SHRM Talent 2026

Welcome to the official limited podcast series from SHRM Talent 2026, recorded live at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. In collaboration with SHRM, WRKdefined created this 33-episode series, which captures real conversations shaping the future of hiring, recruiting, talent acquisition, HR technology, leadership, workforce planning, candidate experience, AI at work, and the evolving world of work.  Across the series, WRKdefined sat down with HR practitioners, talent leaders, consultants, analysts, creators, founders, and technology providers to explore what’s actually happening inside modern HR and recruiting teams. No corporate theater. No overproduced sound bites. Just smart people sharing practical ideas, lessons learned, industry trends, and honest perspectives from one of the largest HR and talent events in the world.  SHRM Talent brings together thousands of HR and talent acquisition professionals focused on recruiting strategy, employee experience, workforce transformation, leadership development, hiring technology, and the future of work. This limited series extends those conversations beyond the conference walls and into the hands of HR professionals everywhere.  Whether you work in HR, recruiting, talent acquisition, people operations, HR tech, staffing, leadership, learning and development, or workforce strategy, these conversations were built for you. 33 episodes. One conference. Real conversations that matter. Recorded and produced by WRKdefined in collaboration with SHRM.

  1. 1 day ago

    The Best Candidates Aren’t Always the Most Qualified on Paper

    Resumes have never been perfect. AI just made the problem harder to ignore. Philip Nash argues that companies are spending too much time chasing credentials and not enough time evaluating character, coachability, and the human skills that actually drive long-term success. The future of hiring may be less about what people know today and more about what they can become tomorrow. Talent management, recruiting, AI adoption, soft skills, workforce development, leadership. This conversation gets to the human side of hiring. In this episode… Philip shares why soft skills matter more than ever, how AI is changing talent evaluation, and why organizations must keep developing employees if they want to keep them. Sharp discussion on leadership potential, recruiting challenges, workforce readiness, and balancing AI with human judgment. Key Takeaways :  • Philip believes leaders are born with natural tendencies but still require development, coaching, and experience to become effective • Talent remains the engine that drives every organization • Companies are only as strong as the talent they attract, develop, and retain • Employee development is no longer optional because workforce expectations and technology are evolving rapidly • Philip believes organizations that stop developing employees increase their risk of turnover • AI delivers the most value when used responsibly for data analysis, efficiency, and decision support • Overreliance on AI can create challenges when evaluating candidates and validating experience • Philip prefers focusing on “HI” (Human Intelligence) alongside AI rather than replacing people with technology • AI adoption succeeds when organizations provide proper training and support • Employees are more likely to embrace new technology when they want to learn it rather than feeling forced to use it • One of recruiting’s biggest challenges is identifying candidates with both technical expertise and long-term potential • Resumes and LinkedIn profiles do not always provide a complete picture of a candidate’s capabilities • Employers need better ways to validate real-world skills and qualifications • Soft skills remain one of the hardest attributes to assess and one of the most valuable • Philip believes technical skills can often be taught, while professionalism, communication, and respect are much harder to develop • The strongest employees combine technical competence with strong interpersonal skills • His personal philosophy is to get “1% better every day” • Fitness, discipline, and continuous self-improvement are key parts of how he recharges and stays focused • Philip credits sports with shaping the work ethic and discipline that continue to drive his professional success • Consistency and effort matter more than short bursts of motivation Guest : Philip Nash Business Development Manager at Easterseals Veteran Staffing Network, helping organizations connect with skilled talent while supporting workforce development, veteran employment, and inclusive hiring initiatives. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/pnashfla/ Connect with Us :  William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined :  Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

    10 min
  2. 1 day ago

    Your Employees Are Telling You Why They Stay. Are You Listening?

