Please. I beg you.

Click here to register

And beyond the webinar I am going to walk through Canditech to show you how some of friends are combating AI Resumes and the inability to properly assess skills.

Here’s what I’m talking about.

The resume didn’t die overnight.

It got slowly watered down for years. Buzzwords. Inflated titles. Copy-paste accomplishments. Everybody “led strategy.” Everybody “drove transformation.” Everybody was “results-oriented.”

Then AI showed up and poured gasoline on it.

Now? Anybody with ChatGPT and twenty minutes can build a resume that looks like it belongs to a top performer at a Fortune 100 company. Clean language. Perfect structure. Keyword optimized. Tailored for the ATS. Tailored for the recruiter. Tailored for the hiring manager.

Don’t forget the EM DASHES

• On a PC: Hold Alt and type 0151 on the number pad

• On a Mac: Shift + Option + -

And that’s the problem.

The modern resume has become performance art.

Talent acquisition teams are now sorting through piles of candidates who all look qualified on paper. Same language. Same tone. Same polished answers. Same “thoughtful” cover letters.

A bad hire doesn’t just cost salary anymore. It burns team trust. Slows execution. Creates management overhead. Damages culture. Delays projects. One wrong hire can set a team back quarters, not weeks.

So let’s ask the uncomfortable question:

If AI can help candidates look perfect, how are you actually validating who can do the work?

That’s the conversation we’re having on June 23rd.

We are going to talk about what hiring teams are doing right now to cut through the noise and identify actual capability.

We’re going to talk openly about why resumes are losing predictive value and what replaces them next.

Because the answer isn’t banning AI. That ship sailed.

Candidates are going to use AI. Smart candidates should use AI. You have to learn how to evaluate beyond polished storytelling.

That means moving toward hiring models built around evidence instead of claims.

• What happens when you stop asking candidates to “describe their strengths” and start watching them solve problems?

• What happens when you simulate the actual job before the hire?

• What happens when you evaluate judgment, adaptability, communication, prioritization, and execution instead of keyword matching?

Companies using job simulations and skills-based hiring models are starting to uncover something the resume never really measured well in the first place:

Can this person actually perform?

Not interview well.

Not prompt well.

Not write a beautiful resume.

Perform.

This is where hiring was headed 45 years ago. AI finally accelerated the timeline.

What We’ll Cover

• Why resumes are rapidly losing predictive value. What AI-generated applications mean for recruiters and hiring managers

• What skills-based hiring actually looks like

• What teams are changing inside the funnel and what’s actually working.

• How job simulations change the game

• How companies are evaluating candidates through real-world exercises that mirror actual work.

REGISTER HERE

This webinar is sponsored by our friends at Canditech

2 things to bring to the front of your brain this week: Amazon entering the AI hiring market with Connect Talent and a newly released candidate feedback report for 2026 from Canditech.

1. Amazon stepping directly into AI-led interviewing, assessments, and evaluation feels like an opening move. When one of the world’s largest cloud providers starts building native hiring infrastructure, it changes the pressure on the entire HR tech market.

2. Canditech’s latest candidate feedback report also reinforces where hiring is heading. The research found that 95% of candidates prefer assessments tied to real-world job scenarios, while 83% say simulations are the most engaging hiring format.

A few things from the report stood out:

• 95% of candidates prefer assessments connected to real job tasks

• 83% said simulations were the most engaging hiring format

• Only 17% preferred more traditional evaluation methods over simulations

That’s a pretty strong indicator that candidates want hiring processes to feel closer to the actual work.

Here’s the report overview

Cut your hiring time by 50%

Breaking News

UKG Cuts 950 Jobs in Latest Restructuring Round
UKG is cutting another 950 employees as part of its latest restructuring effort. This is the reality of PE-backed software companies. Eliminate overlap, tighten operations, improve margins. UKG reportedly sits around $3 billion in ARR with more than 80,000 customers globally. They are not struggling. This is what “lean and efficient” looks like in modern enterprise software.

Amazon Launches “Connect Talent”
Amazon officially entered the AI hiring market with Connect Talent. The platform uses AI-led voice interviews, competency assessments, and explainable scoring based on Amazon’s internal hiring science. The bigger story: resumes are becoming less valuable as AI-generated applications flood recruiting systems. Amazon is betting the future of hiring moves toward conversation and competency instead of keyword matching.

Acquisitions

LumApps Acquires Comeen
LumApps acquired workplace experience platform Comeen as companies continue investing in hybrid work infrastructure. This is not some blockbuster acquisition, but it tells you the office is far from dead. Companies still care deeply about workplace coordination, communication, room management, and employee experience inside physical environments. Vendors are quietly fighting to own the “future workplace” category.

Greenhouse Acquires Ezra AI Labs for “Voice-First” Interviewing
Greenhouse acquired Ezra AI Labs after reporting that applications per recruiter have increased 412% since 2023. AI-generated resumes are overwhelming recruiters with polished applications that all look the same. Greenhouse is responding by moving evaluation away from resumes and toward conversational AI interviewing. The industry is shifting from document review to communication analysis.

Research

Skills-Based Hiring Keeps Accelerating Despite Operational Challenges
Canditech’s research found that 95% of candidates prefer assessments tied to real-world job scenarios, while 83% say job simulations are the most engaging hiring format. As AI-generated resumes continue flooding recruiting systems, employers are shifting toward assessments and structured evaluations to validate actual skills over polished applications.

Funding

HrFlow.ai Raises €6 Million Pre-Series A
Paris-based HrFlow.ai raised €6 million as it positions itself around AI hiring infrastructure and orchestration. The interesting part is the messaging. Some announcements frame them as an AI agent company while others focus heavily on parsing and backend infrastructure. My guess is they are building the connective layer underneath modern recruiting systems, not just another flashy AI interface.

Rippling Hits $16.8B Valuation with New $450M Raise
Rippling raised another $450 million and now sits at a $16.8 billion valuation. The company continues expanding far beyond payroll into devices, identity, HR, finance, and IT operations. The market is consolidating around platforms that want to become the single operating system for the business.

Awardco Secures $165M to Make Employee Recognition “Smart”
Awardco raised $165 million to expand its AI-powered employee recognition platform. The idea is simple: use AI to determine when recognition should happen before disengagement becomes attrition. Companies are increasingly treating retention as a data and workflow problem instead of purely a management problem.

WorkTech is bananas this week. Before we get into the stories we’re tracking, let’s talk about software features.

Too many product teams push features that haven’t been validated. Either nobody needs them or the UI is so confusing it’s painful to use. Employees don’t adopt software just because a company bought it. They didn’t have a say in the purchase, and usually, the tool just overcomplicates their day.

Overcomplication equals zero adoption. And adoption is critical.

Building AI features is one thing. Building software people are excited to use is another.

That’s why we’re introducing our newest network partner, Harbinger Group. Harbinger helps SaaS scale-ups and enterprise product teams in HR Tech and Learning design, build, and modernize software that gets adopted, not just demoed. Through consulting-led digital engineering, they enable organizations to scale delivery, transform platforms, and integrate GenAI into core offerings, turning ideas into products people truly use.

You’ll hear more from them across the network soon. Glad to have them aboard.

3 Things We Are Tracking

1. SHRM Talent 2026 Trends (From our recording live on site)

2. Amazon enters Recruiting

3. Meta trains AI on workers keystrokes

A note to the unWRKed subscribers… We are giving away some cash!

Sign up to win free $$$. We are giving away gift cards between $50 and $150 twice a month live on the BARF. We don’t need your soc #. Just sign up so that we can pull your name and our friends at Canditech can send you the winnings.

