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

Matt Alder
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Talent acquisition is undergoing unprecedented disruption as AI, economic uncertainty, and the ever-shortening lifespan of skills radically reshape recruiting. On Recruiting Future, Matt Alder explores this evolving landscape, using insightful interviews with transformational TA practitioners and forward-thinking experts to spark your imagination and provide the insights you need to shape the future of talent acquisition in your organization. Each episode explores topics such as AI, recruiting automation, recruitment marketing, employer branding, skills-based hiring, assessment, candidate experience, DEI, internal mobility, and the transformation of TA teams. Recruiting Future is an essential resource for everyone involved in hiring. Matt Alder is a globally respected talent acquisition futurist, author, and speaker with over 25 years of experience exploring what’s next in recruiting. Renowned for his expertise in strategic foresight and technology trends, Matt provides a unique perspective that empowers leaders to navigate disruption. His deep industry knowledge and ability to spark meaningful conversations make Recruiting Future a must-listen for talent acquisition and HR professionals everywhere.

  1. The Science of Better Hiring

    1 HR AGO

    The Science of Better Hiring

    Hiring should be about finding the right person. Too often, though, the tools and methods organizations use actually work against them. Job postings filter candidates out for lacking skills they could easily and quickly learn. Competency checklists based on someone else's philosophy of what leadership looks like rather than what actually works inside their organization. Assessment tools that aren't scientifically validated or that screen for average profiles when the role needs something entirely different. The funnel narrows before employers even realize it. And when a poor fit does get through, the individual can spend months or years struggling against expectations that were never clearly defined. So how should organizations rethink the way they assess and select talent? My guest this week is Dr. Stephanie Puckett, founder of SynergyMind Consulting. In our conversation, she draws on 20 years of experience in organizational psychology to reveal where hiring processes quietly break down and the implications for both employers and employees when they do. In the interview, we discuss: The most common mistakes employers make in hiring Unintentional restriction of talent pools Skill and competency transfer The danger of using tools with no scientific validation The critical role of talent acquisition teams Data science versus psychology Finding confirmation bias in big datasets The importance of realistic job previews How will hiring develop in the next 2 to 3 years Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

    32 min
  2. Managing AI Risk In Talent Acquisition

    16 HR AGO

    Managing AI Risk In Talent Acquisition

    The pressure on talent functions right now is intense. Budgets are tight, teams are stretched, and the mandate to do more with less has pushed many organizations to automate at speed without stopping to redesign what they were automating.  These automated decisions are attracting real legal and regulatory attention. Actions previously seen as simple process steps are now potentially being viewed from a legal perspective as consequential decisions. At the same time, there's a growing recognition that AI could be truly catalytic, forcing the kind of fundamental change that talent functions have needed for years.  So how do leaders navigate the constraints while seizing that opportunity? My guest this week is Kyle Lagunas, Founder of Kyle and Co. In our conversation, Kyle unpacks what defensibility really means in practice, why talent teams need to shift from risk avoidance to risk readiness, and how AI is catalyzing long-overdue transformation. In the interview, we discuss: Credibility under constraint Risk averse or risk avoidance? What does defensibility look like? The AI balance between execution and judgement Human-in-the-loop needs to be designed, not assumed. Are we holding machines to a higher standard than we hold humans to? The importance of rigour in pilot programs Building AI literacy What does the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify

    29 min
  3. Faster Mistakes Or Better Hiring?

    4 DAYS AGO

    Faster Mistakes Or Better Hiring?

    AI tools are changing the pace at which organizations filter and rank candidates. However, matching someone to a job description and actually predicting whether they'll perform well in the role are two very different things. Most hiring processes have never been validated against real performance outcomes, and organizations often don't have a clear, measurable definition of what success looks like in a role. Without that foundation, even the most sophisticated AI is just automating something that was never evidence-based in the first place.  So what would it actually take to build hiring processes that genuinely predict performance? My guest this week is Jennifer Yugo, Managing Director and owner of Corvirtus, and an organizational psychologist specializing in evidence-based hiring. In our conversation, she explains the science behind predicting job performance and why most hiring processes are far from where they need to be. In the interview, we discuss: Matching candidates vs predicting performance Why most hiring lacks evidence Defining what success really looks like and identifying performance indicators Do some AI hiring tools stand up to scrutiny? The risks of automating bad decisions Questions TA leaders should ask vendors Are we going to see a reckoning for hiring technology? What might the future look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

    23 min

  4. 10 FEB

    Inside EY's Talent Strategy for AI and the Future

    The assurance and audit profession is facing a talent crisis. Fewer graduates are choosing it as a career, and the perception of what auditors actually do hasn't kept pace with reality. At the same time, AI is fundamentally reshaping the work itself, automating repetitive tasks and opening up entirely new service areas around cyber risk and sustainability. The profession needs different skills, different mindsets, and a completely different value proposition for the next generation of talent. So how do you transform a workforce of over a hundred thousand people while simultaneously making the profession attractive to a generation that wants purpose, flexibility, and career agility? My guest this week is Sandra Oliver, Global Assurance Talent Leader at EY. In our conversation, she shares how EY is reskilling auditors at scale, bridging generational divides around technology adoption, and repositioning audit careers as a launchpad for business leadership. In the interview, we discuss: Attracting Gen Z to the audit profession AI's impact on day-to-day audit work Upskilling 130,000 professionals in AI Bridging the generational technology gap Reverse mentoring between junior and senior staff. Purpose and meaningful work as talent drivers How will audit careers evolve over the next five years? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

