Listen Now

How do we track where a candidate, in fact, comes to the top of the funnel from? This is so important because companies can target the right places for the right people. Gerry said “Mary Grace talked about what needed to be done in Source of hire and I am going holly cow, the technology has fully come around” “And it might be time to renew this conversation about source of Hire”. Mary Grace added “The substance behind the data was getting lost in the noise” she added that she built a survey and you can go to GraceRock.com and find the Blog post “Six questions to ask your provider”. I would encourage you to take the survey and keep your ears open for what else Mary Grace and Gerry have to say about very important topic.   Mary Grace, also known as MG, has over 20 years of experience in the Human capital management world, having worked on large scale initiatives for several Fortune 100 companies while simultaneously scaling small businesses into known brands. She’s achieved this by implementing programs to dramatically improve efficiency and profitability at BrassRing, Taleo, and SmashFly before founding GraceRock. While classically known in the role of Product Management, in many cases this has been a catch-all for “make it happen." You can follow Mary Grace on Twitter @RecruitingGrace Gerry Crispin is usually all I need to say to introduce Gerry who is a luminary in our field of talent management. Gerry lives his passion through conversations about how every stakeholder in the recruiting process finds meaningful work, how technology & data can contribute to employer and candidate decisions and, an organizational strategy for talent management that is sustainable.  Gerry founded CareerXroads 1995 where he nurtures a growing community of world-class Talent Acquisition leaders. In 2010, Gerry joined other volunteers in the industry to form TalentBoard to oversee the Candidate Experience Awards.   Podcast Hosted by Lorne Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering and Music by Afotey Odai

Alex Goryachev is an entrepreneurial go-getter. He takes risks, thinks ahead, and loves making way for new innovations. Over the past 20 years, he’s made it his business to turn disruptive concepts into emerging business models. For him, it’s all about a passion to create a strategy and then drive it home to “get things done.” And as Cisco’s managing director of Innovation Strategy and Programs, he has plenty of opportunities to put this passion to the test. You can follow Alex on Twitter @AgoryachAlex   Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering and Music by Afotey Odai

David says we are “reinventing the human focus” and “In the context of technology, we can make the workplace better, we are being forced to knock down silos”. He said about his work that “We are looking at how companies construct themselves to be better. We want to create an experience for our workforce that is good. Most of the people out there have business goals to meet and these are one in the same”   You can download Deloitte’s 2019 Human Capital Trends Report here.    David Mallon is Bersin’s Chief Analyst and the lead storyteller for Bersin to its Members, clients, and the HR vendor market. He has been at Bersin for 11+ years and head of research for the last six. He connects Bersin, the HR market and Deloitte’s Human Capital practice on research-based practice. He is a sought-after thought leader and frequent speaker on subjects of human resources, talent, learning, and leadership. David holds a B.A. in English Literature from Emory University and an M.S. in Digital Media from the Georgia Tech. You can follow David on Twitter at da5idm.   Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering and Music by Afotey Odai

Sean Jackson is the Founder and CEO of Sift. They are a technology company building tools to help organizations better understand and leverage the skills, experience, and knowledge of their incredible people who comprise them. This supports their clients to gain clarity to their human capital to discover hidden talent and empower everyone. Prior to founding Sift, Sean was an operations consultant, land policy wonk, and US Marine who served in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Haiti, and in the Arctic Circle. You can follow Sean on Twitter @OnTheAggregate.   Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering and Music by Afotey Odai