Win your gift card here

Here’s the top 3 things we are tracking.

SHRM Talent 2026: Structural Workforce Shifts

• Organizations are adopting a permanent “lean + AI” model that effectively ends the traditional backfill for most mid-level roles.

• The focus has shifted from recruitment to “Talent Architecture,” where granular skills mapping replaces static job titles for more fluid teams.

• CHROs are warning of “Culture Atrophy” as productivity expectations rise while the traditional employment deal feels increasingly broken.

Amazon breaks into the market with Connect Talent

• Amazon is deploying “Connect Talent,” a solution that uses AI agents to build and run voice-led competency assessments.

• The system provides explainable scoring and an audit trail based on decades of Amazon’s internal hiring science.

• It eliminates scheduling friction by allowing candidates to complete mobile-first voice interviews 24/7.

Meta: Training AI on Worker Keystrokes

• Meta is installing software to track employee mouse movements and keystrokes to train autonomous AI agents.

• The data will be used to teach AI how to perform complex internal tasks currently handled by humans.

• This move follows a fresh round of layoffs cutting 8,000 roles to fund a $135 billion AI infrastructure push.

Do you know George LaRocque?

If you spend any time around HR tech and don’t, I’m honestly not sure what to tell you.

George has forgotten more about the HR tech market than most people will learn all year, which is why when he puts something together, we pay attention.

This time, he teamed up with HireClix to build a quick career site audit for Heads of TA and HR leaders who want to know whether their hiring front door is actually built for the market we’re in, not the one we used to have.

7 Questions…

Help George out here with a few answers.

Help George Out Here

This past week at SHRM Talent 26 in Dallas, one theme kept coming up over and over again: too many companies still rely on gut checks to evaluate talent.

That is a problem.

Skills assessments should be part of modern hiring, yet plenty of teams are still making decisions based on resume bias, interview chemistry, and instinct. That is how great candidates get missed.

We’re excited to welcome Canditech as a new WRKdefined network partner.

To kick things off, we’re launching the CandiWheel live on the BARF. Every month we’ll be giving away hundreds of dollars in cash, spinning the wheel twice a month and picking winners from our registered audience.

SIGN UP FREE HERE: https://wrkdefined.com/canditech

Want in? Register here and get your name in the pot.

Let’s break it all down.

7 HR Trends in 2026

In 2026, HR leaders will be critical in shaping strategies that build engaged teams and drive business success.

Download the trends report here.

• Create employee experiences that resonate

• Better deliver benefits that matter to your workforce

• Close skill gaps with effective development programs

• Leverage data and AI to make smarter decisions

Here’s our take

Top Episodes

Punk Rock HR: 306: Living Better to Lead Better with Scott Eblin

The Human Roll: Payroll Like a Boss: Turning Payroll into a Strategic Business Function

Directionally Correct: People Analytics is a commodity & HRBench will save it - John Barry, Matt Maguire, & Brandon Collins - #170

Elevate Your AIQ: Ep 115: Humanizing the Hiring Experience and Earning Candidate Trust with Jerry Jao

HR Mixtape: Beyond the Stereotypes: Helping Gen Z and Every Generation Thrive Together

Leadership & Motherhood: Three High Achieving Women on Choosing Themselves in Motherhood and Leadership - with Annemieke Rice and Andrea Palmer

The BARF

Breaking News

• Microsoft Overhauls HR Organization Structure
  Microsoft is flattening its HR org, redefining roles, and tightening reporting lines as it rethinks how people operations should function inside a modern enterprise. Big picture: HR is being pushed to operate leaner, faster, and more strategically, not as an administrative layer.

• Recruiting Websites Become Legal Liability with Pixel Tracking Lawsuits
  Companies are getting sued for tracking job applicants with tools like Meta pixels and other website trackers on career sites. Recruiting teams now have a real legal and compliance problem on their hands if candidate data is being captured without proper consent.

• U.S. Employers Expand Skills-Based Hiring Mandates Across States
  The move away from degree requirements keeps accelerating as more states and employers formally adopt skills-based hiring policies. The market is no longer debating whether degrees matter less. It is figuring out how to operationalize skills-first hiring at scale.

• Ryan Applies to BJ’s and Questions Modern Recruiting (How many interviews is too many?)
  Applying online should not feel like an interrogation. Candidate experience remains wildly broken when applicants are forced through bloated, repetitive workflows for hourly and frontline roles. Employers keep saying they need talent while making it painful to apply.

Skills assessment is a critical part of the hiring process. Unfortunately to many companies rely on gut checks to “assess” their new hires. This is a recipe for failure. There’s really no other way to say it. Canditech is a platform that we stand behind because we know hiring mangers that have scaled their tech teams with candidates that they once passed over.

The gut check method isn’t a good idea. Check this out

Acquisitions

• HR Path Acquires GDT Brasil, Expands Global Footprint
  HR Path continues its acquisition spree, adding GDT Brasil after recently acquiring Inspire HR. The move strengthens its HR transformation capabilities in Latin America and signals aggressive global expansion.

• Humanly Acquires Anthill to Move Beyond Hiring
  Humanly bought Anthill to expand from recruiting into employee retention and frontline engagement. Translation: AI vendors are no longer content owning just talent acquisition. They want the full employee lifecycle.

• Allvia Acquires HR Pals
  Allvia continues building out its workforce services platform with the acquisition of HR Pals. The broader play is clear: bundle outsourced HR, support, and workforce ops into one scalable services stack.

• Paylocity Snags Grayscale for AI Recruiting
  Paylocity acquired Grayscale to strengthen its AI recruiting capabilities and move further upstream into sourcing and screening. HCM platforms want to own recruiting before the ATS even enters the conversation.

Research

• Salary.com Finds HR Trusts Pay Fairness More Than Employees Do
  HR leaders believe compensation is fair, but many admit they are not confident employees agree. That gap matters. If your workforce does not trust your pay practices, your compensation strategy is already leaking credibility.

• SHRM Releases State of AI in HR 2026 Report
  SHRM’s latest AI report shows AI adoption in HR is moving from experimentation into operational use. The question is no longer whether HR will use AI. It is who will use it well versus who will fake innovation theater.

• AI Recruiting Cuts Time-to-Hire by 70 Percent According to Pin
  Pin reports AI recruiting can reduce time-to-hire by 70 percent, driven largely by faster response rates and automated engagement. Speed is becoming a competitive advantage, not just an efficiency metric.

• Fama Releases State of Misconduct at Work Report
  Fama analyzed hundreds of thousands of candidate screenings across 8 misconduct categories and 9 industries using AI and public online data. Employers are increasingly screening for behavioral risk, not just qualifications.

Funding

• Shiftsmart Raises $95M
  Shiftsmart lands major funding to continue building workforce and gig infrastructure. Investors are betting big on labor optimization platforms that can make contingent labor smarter and more efficient.

• Humanly Raises $25M
  Humanly’s latest raise backs a notable shift in the AI hiring market: using AI to support job seekers, not just employers. Candidate-side enablement may become the next battleground in recruiting tech.

• VensureHR Raises $450M in Debt Financing
  VensureHR secured $450 million to accelerate acquisitions and AI investment. PE-backed HR platforms continue loading up capital to consolidate the market and buy growth.

Episode Overview:

Technology constantly changes the “wrapper,” but the core challenges of HR—hiring, performance, and workforce management—remain the same. As the head of ADP Ventures, Oz Khan breaks down how the market is moving toward global HCM opportunities and why a founder’s narrative is just as important as their data.