    24 min
  5. How TA Proves Its Business Impact

    8 FEB

    How TA Proves Its Business Impact

    The talent market is full of contradictions right now. There are many people looking for jobs, but for many organisations, finding the right talent remains difficult. Caution dominates on both sides, with candidates asking harder questions about stability and culture while businesses are slowing down decision-making around headcount. AI is promising to transform recruiting, but most organizations are still working out where it fits. Through all of this, talent acquisition is clearly evolving. The best teams are thinking about workforce planning, internal mobility, and skills rather than just filling requisitions. However, many of them are still measuring themselves on time-to-hire and cost-per-hire, metrics which capture efficiency but say nothing about real business impact. So what comes next for TA, and how should teams measure what actually matters? My guest this week is Bharat Siyani, VP of People and Culture at Elmo Software. In our conversation, he explains what a broader set of success metrics looks like, where AI genuinely helps versus where humans must lead, and how he sees TA's role changing over the next few years. In the interview, we discuss: The contradictions in today’s talent market Finding the signal in the noise The importance of understanding nuance in recruiting What should AI do and what should humans do? How should organizations measure the impact of TA? Efficiency metrics versus value metrics Assessing tech talent at a time of high layoffs Skills and outcomes versus job titles TA’s role in shaping the workforce What does the future of the TA team look like? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify. A full transcript will appear here shortly.

    20 min
  6. Evolution or Extinction? What’s the future for Job Boards

    6 FEB

    Evolution or Extinction? What’s the future for Job Boards

    Job boards have been connecting candidates with employers for over thirty years, but the relationship that made them work is fundamentally breaking down. Candidates are getting frustrated by applying for roles that may already be filled or have been taken off the market, while employers are receiving hundreds of identical, AI-generated applications they can't meaningfully evaluate. The Job Boards sitting between them are trapped in business models that reward volume over quality, which only makes the problem worse. The result is a trust crisis that threatens the entire ecosystem. When neither side believes the process is fair, the whole system starts to unravel. So what would it actually take for job boards to rebuild that trust and stay relevant? My guest this week is Lou Goodman, a job board strategy expert who recently partnered with Jobiqo to produce a major new report on the future of job boards. In our conversation, she explains why the industry is stuck repeating the same patterns, what job boards can learn from other platform businesses, and whether evolution or extinction is the more likely outcome. In the interview, we discuss: Why job boards still matter in today's market The trust crisis threatening the ecosystem. How AI is amplifying weaknesses rather than fixing them Procedural justice and why fairness matters more than outcomes The shift from quantity to quality Where job boards can add value in the process Why short-term fixes become long-term patterns Lessons from other two-sided platform businesses What is the future for job boards? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

    31 min

  7. 6 FEB

    Round Up January 2026

    Round Up December 2025 If you’ve not listened to Roundup before, it’s a short review of the episodes that I’ve published in the last month to make sure you don’t miss out on the valuable insights that my guests are sharing. This month Round Up returns to its live format, and this is a recording of my live conversation with Mervyn Dinnen about six of the episodes published in January 2026 Episodes featured in this Round Up: EP 758: Extracting Real Value From AI In TA Ep 759: Career Sites and the Growing AI Gap Ep 760 Co-Creating The Future Of TA Ep 761: What Happens When Recruiters Embrace AI? Ep 762: Moving From AI Hype To AI Value Ep 764: Rewiring Organizations For AI Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

    31 min

  8. 28 JAN

    Rewiring Organizations For AI

    There's a significant disconnect playing out in organizations right now. Leaders understand AI is probably the most transformative technology of their lifetimes. They're making bold announcements and setting ambitious targets. Yet they're not providing the structures, ownership, or vision needed to drive real change. The result? Small pilots, incremental efficiency gains, and nowhere near the transformation everyone keeps talking about. The issue isn't the technology. Organizations simply aren't wired for transformative change, particularly when it cuts across departments and functions. Nobody owns it, and there's no clear model for what the future should look like. The implications for talent, skills, and how we think about work are enormous. What does it actually take to rewire an organization for the AI era? My guest this week is Stephen Wunker, co-author of "AI and the Octopus Organization". In our conversation, he shares what's really happening, what's holding companies back, and what this means for talent professionals. In the interview, we discuss: The gap between what CEOs are saying and what is actually happening What is holding AI transformation back Distributed innovation What is an “Octopus Organization”? The role of human judgement and the need for more critical thinking Examples of companies that are succeeding Talent and culture What will happen to the adoption rate? Where will we be in two years' time? Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify. A full transcript will appear here shortly.

    27 min
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About

Talent acquisition is undergoing unprecedented disruption as AI, economic uncertainty, and the ever-shortening lifespan of skills radically reshape recruiting. On Recruiting Future, Matt Alder explores this evolving landscape, using insightful interviews with transformational TA practitioners and forward-thinking experts to spark your imagination and provide the insights you need to shape the future of talent acquisition in your organization. Each episode explores topics such as AI, recruiting automation, recruitment marketing, employer branding, skills-based hiring, assessment, candidate experience, DEI, internal mobility, and the transformation of TA teams. Recruiting Future is an essential resource for everyone involved in hiring. Matt Alder is a globally respected talent acquisition futurist, author, and speaker with over 25 years of experience exploring what’s next in recruiting. Renowned for his expertise in strategic foresight and technology trends, Matt provides a unique perspective that empowers leaders to navigate disruption. His deep industry knowledge and ability to spark meaningful conversations make Recruiting Future a must-listen for talent acquisition and HR professionals everywhere.

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