Lorne speaks with surprise guests Bill Boorman, Matt Charney, and the new guy from SmartRecruiters, Jared Best. This humorous conversation is filled with wild anecdotes about each professionals experiences in recruiting.   When Lorne asked about the fads of recruiting Bill said “Right now we go through AI, digital, mobile, Social recruiting” and Matt responds “but do you know what it never is…make hires”. Bill continued by stating that “the rules of recruiting have not changed” “The method of delivery does” and Jared chimed in with “and companies have not adapted”. Bill “By the time organizations catch up with people, people have moved somewhere else”   About companies getting faster…Jared “Companies innovate in pockets and don’t look holistically” “they are still using spreadsheets to run their business”. Later in the conversation, Matt takes control of the interview and said “Sorry Lorne, I am taking your job” to which Lorne replies “Or I am outsourcing my job to you”. Matt asked Jared “What is the thing you were not getting from a provider that you want to change?” to which Jared said “Companies do well at selling features” “fit it into your process” “they fail to help organizations drive change”    Jared Best is a new addition to SmartRecruiters having spent most of his career in Talent Acquisition. As a Hiring Success Consultant at SmartRecruiters, he helps organizations transform and redefine Talent Acquisition as he did with Abercrombie and Fitch as well as other commercial firms.  Bill Boorman has worked in and around recruiting for the last 30 years and is the face behind the @BillBoorman and #tru brands. He takes unconventional approaches to recruitment and HR problems. As a career recruiter, Bill takes a recruiters perspective to get the best results for hiring companies in this new social landscape. He is guaranteed to be different, challenging and thought-provoking.  Matt Charney is the Chief Content Officer for Allegis Group and is a partner and Executive Editor for Recruiting Daily. He also serves as an advisor to over 20 early-stage HR Technology startups, and his blog, Snark Attack, was recently named one of the world's top 20 business blogs by WordPress. He apologies in advance if you're offended.   Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering and Music by Afotey Odai

Lorne asks Sue if what he sees can be datafied (coins a new word) and wanted to know if his gut choices could be datafied and Sue said “Yes, I think so, I went into psychology because I get to apply numbers to behavior which I use to talk to engineers” “There is a lot of work to do this and that is what my team does”.   Piyush added said “we define our vision as a better business through better people decisions” “the gut is still important to making decisions” and we don’t use data alone, “data can tell you a lot but then empirical evidence with talent plays a role too”.   Sue Lam is the Global Head of HR Diagnostics in Shell. As part of an HR strategy, learning and organizational effectiveness center of excellence, her team supports colleagues in business and HR in the delivery of their strategy and objectives through developing global surveys and assessments, deriving actionable insights from strategic HR projects, and providing subject matter expertise on organizational behavior. Sue has a masters and Ph.D. from the University of California at Irvine. She is also PHR and SHRM-CP certified. You can follow Sue on Twitter at suelam11   Piyush Mathur, from Johnson and Johnson, is a passionate corporate entrepreneur with a proven record of achievements. He is experienced in applying marketing and people science to meet strategic objectives and maximize business performance. Piyush joined Nielsen as a Research Executive from Pune University and in a decade and a half returned to lead as President for the India region, becoming the youngest member of the Nielsen Executive Council. He has made huge impact driving double-digit revenue growth for Nielsen businesses in Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and recently in South Asia. He has been a member of the regional executive committees that together covered over 60 countries, providing him global exposure and experience.   Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering and Music by Afotey Odai

Esther answers key questions to relationships at work.   What do you see as the theme of the inner stories that people share? How can relational intelligence improve trust between the workforce and human resources? What role do you see relational intelligence playing in the Fourth Industrial Revolution?   Psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author Esther Perel is recognized as one of today’s most insightful and original voices on modern relationships. Fluent in nine languages, she helms a therapy practice in New York City and serves as an organizational consultant for Fortune 500 companies around the world. Her celebrated TED talks have garnered more than 20 million views and her international bestseller Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence became a global phenomenon translated into 25 languages. Her newest book is the New York Times bestseller The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity (HarperCollins). Esther is also an executive producer and host of the popular podcast Where Should We Begin? Learn more at EstherPerel.com or by following @EstherPerelOfficial on Instagram.   Navigating relationships and cultivating relational fluency is key - both personally and professionally. Each of us carries specific narratives which guide our needs and expectations; how we connect to others, how we define trust, and how we engage or avoid conflict. Most importantly, these inner stories determine how we communicate and collaborate. We don't magically become different people when we walk into our office. Once considered a “soft skill” in the workplace, relational intelligence is now one of the top currencies of business success. Famed couples therapist Esther Perel has spent more than 35 years helping people articulate their aspirations, explore boundaries between the self and others, and repair trust that is broken. Now she’s applying her extensive knowledge of relationships to help us master workplace dynamics.   Credit Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering by Afotey Odai