Key Takeaways:

• The New Series A: Why fewer deals are happening, but valuations for top-tier companies remain high.

• SaaS vs. AI-Native: How to distinguish between durable software businesses and fast-growing AI startups.

• The Investment Signal: Why AI is no longer an “add-on” but a core requirement for future upside.

• Global Expansion: Why the biggest HR Tech opportunities are currently sitting outside the U.S. market.

• Strategic Growth: When should a company build a feature internally versus acquiring a partner?

• The Founder’s Edge: How to craft a story of traction and market fit that wins over venture capital.

Guest:

Oz Khan, Head of ADP Ventures

Oz leads investment strategies at ADP Ventures, focusing on early-stage companies that are redefining workforce innovation and the future of work.

Topics Covered:

HR Tech Trends, ADP Ventures, AI in HR, Venture Capital Strategy, HR Innovation, Startup Funding 2024, Global HCM Markets, SaaS vs AI, Human Capital Management.

Hosts:

William Tincup (LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com)

Ryan Leary (LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com)

Connect with WRKdefined:⁠Website⁠ | ⁠Substack⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠

Check it out here

What if the candidate with the “messy” résumé is actually the one who ramps fastest? Rebecca Kehoe from Cornell University breaks down what HR gets wrong about job hopping, why onboarding matters more than most teams realize, and how performance, culture fit, and career transitions are more connected than we think.

In this episode, Rebecca Kehoe shares research on how job hoppers often come up to speed faster, adapt to organizational norms more efficiently, and can show measurable impact within just a few months. The conversation explores onboarding, the role of “unlearning” during career transitions, post-COVID hiring patterns, internal mobility, and what this research means for how organizations evaluate talent.

Key Takeaways

• Employees who have moved between roles or organizations frequently ramp faster because they’ve already built the muscle of entering new environments, learning systems quickly, and adapting to unfamiliar cultural norms.

• The speed at which new hires succeed is heavily influenced by onboarding. Organizations with structured onboarding programs help employees translate prior experience into performance far more quickly than those that treat onboarding as an afterthought.

• Career transitions require a period of “unlearning.” Employees must let go of habits, assumptions, and processes from previous workplaces before they can fully align with the expectations and workflows of a new organization.

• Performance impact can emerge sooner than many companies assume. Research discussed in the episode suggests meaningful differences in ramp time and contribution can appear within roughly the first five months.

• Internal mobility can deliver many of the same benefits associated with external job changes. When organizations intentionally design pathways for employees to move between roles, they build adaptability and development while retaining institutional knowledge.

Learn More About Cornell’s ILR School HR Master’s Programs

Cornell’s ILR School offers exceptional HR master’s programs that combine rigorous academics with practical application. We offer programs designed for professionals with 2-5 years of experience and for executives with 8+ years of HR experience. Engage with world-renowned faculty, connect with HR executives, and become part of Cornell’s prestigious alumni network. Take your career and organization to the next level with a Master’s from Cornell.

Learn more about ILR’s Graduate Degree Programs

Guest

Rebecca Kehoe is an Associate Professor at Cornell University’s ILR School where her research focuses on human capital, employee mobility, performance, and how organizations develop talent over time. Her work helps HR leaders better understand hiring outcomes, onboarding effectiveness, and the long-term impact of workforce mobility.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-kehoe-a94b871/

• Cornell ILR School: https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/people/rebecca-kehoe

Connect with Us

• William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/

• Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/

Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network

• Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/

• Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined

Cornell’s ILR School offers exceptional HR master’s programs that combine rigorous academics with practical application. We offer programs designed for professionals with 2-5 years of experience and for executives with 8+ years of HR experience. Engage with world-renowned faculty, connect with HR executives, and become part of Cornell’s prestigious alumni network. Take your career and organization to the next level with a Master’s from Cornell.

Learn more about ILR’s Graduate Degree Programs

In this episode, Ryan and William unpack how loneliness is dragging down productivity, why employees are clinging to stability over ambition, and what that means for retention strategies in an AI-driven world. They challenge outdated talent practices like hoarding high performers and dig into how robotics in manufacturing is forcing leaders to rethink workforce design.

⁠This episode is sponsored by FAMA⁠. ⁠Fama helps employers make safer,⁠ smarter hiring decisions by using AI to screen public online content and identify risk and fit before day one.

Key Takeaways:

• Loneliness isn’t some soft HR buzzword. Cigna calls it a hidden cost, and they’re right. When people feel disconnected, they don’t quit. They just stop trying. Discretionary effort disappears. That’s not a feelings problem. That’s a performance problem.

• Monster’s 2026 report basically says what most of us already feel. People aren’t chasing shiny titles right now. They’re chasing stability. After years of layoffs and whiplash, job security is the new flex. You want retention? Make people feel safe.

• McDonald’s had that internal no-poach setup across franchises. You couldn’t just move stores even if it was better for you. That’s talent hoarding in a uniform. Managers do the same thing every day. If someone’s good, reward them and move them up. Don’t cage them.

• Boston Dynamics and Hyundai aren’t playing around. These humanoid robots are being trained with VR and motion capture, powered by Nvidia chips, to lift, move, and handle heavy manufacturing work. Humans don’t vanish. They shift. You train the machine. You manage the machine. You fix the machine. That’s the new layer of work.

• HR Dive nailed it. Companies say they’re hiring, but only if everything lines up perfectly. CFOs are squeezing. Hiring managers want unicorns. HR is stuck holding half-approved reqs. That’s not a talent shortage. That’s a confidence problem dressed up in better PR.

Chapters

00:00 Kicking ish off

03:02 Hair Care and Personal Grooming

06:02 Employment Practices and Talent Hoarding

08:58 Loneliness in the Workplace

12:04 Employee Engagement and Productivity

17:48 Job Security and Employee Retention

28:59 AI and Robotics in Manufacturing

36:00 Conclusion and Future Considerations

Connect with Us

• William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/

• Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/

Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network

• Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/

• Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined

• Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

So he did.

Along with his memes about “cleansing corrupt companies,” screenshots of internal dashboards with client names blurred but recognizable to prove his points, and a flood of Instagram reels mocking his colleagues who were overweight.

Two weeks after he starts, employees start DM’ing screenshots to leadership. They’re pissed. They’re scared. Some are already updating their LinkedIn profiles.

And the kicker? NOTHING in his pre-hire background checks triggered any red flags.

Here’s What You Need to Know

This example is fake. But it happens every single day in hiring.

Not this exact scenario, obviously. But some version of it. The specifics change, racist tweets instead of fat-shaming reels, QAnon conspiracy theories instead of corporate corruption memes, revenge porn instead of dashboard screenshots, but the pattern stays the same.

You ignore the most basic yet most obvious signs of what’s about to happen. Then you act surprised when it blows up in your face.

We are hosting a live episode (webinar style) with Ben Mones from Fama to discuss this and the workflows to prevent this disaster from happening on your watch.

Join the webinar on THIS TOPIC

The Background Check Theater

Traditional background checks can be corporate theater.

They check if someone has a criminal record. If they actually went to the university they claimed. If their previous employer will confirm they worked there (and only barely, because legal departments have stripped reference checks down to “yes, they worked here from this date to that date”).

They don’t check if someone spends their evenings creating alt-right meme accounts. They don’t flag the guy who posts “joking” threats about his ex-boss. They don’t catch the woman who runs a side hustle doxxing people she disagrees with politically.

