Episoder
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The future of recruiting isn’t coming. It’s already here. And if you’re still relying on your legacy tech stack and spreadsheets, you’re already behind.
Enter Steven Jiang, CEO and Co-founder of HireEZ, who just dropped one of the most important AI launches in the recruiting space - EZ Agent, their agentic AI companion built to fundamentally reshape the recruiter’s role.
Forget everything you know about “copilots” and “gen AI assistants.”
EZ Agent is not just another AI tool bolted onto your ATS. It’s a fully-integrated, always-on agent that plans, reasons, executes, and evolves - empowering recruiters to get out of the weeds and back into real talent relationships.
Steven joins Tim Sackett to break down:
• Why agentic AI isn’t just better - it’s a whole new operating system for recruiting
• How recruiters move from task managers to true talent strategists
• What it means to create a white-glove candidate experience at scale
• And how EZ Agent is solving the “black hole” problem by giving 100% of candidates a shot at the plate
Steven’s built more than a product - he’s building a movement to re-humanize recruiting with AI doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes.
If you care about talent, inclusion, and the future of work - this is the conversation you need to hear.
Connect with Us:
Steven Jiang
Follow Steven on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenhireez/
Learn more about HireEZ: https://hireez.com/
Book a Demo: https://hireez.com/customer-success/
Tim Sackett
Follow Tim on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timsackett
Need Help with Technical Recruiting: https://hrutech.com/
Read Tim’s Blog: https://timsackett.com/ -
AI isn't coming - it's here. And it's changing recruiting faster than most realize.
In this crossover episode between RecTech Media and HR Famous, Chris Russell and Tim Sackett dive into the latest from Phenom’s conference in Philadelphia.
2600 attendees.
25+ new AI agents rolled out.
And a vision for HR tech that feels more like science fiction than reality.
But what happens when AI isn’t just automating tasks - it’s making decisions? And if recruiters aren’t the ones screening candidates, curating talent pools, or delivering feedback, what’s left for them to do?
Phenom is betting big on agents that can reason - detecting mistakes, providing real-time feedback, even building personalized hiring experiences. And they’re not alone. Paradox and Eightfold are in the race, each taking different approaches to AI.
But is all this innovation really making hiring better? Or just faster?
If AI agents are handling the heavy lifting, where does that leave recruiters? And if everyone’s automating, what actually sets your hiring process apart?
Phenom claims they’re two years ahead of the industry. But if that’s true, what happens to everyone else still playing catch-up?
Listen to find out why this shift in HR tech could leave even the most seasoned recruiters rethinking their entire approach.
Connect with Us:
Chris Russell
Follow Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmrussell/
Check Out the RecTech Podcast: https://www.rectechmedia.com/podcast
Tim Sackett
Follow Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsackett
Visit Tim’s website: https://www.hrutech.com -
Manglende episoder?
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AI is showing up in every headline. But in the workplace?
Most people still aren’t sure what to do with it.
Enter Cam Sackett - a social media manager from Away, and Tim Sackett’s middle son. He joins HR Famous for a candid conversation on how Gen Z views AI at work, why creative teams are skeptical, and what’s missing from most company rollouts.
Cam shares how AI tools are marketed with bold promises but little instruction, and why “figure it out” isn’t a strategy.
He explains the tension between speed and trust in creative roles - and why, sometimes, knowing how to explain a phone to your grandma might make you the best person to lead AI adoption.
The real question? If AI is here to stay, who’s actually responsible for making it usable?
One thing’s clear: Gen Z isn’t rejecting AI. They’re just waiting for someone to make it make sense.
Connect with Us:
Cam Sackett
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameronsackett/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cameronsackett/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sackettc
Check Out Away: https://www.awaytravel.com/
Tim Sackett
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsackett/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@timsackett
Visit Tim’s Website: hrutech.com -
The workforce is shifting. Expectations are changing. And if companies aren’t paying attention, they’re already behind.
Enter Danielle Farage, a leading voice bridging the gap between Gen Z and the workplace.
She joins Tim Sackett to expose the disconnect - why leadership still doesn’t understand what younger workers want, why traditional career paths are losing their appeal, and what companies need to do before they lose top talent for good.
The real question? If Gen Z isn’t playing by the old rules, why are companies still running the same game?
Danielle breaks down the biggest shift in work culture we’ve seen in decades - and why most organizations aren’t prepared.
The companies that adapt will attract the best talent.
