The New Talent Code

We're closing out the second season of The New Talent Code with a look back at some of our favorite moments. From making talent decisions using a skills-based approach to best practices for deploying new technologies and methods, this season was packed full of real-world advice from thought leaders, analysts, and organizations leading the way in adopting AI. In this episode, we're highlighting: - The importance of embracing change with enthusiasm. - Specific use cases for talent intelligence that organizations are using to succeed. - And why HR is in a key role to facilitate the adoption of AI enterprise-wide.

HR needs AI-ready talent, with half of HR leaders now prioritizing the technology — nearly double what it was just three years ago. Lead the change in becoming a high-functioning, cohesive HR team that aligns talent strategies to your overall business goals for the good of all. Forrester Principal Analyst Betsy Summers joins The New Talent Code to share how you can achieve this AI-ready status. She also shares the latest in Forrester research and why HR has a critical role in every business success story right now. In this episode, you'll also learn: - Why taking a skills-based approach to talent planning matters. - How to embrace AI in the HR tech stack. - And how HR can be the leading player in driving change.

Craig Leen, former Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and now a Partner at K&L Gates, joins The New Talent Code podcast to talk about AI and regulations in HR. Leen says that if we want to ensure long-term stability, responsible and ethical use of AI, we will eventually need federal guidance. While HR leaders wait for federal laws, several cities and states, including Colorado, California, and New York City, have already taken proactive steps to enact laws governing AI. Listen to our episode with Leen to hear more about: - Why federal regulations could be critical to the successful deployment of AI in HR. - The questions you should be asking AI vendors. - And how governance could change responsibility roles with employers and AI vendors.

Earlier this year, Deloitte released its 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report focusing on the boundaryless world of work. For HR leaders looking for an edge in workforce planning to support this new boundaryless world of work, AI is key. Deloitte's Christoph Gerhold, Partner and Offering Lead of Workforce and Organizational Transformation, joins The New Talent Code to dig into his insights from the report. He also offers a look ahead to the trends HR professionals should watch in the coming year. Gerhold also talks about: -What it will take to stay current with changing AI regulations. -How employees ready to explore AI can get started with daily work use cases. -And why human sustainability and microcultures are important trends to watch over the next year.

The HR industry is rushing to implement AI tools to streamline processes and create better employee and candidate experiences — but is this the right approach? HR industry journalist Mark Feffer joins us on this week's episode of The New Talent Code to share his perspective on what HR leaders and practitioners should consider when adopting AI in the workplace. In the conversation, he covers: - Why employees are right to be skeptical about this emerging technology. - Where regulations are needed most. - What workers need to do to become good students of AI.

MM Group was faced with a challenge: onboard 3,500 new colleagues across more than 20 sites and 11 countries. Their HR team had just decided to adopt AI and knew this was the perfect use case. They got to work and successfully implemented talent intelligence on a global scale. Eva Edelmueller, the Head of Group Talent Attraction and Talent Management with MM Group, joins us on the latest episode of The New Talent Code to talk about how starting with their minimum needs and building as they went was their recipe for success. Eva also shares valuable insights on: - How her team handles policies around their use of AI and practical advice on disclosures to candidates. - What it took to gain managerial buy-in and successfully onboard them into the new system. - And how MM Group cut hiring by 20 days and started finding more women for their roles.

Where do you begin as a biotech startup that needs to hire for highly technical roles at the height of a human health crisis? With talent intelligence, of course. Just four years ago, Moderna functioned as a start-up, and now they're a household name that has rapidly grown their staff. Using AI to hire faster and smarter helped them get there. Amanda Sorrento, Senior Vice President, People Platform and Organizational Architecture at Moderna, joins us on the latest episode of The New Talent Code to talk about the organization's impressive growth, how they managed it, and where they're headed next. You'll also learn more about: -How using talent intelligence gave Moderna a competitive edge at the perfect moment. -What you need to do if you're unsure of how AI can work for your organization. -And how Moderna is defining — and redefining — success with AI.