Your pre-employment screening was designed for a world where people’s personal lives and professional lives were separate. Where what happened outside the office stayed outside the office.

That world doesn’t exist anymore.

Every single person you hire comes with a digital footprint. A social media presence. A comment history. A trail of what they actually believe when they think no one’s watching.

And you’re ignoring it because... why exactly? Because it feels invasive? Because you’re afraid of what you’ll find? Because HR told you it’s a legal gray area?

“Bring Your Whole Self” Is a Trap

The “bring your whole self to work” mantra became the corporate world’s favorite empty promise somewhere around 2015. It sounds progressive. It sounds inclusive. It sounds like something a modern, enlightened company would say.

What it really means is: “Bring the sanitized, LinkedIn-approved version of yourself that makes us look good in recruiting materials.”

Because when someone actually brings their whole self: complete with controversial opinions, messy social media history, and the parts of their personality they don’t edit for professional consumption: companies panic.

The phrase creates a deceptive safety net. It suggests you can be authentic while maintaining unwritten rules about what’s actually acceptable. Spoiler: the unwritten rules always win.

For managers, “whole self” authenticity creates chaos. They don’t want authentic people. They want people focused on hitting KPIs. When teams try genuine authenticity, managers perceive disorder and respond with more process, more control, more monitoring of “seat time” instead of outcomes.

And here’s where it gets dangerous for your organization: the gap between what you promise (”bring your whole self!”) and what you actually tolerate creates massive risk. Because the person who takes you literally: who assumes their whole self includes their Twitter rants or their Reddit history or their TikTok hot takes: becomes your liability.

But you invited them in. You told them it was safe.

The Social Media Blind Spot

Public social media is a window into risk that traditional screening completely misses.

Someone’s Instagram isn’t just their vacation photos. It’s their values on display. Their judgment. Their impulse control. Their respect for boundaries. Their treatment of others when no one’s holding them accountable.

A person who publicly mocks marginalized groups “as a joke” will bring that same lack of judgment to your workplace. Someone who screenshots confidential information to win online arguments will do the same with your company data. The employee who builds their personal brand by trashing their employer will trash you next.

This isn’t speculation. It’s pattern recognition.

The signals are right there. Public. Searchable. Free. You’re just choosing not to look because traditional HR practice hasn’t caught up with digital reality.

What This Actually Costs You

Let’s talk about real consequences.

When the wrong hire brings their unfiltered “whole self” to work, you get:

• Hostile work environment complaints from employees who stumble across their coworker’s public hate speech

• Talent bleeding out because your best people don’t want to work alongside someone who posts that stuff

• Productivity collapse as the team spends more time on Slack discussing the situation than doing actual work

• Legal exposure when someone connects the dots between what you could have known and what you should have prevented

• Brand damage when it inevitably leaks to social media that you employed this person

Your board won’t care that traditional background checks came back clean. They’ll ask why you didn’t look at publicly available information that would have flagged the problem before you extended an offer.

Try explaining that one in your next risk management presentation.

What You’re Actually Screening For

This matters because people get confused about what social media screening actually means.

You’re not looking for political opinions. You’re looking for how people express those opinions: with respect or with harassment.

You’re not judging someone’s hobbies. You’re identifying whether their hobbies involve creating content that would make your workplace toxic.

You’re not policing their personal time. You’re assessing whether their public behavior demonstrates judgment compatible with your organization’s values and legal obligations.

The difference isn’t subtle. It’s the line between “this person votes differently than I do” and “this person has a documented history of publicly attacking people.”

Join Us for the Real Conversation

William Tincup, Ryan Leary, and Ben Mones are hosting a webinar on March 5th at 2pm EST to break down exactly what modern screening looks like in practice.

No corporate fluff. No vendor pitches disguised as education. Just practical guidance on:

• Where traditional screening falls short and why

• How public social media signals risk before it enters your workplace

• Modern prevention strategies that actually work for HR and TA teams

• How to stay compliant while screening in a digital-first world

Register here and stop pretending the digital era doesn’t apply to your hiring process.

Because here’s the reality: every company that’s dealt with a catastrophic bad hire wishes they’d looked at publicly available information before extending the offer. Every single one.

Don't Be The Next Case Study

In this episode we talk about internal mobility, talent development, hiring decisions, HR management, employee advancement, organizational culture, AI in HR, career progression, talent acquisition, leadership.

Key Takeaways

• JR’s research shows that mobility isn’t blocked by a lack of roles. It’s blocked by the human calculus managers make when deciding whether to release talent. Managers optimize for stability and predictability, and the system often rewards that behavior. Until incentives align with mobility, even the best programs stall.

• Lateral moves carry more long-term value than most organizations acknowledge. JR’s empirical work reveals that sideways transitions often generate broader skill acquisition, better visibility, and stronger future promotion velocity. Companies that treat lateral movement as legitimate progression see healthier internal pipelines and more resilient talent.

• AI has a role, but not the one most leaders assume. JR frames it as a mechanism to surface overlooked skills, reduce noise in matching, and create visibility into internal pathways. Technology can correct informational gaps, but it cannot override psychological safety or managerial trust. Culture decides whether mobility sticks.

• Employees and organizations share responsibility for mobility outcomes. JR emphasizes that employees must actively navigate their own careers while organizations must remove structural friction. When both sides commit to transparency, aligned incentives, and meaningful development pathways, internal mobility becomes a strategic advantage instead of a persistent frustration.

We partner with institutions that do the work. Cornell ILR has been a cornerstone of the HR and labor community for decades. Through its partnership with You Should Know and WRKdefined, ILR supports professionals who want to deepen their understanding of work, organizations, and career growth.

Learn more about ILR’s Graduate Degree Programs

Cornell's ILR School offers exceptional HR master's programs that combine rigorous academics with practical application. We offer programs designed for professionals with 2-5 years of experience and for executives with 8+ years of HR experience. Engage with world-renowned faculty, connect with HR executives, and become part of Cornell's prestigious alumni network. Take your career and organization to the next level with a Master’s from Cornell.

Learn more about ILR's Graduate Programs

Chapters:

03:00 Research Focus: Internal Mobility and Hiring Decisions

05:52 Challenges in Internal Mobility: The Role of Managers

08:37 Talent Hoarding: Understanding Managerial Behavior

11:56 The Value Proposition of Promoting Talent

14:51 Incentivizing Managers to Promote Talent

17:46 Cultural Shifts for Internal Mobility

20:48 The Future of Talent Mobility and AI’s Role

24:21 Empowering Employees Through Technology

25:21 The Role of AI in Job Matching

27:03 Balancing Skills and Development

28:03 Ownership of Internal Mobility

29:34 The Disconnect in Talent Acquisition

32:17 The Importance of Onboarding for Internal Hires

34:23 Lateral Moves as Career Advancement

38:46 Redefining Promotions and Career Growth

Featured Guest

JR Keller, Faculty Director, Executive Master of Human Resource Management (EMHRM)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrkeller/
Cornell ILR EMHRM: https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/
Cornell ILR Latest Research: https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/faculty-and-research

Hosts

William Tincup: LinkedIn: https:// linkedin.com/in/tincup

Ryan Leary:LinkedIn:htps://linkedin.com/in/ryanleary

That’s why the **Findem acquisition of Getro matters. Not because it’s flashy. Not because it’s AI. But because it quietly admits something this industry avoids saying out loud.

Recruiting does not fail at the top of the funnel.

It fails at signal.

AI isn’t the problem. The foundation is.