    Most leaders spend more time asking why employees leave than why they stay. Njsane Courtney argues that’s backwards. The answers companies need are already sitting inside the organization. They just aren’t asking the right questions often enough. Retention isn’t a compensation problem as often as leaders think. Talent management, employee retention, AI adoption, leadership, recruiting, stay interviews. This conversation explores what happens when leaders start listening before employees start leaving. In this episode… Njsane shares why stay interviews outperform exit interviews, how leadership drives AI adoption, and why employers must continuously re-recruit their best people. Sharp discussion on retention, employee engagement, recruiting challenges, workplace culture, and leadership accountability. Key Takeaways :  • Njsane defines talent management as caring for existing employees while helping new hires become productive and connected to culture • AI adoption starts with leadership, not technology • Employees closely watch leadership behavior when deciding whether to embrace new tools • Leaders must establish clear rules for responsible AI usage before expecting adoption • Recruiting remains difficult despite high application volume because qualified talent still has choices • Technical roles often require a unique combination of certifications, expertise, and cultural fit • The labor market may feel employer-driven, but top talent still behaves like it’s candidate-driven • Employers must actively work to become an employer of choice to attract and keep top performers • Recruiting does not stop after someone accepts an offer • Jani compares employee retention to college sports recruiting where organizations must continually re-recruit talent • Employees leave when leaders stop reinforcing growth opportunities, development, and purpose • Recruiters and headhunters are constantly contacting high-performing employees • HR professionals often become “battle weary” from balancing employee needs, leadership expectations, and business demands • Conferences and peer networking help HR leaders recharge, learn, and solve challenges faster • One of the biggest questions keeping Njsane up at night is whether employees truly know how much they matter • Many cases of voluntary turnover are preventable if leaders simply listen earlier • Relationship issues with supervisors often drive departures more than compensation • Njsane prefers stay interviews over exit interviews because they create opportunities to solve problems before employees leave • His favorite stay interview question is simple: “Why do you keep coming back?” • Employee answers often reveal exactly what organizations need to protect and improve • One engagement study found employees wanted office plants more than expensive workplace perks • Many retention challenges can be solved with attention, communication, and effort rather than larger budgets • Managers often assume employees want more money when many simply want growth, communication, and career clarity Guest : Njsane Courtney Vice President of Human Resources at American Bureau of Shipping and host of the My Friend in the HR Podcast, helping organizations strengthen leadership, employee retention, talent development, and workplace culture through practical, people-first HR strategies. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/njsanecourtney/ Connect with Us :  William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined :  Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

    19 min
  3. 1 day ago

    Your Leadership Playbook Expired 20 Years Ago

    Too many leaders are managing a 2026 workforce with lessons they learned in 2006. Krishna Powell argues that the biggest leadership challenge today isn’t attracting talent. It’s understanding, developing, and deploying the talent you already have before it walks out the door. The workforce changed. Most leadership habits didn’t. Leadership, multigenerational teams, talent management, AI adoption, workforce development, employee engagement. This conversation challenges leaders to rethink how they lead, hire, and grow people. In this episode… Krishna explains why companies have a talent deployment problem more than a talent acquisition problem, why AI adoption keeps falling short, and why leaders must stop treating every employee the same. Sharp discussion on workforce strategy, burnout, hybrid work, soft skills, and the future of leadership. Key Takeaways :  • Krishna says many leaders are still using management practices from 2006 to lead a 2026 workforce • The biggest workforce challenge is not generational differences. It’s leaders failing to adapt to them • Most organizations don’t have a talent acquisition problem. They have a talent deployment problem • Employees often leave because their full skill set is ignored or underutilized • Companies frequently trap employees inside job titles instead of recognizing broader capabilities • Talent management today should focus on skills, adaptability, and contribution, not just organizational charts • Only about 40% of AI initiatives are successfully implemented and adopted, according to Krishna • AI adoption fails when organizations introduce technology without connecting it to business outcomes • Krishna recommends evaluating AI through three lenses: performance, productivity, and profit • New technology feels like “more work” when employees don’t understand its purpose • Employees should understand the broader business, not just their individual role • Krishna believes professionals need visibility into market trends, industry changes, and company strategy • Great leaders hire experts and then allow experts to be experts • HR leaders and managers often create burnout by trying to do everything themselves • Many organizations learned the wrong lessons from the pandemic and quickly returned to unhealthy work habits • Hybrid work decisions should be based on business impact, not leadership preference • Spending two hours commuting may create less value than spending those same two hours working • The next generation of workers often lacks critical face-to-face communication experience because of how they learned growing up • Soft skills are no longer “nice to have.” They are becoming core business skills • Organizations that intentionally teach collaboration, communication, and relationship-building will have a competitive advantage Guest : Krishna Powell  CEO of Genuine Leadership Group, helping executives and HR leaders build stronger multigenerational workplaces through leadership development, workforce strategy, talent optimization, and organizational transformation. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/krishnapowell/ Connect with Us :  William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined :  Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