The ones that don’t may not have a future.
Connect with Us:
Danielle Farage
Follow Danielle on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danielle-farage
Learn More About the Top Future of Work Influencer: daniellefarage.com
Tim Sackett
Follow Tim on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timsackett
Visit Tim’s website: hrutech.com -
Hiring is broken - but not for the reasons you think.
Recruiters flood hiring managers with candidates, yet decision-makers hesitate to pull the trigger. The process drags, top talent walks, and organizations pay the price.
Tim Sackett isn’t here to sugarcoat it. In this unfiltered solo session, he lays out why the hiring machine is failing and what needs to change.
From hiring managers’ paradoxical indecision to the myth of "more candidates = better hires," he breaks down how talent acquisition teams have conditioned bad behavior - and why fixing it requires a shift in trust, process, and execution.
Then there’s Elon Musk. His blunt demand for accountability in government sent HR circles into a tailspin, but is he wrong?
Sackett cuts through the noise to dissect why performance management is broken and why most leaders are afraid to ask their employees the one question that actually matters.
The workforce is shifting.
The hiring game is changing.
If you’re still playing by the old rules, you’re already behind.
Connect with Us:
Tim Sackett
Follow Tim on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timsackett
Visit Tim’s website: hrutech.com -
AI is infiltrating HR in ways no one’s talking about - yet. The shift isn’t coming. It’s already here. And if you’re not paying attention, you’re already behind.
Enter Madeline Laurano, a leading analyst who’s been tracking AI’s silent takeover of HR technology. She joins Tim Sackett to break down what’s really happening beneath the surface - how AI agents are replacing traditional workflows, why the old way of hiring is crumbling, and what the biggest players like Workday and LinkedIn are doing to stay ahead.
The real question? If AI is making HR more efficient, what happens to the humans still doing the job?
Madeline unpacks the biggest shift in HR technology we’ve seen in decades - and why most organizations aren’t prepared.
The companies that adapt will redefine work.
The ones that don’t may not have a future.
Connect with Us:
Madeline Laurano
Follow Madeline on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/madelinelaurano
Learn more about Aptitude Research: aptituderesearch.com
Tim Sackett
Follow Tim on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timsackett
Visit Tim’s website: hrutech.com -
Marcus Stewart, Professor and Department Chair at Bentley University, has been studying workforce dynamics for years - and now, he’s watching the DEI movement take a nosedive while Gen Z struggles to find its footing in the workplace.
In this episode, Marcus joins me to break down two of the biggest workplace shifts happening right now: the quiet rollback of DEI initiatives and why so many companies are unimpressed with their Gen Z hires.
Is DEI truly dying, or is it just evolving? And when it comes to the next generation of workers, is the issue with Gen Z - or are we the problem?
With deep expertise in organizational behavior and leadership, Marcus brings candid insights into how shifting workplace expectations, economic realities, and cultural shifts are reshaping how companies hire, retain, and develop talent.
If you’re wondering what’s next for work, this episode is for you.
Connect with Us:
Marcus Stewart
Follow Marcus on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marcusstewart
Tim Sackett
Follow Tim on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timsackett
Visit Tim’s website: hrutech.com -
Jon Stross, Co-founder and CEO of Greenhouse, has been making headlines - but not for the reasons you'd expect.
In this episode, Jon joins Tim Sackett to tackle the growing problem of 'ghost jobs,' those elusive listings that leave candidates feeling duped and disheartened. But are companies really out to deceive, or is there more beneath the surface?
Jon guides us through the murky waters of hiring practices, from misunderstood job postings to the real reasons candidates get left in the dark. With candid insights from his recent Wall Street Journal feature and a deep dive into Greenhouse’s data, Jon doesn’t just spotlight the problem - he’s working on solutions that could change the game for job seekers and recruiters alike.
If you've ever applied for a job and heard nothing back, this one's for you.
Connect with Us:
Jon Stross
Follow Jon on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonstross
Learn more about Greenhouse: greenhouse.com
Tim Sackett
Follow Tim on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timsackett
Visit Tim’s website: hrutech.com -
On episode 116 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Madeline Laurano, Jessica Lee, and Tim Sackett come together to discuss their favorite Super Bowl commercials, Chat GPT, and how you can utilize AI to be a better leader. Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!
:30 - JLee had Chat GPT write an intro for this episode! It didn’t do a good job the first time, so she had it do a second pass to make it funnier.