Bristol Myers Squibb launched its MyGrowth platform to much excitement from employees and leaders alike. Both audiences were looking for major change. Employees wanted training opportunities, insights in new roles, and better career paths. Leaders were looking to hire better candidates faster to address business needs. The BMS HR team arrived at the solution: talent intelligence. Melissa Keiser, Executive Director, Global Skills and Career Development Strategy at BMS, shares how her organization implemented and launched their platform in this episode of The New Talent Code. Listen to learn more about: -Why considering the employee experience is critical to launching a talent intelligence platform they'll actually use. -Where to start to build out your own talent intelligence program. -The key role you need to gain buy-in from for a successful launch — and it isn't leadership.

Puerto Rico had a challenge to solve: two-thirds of its workforce didn't have the skills they needed for the jobs they held. What started as a highly manual process to reskill employees and hire the right talent turned into a wildly successful adoption of talent intelligence. Arnaldo Cruz, Director of Research and Policy at the Oversight Board of Puerto Rico, joins hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato on The New Talent Code to share everything he has learned so far on the country's talent intelligence journey. Listen to learn more about: - How Puerto Rico discovered talent intelligence as the solution to hiring challenges. - The benefits of using talent intelligence to scale talent acquisition and talent management functions. - Why smart and simple change management is key to successful adoption.

Prioritizing employee experience and growth is key when launching talent intelligence. Few are doing this better than Amdocs with their recently launched Harmony program. Victoria Myers, Global Head of Talent Attraction, joins The New Talent Code to encourage others to embrace an AI-driven talent strategy and to offer advice for getting started on your own internal mobility journey. Listen to learn more about: -How to transform talent acquisition and attraction to find better candidates and improve the employee experience. -Why a talent-centered approach is crucial to succeeding in talent intelligence and how to get C-suite buy-in. -How to define success and next steps after launching talent intelligence.

Curiosity is key when it comes to learning about the benefits of talent intelligence, according to Hudson Global CEO Darren Lancaster. As the leader of an organization focused on offering talent solutions, Lancaster is no stranger to spotting trends and adopting new technologies. With use of AI in the HR space on the rise, he's already seeing how companies, including his own, are seeing success. Lancaster joins hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato for a conversation about recruiting, AI, and the future of work. Listen to learn more about: - Why the skills shortage continues to put pressure on organizations to find talent, and how leaders can prioritize candidates with high levels of learnability in response. - The impact of GenAI on workforces — why it doesn't eliminate jobs but creates opportunities. - How recruiters can set the bar for their organizations when it comes to skills-based hiring.

Treating current and potential employees like customers may seem like a novel idea, but for Sophie Clifford, Vodafone's Global Head of Talent Acquisition, it's a concept that's right at home with her organization's goals. Join us this week for our episode featuring Clifford, who has a holistic perspective to attracting and retaining the right talent. She joins hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato for an insightful conversation about how Vodafone, with nearly 100,000 employees in 25 global markets, completely overhauled its HR processes and recruitment strategies with talent intelligence. Clifford shares the critical lessons she learned along the way, including the need for collaboration, how to make skills a universal language, and the unavoidable but invaluable investment of time. Listen to learn more about: - Why AI-powered automation is the new recruiting standard, with internal education and collaboration being key to adoption. - How real-time skills intelligence creates a common language among different HR functions, enabling a cohesive, end-to-end talent strategy. - Why collaboration — and giving your employees a voice — is essential to implementation.

As an expert in the human capital market, Madeline Laurano's latest research dives deep into the world of talent intelligence. Her paper, Demystifying Talent Intelligence, explains what talent intelligence is — and isn't — and the ways it can impact an organization's performance. Laurano is a strong advocate for using AI to transform workforces — especially when it comes to driving change through a skills-based approach. In this episode of The New Talent Code, Laurano joined hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato to discuss: - The definition of real talent intelligence — and how to tell the difference. - What HR transformation entails, including changing mindsets and measuring outcomes. - How to fix the disconnect between talent intelligence for the HR function and how it can serve the entire organization. - Where organizations are getting stuck in the adoption process and how to address these challenges with a holistic approach.

