Big Fish in the Talent Pool Erin McDermott Peterson

This episode of Big Fish in the Talent Pool is inspired by some beginning-of-the-year introspection. In 2022, I am focusing on making a little more “space” for myself, my family, and my clients. By allocating time for my relationships, I have decided to pause the podcast, at least for a while.

I thought a nice capstone before my break would be a recent conversation I had with Kevin Grossman at the Talent Board. We talk about PeopleResults, our TA practice, a little about my career, and the never-ending quest to improve the candidate experience.

Over the last four years, I have been fortunate to interview TA Leaders such as David Reed of Vail Resorts, Carly Sanchez of Wells Fargo, Sylvette Sawyer of OpenDoor, Rob Dromgoole of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Diana Barr of Boeing, Stephanie Zywien of General Motors, and Tim Streeter of (formerly) Whirlpool. Big leaders - all - and each with diverse views on industry best practices, their path to TA Leadership, and the latest TA technology.

One final note, I am dedicating this capstone episode to my Grandma Svea (who is 100 and still kicking!) for modeling what it's like to pour your heart and soul into your work and your family. Thank you, Grandma!

As always, many thanks to our Sponsors!
Paradox/Olivia: www.paradox.ai
ATAP: www.ATAPglobal.org
RPOA: www.RPOAssociation.org
ERE: www.ere.net

Topics Discussed:
Improving the Candidate Experience
Outsourcing technology with RPO partners
Data as the great equalizer

Connect with Erin Peterson

Erin is a Talent Acquisition Consultant, Interim Leader, and RPO Advisor with PeopleResults. She has led TA and RPO globally for some of the most successful organizations in the world including Accenture, Aon Hewitt, and Amazon.

She translates her unique global experience to help clients with TA strategy, employment branding, onboarding, candidate experience, and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) decisions.

Connect on Social


Website: https://www.people-results.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erinpeterson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErinMcPeterson

In this episode, you'll listen in on Erin's conversation with two emerging TA Leaders, Courtney Connor of Sequoia Consulting Group and Julia "Wonder Woman" Adler of Wayne Technologies. These "Future Big Fish" share their unique perspective from their 4-5 years of experience in consulting, staffing, and sourcing.

They discuss their views of TA Leadership from an individual contributor perspective, the importance of keeping up with ever-evolving technologies, and their favorite TA technology right now. Both Courtney and Julia share their insight into why the younger generation is disrupting the status quo of leadership and following new, alternative avenues of success outside of typical paths to “success”.

Throughout this conversation, there is a lot in store for both Big Fish and Future Big Fish listeners alike. And as for the more seasoned TA Leaders, stay tuned to hear how Courtney and Julia answer the question, "Fill in the Blank: We could fix Recruiting if only we would…__________.” Their answers might surprise you!

Thanks to our Sponsors!
Paradox/Olivia: www.paradox.ai
ATAP: www.ATAPglobal.org
RPOA: www.RPOAssociation.org

Topics Discussed:


Creating healthy communication loops across the team
Providing options for growth with team members with diverse goals
Different ways to create a transparent culture
Destigmatizing mental health in the workplace
Focusing on collaboration and shared success rather than competition within a team

Connect with Julia Adler

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adlerjulia/?jobid=1234

Connect with Courtney Connor


LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyconnor/?jobid=1234

Connect with Erin Peterson

Erin is a Talent Acquisition Consultant, Interim Leader, and RPO Advisor with PeopleResults. She has led TA and RPO globally for some of the most successful organizations in the world including Accenture, Aon Hewitt, and Amazon.

She translates her unique global experience to help clients with TA strategy, employment branding, onboarding, candidate experience, and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) decisions.


Connect on Social
Website: https://www.people-results.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erinpeterson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErinMcPeterson

Trent Cotton is the Vice President of Talent Acquisition (TA) and Retention of Bureau Veritas Group, having pivoted his career from a focus on lending to talent after recognizing the close connection between the two. He draws keen insights on recruitment from his early career in banking, having learned from some tough customers like the “Chicken Lender” as well as his first mentor who gave him an honest earful after their first client pitch.

Now with a boatload of TA accomplishments and leadership positions as his foundation, Trent applies the principles of Agile methodology to Talent Acquisition in his book Sprint Recruiting - Innovate, Iterate, Accelerate. He shares numerous examples of taking the team he leads to a new level of confidence and productivity by setting healthy boundaries and expectations with Hiring Managers and candidates. It’s worth the listen just to hear Trent’s entertaining stories, as well as his practical approach to running an efficient TA operation. Enjoy!

Thanks to our Sponsors!
Paradox/Olivia: www.paradox.ai
ATAP: www.ATAPglobal.org
RPOA: www.RPOAssociation.org

Jacob Kramer is the VP of Talent Acquisition at US Xpress, Inc., a job he got by pitching his ideas to the CEO and Head of HR for automating recruitment in their industry. He had transformed stylist hiring for Regis Corp and saw synergies that could apply. So he took a risk, made the pitch, and the rest is history.

A self-proclaimed introvert with a drive to solve big recruiting challenges, Jacob Kramer has a knack for using Recruitment Process Automation to replace time-consuming, manual steps in large-scale recruitment. Then he takes it a step further. Never one to be content with the status quo, Jacob challenges his vendors to create and deliver groundbreaking enhancements. Listen as he describes how he and his team germinated the idea of a geo-fenced AI Assistant who, based on census data, matches candidate demographics. No more generic bots for US Xpress candidates!

