TaPod - for everything Talent Acquisition...

This week on Tapod, Bonnie Crook steps in as guest co-host and we catch up with Lauren Humphrey, Co-Founder and CEO at The Mintable All of us think we're great Managers right? But the fact is most people leave their role due to their Manager, so how do we actually give feedback that doesn't suck? With 5 generations in the workplace, it's different strokes for different folks, but at the end of the day, being a good person is a great start! Thanks to Check Work Rights for your support this month. 

This week on Tapod we revisit our trip to Singapore and the HR Tech Asia Series—four quick interviews with key professionals from the Asian TA scene. Today we are featuring Jay Chan—Executive Director, Head of Talent Acquisition, Group Human Resources @UOB, one of Southeast Asia's leading banks. With over 30k employees, 5-6k hires a year and a presence in 19 countries, UOB is a huge enterprise. It's a great discussion where we focus in on volume hiring and managing 1000s of applications. How do you recruit faster, better and more efficiently? Answers incoming! Thanks so much to Paradox for partnering with us this series. 

Today on the Scoop, the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News, including… fake AI (you really need to hear this), TA is not as important to ‘C' Suite as it was 12 months ago (unless you're in Asia), PWC reckons AI is NOT taking jobs, great TA initiatives coming out of India, Gen Z are at it again, and much more! Thanks to Indeed for your ongoing support. And don't forget… the ITAs nominations have been extended for a week until the 15th June – don't miss out! 

This week on Tapod we catch up with Mark Condon, Global Workforce Strategy Expert and Future of Work Advisor @QuantumWorkAdvisory. There is a lot going on right now in the world of talent, and there is a definite shift in strategy from skills-based hiring to AI to design thinking to tasks and talent providing a ROI for the business. Looking to build an internal business case? You've come to the right place.Thanks so much to Check Work Rights for partnering with us for June. 

This week on Tapod we revisit our trip to Singapore and the HR Tech Asia Series—four quick interviews with key professionals from the Asian TA scene. Today we are featuring Amanda Zhou—Regional Talent & Organisation Development Manager @Shiseido. Amanda's team covers recruitment, onboarding, career development, and more and this is a fascinating insight into recruitment at a global cosmetics enterprise. Thanks so much to Paradox for partnering with us this series 

Today on the Scoop the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News including… increase to the minimum wage… AI accelerates the move to Talent Advisory… the jury is in on Hybrid work… lies during interviews… Gen Z embracing bleisure trips and much, much more Thanks to Indeed for your ongoing support. And don't forget… the ITAs nominations have been extended for a week until the 15th of June—don't miss out! 

This week on Tapod we catch up with an old friend – Joanne Lockwood – the inclusive culture expert @SeeChangeHappen. Jo's journey is fascinating and so very important to all of us – particularly in a world going backwards. This episode is longer than most, but it's well worth it. We cover all manner of challenges in the inclusivity space, from recent changes in the UK around the definition of sex, US executive orders affecting the LGBTQIA+ community, gender disparity and more. It's raw, it's emotive, and it's essential listening Thanks so much to Check Work Rights for partnering with us for June. 

Today on the Scoop, the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News, including…  the death of the digital nomad… some interesting job data in NZ and globally… trouble at Workday… what's the most in-demand Tech role?  Grad market update… Tech workers joining the union… Gen Z lying on their job applications and much more. Thanks to Indeed for your ongoing support. 

This week on Tapod we are lucky to catch up with Alex Thomson – Head of TA and Mobility at Australia Post. We cover all manner of topics, including mushroom sales in South Gippsland, but that's not why we got Alex in… Everybody knows Australia Post – they are an iconic brand across the country. But what happens when progress demands change and evolution? Well, strap in and you'll find out! Thanks so much to Phenom for partnering with us for May. 

Today on the Scoop the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News including, big news from Recfest UK, Bad news from Microsoft, Nissan and Recruitment Agencies, but good news from McDonalds, Loud Labourers, Smiley emojis, Callam Pickering puts on his economist hat and talks us through the RBA interest rate cut and much more. Thanks to Indeed for your ongoing support.

This week on Tapod we sit down with Manoj Kenadath, Senior Principal Strategist, TA at Atlassian. Following on from his brilliant session with Pavi Iyer at the Sydney NJA People & Talent Summit in March, Manoj guides us through the amazing world of building an impactful Talent Strategy. From understanding wider business strategy to the existing strengths of your team and processes, it's important to start by looking inward. But that's just the beginning! If you are looking to ‘power-up' your function, this episode is just for you! Thanks so much to Phenom for partnering with us for May. 