An industry leader and American icon in equipment engineering and manufacturing, John Deere is also setting the pace when it comes to talent management. Deere is putting its 75,000 employees in the driver's seat of their careers. Head of Talent Management Julianne Brown-Meola is helping lead the way as a true advocate for building talent plans around skills. In this episode of The New Talent Code, Brown-Meola joined hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato to discuss her role, and Deere's talent management strategies for finding and developing the technical “no-regret” skills they will need for the future. In this episode, you'll hear about: - Why “all roads lead to skills” at John Deere. - How talent leaders are creating an environment where every employee feels there is opportunity to develop their skills. - How they practice what they preach: Collaboration and collusion across leaders and departments is key to creating a talent strategy that supports the business.

What will your role in HR look like in this new world of AI — and how can you successfully guide your employees and your organization through the transformation? Jason Averbook, Senior Partner and Global Leader of HR transformation at Mercer, joined hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato to answer these questions on The New Talent Code. Averbook is a recognized authority on HR, the future of work, and the role of technology in shaping the workforce of tomorrow, and is the author of two books: HR from now to next: Reimagining the workplace of tomorrow and The ultimate guide to a digital workforce experience: Leap for a purpose. In this episode (2 of 2), you'll hear about: - The key differences between implementation and deployment of new technologies — and why understanding the difference matters. - Why you need to use data to inform all your decisions. - How to think about GenAI's potential impact on your business.

What will your role in HR look like in this new world of AI — and how can you successfully guide your employees and your organization through the transformation? Jason Averbook, Senior Partner and Global Leader of HR transformation at Mercer, joined hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato to answer these questions on The New Talent Code. Averbook is a recognized authority on HR, the future of work, and the role of technology in shaping the workforce of tomorrow, and is the author of two books: HR from now to next: Reimagining the workplace of tomorrow and The ultimate guide to a digital workforce experience: Leap for a purpose. In this episode (1 of 2), you'll hear about: - How the role of HR has changed drastically to support the intelligence economy. - Why transformation is essential — you must unlearn to stay relevant. - Why you must set benchmarks and measures of success that align to your overall business goals.

The New Talent Code is back — and features some of the best conversations we've had around HR transformation to date. Join us as Eightfold's Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato talk with today's top HR thought leaders and practitioners to discuss what's shaping the space today and the best ways to transform your workforce to be ready for anything. From how GenAI will impact the space, to navigating AI regulations, to building an organization based on talent and skills, we hope you'll listen in on our customers' HR journeys and experts' advice about how to best deploy AI in the HR space. It's all here in The New Talent Code.

As an HR professional, do you understand the direction of your business? Do you understand whether your organization has the skills and capabilities to move in that direction? “These are fundamental questions that, without the appropriate knowledge, data, and intelligence to have that dialogue, the boardroom becomes a very anxious situation for a CHRO.” In this must-listen episode, Darren Burton, former CHRO of KPMG and current Chief People Officer of Eightfold AI, talks about why HR data needs to be a driver in strategic workforce planning. From facilitators to champions, HR professionals have an increasingly vital role in shaping the future of work. In this episode, you'll hear about: - The shift toward skills-based job descriptions that are more adaptable to the changing nature of work - The need for HR professionals to have a deep understanding of their business and the market to advise and support their organizations - The importance of having the right knowledge, data, and intelligence for productive conversations with the board and leadership team Take advantage of this opportunity to hear from a leading HR expert on how you can take your career to the next level and make a real impact in your organization.