Meredith said “Talent experience means blending technology and new candidate experience and the human element” and that “People want to feel a personal connection” she continued with saying “How do we blend a consumer-like digital experience and at the same time human elements in moments that matter?” They are researching what moments matter to identify these touchpoints. 80 percent of Comcast's candidates are customers. Shelly said she is “spending time around HR transformation, what technologies allow them to hire faster and retain people on the back end” They are putting in a lot of technology around the entire process. “If you don’t have clean handoffs and you don’t have great technology, often your employees are gone at 90 days.” Shelly Morgan is the Director of HR Technology at Signature Healthcare. With more than 15 years of experience leading change within HR processes, Technology, Benefits, and Compensation, Shelly is an innovative leader who creates custom solutions that fit specific organizational needs.  You can follow Shelly on Twitter @shellymorgan125. Meredith Sadoulet is a global executive with experience leading human resources and finance functions across many industries including media, technology, banking, healthcare, energy, and defense. Meredith recently joined Comcast NBC Universal as their Vice president of Talent Experience. She is known for her ability to lead complex, large-scale change, and has garnered extensive recognition in the field for thought leadership, strategy and business results. She lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband and four children.   Credit Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering by Afotey Odai

Donna DiDomenico is an award-winning human resources leader with success in driving business strategy and cultural change for Fortune 500 and start-up organizations across many industries. Donna provides leadership and expertise across all phases of the talent management process. She has a strong background in creating systems, processes, and methodologies to revitalize operations, increase revenues, and enhance profitability and employee satisfaction.   Credit Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering by Afotey Odai

Stacia Garr is a researcher and thought leader on talent management, leadership, Diversity and Inclusion, people analytics, and HR Technology. She is a frequent industry speaker and writer and her work has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, and The New York Times as well as other publications. Stacia co-founded RedThread Research in 2018 after leading talent and workforce research for eight years at Bersin by Deloitte. She has an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics. You can follow Stacia on Twitter @StaciaGarr. The ubiquity of #MeToo in the workplace made it clear that this is not simply a problem with individuals, to be solved via risk mitigation or legal restitution, but rather a problem with systems and cultures, which must be solved holistically. Focusing on diversity and inclusion is not a new idea, but few can deny that we have reached an inflection point. After years of spending time and money on diversity and inclusion, there is a palpable feeling of fatigue: the representation of historically underrepresented employees has not changed commensurate with those efforts and many organizations are still far from reaching their goals. Before #MeToo, what you didn’t know was unlikely to hurt you. Not anymore. Now, what you don’t know can hurt you, your brand, and your stock price.   Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering by Afotey Odai

Lorne and Peter spoke about the future of the workplace and Peter said “Neither technology nor the disruption that comes with it is an exogenous force over which humans have no control. All of us are responsible for guiding its evolution, in the decisions we make on a daily basis as citizens, consumers, and investors.” He also comments on the budget process by saying that “Budgets is my favorite time of the year, it is a yearly sadistic ritual where people put in fake numbers into Excel which is consolidated into a budget which never is true.” Learn about how we have done things in the past and what Peter believes we need to do in the future to have a work world that works for everyone. His book The Day After Tomorrow Peter wants us to “grasp the opportunity and power we have to shape the Fourth Industrial Revolution and direct it toward a future that reflects our common objectives and values. We must develop a comprehensive and globally shared view of how technology is affecting our lives and reshaping our economic, social, cultural, and human environments. There has never been a time of greater promise, or one of greater potential peril. Today’s decision-makers, however, are too often trapped in traditional, linear thinking, or too absorbed by the multiple crises demanding their attention, to think strategically about the forces of disruption and innovation shaping our future.” “In the end, it all comes down to people and values. We need to shape a future that works for all of us by putting people first and empowering them. The Fourth Industrial Revolution may “robotize” humanity and thus to deprive us of our heart and soul. It can also lift humanity into a new collective and moral consciousness based on a shared sense of destiny. It is incumbent on us all to make sure the latter prevails.”   Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering by Afotey Odai