Here’s what I think. Most AI in recruiting is being asked to automate judgment on top of broken inputs. Fragmented resumes. Inflated titles. Outdated skills. Biased career histories. When the data is messy, automation doesn’t improve decisions. It just scales bad ones faster.

That’s why so many teams feel like AI “isn’t ready for HR.” The models aren’t weak. The foundations are. You can’t predict quality if you don’t understand how people actually move through work.

This is where the Getro acquisition becomes more than a product story.

This isn’t a feature add. It’s a category nudge.

On the surface, this looks like another HR tech tuck-in. Underneath, it challenges how we’ve defined talent intelligence for the last decade.

Findem built its value on mapping careers, skills, and labor market movement. Getro brings behavior. Community dynamics. Alumni motion. Referral gravity. The invisible pathways people take when they land jobs without applying.

Put simply, Getro adds human signal to machine logic.

Most hires don’t come from job boards. They come from nudges. Intros. Alumni emails. “You should talk to this team.” That’s not anecdotal. That’s structural. We just never built systems around it.

This move pulls networking out of the “soft” bucket and into hiring infrastructure.

Strong ties feel safe. Weak ties win.

Recruiting loves strong ties. Trusted referrals. Known quantities. Safe bets.

Weak ties carry new information. Less redundancy. Less bias. More surface area. When teams over-optimize for strong ties, they recycle the same talent from the same companies with the same backgrounds. Weak ties introduce variance. And variance is where quality improves.

Getro’s community and alumni mechanics surface those weak ties at scale. That complements Findem’s intelligence layer in a way most sourcing tools can’t replicate.

Job posts are still stuck in another era.

Job posts are treated like static marketing copy, not adaptive systems. Long requirements lists. Zero feedback loops. Publish and pray.

Hope is not a hiring strategy.

An intelligent job post learns. It adapts to market response. It connects who engages, who converts, and who actually performs after hire. When job posts are tied to outcomes instead of volume, hiring stops being a numbers game.

Combine talent intelligence with community signal and job posts stop being billboards. They become instruments.

What breaks if this shift doesn’t happen

Here’s the consequence most teams don’t want to face.

In tighter labor markets, volume hides inefficiency. In softer markets, it exposes it. Teams optimizing for applicant flow instead of relevance will move slower, not faster. Recruiters will screen more and hire worse. Hiring managers will lose confidence in TA altogether.

Req counts stop telling a useful story.
Applicant volume becomes noise.
Speed without signal turns into risk.

This also forces companies to rethink whether hiring lives in tools, teams, or systems.

This becomes table stakes, not differentiation

This is the part worth being clear about.

Outcome-centric hiring will not be a competitive advantage for long. It will be expected. Signal-driven recruiting will become assumed. Volume-based TA will be treated as a cost center under scrutiny, not a strategic function.

Teams that don’t make this shift won’t just underperform. They’ll lose credibility inside their own organizations. Leadership won’t ask for more tools. They’ll ask why hiring still feels disconnected from results.

That question is already coming.

Outcomes beat tools. Every time.

The future of recruiting is quieter than the hype suggests. Fewer features. Better signal. More relevance.

Teams that win will:

• Stop measuring activity and start measuring decision quality

• Invest in connected data instead of chasing features

• Design hiring systems around how people actually find work

• Treat networking as infrastructure, not side work

Findem’s acquisition of Getro doesn’t guarantee success. Integration is hard. Change management is harder. Many organizations will resist because volume feels safer than precision.

But direction matters.

This move points toward a recruiting model that values outcomes over optics and signal over noise. One that aligns technology with human behavior instead of pretending job boards are still the center of the universe.

That’s not hype.
That’s correction.

Hi Friends,

This week isn’t about one headline. It’s about pressure building from three directions at once. How kids learn to communicate. Why senior women are walking away from leadership. And how AI is quietly rewriting headcount math while regulators scramble to catch up.

None of these stories live in isolation. Together, they sketch the shape of the next workforce. Less patient. More compressed. More automated. And far less forgiving of leaders who confuse control with strategy.

Let’s get into it.

The Signal

We keep treating technology as something people “use.” The reality is that entire generations are being shaped inside it. The difference matters more than most leaders want to admit.

Your org chart is lying to you. Most leaders make decisions with outdated or incomplete views of how work actually flows. The OrgChart gives you a live, usable view of roles, reporting lines, and talent structure so you can see gaps, risk, and opportunity before they become problems.

Check out OrgChart

The Stories

Australia Banned Social Media for Kids. The Real Impact Will Hit the Workforce.

Read the full story

Australia banned social media for everyone under 16, framing it as a mental health and safety move. On the surface, it sounds responsible. Dig deeper, and it gets complicated fast.

Here’s what we think. This is #Boomerville thinking applied to a generation that didn’t “grow into” technology. They grew up inside it. Social platforms, for better or worse, became where kids learned expression, identity, feedback, and social calibration. Not because it was healthy all the time, but because that’s where the world showed up.

From a workplace lens, social media built real muscles. Handling feedback without protection. Filtering noise from signal. Networking before anyone called it networking. Learning that family cares, but the world does not. Banning access doesn’t remove those pressures. It delays exposure and shifts where the learning happens.

The data tells the story. Yes, excessive use correlates with anxiety and depression. But it also correlates with stronger digital communication skills and comfort navigating group dynamics later in life. That tension is real. Pretending the solution is a blanket ban ignores the downstream cost.

You can ban platforms. You can’t ban the skills modern work demands.

AI Regulation Is Turning Work Tech into a Legal Minefield

Read the full story

State-level AI laws are taking effect, and they don’t agree with each other. New York. California. Texas. Illinois. Colorado. Each has its own rules around AI in hiring, promotion, training, and performance management.

Here’s what we think. This is the one you forward to legal and hope they actually read.

Everyone is slapping “AI-powered” on their careers site while regulators are quietly building a compliance tripwire jungle. Bias audits. Candidate notices. Layoff reporting tied to AI decisions. If you’re a Work Tech vendor and can’t clearly explain how your system handles audits and transparency, you’re not innovative. You’re radioactive.

This is where product decisions turn into lawsuits.

Corporate America Is Bleeding Senior Women

Read the full report

The 2025 Lean In and McKinsey report should scare every CEO awake. Burnout is accelerating. Mobility is stalling. And the leadership pipeline for women is quietly collapsing at the exact levels companies claim matter most.

Here’s what we think. This isn’t a resilience problem. It’s a structural one.

Sixty percent of senior-level women report frequent burnout, and among those with five years or less at their company, that jumps to seventy percent. Job security anxiety is sky-high. At the same time, only half of companies still say women’s career advancement is a priority.

Directors through VPs are doing the math and deciding the climb isn’t worth the cost. That’s not a talent issue. That’s a leadership design failure.

The Banks Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud

Read the full story

JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citi, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs. Conservative institutions. Publicly stating AI has already doubled productivity in some roles and that headcount will go down as a result.

Here’s what we think. When boring banks talk openly about cutting jobs due to AI, the operating model is set. CFOs aren’t thinking about “employee experience.” They’re doing math. Headcount minus automation. Output per worker. Margin expansion.

If you sell into HR or TA, your buyers are about to be told, “Do the same work with fewer humans.” This is where the future of work quietly becomes fewer workers, not better slogans.

Top Network Episodes

Burnout, compliance pressure, and the communication breakdown reshaping modern work

Episode 29 | Jason Averbook on 4 Forces Reshaping Work: Why AI Transformation Isn’t About Technology

The Championship! AI Recruiting Challenges and Future-Proof Solutions

Wild Connections at RecFest: On Stage with Career BFF

Making Job Hunting Human Again with Michael Wenning @ HR Tech2025

If this hit, don’t keep it to yourself.

