Talent On The Rise Brazen

In this illuminating episode of "Talent on the Rise," host Joe Matar engages in a captivating conversation with Bill Blackford, the Vice President of Talent Acquisition and People Operations at Ellucian. The podcast explores the transformative journey of talent acquisition, tracing Bill's evolution from an unexpected career shift to becoming a stalwart in building high-growth organizations over nearly two decades.
Bill emphasizes the pivotal shift from transactional recruiting to the role of a true talent advisor. He underscores the need for recruiters to align with business goals, delving beyond job requirements to understand organizational objectives. Trust emerges as a linchpin, with Bill highlighting the importance of transparency, reliability, and commitment in fostering strong relationships between recruiters, candidates, and hiring teams.
The discussion delves into strategies for success, focusing on driving clarity and alignment in the recruitment process. Bill introduces a strategic framework—buy, borrow, or build talent—emphasizing the transformative impact of learning boot camps and promoting internal mobility.
The evolving Employee Value Proposition (EVP) takes center stage, with authenticity and transparency being key. Bill paints a vivid picture of talent advisors as true business partners equipped with situational understanding, purposeful curiosity, and the ability to influence and guide informed decisions.
Insights into effective talent leadership traits—structured thinking, levity, and empathy—provide a glimpse into the qualities that set aspiring leaders apart. The episode concludes with a fascinating book recommendation, drawing parallels between the lessons from "Chipwar" and the imperative for talent professionals to stay open-minded and adaptable in the ever-evolving landscape.
As the episode wraps up, listeners gain valuable insights into the multifaceted role of talent advisors and the essential traits defining effective talent leaders. Bill Blackford's call for adaptability and open-mindedness leaves the audience with a sense of anticipation for the future of talent acquisition.

In this episode, Kristin Hamblock, the Chief Human Resources Officer at Rosecrance Health Network, shares her insights on fostering growth and innovation in talent acquisition and HR. Her journey highlights the importance of continuous learning, employee engagement, modern employer branding, and navigating organizational change. Kristin's emphasis on internal promotion and talent retention underscores the significance of nurturing employees and providing advancement opportunities. She also stresses the need for fostering innovation in HR, challenging conventional practices, and addressing employee burnout in the healthcare industry. Kristin's involvement in various non-profit initiatives further reflects her commitment to community impact and purpose-driven work. The conversation concludes with an emphasis on the importance of personal well-being and self-care, serving as a guiding light for HR professionals aiming to create supportive and inclusive workplace environments.
Links from episode:
Instagram: SantaForAll GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/santa-for-all-2023 

In this episode, our host, Joe Matar, interviews Keith Vavra, the CHRO at a global technology defense and engineering group. Keith shares insights from his 20-year career in human resources, highlighting his passion for developing outstanding talent.
During the conversation, Keith emphasizes the importance of building authentic partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to cultivate human potential. He shares valuable advice on how HR professionals can gain business experience and understand the margins within the business to make better decisions.
Keith discusses his experiences in HR transformations and the lessons he has learned. He emphasizes the importance of celebrating both successes and failures to avoid repeating past mistakes. Additionally, he encourages HR practitioners to network with peers and learn from their experiences to navigate transformations successfully.
The discussion also covers the significance of employee engagement, talent acquisition, and authentic employee branding. Keith stresses the need to align company values with individual employee motivations to improve productivity and create a positive work culture.
Finally, the episode touches on career paths within HR. Keith advises aspiring leaders to gain experience in various HR domains to understand their passions and strengths better. He highlights the value of walking the walk and appreciating the perspectives of all HR functions while working towards leadership roles.

In the podcast episode of "Talent on the Rise," host Joe Mater interviews Ricky Russell, the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. With over 20 years of experience in HR and talent acquisition, Ricky discusses his passion for growing people and careers, fostering inclusion and engagement, and enabling the future of work.
Ricky shares his background, growing up on a farm in southeastern Kentucky, and how the skills and work ethic he developed there shaped him both personally and professionally. 
Throughout his career, Ricky transitioned from talent acquisition into various HR roles in industries such as airlines and healthcare. He emphasizes the importance of persistence, determination, and patience in building a successful career. Ricky feels grateful to be in healthcare, where his work indirectly impacts lives by supporting frontline caregivers.
Ricky shares how important it is to nurture and build relationships with talent without the expectation of them applying to your jobs. You must play the long game when it comes to talent acquisition and build a community of talent.
Joe and Ricky discuss the significance of HR practitioners having a seat at the C-suite table. Ricky believes HR should be involved at all levels of the organization, as every decision made has a people impact. He shares an example of collaborating with nursing leadership to design a centralized resource pool to address staffing challenges. Ricky emphasizes the importance of HR professionals having a broad business acumen, understanding different functional areas, and being able to make decisions that benefit both the organization and its employees.
The episode concludes with Ricky emphasizing the need for HR professionals to know the business they support, even if they are not experts in the field. He encourages HR staff to engage regularly with different departments, gain knowledge about their work, and effectively communicate with candidates during the recruitment process. This strategic partnership between HR and the business leads to better decision-making and ultimately contributes to the organization's success.

Storytelling is a powerful tool for talent acquisition professionals across every facet of the talent acquisition and retention process. At Chipotle, Miller makes it a priority to incorporate narrative into the candidate experience. “The way candidates experience and learn about a brand isn’t radically different than how we learn about a band, or a restaurant, or our favorite sports teams." He uses narrative not only to better connect with job candidates but also to foster strong working relationships with the departments for whom the TA teams finds new teammates. Learn how to use storytelling to help your TA team stand apart in this episode. 

The candidate experience is more important than ever now that the tables have turned, where it's an employee job market, not an employer job market according to Brent Schreckengost, Director of Talent Acquisition at Avalara.
As the talent acquisition industry begins to better understand the importance of a positive candidate experience and track this data, we see more and more how this experience impacts the whole talent acquisition program. A single candidate’s experience impacts not only their own decision as to whether to join the company now or in the future, but also the interest of their friends, acquaintances, loved ones, and even the larger job-seeker community. Providing a positive candidate experience is not only about filling a position, but about finding a pool of potential candidates aligned with your company's strategic growth plan.
So how do you put that wow factor into the candidate experience? Here are a few best practices inspired by our conversation with Brent Schreckengost.