It's time for our vendor-led Tapod episode (Yay!) and this month we get under the hood of Phenom with Dan Ridd and Meredith Wellard. Phenom is a hire-to-retire solution and now includes new AI Agents that are solving industry-specific hiring, development, and retention challenges – and reshaping how Talent functions collaborate with AI. Meredith gives us a live case study from DHL. With 600k employees and 120-150k hires per year, Phenom really hits their sweet spot! Hope you enjoy. 

Today on the Scoop the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News. In the week following their Singapore adventure, the crew give their highlights of their trip, including Craig's elite bike-riding skills. The news was also epic, including the new ‘it' roles, slow recruitment processes costing candidates, people vs AI, job cuts in the tech sector, gender change in politics, Gen Z love their pets, and much more.Thanks to Indeed for your ongoing support.

This week on Tapod, we catch up with Andy Steeds - Head of Talent Acquisition at CapGemini. Andy recently attended a TA Leaders summit where all the problems of the world were solved, so we thought we should get him on and discuss… From decisions affecting individuals within the TA team to governance and AI to professional development for our industry to WGEA, data, and quite a few history lessons, we cover it all. So what is keeping TA Leaders up at night? Let's find out, shall we? Thanks so much to Phenom for partnering with us for May.

Today on the Scoop the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News live from HR Tech in Singapore including… Candidates want real people in their recruitment process… the top growing occupations in Australia… Starbucks to invest in people… Kiwis open to new opportunities… Gen Z complaining about benefits and much more! Thanks to Indeed for your ongoing support. 

This week on Tapod we catch up with Adam Buxton - GM Talent Acquisition Transformation at Ventia. With internet issues at Lauren's parent's house in the country to Adam in the middle of moving house it makes for a challenging episode, but a perfect environment to explore working from home. Whether it's return to office, work from anywhere, or a hybrid model, the way we work has changed – where do you sit? Thanks so much to Phenom for partnering with us for May. 

Today on the Scoop the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News including… it's tit for tat with Deel & Rippling… Microsoft launches its Skills Agent… Union Leader takes the piss…  Bank Robbers interviewing for tech roles… US CEO's making bank… Global Hiring shows positive signs… Craig is done with Gen Z and much more. Oh… and don't forget to check out the Events. Thanks to Indeed for your ongoing support. 

 This week on Tapod we catch up with Patrick Hardie – Recruitment, Engagement & Compliance Manager at Linkforce. In the ‘shut-down' space recruitment speed, and the ability to mobilise teams is imperative. And as we all know, necessity is the mother of invention and the team at Linkforce developed an industry-first app to mobilise large teams across vast areas. For anyone with a contingent workforce this is a great listen. Thanks so much to Paradox for partnering with us for April. 

Today on the Scoop the team from Tapod brings you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News including… Manchester United looking for a new HR Leader, sick leave for a footy game, pay rises of up to 35% for a key demographic, career catfishing by Gen Z, North Korea up to shenanigans again and much more! Thanks to Indeed for your ongoing support. 

This week on Tapod we catch up with Katie Duckworth, TA Lead – Sales, Broadcast, Publishing, and Radio at Nine and winner of Corporate Talent Professional of the Year at the 2024 ITAs. It's so exciting to speak with a TA Pro that works in media, and we ask all about celebrities and whatnot. But at the end of the day, it's Katie who shines in this podcast. If you want to win an ITA in 2025 – take a listen to Katie! Thanks so much to Paradox for partnering with us for April. 

 The team from TaPod drops another ‘bonus episode' today as they catch up with Josh Secrest – VP at Paradox and formally Head of Global TA & Talent Strategy at McDonalds. Josh walks us through massive transformation and how a massive brand recruits over 2 million people per year! It's a fascinating journey and how important AI is in the TA strategy environment. Did you know that 97% of TA functions using AI are seeing considerable improvement, but only 11% of functions have implemented AI support? Listen in and you'll get many more pearls of wisdom just like that!Thanks to Paradox for partnering with us for April.

 Today on the Scoop the team from Tapod bring you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News including… Adecco partners with Salesforce for a new AI solution while Shopify amps their reliance on AI… what employees really, really care about… the real reason Gen Z are banned from WFH… Vlad looks to recruit from China and much more! Thanks to Indeed for your ongoing partnership. 