Share it. Repost it. Forward it to someone who should probably be paying attention. Start a little trouble in the group chat.

We’ll be back with more in the new year.

Until then, take the time, log off when you can, and enjoy the holidays however you celebrate them. Rest matters more than pretending it doesn’t.

Here’s what we think. The biggest shift isn’t AI itself. It’s what AI exposes. The myth of job security. The erosion of real communication. The uneven pressure placed on certain leaders, especially senior women. The gap between how fast organizations want to move and how prepared humans are to absorb that speed. This moment isn’t about tools. It’s about stress-testing leadership, culture, and mental health all at once.

In this episode, the conversation moves from mindset and social dynamics to AI compliance, productivity tradeoffs, and the burnout hitting senior-level women hardest. The throughline is clear. Technology keeps moving forward, but leadership, policy, and mental health are being stress-tested every step of the way.

What We Cover

• Why positivity is less about vibes and more about discipline

• How social behavior and communication norms are changing

• AI compliance and why regulation always trails reality

• The illusion of job security in modern organizations

• Social media’s impact on communication skills

• Burnout and stalled advancement for senior women

Key Takeaways

• Job security is no longer something organizations can promise. Roles evolve constantly as automation, efficiency, and market pressure collide. Stability now comes from adaptability, not tenure.

• AI is increasing productivity while quietly eliminating jobs. Companies celebrate speed and output but struggle to talk honestly about the human cost. Compliance frameworks are trying to catch up.

• Communication skills are eroding as tools replace presence. Feedback, networking, and relationship-building require intentional effort or they disappear. Muscle memory matters.

• Senior-level women are carrying disproportionate pressure. Leadership expectations, political tension around DEI, and limited advancement paths are fueling burnout at the top.

Chapters

00:00 Manifesting Positivity in Daily Life

02:50 Navigating Social Interactions at the Bar

05:59 The Impact of AI Regulations on WorkTech

08:51 The Future of AI Compliance

11:45 Debating Social Media Restrictions for Youth

14:38 Adapting to New Communication Norms

17:04 Building Muscle Memory in Feedback and Networking

19:57 The Impact of AI on Job Security and Productivity

24:53 Women in the Workforce: Burnout and Career Advancement

31:50 The Political Landscape of DEI and Women’s Leadership

Hosts

William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/

Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/

Connect with Us

Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/WRKdefined

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/

Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined

Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/

Hire with confidence. Grow with purpose.

Plum’s durable skills pre-employment assessment fuel both smarter hiring and stronger employee development.

Key Takeaways

• Plum opened the door for people who never saw themselves as healthcare workers

• Durable skills like communication, innovation, and execution predicted success better than degrees

• The health system used Plum outside the ATS to engage people before they ever applied

• Project Equinox targeted a Chicago community with a thirty year life expectancy gap

• A mobile recruitment van equipped with Plum and VR met people where they already were

• Candidates could explore roles through VR without entering a hospital
  Over 200 community members were assessed in the first year across two major events

• Many hires came from people who weren’t looking and didn’t think they were qualified

• Plum gave candidates personal insight and validation about where they naturally thrive

• Retention improved because hires were matched on behavior and potential, not resumes

• Psychometric data helped build trust in a community that historically mistrusted healthcare systems

• Companies underestimate how many people can succeed in non degree roles when matched well

Chapters

00:00 Who is Plum?
01:50 Advocate Health overview
03:10 The life expectancy crisis in Chicago
04:45 Project Equinox is born
06:00 How Melissa and Caitlin met
08:55 Early career idea turns into community hiring strategy
10:00 Why durable skills matter
12:00 Opening the aperture beyond resumes
13:40 Moving Plum outside the ATS
15:30 Matching talent before they apply
17:00 Lessons from Scotiabank
18:40 Opening doors in low income communities
20:20 Building trust and confidence in new roles
21:15 The recruitment van and VR
23:10 Why traditional job fairs fail
24:00 Plum’s candidate owned data model
26:00 On ramps, potential, and future hiring
29:00 Matching behavior to job success
31:00 Real stories from Project Equinox
33:00 The impact of 200 new candidates

Guest Info

Melissa Le, VP Talent Acquisition, Advocate Health
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-le-3495a516/

Caitlin MacGregor, CEO and Co Founder, Plum
Website: https://www.plum.io
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlinmacgregor/

Connect with us

William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/
Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/

Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network
Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/
Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined

In this episode we talk about workforce planning, data visibility, org structure, reorg failures, skill depth, and why spreadsheets keep undermining teams that should be operating on real insight – not rows and cells. Tom breaks down where planning goes sideways, what HR is missing, and how organizations can finally get ahead of 2026 instead of reacting to it.

Key Takeaways

• Almost half of HR leaders say they don’t have clear visibility into their org.

• Seventy percent of reorgs fail, which shows how broken most planning processes are.

• Ninety-eight percent of HR teams still run planning through spreadsheets.

• HR isn’t the problem. The tooling is.

• Companies miss critical skills because they plan person to person instead of position to position.

• Single-threaded knowledge points make organizations fragile.

• Inconsistent data lenses lead to inconsistent talent decisions.

• Planning should be continuous, not a once-a-year fire drill.

• The first COVID-era RIF exposed how dangerous planning without visibility can be.

• Managers can’t see skill impact or team fallout when they plan in rows and columns.

• The real value is in the conversation, but teams never get there because they’re stuck gathering data.

As organizations evolve, HR’s job is no longer reactive, it’s about building the future. But how can you lead when you don’t have a clear view of your structure, roles, and gaps? Are you prepared for 2026? Take a look at your OrgChart.

Chapters

00:00 The real visibility gap inside organizations
02:00 Why reorgs fail more than they succeed
04:00 HR’s Excel addiction
06:00 Why talent decisions fall apart
10:00 Annual planning vs continuous planning
13:00 Making planning fun and interactive
16:00 How missing skills break orgs
20:00 The danger of fragmented data
25:00 RIF mistakes and blind spots
30:00 Planning through the lens of positions
34:00 Future-proofing and organizational readiness
40:00 Where companies should start in 2026

Guest Info

Tom McCarty, CEO, The OrgChart
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-mccarty-1b28762/

Connect with us

William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/
Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/

Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network

Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/
Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined

Here are the important questions bring addressed.

• How will AI agents fit into your org chart and headcount strategy?

• Why you can’t plan the future state of your organization if you don’t clearly understand the current state.

• Why CEOs are freaking out about succession and what real org visibility can do about it.

• How the best leaders in an AI world won’t be the ones with all the answers—but the ones who ask the best questions.

Answer these questions and you’ll get the real story.

As organizations evolve, HR’s job is no longer reactive, it’s about building the future. But how can you lead when you don’t have a clear view of your structure, roles, and gaps? Are you prepared for 2026? Take a look at your OrgChart.

The Visibility Problem HR Never Fixed

The tech stack got stronger. ATSs got shinier. AI showed up with every promise in the world. And HR is still stitching together data from five places to figure out who reports to who.

Most teams are building org charts by hand. Still dragging boxes in PowerPoint. Still retyping names. Still updating files after every departure or reorg. Still guessing their way into planning season.

This is not a skill issue. This is a tools issue.

HR leaders did not sign up to become system architects or spreadsheet operators. They signed up to solve people problems. The tech has not made that easier. It has made it louder.

That is the real story. Everything else is noise.