2:00 - The crew didn’t think the Super Bowl commercials of 2023 were too exciting. Madeline and JLee’s favorite was the Clueless one, and Tim shouted out the Workday and Dunkin commercials
7:30 - Another podcast, another convo about Chat GPT and AI. Microsoft Bing is trying to become the top browser again, and JLee is on a waitlist to use the program.
10:00 - Tim’s 2023 keynote is all about the future of recruiting with AI. He thinks that the only limit of what AI can do in TA is the limit of our imaginations.
14:15 - Tim speaks to the importance of narration with AI. With AI, you have to be the expert on your topic, but you don’t have to produce anymore.
17:00 - Madeline thinks another area that AI will completely change is travel. Imagine traveling and having the whole trip planned by AI.
20:00 - Madeline is surprised that we haven’t seen more people talking about AI and Chat GPT in the TA space. She thinks some people may feel threatened by the topic.
23:45 - JLee runs through examples of how to use AI to help handle a tough situation with an emotional employee.
27:00 - JLee talks about how being open and not intimidated by AI can allow you to use it as leverage and become better. She uses a Teams tool that critiques how she speaks on calls and helps her improve the words she chooses.
31:00 - Tim thinks that Microsoft is the winner of the future of HR tech.
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On episode 115 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Madeline Laurano, Jessica Lee and Tim Sackett come together to discuss Ted Lasso, the everchanging recruiter experience, and Tim’s experience with the Michigan State shooting.
Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!
1:45 - Ted Lasso season 3 is on the horizon! The crew gives their prediction for the new season coming in March.
4:00 - Madeline and Tim did a roundtable recently about recruiter experience. Tim doesn’t think it matters anymore, and JLee asks Tim to define it.
8:00 - Madeline mentions that a lot of people don’t know what recruiters do. Tim says that recruiting is the job that everyone thinks they can do.
9:15 - Tim says that when he was running TA at larger companies, senior leadership felt very comfortable giving advice to him about how to recruit, even though their advice was unfounded.
12:00 - JLee and Tim talk about how being a recruiter isn’t one of the hardest jobs that one could have. There are a lot of other jobs that require a lot out of the people who hold those positions.
15:30 - Madeline brings up a study they did at Disney where they found that the most important position at all of the Disney parks was the street sweepers.
18:30 - Tim’s opinion is that Chat GPT is going to change the landscape of everything in TA & recruiting. He says that the only thing that can’t be replaced by AI is the real conversation a recruiter has with a candidate.
21:30 - Madeline mentions a company who measures their recruiter productivity by getting them to “inbox zero”. She says she could never be a recruiter if this is a standard she was held to.
24:00 - Tim and JLee say they’d never judge one of the people they manage by the number of emails in their inbox. JLee judges people by the battery level of their devices.
27:30 - Tim’s son goes to Michigan State, and he runs a business in Lansing. He talks about his experience with and the aftermath of the shooting that happened on campus recently.
36:15 - Madeline asks Tim what he did about closing his business in the aftermath. Tim said that his Teams work groups were very active around the time of the shooting
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On episode 114 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Jessica Lee and Tim Sackett come together to discuss their favorite (and least favorite) Oscar-nominated movies, the difficulty of finding childcare, and how to handle annoying entry-level job tasks. Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!
1:00 - Madeline isn’t here because of last-minute child needs. Tim’s an empty nester and he says his kids’ still interrupt his life!
2:45 - It’s awards season and JLee and Tim are on the opposite ends of the spectrum on a big frontrunner, Everything Everywhere All At Once. Tim thought it was terrible, and JLee adores it. (Producer Cam, Tim’s son, is here to say Tim is horribly wrong, sorry Dad!!!).
7:30 - JLee diagnoses Tim with a savior complex which prevents him from watching/liking a lot of media. He’s a papa bear!
9:00 - JLee shouts out the Banshees of Inisherin. She says it’s one of the strangest movies she’s seen in a long time but also one of the best.
11:30 - This Wall Street Journal article has documented how childcare numbers haven’t recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Tim asks JLee if there are any things that JLee’s company is doing to help combat the loss of childcare.
16:00 - Tim has an idea to replicate Uber surge pricing with childcare to help out the childcare companies and also help those who have flexibility with their working situations.
19:00 - JLee notes that her colleagues know that when she’s working from home, there will most likely be children walking in her background. She gets good feedback from her team about the involvement of her kids in her work life.