    15 min
  4. 1 day ago

    Your One-on-Ones Are Failing Because You Keep Asking the Wrong Question

    “How’s it going?” might be the most expensive question managers ask. Joe Rotella argues that vague conversations create vague performance. Employees leave one-on-ones frustrated, managers leave without clarity, and nothing actually moves forward. The problem isn’t performance reviews. It’s everything that happens between them. Performance management, leadership, coaching, employee engagement, feedback, manager effectiveness. This conversation gets to the root of why so many workplace conversations feel useless. In this episode… Joe Rotella explains why most one-on-ones fail, how managers accidentally create cultures of micromanagement, and why coaching beats status updates every time. Sharp discussion on trust, feedback, leadership development, performance management, and helping employees win. Key Takeaways : • Joe says most one-on-ones fail because they start with vague questions like “How’s it going?” • Vague conversations create vague outcomes and rarely improve performance • Many employees dread one-on-ones because they associate them with micromanagement rather than support • Managers often use one-on-ones to track status instead of coaching employees • Fear, uncertainty, and doubt drive many ineffective management behaviors • Joe believes clarity is kindness and employees should always know what success looks like • High-performing teams define exactly what “winning” means before work begins • Feedback should happen weekly, not only when something goes wrong • Employees often associate feedback with criticism because positive feedback is given too infrequently • Joe teaches the SBIN framework: Situation, Behavior, Impact, and Next Steps • Great feedback focuses on future improvement instead of dwelling on past mistakes • Performance management happens between reviews, not during annual review meetings • Organizations often confuse reviewing performance with managing performance • Strong one-on-ones build trust, and trust remains one of the most important qualities employees want in leaders • Managers should prepare for one-on-ones with the same seriousness recruiters prepare for interviews • Many organizations promote top performers into management roles without teaching them how to coach people • Great managers stay curious instead of immediately solving every problem for employees • Culture change cannot be mandated through policy alone; it requires consistent leadership behavior • Joe believes a manager’s primary responsibility is helping employees succeed, not monitoring them Guest : Joe Rotella  Chief Value Officer at Delphia Consulting and creator of Miviva Performance Management Platform, helping organizations improve performance management through coaching, clarity, feedback, and AI-powered employee development. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/joerotella/ Connect with Us :  William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined :  Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

    11 min
  5. 2 days ago

    Everyone’s Talking About AI. Almost Nobody Knows What Adoption Actually Means

    Ask ten HR leaders about AI adoption and you’ll get ten different answers. Cole Napper argues that most AI conversations are broken because people are talking about completely different things. Personal AI tools. Vendor AI features. Enterprise AI systems. Same words. Different realities. The gap isn’t technology. It’s understanding. AI adoption, people analytics, workforce intelligence, recruiting, skills development, HR technology. This conversation cuts through the noise and gets to what actually matters. In this episode… Cole Napper breaks down why AI adoption conversations are so confusing, why workforce analytics is more than dashboards and reporting, and why the future belongs to people who can connect data, decisions, and business outcomes. Sharp discussion on recruiting, skills gaps, AI strategy, talent intelligence, and workforce transformation. Key Takeaways : • Cole says most AI adoption conversations fail because people are discussing three completely different categories of AI without realizing it • Individual AI usage, vendor AI products, and enterprise AI systems create very different business outcomes • Organizations reporting major AI gains are usually talking about deeply integrated enterprise systems, not simple chatbot usage • AI implementation requires significant experimentation, iteration, and ongoing maintenance • New AI releases often create change management challenges for employees and organizations • Recruiting compensation expectations may be further apart today than at any point in Cole’s career • Candidate salary expectations and employer pay ranges continue to diverge significantly • Cole defines talent as “performance minus effort” • The highest-value employees create strong outcomes with less effort, friction, and wasted work • Workforce skill requirements are accelerating faster than many employees and employers are willing to adapt • Cole believes the growing skills gap could become one of the biggest workforce challenges of the next decade • Most people confuse workforce analytics with simply counting things and building dashboards • Analytics only becomes valuable when it creates insights that drive decisions and measurable business outcomes • A dashboard is useless if it cannot tell leaders what action to take next • Cole compares workforce intelligence to asking a weather forecast one question: “Do I need an umbrella?” • Organizations often spend too much time collecting data and not enough time generating intelligence • The most valuable business insights are often hidden in information that isn’t publicly shared • Companies doing truly innovative work rarely showcase every detail because it creates competitive advantage • Future workforce success will belong to people who can combine technical expertise, business thinking, communication, and creativity • Intelligence only matters when someone acts on it Guest : Cole Napper  Chief People Intelligence Officer at HRBench, author of People Analytics, founder of the Data Driven HR Academy, and one of the leading voices helping organizations turn workforce data into business intelligence and better decisions. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/colenapper/ Connect with Us :  William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined :  Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