Over the last 17 years, Charlotte Marshall has led teams behind the creation and activation of five world-class employer brands. In her role she defines an organization’s employment experience to drive attraction, engagement and retention of talent.  When Charlotte was Vice President of Employer Brand at Magellan Health, she completed an employer brand project in less than 100 days when most companies take a year. Her wisdom from the experience was, “Continuity, pace and momentum are essential ingredients needed to deliver everything you are tasked with achieving as an Employer Brand leader, especially justifying the investment to get started and finding yourself with a world-class result at the end.” You can follow Charlotte on Twitter @Charlotte_Co Bryan Adams is the CEO and founder of Ph. Creative, recognized as one of the best global employer brand agencies in the world. Ph. specializes in building world-class employer brand, EVP and talent attraction strategy for companies such as Apple, American Airlines, and Blizzard Entertainment. Bryan is a best-selling author and expert speaker. He is a known employer brand thought leader and his creative and unconventional methodologies regularly change the way people think. You can follow Bryan on Twitter @Bryan_phc   Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein Produced by John Ogulnik Audio Engineering by Afotey Odai

In the episode of The Lorne Epstein Show, China Gorman, head of UNLEASH’s American operations, talks about the various human resource conferences that take place every year. She says “things are changing…dramatically” in the conference space. She adds that some user “shows are becoming much less about how to and much more about larger ideas in the general sort of HR leadership space…”  Another challenge, according to Gorman, comes from the internet with pre-recorded conferences and webinars competing with conferences. Gorman isn’t a fan of what she sees as the trend away from live events. “Being eyeball to eyeball and being able to converse IRL (in real life) has a powerful benefit; making a human relationship connection in the same space, not via technology, can be a very powerful thing...” she says.

In a wide-ranging conversation on The Lorne Epstein Show, Marc Coleman, founder and CEO of UNLEASH talks about founding the group and how they never imagined it would become so big. He tells Lorne the organization’s success comes from listening to their customers. Coleman says when he looks to the future, he thinks about what employers need to look like moving forward and one thing that is important to him is “companies that look after their employees, make them live longer.” On the subject of artificial intelligence (AI), Coleman expressed some skepticism about resume reading software, saying “if you look at headhunting, I’ve experienced this myself, it’s almost easier to still go out, if you want the right people for the right jobs headhunters are still doing the best job out there with very primitive methodology. I’m sorry to say, but this is the truth.”

Torin Ellis, who heads a boutique HR firm, talks about diversity and inclusion (D&I) in a conversation on The Lorne Epstein Show. Ellis says, “diversity work is more will over skill.” Asked how to recruit for diversity, Ellis says you do it “the same damn way you do any other recruiting…we’re not aliens.” Ellis says he makes this point in a keynote address he sometimes delivers titled “Everybody Wants Ice Cream. “I want you to understand that I go to an ice cream shop just like you go to an ice cream shop,” Torin explains. “If you don’t see me at your ice cream shop, or selection of shops, then find another ice cream shop so you can find Torin, and people that look like Torin.” He says there is a shift underway and leaders in organizations are beginning to understand they need to recruit in different places when hiring for diversity.