23:30 - KD sent in an article about a congressperson’s staffer who has filed complaints against their boss. They felt like they were being taken advantage of. Tim reminisces on the things that he was asked to do when he was in entry-level jobs.
26:45 - Tim notes that a lot of the complaints over being asked to complete these kinds of tasks depend on who the person asking is. A specific person can make these tasks feel meaningful.
29:30 - Tim’s advice to entry-level/young people in careers is to be one of the last few people to leave the office. He warns against being “the early person” in the office and urges them to become the late person.
32:30 - Tim wants a “scoreboard” of badge swipes into the office. He thinks everyone will be in the office as soon as that’s implemented.
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On episode 113 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Jessica Lee and Tim Sackett come together to discuss Chat GPT and Tim’s utopian view if remote employees are more or less engaged and how we should be doing holiday parties.
Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!
2:00 - Tim said he needs to add stretching to his New Year’s resolution list.
3:15 - Tim is extremely fascinated by Chat GPT (which may or may not take over this podcast). JLee tested it with her husband when she asked Chat GPT to write a Thank You letter after a job interview.
7:00 - JLee thinks it’s really fascinating when Chat GPT is looked at as a tool as a Kickstarter for writing in a business format. Madeline mentioned in a previous episode how editing and revision might become more important in the future instead of writing.
11:00 - On a basic level, JLee thinks there will be a behavior change from talking to an AI/chatbot as a “machine” to talking to them as you would a normal person.
15:00 - Tim has a utopian hope of the world with AI. He thinks it will be able to free us from our work and give us back time to dedicate to our families, ourselves, and our world.
17:30 - Harvard Business Review released an article (with a very bad title, according to Tim) titled “No, Remote Employees Aren’t Becoming Less Engaged.” They pulled data from Teams and Outlook and found that remote employees have more meetings, and thus, they’re more engaged.
19:30 - JLee loves HBR and still gets HBR in the mail. She thinks that engagement being defined by meetings is a silly proposition.
21:30 - Tim says that everyone will fall differently on the productivity spectrum in regard to remote work. He thinks you can’t make a sweeping generalization about whether it’s more or less productive to work remotely.
24:00 - JLee notes that she’s been focusing on “meeting fatigue” and how to get creative on who needs to be in meetings and how many meetings actually need to be happening.
26:15 - The holiday season is right behind us, and many companies have recently gotten through layoffs. Tim notes that office parties and bonuses have been things on the chopping block. Tim asks the question, “can we have good employee experience events without spending a lot of money?”.
28:00 - JLee says that it comes down to what employees really care about. Do we really want holiday parties?
31:20 - Tim asked Chat GPT if employees like holiday parties. It gave a pretty good response! -
On episode 112 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Jessica Lee, Madeline Laurano, and Tim Sackett come together to discuss what they’re hoping to learn in 2023, the extra burden placed on women in Executive level roles, and unrealistic hopes for pay increases.
Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!
1:00 - JLee asks the crew what is one thing that they want to learn in 2023. JLee has only ridden a bike a few times, and she wants to master riding a bike this year. Madeline’s goal is to get better at golfing.
4:15 - Tim is taking his Jewish family to Israel this year. His youngest son, Cooper, is learning Hebrew at school, and Tim wants to learn some of that language.
6:15 - JLee brings up an article from Fortune about women in C-Suite or Executive level positions and how they may have to pay a lot of money on childcare and household help. JLee asks Madeline if we are talking about this topic enough.
8:50 - Madeline tells a story about her son, who had a female friend over. She told the kids she just needed to take some time to clean up and her son’s friend said to her, “don’t you have a cleaner?”.
11:30 - Tim mentions how when his mom was starting her business, she hired Tim’s Grandma to come to clean the house while she worked.
14:00 - Madeline thinks that there is more stigma around people hiring for childcare help than household help.
16:45 - Tim wonders how much of this is American culture vs. culture from all around the world. He mentions how shocked he was when he visited South Africa, and he saw how much help middle-class white families had for their everyday life.
20:30 - Lesson of the day: parenting is not easy and it’s near impossible to do it all by yourself!
21:30 - Bloomberg reported on the unrealistic high hopes that employees have for pay hikes in the new year. JLee asks the crew if they are seeing this in the workplace.