    21 min
  6. 2 days ago

    AI Is Turning Recruiting Into a Trust Problem

    Every candidate suddenly sounds polished. Every resume looks optimized. Every interview answer feels rehearsed. Isela Conley breaks down what hiring leaders are quietly struggling with right now: figuring out who actually knows the job versus who just knows how to use AI better. Recruiting isn’t getting easier with AI. It’s getting noisier. Quality of hire, candidate experience, hiring managers, AI recruiting, talent operations. This conversation cuts into the operational reality most HR teams are dealing with behind the scenes. In this episode, Isela Conley explains why AI is making hiring harder instead of easier, how recruiting teams are adapting their interview processes, and why adoption matters more than features when rolling out HR tech. Sharp discussion on quality of hire, hiring manager enablement, recruiter operations, candidate experience, and AI-driven hiring decisions. Key Takeaways :  • Isela says AI is now involved in almost every stage of the candidate process • Candidates are using AI for resumes, interview prep, STAR responses, and prediction modeling • Hiring leaders now have to separate polished answers from real capability • “AI is fighting AI” was her description of modern recruiting • Quality of hire is the metric keeping her up at night • Recruiting teams are increasingly using AI to analyze interview scorecards and identify hiring patterns • Talent management today is less about process and more about enabling recruiters and hiring leaders • Companies are still recruiting employees long after they’re hired because retention never stops • Candidate experience surveys are becoming critical feedback loops for recruiting teams • Isela’s team measures interview-to-hire ratios and hire-to-production ratios closely • AI adoption inside organizations requires hands-on enablement, not just software rollouts • Her approach to adoption: draw a line in the sand and train people directly • Hiring managers adopt new systems faster once they see reduced stress and faster hiring outcomes • Podcasts, newsletters, and market feedback are core parts of how she stays current in recruiting Guest : Isela Conley Vice President, Talent Strategy & HR Operations at isolved, leading hiring strategy, recruiter operations, and talent enablement across a fast-moving HR tech environment. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/iselaconley/ Connect with Us :  William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined :  Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

    9 min
  7. 2 days ago

    HR Is Under More Scrutiny Than Ever. Are You Ready to Prove Your Decisions?

    The days of “trust us, we investigated it” are over. Jackie Schafer explains why HR teams are facing increasing pressure to document decisions, prove fairness, and back every conclusion with evidence. In a world of growing compliance scrutiny, good intentions are no longer enough. The future of HR may look a lot more like legal work than people expect. Employee relations, investigations, compliance, AI, workplace trust, talent management. This conversation explores how HR can balance accountability, dignity, and innovation at the same time. In this episode… Jackie Schafer shares why evidence-backed investigations are becoming critical for HR teams, how AI is changing workplace documentation, and why talent management extends far beyond recruiting. Sharp discussion on compliance, employee relations, leadership, innovation, and building trust through better processes. Key Takeaways : • Jackie believes talent management should cover the entire employee experience, not just hiring and development • Employee relations investigations are becoming a critical part of modern talent management • Every workplace complaint deserves a fair, evidence-based review rather than assumptions or shortcuts • HR leaders face increasing scrutiny around how discrimination and workplace complaints are investigated • Documentation quality can significantly impact legal risk and organizational trust • Jackie built Clearbrief to help ensure every statement in an investigation report is supported by evidence • Compliance mistakes can create far greater consequences than productivity mistakes • Respect and dignity should be extended to everyone involved in an investigation, regardless of the allegation • Innovation often comes from combining deep expertise with ideas borrowed from entirely different industries • Jackie says the best innovators become fluent in their field while staying curious about other disciplines • She started exploring AI's legal applications in 2019, years before mainstream adoption accelerated • Clearbrief is used by major law firms, courts, government agencies, Microsoft, and enterprise organizations • Jackie believes leaders are made through experience, mentorship, and continuous learning • Bad leaders can teach leadership lessons just as effectively as great leaders • Strong leaders evolve constantly by learning from conversations, challenges, and changing environments Guest : Jackie Schafer  Founder and CEO of Clearbrief, a legal and HR technology company helping organizations create evidence-backed investigations, improve compliance processes, and reduce risk through AI-powered documentation. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackieschafer/ Connect with Us :  William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined :  Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