This week on Tapod we (finally) catch up with the legendary Milimo Banji (or Milsy as we like to call him), Global expert on Gen Z in the workplace. Just imagine, 2 bungling Gen Xers trying to keep up with one of the most intriguing minds on the planet. From beginnings as a wee lad growing up in Zambia, to studying Aeronautical Engineering (that's rocket science to you and me), and now to founding and running TapIn (an SM agency specialising in helping employers to connect and understand diverse talent), as well as keynote speaking at conferences all around the world – there's much to learn from Milsy on how he sees cross-generational alignment. We explore the best ways of working with and engaging emerging generations, and we learn a lot – you will too! Thanks so much to Paradox for partnering with us for April 

In the week that nominations open for the 2025 Internal Talent Awards, the team from TaPod thought they would drop a very special ITAs themed episode. Off the back of winning the ITA for Social Consciousness, we sat down with Jeannette Borg and Simon de Laine from the Adelaide Talent Meetup to discuss their fabulous win – it was one for the ages! Thanks to Paradox for your support this month 

Today on the Scoop Bonnie is Back! And the team from Tapod bring you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News including… Bonnie introduces us to taskmasking, crazy reasons for firing people, the TA Tech world turns all Austen Powers, Aussies looking to leave their current role, hush money going bad, backflipping on the election trail, Gen Z as entrepreneurs, best-looking recruiters and much more!Thanks to Indeed for your ongoing support.

This week on Tapod we catch up with Eileen Kovalsky – Talent Acquisition Visionary, Senior Director, Client Success & Advocacy @Paradox and former Head of Candidate Experience at one of the largest car manufacturers in the world. From one of the original members of LinkedIn (she still has the t-shirt) to life in the AI world, Eileen talks us through all aspects of the candidate process and transformation with a focus on how to do things better. It's a fascinating discussion and one that adds real value to TA & AI Thanks so much to Paradox for partnering with us for April  ‘The day you sign the contract for new tech is the day you should start socialising…' 

Today on the Scoop we celebrate our 100th episode! And the team from Tapod bring you all of the weekly TA & Recruitment News including… a crazy request from HR in the UK, roll backs for non-compete contracts, white collar recruiting taking off in a very interesting location, Queensland Rail wins case against ‘sneaky, deceitful and unfair' employee, children working the mines in Florida? Gen Z prefers to binge tv than work and much, much more. We also have more events than an Olympic Decathlon. Thanks to Indeed and congratulations for sticking with us for 100 episodes – couldn't have done it without you! 

This week on TaPod we sit down with John Bowker – GM People & Culture at Lycopodium to understand the recruitment market in West Australia and believe me… they do things a little different over there… Engineering, Mining, Oil and Gas are the predominant sectors in the market, and it's extremely cyclical in terms of peaks and troughs. The peaks bring a lot of salary pressure and movement among workers, but Lycopodium have a few tricks to keep them ahead of the pack – and we invite you to learn their tricks right here on TaPod… Thanks to Avature for your support for the past two months. 

This week on TaPod we drop a special episode, getting under the hood of the recent Avature Upfront APAC 2025 in sunny Melbourne at the Royal Botanical Gardens, and it was fantastic! Raman Richards joins us as we unpack the day. From Chloe Dalton with a brilliant keynote, to the road map led by Dimitri Boylan & Xiabin Shi, to Maria Ma from Siemens, the panel of experts including Gareth Flynn, Sue Howse, Alex Thomson and Danielle Kent, Melinda Todd on mastering high-volume recruiting, Mark Condon on skills, AI & Work Design, the art of the possible presented by Evelyn Jackson, Scott Allen, Teejay Bui-Mata'afa and Joshua Vinden and product discussions involving Paula Lizardo and Roman Cunci. The day was MC'd beautifully by Adam Walker and the location was simply stunning! Kudos and sell your soul to get a ticket in 2026! 

Today on the Scoop it's a BIG week and the team from TaPod brings you all the weekly TA & Recruitment news, including Global white collar roles on the decrease, Australian recruiters the best in the world, Kiwis value job security over pay, horrible...  horrible job interviews, bring a pet to work, both Lauren and Craig take a pot at Gen Z. And much, much more. Thanks to our friends at Indeed for your support. 

This week on TaPod we catch up with the ever-brilliant Hung Lee. The Recruiting Brainfood Founder has been traveling through South East Asia for the past couple of months and landed in Australia looking for a well-earned rest. Bad luck Hung. He's running on fumes but still manages to blow us away with his take on the state of the world and the market. We talk AI and competitor advantage in recruitment and argue if we can really be positive about the future? It's fascinating and relevant. Thanks to Avature for your support. 