24:45 - Madeline notes how it still is an employee/candidate first market due to the number of jobs available. She does think that due to the layoffs happening across the workforce, the behavior of asking for raises may change.
29:00 - JLee notes that any publicly traded company has to listen to its shareholders and what they think is best for the business. A big question for these companies is, “who are we in service to?”.
31:30 - When can you stop saying Happy New Year? Madeline thinks she could go to 1/30, but Tim only gives it two weeks. -
On episode 111 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Jessica Lee, Madeline Laurano, and Tim Sackett come together to discuss 2022 and give their thoughts about this year in HR and talent.
Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!
1:00 - Tim asks the crew what their favorite TV show, movie, or book from 2022 was. Madeline is a big Euphoria fan, JLee loved Ted Lasso, and Tim couldn’t choose one (House of Dragon, Peaky Blinders. 2022 was a great year for TV!
8:00 - The crew name some of their favorites (Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is Madeline’s). Tim loves Talent by Tyler Cowen.
10:00 - JLee tried to get Cowen to come speak at a Marriott event and she found that he isn’t too fond of HR folks. She wants to dig in with him and see his real feelings about people who work in HR.
12:00 - It’s time for the HR and talent year in review! JLee mentions the transition from The Great Resignation into Quiet Quitting. She found that we can get worked up over things that end up not being as noteworthy in the long run.
14:00 - Tim tried to make “The Big Regret” happened but it never took off…
16:50 - Tim thinks that the HR and talent community needs someone that we can trust for facts and information. He shouts out Roy from SHRM for his journalism work.
19:00 - Madeline brings up how the biggest topic that isn’t being discussed in HR is the rise of freelancing within the job market. She notes that by 2030, 50% of an organization’s workforce will be freelancers.
24:00 - Tim says that he thinks there has been a de-emphasis on DEI in 2022. Madeline thinks that within the HR technology space, DEI wasn’t the hot topic of the year. JLee notes that in 2020 there were so many topics culturally that forced the conversations around DEI to be at the forefront.
26:00 - As we look ahead to 2023, Tim asks the team what points of emphasis he sees coming to the head. Madeline thinks the skills conversation has surprised her in its prominence. She thinks it’s the topic that everyone is obsessed with.
28:00 - Tim asks JLee where they are at Marriott with skills. She thinks that organizations can be intimidated by the topic and that people are over contemplating where to get started.
31:30 - JLee’s focus for 2023 is AI and how it will affect content creation. -
On episode 109 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Tim Sackett and Kris Dunn come together to discuss the rise of tech layoffs, Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, and how to be a recession-proof recruiter.
Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!
1:30 - Tim shares that it feels like the world is on fire with tech layoffs everywhere around us. KD says Marriott is still hiring strong. KD is finding that the “recession” is impacting particular industries more than others unlike any other recession before.
4:30 - Tim shares some stats around hiring and unemployment. The projected unemployment rate isn’t expected to increase that much in the next 10 years. Tim notes that we’re not making enough people to fill jobs.
6:40 - KD has a rising senior in college and he is nervous about an impending recession so he made a move to secure a job at a past employer for post-grad.
11:40 - As we all know, Elon Musk bought Twitter and gutted the Twitter staff. There have been a lot of rumors swirling around that Twitter is on the edge of shutting down any day.
16:00 - Elon made an email to the Twitter employee saying that it’s going to be a hard place to work at. KD references Tony Hsieh from Zappos when he would give his employees money to leave if their company wasn’t for them.
20:00 - Tim notes that these are mature companies, not start-ups and they have to be cognizant of their burn rates.
21:45 - Tim asks KD what recruiters aren’t going to lose their jobs. KD notes that it will be highly dependent on the type of positions being recruited for and the culture of the company they work for but ultimately, it depends on how many positions they close.
24:20 - Another trait that KD notes in a recession-proof recruiter is the handling of a hiring manager relationship. This depends on how they handle updates and how they help and influence the efficiency of the process. Tim also thinks it’s important to have the skill set of an HR generalist.
29:30 - Tim thinks it’s vital to be visible as an employee. Although that doesn’t mean you have to be in the office, you have to put yourself out there in whatever space you’re in. -
On episode 108 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Jessica Lee, Madeline Laurano, and Tim Sackett come together to discuss problematic executives, all the functions HR serves, and Tim’s campus recruiting experience!
Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!
1:00 - JLee asks the crew what famous movies they haven’t seen that they should see. JLee has never seen The Shining or Princess Bride.
4:20 - JLee mentions the news of a senior Apple executive due to him making a vile joke in a TikTok video. This viral TikTok format asks people how much money they make and what they do for work.
7:15 - Madeline brings up a similar situation in the Boston Celtics coach getting fired for having an affair with one of his co-workers.
11:00 - JLee and Madeline are the cool moms in town!
13:00 - JLee brings up the extra functions that HR often gets assigned to, like party and events planning. She thinks that this could be a failure upon managers and leaders for not taking accountability in something like career growth for their employees.
16:00 - Tim talks about the 3 responsibilities he sees for a people manager: fiscal responsibility, building a well-rounded team, and maintaining and developing that well-rounded team. Then, HR can help support these functions in whatever way they can.
22:30 - Tim asks the question “why would you outsource the most important thing to your company” while talking about RPOs and outsourcing recruiting.
27:00 - Madeline brings up the trauma of the 2021 hiring craze and how this may impact the job security of recruiters. Tim talked about a company that he talked to that re-positioned their recruiters when there was a downturn in their company, so they didn’t have to lay anyone off.
30:30 - JLee mentions that the people who stayed on at Marriott during the pandemic were the “swiss army knives”, the people who were versatile and could fit in anywhere.
31:30 - Madeline asks if people will seek out being a recruiter or if it will be seen as a stepping stone to different jobs. Tim thinks that more colleges and universities will develop programs for recruiters and the importance of recruiters at companies will grow.
34:00 - Anyone want to see a sitcom about Tim’s campus recruiting experience?? -
On episode 107 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Jessica Lee, Madeline Laurano, and Tim Sackett come together to discuss all things 2022 HR Tech!
1:30 - Tim has recently been on the conference circuit, and he loves the in-person energy!
2:00 - JLee was recently speaking at an event, and she was asked for pictures after her talk. She asks the crew what to do in that situation.
7:30 - Tim and Madeline went back to HR Tech and felt the big energy at the conference. Madeline says the expo was bigger than she’s ever seen
11:45 - Madeline says that the Women In Tech sessions were so packed that they couldn’t let anyone else in!
14:45 - Tim asks JLee what would get her to come to HR Tech on a regular basis. She says that she doesn’t know if she would since she’s so inundated with content and pitches from vendors and it would feel duplicative for her to go to a vendor event.
17:40 - Tim thinks it’s a mistake by vendors to try and influence big VPs and CHROs rather than talking to director and manager levels about their products who are actually in the trenches.
21:45 - Tim and Madeline are really excited by some up-and-coming texting technologies, especially for frontline workers.
25:45 - Madeline calls out some providers who are doing the workaround skills, but she notes that there are some start-ups and ATS’s who are lumped in that maybe shouldn’t be.
29:00 - Tim asks the crew what these HR conferences are missing. JLee thinks that the conferences should provide a deck for attendees to take back to their teams and share what they learned.
34:20 - Can we pick a better place for HR conferences? JLee is sick of Vegas, but Tim and Madeline think it’s hard to host anywhere else because of the size of the conferences.
35:30 - Tim shares a story about the “BFF Happy Hour,” where Kyle Lagunas came in and started the whole party. Tim and Madeline had to play mom and dad in order to keep the event in check. -
On episode 106 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Madeline Laurano and Tim Sackett with special friend Kyle Lagunas come together to discuss Global TA day, the first people to be laid off in a recession, and why recruiters won’t be laid off as quickly as we think.
Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!
1:00 - Welcome to the pod, Kyle Lagunas! JLee is a busy gal and is out this week.
3:30 - Tim asks if they go to the grocery store or if they get their food delivered. Kyle likes his time at the market, and Madeline tries to do delivery.
5:00 - Tim has a whole setup for his Global TA Day: prizes, ice cream social, lunch & learns, and more!
7:00 - Tim put up a LinkedIn post leaning into “hustle porn” and ripped on quiet quitters and how he can’t wait to pass them. Kyle says he’s going to rip him to shreds.
9:30 - Business Insider, a pod favorite, put out an article about the first to be laid off in an economic downturn. The categories offered are recent hires, high earners, Millennials,
12:30 - Madeline talks about why she thinks recent hires may not be fired as quickly as they suggest due to the re-skilling turnover.
15:30 - Tim talks about how Ford had a pretty major layoff, but it was for a very specific reason, the emphasis on EVs.