    9 min
  8. 2 days ago

    You’re Hiring for Skills. The Best Companies Hire for Potential

    Most organizations are still measuring the wrong things. They hire for today’s job description while the role changes six months later. Art Jackson argues the companies winning the talent game aren’t looking for perfect resumes. They’re identifying the people who can adapt, learn, lead, and grow into what comes next. The problem isn’t talent. It’s what we choose to measure. Soft skills, workforce agility, AI, leadership, talent development, hiring strategy. This conversation challenges some of the oldest assumptions in recruiting and workforce planning. In this episode… Art Jackson explains why organizations need a new career code, why soft skills are becoming more valuable than technical expertise, and what the movie *Moneyball* can teach recruiters about hiring. Sharp discussion on leadership potential, critical thinking, AI, workforce development, and measuring what actually predicts success. Key Takeaways : • Art uses the *Moneyball* story to argue that companies often hire for the wrong metrics • The best hiring decisions focus on outcomes and potential, not just credentials and experience • Organizations should identify people who can grow into future roles, not just perform current ones • Art believes adaptability is becoming one of the most important workforce traits • His former manager promoted him into project management despite having no project management title or formal experience • The promotion happened because of demonstrated soft skills, not technical qualifications • Art argues accountability, focus, leadership, and people skills are harder to find than technical skills • Hard skills can often be taught quickly, while soft skills take years to develop • Many organizations still prioritize technical expertise over leadership capability • AI will automate tasks, but human judgment, empathy, coaching, and influence remain difficult to replicate • Art believes people using AI will outperform people who ignore it • Critical thinking is one of the most overlooked skills in education and workforce development today • Schools still focus heavily on technical subjects while spending less time developing human-centered skills • Some of the smartest technical employees struggle because they cannot communicate ideas clearly • Organizations often need leaders who can keep experts focused, aligned, and accountable • Art argues HR leaders should be strategic business partners, not just compliance managers Guest : Art Jackson Founder of Eagles Nest Performance Management and leadership strategist helping organizations identify high-potential talent, develop workforce agility, and build leadership pipelines that extend beyond traditional hiring metrics. LinkedIN :  https://www.linkedin.com/in/artjackson/ Connect with Us :  William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined :  Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

    14 min

About

Welcome to the official limited podcast series from SHRM Talent 2026, recorded live at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. In collaboration with SHRM, WRKdefined created this 33-episode series, which captures real conversations shaping the future of hiring, recruiting, talent acquisition, HR technology, leadership, workforce planning, candidate experience, AI at work, and the evolving world of work.  Across the series, WRKdefined sat down with HR practitioners, talent leaders, consultants, analysts, creators, founders, and technology providers to explore what’s actually happening inside modern HR and recruiting teams. No corporate theater. No overproduced sound bites. Just smart people sharing practical ideas, lessons learned, industry trends, and honest perspectives from one of the largest HR and talent events in the world.  SHRM Talent brings together thousands of HR and talent acquisition professionals focused on recruiting strategy, employee experience, workforce transformation, leadership development, hiring technology, and the future of work. This limited series extends those conversations beyond the conference walls and into the hands of HR professionals everywhere.  Whether you work in HR, recruiting, talent acquisition, people operations, HR tech, staffing, leadership, learning and development, or workforce strategy, these conversations were built for you. 33 episodes. One conference. Real conversations that matter. Recorded and produced by WRKdefined in collaboration with SHRM.

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