Since inception, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has focused on preventing and remedying unlawful employment discrimination and advancing equal opportunity for all in the workplace. When it comes to AI, existing legal mechanisms also apply. Commissioner Keith Sonderling of the EEOC warns that the public should know that government agencies lack the requisite knowledge to regulate AI effectively. He advocates for organizations to self-regulate and self-audit so they don't stifle critical innovation in this space. "The most effective solution is a deregulatory approach that properly utilizes the existing employment discrimination framework and the resources already available to agencies,” Sonderling wrote in this co-authored opinion arguing for a deregulatory approach to the use of AI in the workplace. In this episode, Sonderling breaks down some of the leading complexities behind AI and employment laws, including: - Why ensuring that AI and other workplace technologies are designed and deployed to comply with existing civil rights laws, a top priority for the EEOC - How AI can make HR processes more transparent and explainable - Why a deregulatory approach to AI in HR puts greater emphasis on outcomes, and how that's positive for antidiscrimination and innovation practices Don't miss a chance to hear more from Sonderling on AI's role in HR: - “It's no longer a conversation of, ‘Am I going to use HR technology?' It's about how we will use that technology, for what purpose we will use that technology, and how we use it with the longstanding civil rights laws that we're all subject to.” [7:27] - “Just like all other areas of the law, employers have a duty to comply with the law now. They don't need to wait for enforcement. They don't need to wait for large litigations. They need to ensure that the tools they have now comply with long-standing civil rights laws without the distraction of potential new laws.” [13:13] - “A lot of larger companies need to hire a lot of people very quickly, and they can't do it at this point without the assistance of some sort of technology.” [18:35] - “Technology can look through job descriptions and tell you what lines may no longer be necessary and have historically prevented people from certain backgrounds from entering the workforce.” [24:13]

Talent leaders shouldn't worry about AI harming equal employment opportunities. In fact, they should know that the right AI only enhances it. Craig Leen, former Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) at the U.S. Department of Labor, is a proponent of using AI in hiring, especially when finding equal opportunities for all workers. Join Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato as they sit down with Craig Leen to get the latest take on all things AI in HR, including: - What organizations need to look out for with new AI in HR regulations - Why HR functions should audit job requirements as they go, and correct inequities with skills-based insights - How "good AI" helps to identify people who have historically been overlooked by humans or have been subject to unconscious bias Don't miss these quotes from Craig Leen: - “Recognize that many combinations of experiences may lead to the development of a certain skill, and by looking for that skill only, it gives someone a chance to compete for the job." - Craig Leen [12:57] - “I would generally recommend profile masking so that when you make that selection of who to interview, you're not making that decision in any way based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, or sexual orientation." - Craig Leen [20:57] - “There's this idea that AI is going to cause harm to certain people. The less you can explain a particular AI's outcome, the more valid that concern. The opposite is also true though, particularly for good AI.” - Craig Leen [27:03]

Like the transformation from paper maps to modern-day GPS, the world of talent management needs a faster, reliable, more intelligent way to map out upskilling and learning opportunities for people. Steve Hunt, Ph.D., Chief Expert, Technology and Work at SAP, profoundly understands how technology transforms work. He joins The New Talent Code to discuss the intersection of psychology, work technology, and business performance. And why every organization needs to clearly map out a path for upskilling – or be left behind. Here are some key takeaways: - "There's a myth that people aren't good at change. That's completely wrong. The competitive niche of humans as a species is our ability to adapt to changing environments. We are really good at it.” - Steve Hunt [08:20] - "If you look at what artificial intelligence and machine learning tools are doing to the field of skills and skills ontologies, it's like what GPS did for maps. It's taking this knowledge and allowing us to more quickly update these things on the fly organically, like how Waze updates traffic patterns on the fly organically. As a result, it will enable employees to get much better insight into possible career paths in real-time.” - Steve Hunt [15:18] - "We don't want people thinking of employees as fixed assets. Instead, we want to constantly think of employees as something changing and growing over time.” - Steve Hunt [21:47]