19:00 - Madeline brings up how we’re still writing and talking about Millennials as if they’re kids. Many Millennials are 40 or pushing it.
21:15 - Tim and his oldest son told a guy they were golfing with that, “I didn’t get good until my Dad stopped coaching me.” Tim said it was a dagger to the heart.
23:00 - This list shares that recruiters are the most likely to be laid off. The crew is quite surprised that this is still the case in a world where companies are having a lot of trouble hiring recruiters.
26:00 - Kyle is really worried about the ramifications that something like this list could have. He says that morale is really low in the TA space, and this could force people to leave the profession.
29:00 - Madeline is surprised that there is nothing on this list about the number of hours worked per day. She thinks there is a signifier in the likelihood of being laid off with the number of hours worked per day.
33:00 - Tim thinks one of the hardest things is to plan a workforce, and HR can struggle at interpreting data and inputs to plan accordingly. -
On episode 105 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Madeline Laurano, Jessica Lee, and Tim Sackett come together to discuss work spouses, length of service awards, and the best new candle to buy as a gift!
Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!
2:00 - Tim’s headed on a summer vacation to the Cayman Islands. Although it’ll be hot, he’ll be by the ocean!
5:00 - JLee loves these candles, and Tim sent a cheeky one to the crew.
7:20 - JLee asks Tim about his 2 work wives. They’ve been working with him for over 10 years and have been through a lot together. She wonders how he has work wives when he’s in charge of the company. 1
0:00 - Madeline said her work relationships have changed since she started her firm. Now, her work wives/husbands are other industry people, not people that work for and with her.
12:30 - Tim talks about someone who he worked for a long time with that left recently and how her leaving was a lot harder than he expected.
15:00 - JLee brings up the topic of “length of service” awards and how people want to be recognized. She asks the crew what we should be doing with these awards.
18:30 - Madeline did research in 2021 if they had received any recognition in that year for their work. She found that only ½ employees received a “thank you” in the first year of the pandemic.
21:30 - Tim likes the “points” system where you give out other recognition gifts and points to people you find doing a good job at the company.
24:00 - JLee notes a study where at their hotels, smaller gestures are more impactful and meaningful than really big events and “wows” that require a lot of time and work.
25:30 - Amazon color-coded their badges to reflect how long they’ve been at the company. JLee says that they got a lot of hate for this, but Tim says that he likes the idea.
30:00 - Tim mentions that when he’s doing recognition with his team, he tries to get them something they would never get for themselves and something that is really high quality. He thinks recognition gifts should be good quality regardless of price point. -
On episode 104 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Madeline Laurano, Jessica Lee, and Tim Sackett come together to discuss catalogs, the follow-up to The Great Recession, and Tesla’s latest drama.
Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!
2:15 - Does anyone still get catalogs? Tim and Madeline still get tons sent to their houses.
4:30 - Tim thinks that a mailer would work well as a recruitment tactic, even better than email or texting.
5:15 - Tim shares a story that he’s going to put in his book! You heard it here first, folks.
8:30 - Tim’s story revolves around a marketing study where they asked a community what the top realtor in their area was. They created a fake realtor, did some marketing, and then re-asked the community who the top realtor is.
10:00 - Studies are showing that a large number of people who left their jobs during The Great Resignation are regretting their decision to leave their previous position. Madeline thinks that these shifts were pay driven and people didn’t take into account other factors.
13:40 - Tim said he had regrets when he left Applebee’s. Although it seemed like the right decision, he felt the repercussion of the decision almost instantly.
20:30 - Tim was at SHRM a few weeks ago and a lot of the discussions had “The Great Recession” in their title.
21:30 - Tesla and Elon Musk are tracking office attendance by following the “office ID swipe ins”. If you can’t come in, employees are supposed to email in a message that they won’t be in office today. Tim thinks this is draconian and feels very similar to calling in sick for your kids at school.
24:45 - Tim says that he’s embarrassed by the amount of people he’s had to fire by “pulling swipes”.
30:00 - JLee hired someone recently that was affected by the Tesla layoffs and the new hire said that the reports of the layoffs are pretty accurate.
33:00 - JLee mentions how often when layoffs are happening, HR professionals are given scripts for legal reasons but there are ways to make it seem more human and empathetic.
36:30 - Madeline was a part of an analyst firm where there were secret talks about layoffs and she felt like they handled it poorly in comparison to JLee’s Marriot example. - Vis mere