Today on the Scoop the team from TaPod brings you all the weekly TA & Recruitment news including Greenpeace bucking the trend on DEI initiatives, NSW Police raid other states to hit recruitment targets, rising turnover rates coming out of Asia, update on 4 day work week in Iceland, Gen Alpha to change the workplace forever. And much, much more Thanks to our friends at Indeed for your support. 

This week on TaPod we catch up with one of our favourite Kiwis, Keith Muirhead – Director of Talent Acquisition at Fonterra. We talk about how one of the biggest companies in NZ (responsible for 5% of the national GDP) transitioned from RPO to inhouse, covering all of the BIG transformation challenges, from tech to people and process. It's a great blueprint for change; we learn how to 'make dairy sexy' and we loved our discussion – you will too. Thanks to Avature for your continued support this month. 

Today on The Scoop the team from TaPod brings you all the weekly TA & Recruitment news, including Australia's most equitable workplaces, the latest Trumpisms, achieving gender parity, Indeed at the World Economic Forum, Chinese firm wants to ban unmarried employees, Gen Z and career cat fishing and more events than you can poke a stick at. Thanks to our friends at Indeed for your support. 

This week on TaPod we delve into the far reaches of Employer Brand with Meagan Michaels, Head of EB APAC at BUPA. Fresh off her amazing panel at Indeed Futureworks, discussing remote/hybrid work arrangements. Beginning her career in book publishing, then moving to marketing before working in aviation, recruitment marketing, and finding her way to BUPA. We discuss all manner of Employer Branding and how the world may have changed in 2025. If you're really lucky and listen closely, you just may be able to hear Meagan's partner having a very important business meeting in the background… Thanks to Avature for your continued support this month. 

It's time for a TaPod special Episode and today we sit down with Trevor Vas, the only ever winner of a ‘Lifetime' Internal Talent Award and one of the most brilliant minds in our industry. We touch on where our industry is headed, but more importantly we drill down on Trevor's new concept – Aligned2Achieve. It's an amazing gamified solution to help optimally position the TA function to help deliver desired business objectives. One of the hardest jobs for a TA Team is to identify the most relevant business goals to their function, Aligned2Achieve guides you through the entire process. At TaPod we were guided through a session and we love it. You will too! 

This week on The Scoop – your weekly Recruitment & TA news – we bring you all manner of updates including… are we really seeing the death of the resume? The latest Gender Pay Gap updates. Pay to apply. DEIB rolls back. Return to Office mandates. Gen Z not ready for the workplace and much more. Craig is accused of ‘sweeping claims of crap.' Thanks to Indeed for your support with the Scoop 

This week's episode on TaPod is a very special episode... TaPod celebrates International Women's Day – Craig is kicked to the curb, while Lauren sits down with Dr Morley Muse, Natalie Flynn & Bonnie Crook. It's a powerhouse team covering really important issues including Gender Pay Gap, Women in STEM, Workforce challenges for Migrant Women, Menopause and how it impacts careers and the power of the next generation of Gen Z women.This episode is a must-listen – for all genders and it's a telling reminder of how far we still need to travel for true equality.Thanks to Avature for supporting the pod this month. 

This week on the Scoop, the team from TaPod brings you all the major TA & Recruitment news from here and around the world! From candidates hiding in the cupboard (no really), to all the most recent economic data, to Deep Seek ban to ADF shortages to Gen Z and micro-retirements to bonuses for return to office… and what's going on in Tassie? Thanks to Indeed for supporting the valuable news service for our TA Industry. 

Every time we talk with Gareth Flynn at Tapod, we walk away from the conversation a lot smarter. Today Craig goes one-on-one with one of the most astute minds in Global Talent. We talk skills-based organisations and hiring, meritocracy and DEI, agentic AI and automation, task intelligence, and talent strategy. If you want to be at the forefront of where our industry is heading in 2025 and beyond. This is simply a must-listen. Thanks to Avature for your support for this month. 

This week on the Scoop, the team from TaPod brings you all the major TA & Recruitment news from here and around the world! Lauren's back and crazy resumes!From an increase in senior-level recruitment professionals, to unfair labour laws in Australia to DEIB updates, to Police acting inappropriately and much more.Thanks to Indeed for supporting the valuable news service for our TA Industry.