According to Josh Bersin, the time to implement a strategy backed by talent intelligence is now. As one of the world's top HR industry analysts and advisers, Bersin is leading the Global Workforce Intelligence (GWI) Project. Powered by Eightfold AI, GWI is a first-of-its-kind, innovative, large-scale initiative designed to help HR leaders better understand major workforce trends to shape their companies for the future. GWI delivers research and analysis leveraging billions of data points collected by Eightfold AI's powerful Talent Intelligence Platform. Together, this new approach to talent strategy will be game-changing for business leaders and HR professionals across all industries. 5 can't-miss quotes from the episode: - "So I'm very sympathetic to people who get laid off, are confused about their careers, don't know what they want to do next, hate their jobs. I completely understand where they're coming from, and I think there's always a path out of that.” - Josh Bersin [05:13] - “Most of the companies I talked to are still growing. They're seeing demand. People are still buying and going on vacation. The constraints of supply chains are all messed up, but that's all getting fixed. So I think we're going to be in a period of slowing growth.” - Josh Bersin [08:02] - “Recruiting, reskilling, retaining, and re-engineering—they're not separate things anymore; they are all interrelated. Those four things have to be stitched together. They have to be interlocked with a talent intelligence strategy.” - Josh Bersin [14:52] - “Intelligence is bringing these groups together and giving them a better data system so that they can make better decisions as a group. This talent intelligence team is going to become essentially the nervous system of the body.” - Josh Bersin [18:50] - “We can see very clearly the kinds of skills, job titles, and roles in existence in high-performing companies versus lower-performing companies. So it's a perfect roadmap for organizations on what they need to do next.” - Josh Bersin [22:01]

"You need digital transformation to survive. It's not about technology. It's about fundamentally changing what a company is doing." Hicham Zahr has a digital transformation background working for McKinsey, Oracle, and Gartner before joining Eightfold AI. Recently named one of 2022’s Top 100 HR Tech Influencers by HR Executive Magazine, Zahr has taken his lifelong passion for picking up new skills to transform people’s careers backed with talent intelligence. With talent intelligence, "you're not just looking at that individual in the silos. Now you're putting those other elements—the ecosystem—around that individual to uncover all these skills," says Zahr. In this episode, Zahr joins hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato to discuss his research and how it can help any HR leader crack their talent code. 3 can't-miss quotes from this episode: - "Unfortunately, when it comes to digital transformation, many senior execs are not thinking about butterflies. They're thinking about fast caterpillars. And that is why transforming that caterpillar into a butterfly is important but challenging." - Hicham Zahr [09:25] - "The half-life of a skill is five years. But when it comes to technical skills, the half-life of a skill is two and a half years. And it's diminishing. That's why up-skilling and re-skilling is important." - Hicham Zahr [15:55] - "When you are looking at architecting jobs, do not architect those for today. You want to architect those jobs for the future. This is what we call calibration nowadays. What's been emerging in the market? What are skills that are under the hood that not a lot of people have, but have been increasing in importance?" - Hicham Zahr [27:02]