My favorite quote from our conversation? “You can only fail forward. Anything worth doing is going to be difficult, and you're going to fail. But each day, you make improvements.” Indeed!

Thanks to our Sponsors!
Paradox/Olivia: www.paradox.ai
ATAP www.ATAPglobal.org
RPOA www.RPOAssociation.org

Topics Discussed:


Focusing solutions on business results, the candidate (and team) experience
Stepping out of your comfort zone to make sweeping change
The power of failing often and “Failing Forward”
Pushing your vendors to “outside of the box” solutions

Connect with Jacob Kramer:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobkramer1/?jobid=1234

Connect with Erin Peterson:

Erin is a Talent Acquisition Consultant, Interim Leader, and RPO Advisor with PeopleResults. She has led TA and RPO globally for some of the most successful organizations in the world including Accenture, Aon Hewitt, and Amazon.

She translates her unique global experience to help clients with TA strategy, employment branding, onboarding, candidate experience, and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) decisions.

Connect on Social:
Website: https://www.people-results.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erinpeterson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErinMcPeterson

Lianne Daues is the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Core-Mark International, having cut her teeth at The Container Store, JC Penney and originally Rehab Care. The progressive steps in TA and eventually leadership were on the advice of a mentor who encouraged Lianne early on to consider Recruiting as a potential career path, which she did, and she’s never looked back.

Today, Lianne is doubling down on Conversational AI as a strategy to transform Core-Mark’s recruitment approach, as she tackles the challenge of over 5,000 hires annually, most of them hourly. In Lianne’s words, “If [TA] organizations aren't looking at technology [to drive process], then they’re already behind.”

Thanks to our Sponsors!
Paradox/Olivia: www.paradox.ai
ATAP www.ATAPglobal.org
RPOA www.RPOAssociation.org

Topics Discussed:


Adjusting Communication & Strategy with Business Partners
How taking risks can increase your chance of success
Relationships as the Major Influencer for your Brand

Connect with Lianne Daues:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lianne-daues-b32a154/?jobid=1234

Connect with Erin Peterson:

Erin is a Talent Acquisition Consultant, Interim Leader, and RPO Advisor with PeopleResults. She has led TA and RPO globally for some of the most successful organizations in the world including Accenture, Aon Hewitt, and Amazon.

She translates her unique global experience to help clients with TA strategy, employment branding, onboarding, candidate experience, and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) decisions.

Connect on Social:
Website: https://www.people-results.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erinpeterson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErinMcPeterson

Tim Streeter is the classic example of Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind, living out the power of using both left brain and right brain simultaneously in his Global Talent Acquisition leadership roles at Whirlpool and Accenture, and in the rest of his life. Where does he find the time and energy to flex into both realms in everything he does? That’s Tim’s secret, which he gladly shares in his book, The Contentment Commitment, and on Episode 38 of Big Fish in the Talent Pool.

With degrees in Economics and Math, we could expect him to be all quantitative analysis and data, on which he does rely heavily. But he’s also a great communicator, a strong people leader, a competitive soccer player, an author, and a musician, having made 9 albums over the past 10 years. Tim is creating his own legacy one purposeful decision at a time. Listen and be inspired!

We hope you enjoy the fast-paced chat on Big Fish in the Talent Pool on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you access podcasts. And when you do, please be sure to rate and review us. We’d love your feedback and it will help others find us.

Erin McDermott Peterson is a Partner with PeopleResults helping clients as a Talent Acquisition Consultant, Interim Leader, and RPO Advisor. She has led TA and RPO globally for some of the most successful organizations in the world including Accenture, Aon Hewitt, and Amazon. She translates her unique global experience to help clients with TA strategy, candidate experience, and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) decisions.

Follow her on Twitter @ErinMcPeterson, connect via linkedin.com/in/erinpeterson or email at epeterson@people-results.com.
Thanks to our Sponsors!
Paradox/Olivia: www.paradox.ai
ATAP www.ATAPglobal.org
RPOA www.RPOAssociation.org


Topics Discussed:


Finding the best ideas through experimentation and data

Leveraging key resources to find the best TA Technology for you

The power of data and metrics in making the case for change

Work-Life Balance & what it means to say “yes” to the things that matter most

The Six Dimensions of Contentment in your personal & professional life

Additional Resources:


TopFunnel: https://www.topfunnel.com/
TechLabs: https://www.techlabs.org
Plum: https://www.plum.io
Handshake: https://joinhandshake.com
SeekOut: https://seekout.com

Connect with Tim Streeter:

Website: https://www.contentmentcommitment.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothycstreeter/

Additional Resources:

Contentment Commitment (Book): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097YYDJWP
T Street Players (Music): https://www.tstreetplayers.com

Connect with Erin Peterson:

Erin is a Talent Acquisition Consultant, Interim Leader, and RPO Advisor with PeopleResults. She has led TA and RPO globally for some of the most successful organizations in the world including Accenture, Aon Hewitt, and Amazon.

She translates her unique global experience to help clients with TA strategy, employment branding, onboarding, candidate experience, and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) decisions.

Connect on Social:
Website: https://www.people-results.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erinpeterson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErinMcPeterson