss several of the report’s major conclusions, including the growing visibility and priority of talent acquisition in the c-suite, recruiting teams’ growing reliance on talent technology to meet those leadership expectations, the primary kinds of talent technology in which they’re investing, and the lagging attention to measuring the effectiveness of their recruiting processes. In addition, we also explore the undiminished importance of compensation in employment offers and whether that trend means all the commentary around the new dynamics in the labor force is overstated as well as the report’s surprising conclusion about the length of time job seekers are willing to commit to filling out a job application. Links mentioned: The Rise of the Relatable Organization – Mercer 2022 Global Talent Trends – Mercer Rise of the Relatable Organization: Actionable Strategy or Pipe Dream? Hiring Is More Critical Than Ever – Lighthouse Research and Advisory TAtech Events Mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Talent.com Talent.com is the solution to finding talent, your way. Work with the fast-growing, tech-savvy company dedicated to making the search for candidates easy. Are you looking to fill one job? 1,000 jobs? Do you need a way to integrate your recruitment technology? Talent.com can find the answers for your business, on time and on budget. Start growing with Talent.com. Talent.com

Mercer’s 2022 Global Talent Trends study surveyed 11,000 executives, HR leaders and workers across 16 countries and 13 industries. It explores how organizations are responding to changing workforce dynamics to reimagine work itself and their own value proposition as an employer. In the process, Mercer argues, organizations must become more relatable or better connected with and relevant to the people they want to hire and retain. In this week’s discussion, we look at the facts presented in the report and acknowledge the logic of Mercer’s conclusion, but for several reasons, question whether a relatable organization is a genuine possibility in today’s business climate. In our view, the current occupants of the c-suite in too many employers lack either an appropriate grasp of the permanent new reality in today’s workforce or the sustainable courage to design and develop such an organization, especially with a recession looming on the horizon. Links mentioned: The Rise of the Relatable Organization – Mercer 2022 Global Talent Trends – Mercer The Future of Work Trends: Scarcity, Individuality and Inclusivity The Good Work Framework – World Economic Forum Mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Talent.com Talent.com is the solution to finding talent, your way. Work with the fast-growing, tech-savvy company dedicated to making the search for candidates easy. Are you looking to fill one job? 1,000 jobs? Do you need a way to integrate your recruitment technology? Talent.com can find the answers for your business, on time and on budget. Start growing with Talent.com. Talent.com

According to Glassdoor, 86% of job seekers research company reviews and ratings to decide on where to apply for a job. With such a huge number, we reviewed a whitepaper by the Public Insight Data Corporation on how to optimize employer branding and improve recruiting effectiveness. Titled ‘Winning the War for Talent with Employer Branding’, it covers some fascinating areas including leveraging employer reviews, competitor analysis and brand management. Tune in to this episode as we unpack some key insights from this whitepaper, as well as the difference between brand and reputation, why candidates are asking more intelligent questions than ever before, how to handle negative reviews on platforms such as Glassfoor and Yelp, and how interns can help you with your employee branding. Links mentioned: Winning the War for Talent with Employer Branding – Public Insight Data Corporation The Future of Work Trends: Scarcity, Individuality and Inclusivity Glassdoor

From Millennials and Gen Zs turning towards the metaverse to a significant cross-section of all workers opting out of conventional work arrangements, Microsoft’s Work Trend Index 2022 packs in a fascinating overview of some of the most disruptive workforce dynamics that are already confronting employers or are likely to do so soon. In this episode, we explore three of the key findings from Microsoft’s report, including its prediction that the workers huddling around the office watercooler will soon be replaced by their personal avatars hanging out in the metaverse; its conclusion that middle managers are not the principal driver of the Great Resignation as many now think; and its framing of the return to the office debate as a clash of values driven by a simple but powerful fact: we’re not the same people that went home to work in early 2020. Links mentioned: Work Trend Index – Microsoft The Future of Work Trends: Scarcity, Individuality and Inclusivity ‘The Future of Work Trends in 2022: The new era of humanity’ by Korn Ferry Top Trends in the Future of Tech Gender Disparities in the Workforce During the Pandemic

McKinsey’s recent report ’The Top Trends in Tech’ predicts that we’re going to see 100 years of technological progress in just the next 10 years. That will force every working man and women, including recruiters, to do their job even as it is undergoing significant levels of ever accelerating change. From blockchain and Web3 to Software 2.0 – it’s a lot to get your arms around, so in today’s episode we pick out some key findings from the report and review their implications for recruiters. Tune in to our conversation as we unpack three key tech trends and explore the importance of genuine workforce planning (instead of headcount planning), the automation of practices and procedures in recruiting and the importance of building a trust infrastructure that will provide an effective foundation for the recruiting team’s acquisition and implementation of new technology. Mentioned in this episode: This episode is brought to you by Talent.com Talent.com is the solution to finding talent, your way. Work with the fast-growing, tech-savvy company dedicated to making the search for candidates easy. Are you looking to fill one job? 1,000 jobs? Do you need a way to integrate your recruitment technology? Talent.com can find the answers for your business, on time and on budget. Start growing with Talent.com. Talent.com

In this episode, we dissect some key insights from Aptitude Research’s report ‘The Power of AI in Talent Acquisition’. The research found that 63% of companies are investing or planning to invest in AI solutions in 2022 (up from 42% in 2020). However, AI is still misunderstood and TA buyers are unclear about how to navigate the changing landscape. There are some very topical themes in this study, including the importance of ethics and how to keep humanity in the application of AI to talent acquisition. Join us as we discuss some key findings from this report, including what’s behind the lack of trust in AI solution providers and how to be a smart consumer of the technology. We also look into the difference between AI and automation, the key role historical data plays in developing AI solutions, and the importance of data security and regular reviews of both input and output data as a solution is used. Links mentioned: The Power of AI in Talent Acquisition - Aptitude Research TAtech Leadership Summit on the Application of Recruiting AI for Enterprise Employers