This week's episode on TaPod is special for many reasons... Bonnie fills in for a ‘sick' Lauren (so the swear quota is waaaay down) and we speak with one of the most enigmatic figures in the TA industry, Marrin-Boyd Andrews – or MBA, as the 'cool' kids call him. MBA started his life as an ultra-successful DJ – DJ RemixxX - (check a link to one of his tracks in the comments) and then fell into sourcing via recruitment. Anyone who knows MBA is absolutely amazed by his passion and knowledge around AI Prompt Engineering, and he blesses us with his take on AI… where we are at... and where we are headed. The first time we really met MBA was at the 2024 ATC Conference, where the packed room held on to his every word and walked out of the session blown away and so much smarter! ‘With AI, you're dealing with a 5-year-old at the start and the idea is to educate that 5-year-old up to a point where it's on par with you.' MBA. Thanks to Avature for supporting the pod this month. 

This week on the Scoop, the team from TaPod brings you all the major TA & Recruitment news from here and around the world! And not only that, we have a guest host, the amazing Bonnie Crook! From improvements in the IT recruitment market to Gen Z'er answering a work video call in the pool in a string bikini to women being seen in the workplace (not in their bikini) to bosses taking the power back. And check out all of the events we have for you! I reckon Lauren has a tough job getting her seat back! Thanks to Indeed for supporting the valuable news service for our TA Industry 

It's time to check in with one of our all-time favourites this week on Tapod. Amy Schultz joins us to give us an update on her career and the industry she loves. We have an incredible discussion debunking 2025 predictions (including Amy possibly opening a nude yoga retreat)… seriously though, we talk about AI, Deep Seek, skills-based hiring, how to build a Talent Function from scratch, candidate and employee data, responsibilities of Social Media owners, reliance of tech on talent, the contingent workforce, DEIB... it will blow your mind! Thanks to Avature for your support this month. 

What happens when you stick a microphone in front of Adam Walker? Magic… that's what!Today it's Avature meets TaPod in this special episode and we talk about HR trends into 2025. We cover all manner of topics from Generative AI development and Bot Agents to strategic and agile HR, reskilling and upskilling – and that's just an appetiser.Without blowing smoke, Adam is one of the most astute commentators in the industry and we love learning from him.Thanks to Avature for supporting the pod this month.

This week on the Scoop, the team from TaPod brings you all the major TA & Recruitment news from here and around the world! From the latest Trumpisms to job ads for robots to the failure of the 4-day work week to bosses losing empathy and much more! And check out all of the events we have for you! Thanks to Indeed for supporting the valuable news service for our TA Industry.

Wow! Just WOW! This week on TaPod we are blessed to sit down with Torin Ellis – a voice that will not retreat from the truth… Diversity and Inclusion is more than a belief system and we are at a distinct crossroads.  Are you ready to fight for what is right? For people unable to fight for themselves? Or will you sit idly by whilst we regress as a global society? This is the most powerful and passionate conversation we have been privileged to have been part of on TaPod. Thanks to Avature for your support for this month. ‘I just want people to operate with a higher frequency of love.' Torin Ellis 

It's time to drop a special Tapod episode! Our friends at Indeed are getting ready for Futureworks 2025 in Sydney on 20th February. And what better way to prepare than catching up with Rachael Townsley – APAC Marketing Director - to get a sneak peek backstage? Not only that TaPod have secured some free tickets. If you are based in Sydney (or can travel there) & want to win one, email marketing_australia@indeed.com Let them know who you are and you may be joining us! 

This week on the Scoop, the team from TaPod brings you all the major TA & Recruitment news from here and around the world! From Retail Industry overtime grab to Trump demands faster recruitment to same job some pay to inappropriate questions in interviews to the obligatory Gen Z article and much, much more. And check out all of the events we have for you! Thanks to Indeed for supporting the valuable news service for 2025 

This week on TaPod we start hot for 2025 with an absolute living treasure in the global TA & HR space! Lars Schmidt is not only one of the smartest people going around, but he is also quite possibly the nicest. We cover all sorts in this episode, From Lars' recent life changes to the death of the resume to the political climate in the USA. This one is definitely a ‘time capsule' moment and we really hope you enjoy it as much as we do.Thanks to Avature for your support for this month.

We're back for 2025! This week on the Scoop, the team from TaPod brings you all the major TA & Recruitment news from here and around the world! From new police check laws, to the death (maybe a bit premature) of DEIB, to return to work for ALL US Federal employees, to Australia Day, Gen Z and Loud Quitting and much much, more (including a veritable plethora of brand new events). Thanks to Indeed for supporting the valuable news service for 2025