The Future Org Is Already Taking Shape

AI is forcing teams to rethink how work gets done. Not in a panic way. In a practical way. Leaders are now asking new questions.

Where do AI agents sit? What work is shifting? What skills matter most in the next two or three years? How does human capacity change when automation takes the routine stuff?

Some companies are even debating whether AI agents should appear on the org chart. That conversation only happens when the chart is something more than a static picture.

Succession Is Still the Weak Spot

Executives keep calling succession their weakest discipline. They have meetings about it. They talk about it. Then they pull up a spreadsheet that tells them almost nothing.

The reason is simple.

You cannot plan the future if you cannot see the present.

Org intelligence tools surface strengths, gaps and potential in a way spreadsheets never will. They help companies build actual bench strength instead of hoping for it.

The AI Question Everyone Is Quietly Asking

AI is on every agenda. Every leader wants to know how the org should evolve. Which jobs change. Which roles expand. Which tasks shift to automation. Which skills matter next year.

Those are heavy questions.

Impossible to answer if nobody can clearly see the org today.

Once the structure is visible, those conversations get real.

Here’s food for thought. AI is not the #1 lever in 2026. Odd. I know. But here me out.

It is intentional planning.

The leaders who build multi year models, even imperfect ones, win. They have direction. Rhythm. A reason behind their decisions.

The leaders who avoid planning because the future feels messy stay stuck in the same loop. Bad data. Slow decisions. Constant rework.

Anyhow, this is what Tim Sackett and Tom McCarty, CEO of OrgChart discuss in this episode of HR Famous.

Now you know.

In this episode we talk about agentic AI, workforce design, and what it really takes to evolve from managing people to orchestrating humans plus intelligent systems. We explore how CIOs and CHROs are finally colliding around data and workflow decisions, why adoption will lag hype, and why human oversight will stay central even as AI output gets scary good. If you want a clear view into the next chapter of talent and technology, this one hits.

Key themes we dig into

• Why AI output can surpass human creativity when humans steer it

• Talent leaders moving from headcount management to agent oversight

• Trust as the make-or-break variable for AI adoption

• Where CIO and CHRO priorities merge in real time

• Why data flow is the real battlefield in modern HR tech

• Managing intelligent systems like team members, not tools

• Human creativity as the spark, not the full fire

• Why adoption will be slower, smarter, and people-sensitive

• The new leadership edge: seeing the system, not just the role

This episode is sponsored by Rival. Hiring today requires you to do more than just post and pray. Teams need outbound muscle, a tech stack that supports teams, not slows them down, and a great experience from offer to day one productivity. From helping you find talent, launching them quickly, to supporting their development, Rival makes work flow.

Get Outbound Muscle

Guest Info

Steve O’Brien, SVP, People Solutions & Workforce Analytics, Global HR Connect with Steve on LinkedIn here.

Connect with us
William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/

Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network

• Site: ⁠http://www.wrkdefined.com⁠

• TikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined⁠

• LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined⁠

• Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/⁠

• Twitter (X): ⁠https://twitter.com/WRKdefined⁠

At the same time, bias in hiring algorithms is triggering legal action. Immigration limits are pushing companies to acquire talent through M&A instead of traditional hiring. Healthcare costs are projected to rise 8.4 percent next year, forcing employers to rethink benefits strategies. Yet most employees still do not understand what their benefits actually include or how to enroll in them, which is becoming one of the most overlooked retention risks in the market. Privacy concerns are rising as AI systems begin to capture every internal prompt and decision-making pattern.

This episode breaks down what is actually happening in HR tech and the job market. Not the marketing narrative, but the economic and technology signals that show where work is heading and why leadership teams need to prepare now.

This episode comes from the giving tree….

Rival just dropped a new 30/60/90 Day Onboarding Template built for teams that need new hires contributing fast—not spending their first month figuring out who to talk to or what success looks like.

Get the template here

What you’ll get:

• A fully editable template built for real roles (frontline to leadership)

• Breakdowns for each 30-day block with clear goals and check-in cues

• SMART-goal prompts so each target is measurable

• A “Key Connections” section so new hires quickly build their network

• Manager + HR tips to make onboarding a collaborative win

Why it matters: New hires who ramp fast and connect with the right people early don’t just adapt — they contribute.

Get your template here

Thank you to our partner Rival for sharing this template with our listeners.

Key Takeaways

➡ AI isn’t coming—it’s here, eliminating entry-level roles and now middle managers at scale
➡ Healthcare costs are projected to rise 8.4%, putting pressure on employers and reshaping benefits decisions
➡ Less than 50% of employees know how to enroll in their own benefits, creating a retention and engagement blind spot
➡ Investors are done with concept decks—traction and AI baked into platforms are now mandatory
➡ M&A is being driven by immigration limits as companies acquire teams for access to talent they can’t hire directly
➡ AI agents are becoming the surface layer of HR tech, replacing traditional system interfaces
➡ Bias in AI hiring models is triggering new legal action, especially for disabled and minority candidates
➡ Personalized AI recommendations are becoming the norm, raising serious privacy concerns inside the enterprise
➡ The HR tech market is entering an aggressive consolidation phase to make room for AI-first disruptors
➡ Posture and physical wellness are now tied directly to productivity metrics in enterprise HR planning

Timestamps

00:00 – Middle managers are being eliminated from org charts
02:37 – Sports meltdown and the psychology of losing (Eagles, Phillies)
05:31 – AI’s direct impact on job layers and management roles
08:31 – Bias in AI hiring practices and legal consequences
11:36 – Do jobs reports even matter in modern HR?
14:27 – HR Tech investment is up 60% YOY: why it matters
17:30 – The rise of AI agents as the new HR interface
20:41 – Why apps are dead and conversational AI is the new UI
23:59 – Healthcare costs projected to rise 8.4%
27:03 – Religious discrimination and hiring in global conflict environments
28:35 – Meta to use chatbot data for ad personalization and privacy fallout
31:35 – Workday acquires Sana to double down on AI agent strategy
34:27 – Peer-to-peer learning as the new model for AI adoption in the workplace
36:52 – Investors demand customer proof, not pitch decks
38:27 – Stanford research tracking AI job loss by role, in real time
40:05 – Less than half of employees understand their benefits
41:32 – Posture and productivity: a corporate wellness shift
43:06 – Funding news: PeopleGPT, Diana HR, Sonic Jobs and what they signal

Connect with us

William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/
Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/

Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network

Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/
Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined

#HRTech #FutureOfWork #AIinHR #JobAutomation #EmployeeBenefits #WorkplaceTrends #HRTalent #InvestmentTrends #BARFpodcast

This episode of The Boomband Showcase gets into the real stuff. Not the hype. Real people, real stories, real friction. How AI actually shows up when you’re rewriting a resume, prepping for an interview, or trying to figure out what you want to do next.

There’s talk of burnout, purpose pivots, and a mystery guest who drops a curveball about feeding personal data into AI to unlock better storytelling. It’s smart, raw, and surprisingly human.

If you’ve ever wondered how to use AI without sounding like it, this one’s worth your time.