The U.S. Department of Defense is the largest employer in the world, with about 3 million people working across all services. With a budget of $753 billion and operations in more than 4,800 sites in 160 nations worldwide, it’s tough to imagine how challenging recruiting and talent management must be for such a large organization. Craig Robbins is a Senior VP of Talent at Prositions, a human capital solutions and HR tech company. He’s also a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve, serving as Talent Management Chief with the newly formed 75th Innovation Command, and is an adviser to the Army at large. His mission is to connect people from all walks of military life to meaningful work. Hired for his potential, Robbins is now a decade into the HR space and focused on looking for new ways to place people with the right opportunities. Here are a few key learnings from Robbins (his views, not the DoD) on how the military is amping up its hiring programs. This includes a critical project called GigEagle, a new Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) project that leverages top talent from the Reserve and National Guard on demand. - “When it comes to talent discovery, how do we even see the skills and the experiences and the certifications of all those people on our team? If you don't capture the data, you can't search for the data. And so getting to GigEagle because the 75th Innovation Command is unique in the sense that we employ people's civilian skill sets. We had to create a system that would allow us to capture and discover those skills.” - Craig Robbins [13:43] - "It's so much more than skills matching. We're trying to rethink the way we look at work and rethink the way we even think about the team members on our team. And so this is really about transforming our culture at large. How can we enable people in the Reserve, the National Guard, and the active duty Army to work across those boundaries? So we're trying to break down these barriers and we're trying to create essentially a gig economy within the DoD." - Craig Robbins [19:35] - “We're not just trying to leverage the whole person of the members of our team. We're really trying to enable critical mission success. So when you think about a national cyber-security incident or a crisis, when you think about a national healthcare crisis, like COVID, the fact that the Department of Defense cannot see any of its people who have healthcare skills or cybersecurity skills outside of the military is a huge problem. I mean it, quite frankly, to me is a crisis of sorts and certainly, we know what units and where our nurses are in the Army Nurse Corps. But when something on the scale of COVID occurs, we need to know where all the Reserve folks are.” - Craig Robbins [21:18]

Rachelle Snook, the Global Talent Director from WD-40 — yes, that ubiquitous garage staple that can seemingly do everything — is a fan and proponent of breaking down silos and building people up to create a more agile workforce. WD-40 has been all hands on deck for a while now, tapping into employee insights from around the world, especially in critical times like handling supply chains during the pandemic. Snook says it’s their unique perspective on working cross-functionally on a project basis that makes it all come together. 5 key quotes from this episode: - "By decentralizing those decisions and inviting those peer groups together, we created great outcomes, wonderful solutions, and we could respond really quickly to the business needs.” - Rachelle Snook [08:34] - “Our leaders are more focused on what needs to get done rather than the where or the how, and our work from anywhere philosophy is enabling them to do that." - Rachelle Snook [12:08] - "We have a philosophy at WD-40. We don't go where we're not invited. So HR is not going to be banging down the door saying, ‘Hey, we want to talk with you about being a more agile organization.’ No, we are creating and asking the questions. What can we do?” - Rachelle Snook [16:58] - “By allowing our people to work on projects, either in their functional area or outside their traditional geographies, they're creating opportunities for themselves, so they're now on the radar for that next role or lateral move within our organization." - Rachelle Snook [19:39] - "The first thing to do is for each coach to ask their tribe member, 'What can you stop doing to create time for this?' The other thing is to provide a place where we can post these project positions so that we can be equitable and everybody has visibility to them." - Rachelle Snook [31:09]

Mary Faulkner, principal at IA-HR, joins The New Talent Code to discuss the questions every HR leader should be asking as they gear up for a business transformation. As a talent strategist and problem solver, Faulkner has extensive experience helping organizations optimize their HR practices to take a more future-forward approach. She specializes in change management and teaching people how to transform their organizations from within. This episode explores best practices for when to start the change management process, how to get leadership buy-in, and how to identify broken processes before embarking on a transformation journey. Here are the biggest takeaways from the episode with Mary Faulkner: - "If you find yourself constantly changing, but you don't have a change methodology to help support people through that change, all you're going to feel is chaos. It's never too soon to start thinking about change management, your communication plan, your training plan, your stakeholder identification." - Mary Faulkner [11:37] - "The organizations where they centralize that ownership of a job description, I think it's smoother. So it's not the hiring managers reacting to something and having to rewrite it, somebody else is doing it for them. Someone who's knowledgeable, someone who understands the market, somebody who has talked to compensation." - Mary Faulkner [20:12]