Kevin Oakes is the CEO and founder of the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4CP), a research firm that, according to its website, helps “progressive organizations shift from best practices to next practices.” In an interview with The Lorne Epstein Show, Oakes cites a recent study called “Culture Renovation,” detailing how HR professionals can lead and sustain change within an organization. Oakes says companies that renovate keep “what made (them) good to begin with and prepare for the future.”  He says only15% of companies that try to change their cultures succeed, adding “they fail because they did not enlist the support of the organization.” According to Oakes, a key is that companies need to find “influencers and energizers." And he adds finding the "blockers" is equally important so they can be “gently moved out of the way.”

On this episode of The Lorne Epstein Show, we speak with Jill Larsen, the CHRO of Medidata Solutions. Larsen has worked in HR for more than 20 years and in 2017 she was honored with the Bob Gatti HR Leader of Distinction Award. “I think it’s an amazing time to be in HR. I think it’s a scary time to be in HR,” Larsen says. “Those of us that adapt ourselves and continue to learn are going to be probably the most relevant in the future.” As a leader in the field, Larsen is optimistic about the future of AI. She says at this time it’s helpful at the “front end” of the TA process as candidates engage with a company’s website and “how you can push information to them.” However, this is all a work in progress and she says some programs “don’t have enough data yet in order to really be unbiased.” 

On this episode of The Lorne Epstein Show, Amy Cappellanti-Wolf talks about her experiences leading companies through transformations. Cappellanti-Wolf has more than 30 years of experience and is currently Senior Vice President and CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer) at Symantec. “Companies are constantly transforming,” she says, “and during that transformation there’s lots that goes on from an HR perspective and I think it’s time where HR can play a really critical and pivotal role to help the business succeed.” She adds that companies need to identify the problem they’re solving so they can put structures in place to fix it. She warns, however, that there is “no silver bullet to solve all problems.”  Cappellanti-Wolf says everyone is impacted by change and to help employees cope with transformations companies need to be honest with employees, to get them involved in the process. 

Alex Smith, who worked strictly in the private sector until Memphis, Tennessee Mayor Jim Strickland hired her to “bring new eyes (to) old problems…bringing in a diverse set of executives to help him think through how to address major issues for the city…” In this episode of The Lorne Epstein Show Alex Smith talks about the transition from the private sector and her role as a change agent bringing private sector practices to the city. Smith also says she’s always been interested in politics and her work in Memphis gives her an opportunity to “marry two things that I love politics as well as HR into one role…is just a wonderful opportunity and blessing.”

  Noel, Elizabeth and Lorne talk about why the candidate experience has become mission critical to hiring, and how to create exceptional experiences for this important stakeholder. At Thermo Fisher, with plans “to double in size over the next ten years,” Noel underlines that the candidate experience is “a business imperative.” Both Noel and Elizabeth highlight the importance of treating the candidate like a customer—because often they are.  “We are measuring the candidate experience because we know if we are hiring 20,000 people per year, we are interviewing 60,000 and a percentage of those folks are our current or future customers. We want them to walk away thinking that was a great experience,” Noel says. Elizabeth reveals some of the problems generated from poor candidate experiences, “The pipeline’s are drying up internally and externally. Roles are open longer than ever before. [Companies are being] named and shamed. Indeed. Glassdoor. We can’t avoid the bad press. We all talk about the warm embrace, but the majority of the experience is the opposite.” Elizabeth compares the employer dance with talent to Tinder, “Talent in the age of Tinder—they are swiping left on us, they are ghosting us, benching us. They are not engaged. It’s like a really bad dating movie.”  In the interview, Noel and Elizabeth share opportunities for turning the candidate experience around. “What story are you telling and are you engaging?”, Elizabeth asks. Among the strategies they share include how to micro target candidates. “We really are a big believer in micro targeting, and going away from that big brand story. People want to hear about the employer value proposition for this particular team or function.” She underlines that recruiters need to reimagine themselves to stay ahead. “We are now career therapists, story tellers, data analysts. We have to shift from being process managers to embracing this whole new role.”