Key Takeaways

1. AI is an evolving but essential tool for job seekers.

2. Balancing AI use without over-relying is critical.

3. ChatGPT and Gemini are widely used for interview prep and brainstorming.

4. Purpose-driven career pivots require careful framing in interviews.

5. Authentic storytelling makes resumes and interviews more compelling.

6. Loading assessments and personal data into AI can unlock deeper insights.

7. Career burnout can signal a pivot into purpose-driven work.

8. Employers often look for “superpowers” beyond job titles.

9. Leadership is not just about titles—it can show up in every interaction.

10. Networking and connections remain the most powerful job search multipliers.

Chapters

00:02:00 — Guests introduce themselves and share AI job search experiences

00:06:30 — Hector explains using AI for interview prep and research

00:12:15 — Madison outlines Hector’s professional background and leadership qualities

00:18:45 — Hector describes his “superpower” of grit and endurance

00:23:20 — Mystery guest suggests using AI to expand storytelling beyond resumes

00:28:00 — Plane crash scenario reveals problem-solving and resourcefulness

00:34:50 — Michelle shares 30 years of HR experience and career pivot goals

00:41:10 — Purpose vs. burnout: why reframing matters in interviews

00:49:35 — Michelle reveals her “connector” superpower and optimism about networking

00:55:20 — Tony highlights sales leadership, AI adoption, and being a “force multiplier”

Employee Experience vs Happiness: What Leaders Need to Know Post Covid

Too many leaders confuse a happy workforce with a healthy workforce. Happiness is fleeting. Experience is what sticks.

After Covid, everything about work got put under a microscope. Remote work, burnout, shifting priorities, and a workforce that started asking tougher questions about purpose and meaning. The easy button has always been perks, but let’s be real, free snacks and a yoga class don’t fix broken systems.

This conversation dives into what leaders need to focus on now. And it lines up perfectly with Kalifa Oliver’s book, I Think I Love My Job: Secrets to Designing a People Centered Employer Value Proposition. Oliver cuts through the noise and reminds us that work needs to be designed around people, not slogans or branding campaigns.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• Why happiness is a soft metric and why it never lasts.

• How employee experience is the real infrastructure that sustains trust and performance.

• The trap of piling on surveys without ever closing the loop.

• Why silence on a team isn’t proof of engagement. It can mean the opposite.

• What it actually looks like to design work around how people feel, not how you market it.

The end goal isn’t creating happy employees for a quarter. It’s building an environment where people walk in saying, “I love what I do” instead of, “I just need to make it through the day.” That’s not fluff. That’s ambition. And the leaders who get it right will build companies people don’t want to leave.

We have officially hit a new milestone. The WRKdefined Podcast Network has grown to 60 Podcast shows and more than 4,000 episodes, reaching more than 200,000 monthly impressions across Spotify, Apple, YouTube, iHeart, and more. That is 200,000 moments every month where someone is choosing to listen, learn, and be inspired by the conversations our hosts are creating.

This growth is not just a number. It is proof that our shows and hosts are creating content people actually care about, content that teaches, challenges, and entertains. Every episode, every interview, and every story is building a community that keeps coming back for more. Huge congratulations to every host and production team for putting in the work and making it happen.

Now… Let’s get to the news.

Top Episodes

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The Working Well Podcast: #065 - Living Your Why | 52 Life Lessons – Lesson 2 – P2

SpeakEasy HR: 042: The Great Trust Reset - Relearning, Rebuilding and Repairing

Talentless: Managing the Manager

It’s About Payroll: Inside Rain’s Mission to Make Every Day Payday

Reciprocity with AG: Balancing Passion and Leadership: A Chat with Sarah Fell (Part 2 of 2)

The BARF

Breaking News

How a photo of a barricade that Blackstone employees erected to shield themselves from a deadly shooter in their office went viral
Workplace violence is not just a security problem. It is an operational reality HR must own and active threat protocols should be as common as fire drills.

Chinese state-backed hackers are hitting unpatched on-prem SharePoint servers
If you are running SharePoint on-prem and not patching, you are leaving your business unlocked. Cloud adoption is not just about features, it is about closing gaps you will not manage yourself.

CEOs are bragging about shrinking headcount at their companies, including Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf, who said the bank’s workforce had decreased by 23% over 20 quarters
Bragging about layoffs while the economy is shaky shows a dangerous disconnect from workforce sentiment. In an era where retention is currency, calling attrition a friend is a short-term Wall Street play with long-term talent costs.

July layoffs spiked 140% year-over-year with over 62,000 cuts. AI disruptions and tariffs are blamed
AI is the headline scapegoat, but most of these cuts are the result of structural and strategic missteps. HR leaders should own the narrative before efficiency becomes shorthand for poor planning.

Wages in China grew just 3.8% year over year in Q2, the country’s slowest growth since the pandemic, according to Goldman Sachs
Slowing wage growth signals pressure on both domestic consumption and global supply chains. If China’s labor market stalls, the ripple effects will reach far beyond the Pacific.

Harri teams up with PosterElite to automate labor law poster compliance for restaurant operators
Labor law compliance is a low glamour, high risk game. Automating updates into operator dashboards turns a compliance headache into a non-issue.

More than 84% of business travelers consider traveling for their job a perk
Calling business travel a perk is a fantasy for people who do not live out of airports. Real retention perks are pay, time, and support.

Perplexity in talks with phone makers to pre-install its Comet AI mobile browser
If Comet lands pre-installed on Android devices, it will become the AI default before most corporate IT teams react. This is a governance challenge HR and security leaders cannot afford to ignore.

‘Quiet cracking’ is the latest buzzword for a lack of fulfillment at work
Happiness is not a KPI your employer can own. If the role does not fulfill you, it is still on you to deliver performance.

WEX launches an AI-powered FSA claims tool that processes reimbursements in under two minutes
Reducing claims from a two-day backlog to two minutes moves benefits from administrative chore to competitive advantage. This is what practical AI adoption looks like.

Acquisitions

SAP to acquire SmartRecruiters
This move gives SAP a modern recruiting engine that acts on candidate intent instead of just tracking activity. It is a clear play toward owning the front door of the talent experience.

Amazon acquires Bee, the AI wearable that records everything you say
The hardware fits Amazon’s ambient AI ambitions but raises major privacy questions. Always-on recording is not just a tech feature, it is a cultural shockwave.

Research

University of Phoenix’s 2025 Career Optimism Index
Burnout sits at a record 51% with one in five feeling they have lost career control. AI adoption shows measurable drops in burnout, suggesting tech enablement is a mental health lever.

79% of US workers have had a relationship with a coworker
Workplace relationships are common and often harmless, but power dynamics matter. Policies should focus on disclosure and boundaries, not prohibition.

Women held 46% of US managerial positions in 2023, up from 29% in 1980
Progress is real but painfully slow with only a 17% gain in 43 years. Achieving parity at this pace means waiting another two decades.

Funding

Sparrow secures $35M to expand its leave management platform
Leave compliance is a nightmare in California, and success there is a proof point for global expansion. The next challenge will be scaling without losing local nuance.

Ashby raises $50M to scale AI-powered hiring platform
Ashby’s advantage is speed with context in one workspace for sourcing, recruiting, and analytics. It is the anti fragmentation play recruiters have been waiting for.

Fable Security raises $31M to tackle human-related risks
AI plus behavioral science is a powerful risk mitigation combination. Reducing phishing and deepfake exposure in real time shifts cybersecurity from reactive to preventive.

Wingspan raises $24M for contractor management and payroll
The contractor economy is growing fast and embedded solutions win on adoption. Wingspan is positioned for either a strategic acquisition or a market re-entry IPO.

Scrunch AI raises $15M to boost brand presence in AI search
AI search optimization is the next SEO. If you are invisible to generative AI platforms, you are already losing relevance.

CandorIQ raises $4.8M to modernize comp and workforce planning
Compensation planning is still Excel’s turf, but AI is chipping away. CandorIQ is betting on automation as the tipping point for adoption.