There are still too many barriers when it comes to hiring and advancing women in technical roles. Fortunately, those obstacles are being overcome with the help of people like Alaina Percival, co-founder and CEO of the nonprofit Women Who Code. In the latest episode of The New Talent Code, hosts Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato revisit a conversation with Percival from Eightfold's Cultivate event. In this talk, Percival shares several pieces of advice on how to examine each breakpoint in the pipeline to design for inclusion and how to support women on their continuous upskilling journeys. 3 key quotes from this episode: - "Make sure you're examining each break point in the pipeline for designing for inclusion. So if you realize that you're getting 95% male applicants maybe should be (shameless plug) posting on Women Wo Code's job board. If once you're going through the hiring process, and no women are making it past the whiteboarding session... you have a lot of opportunities for evaluating what questions are asked." - Alaina Percival [21:25] - "The most important thing you can be doing right now is investing in the teams and the talent that you have inside of your company. And some of the things that you really need to be doing is helping women to understand what their path is inside of your organization and what they need to be doing to achieve that next position." - Alaina Percival [16:51] - "Software engineers know that you have to continue developing your skills. You're not going to just learn one programming language, one framework. And for women, it's so difficult to decide to take the time to invest in yourself. And so you need to make sure that people have the avenue and the clarity that they should be investing in themselves, and that they have the support and resources to do so." - Alaina Percival [18:27]

Josh Bellis joins Ligia and Jason on The New Talent Code to share how and why he found his specialization as a diversity and inclusion practitioner and which processes, systems, and mindsets organizations need in order for their diversity programs to actually be successful. He shares how his unique experience with a variety of organizations has shaped his approach to DEI, and he dives into the practical advice on how to integrate DEI beyond acquisition into talent management. Here are the biggest takeaways from the episode: - "It's really about a culture shift. It's really about making the whole company find out what they can do to advance diversity initiatives. And I think for too long, it's just sat with the DEI people." - Josh Bellis [7:28] - "It is worth taking a step back, even if that means that yes, you're hiring slower, to actually think about the available market and what we can realistically hit with that. Understand the market that you're in and understand the levers that you have available." - Josh Bellis [10:54] - "We're moving away from the things that we traditionally think make someone qualified. And I think looking at those transferable skills [is important] because, for a lot of underrepresented groups, they don't have the connections to get into these things." - Josh Bellis [26:40]

Alexandra Levit joins Ligia and Jason on The New Talent Code to share her five pillars of career durability, and how companies can help employees visualize their career paths. From an emphasis on applied technology skills to deciding which skills employees should really focus on in their upskilling and reskilling efforts, Alexandra shares practical insights for anyone reshaping their mindsets towards work and non-linear career paths while enabling companies to make skills-based talent decisions. 3 quotables from this episode: - "You're never going to get people in the door to see what their learning agility ability is, if you are insisting that they have the exact combination of skills and experiences that you would ideally want in that role. " - Alexandra Levit [20:23] - "Maybe this is something that you revisit every six months to a year to really look at your current size, your composition as an organization, how you've developed your workforce to start evaluating demand for skills based on the direction that the market is taking, and that your competitors are taking, and determining the gaps where there's going to be a need for skills that you don't currently have." - Alexandra Levit [23:33] - "In your culture, is it OK to tell your boss that you want to move into a completely different function?" - Alexandra Levit [25:22]

Welcome to The New Talent Code! In this first episode, Ligia Zamora and Jason Cerrato kick off the show to share how they have cultivated a passion for the talent space as well as what makes them qualified to speak to an audience on how to crack the new talent code alongside their guests. Jason dives into his non-linear career path - from recruiter to HR leader at United Technologies to Gartner analyst to vendor product marketing - and how these varied roles have all been connected by adjacent skills. And Ligia describes her own non-linear career path from civil engineer to "accidental CMO," and why she keeps coming back to work in the HR space. Join Jason and Ligia as they delve into the transformation that needs to happen in the talent space in order to take on the new world of work. And to figure out how to hire, upskill, reskill, promote and re-deploy talent based on an individual's capability and potential.