The Talent Economy Podcast
staffing.com
Companies today are facing a global war for talent. At the same time, the talent with the skills companies are fighting over wants more flexibility around the way they work and the way they live.
Talent now has a choice and this is pushing companies to change. Toptal's Chief People Officer Michelle Labbe brings together thought leaders, staffing experts, and top freelancers to talk about the changing nature of work and how companies can navigate these changes to attract talent that will alter the course of their business to ensure success as the pace of technological disruption increases.
Welcome to The Talent Economy podcast.
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Top 10 The Talent Economy Podcast Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Talent Economy Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Talent Economy Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Talent Economy Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Upstart: Mission-driven Leadership
The Talent Economy Podcast
05/28/24 • 32 min
HR leadership is evolving in the digital world. Upstart Chief People Officer, Becca Gelenberg, joins the podcast to discuss pioneering talent strategies that embrace AI, flexibility, and remote work.
Upstart launched its AI-based lending platform in 2012 with the ambitious goal to improve access to credit for all. Its advanced technology helped the company win the 2022 National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions Services Innovation Award and earn a market capitalization of over $2 billion as a public company.
With leadership experience from global tech companies including Google and HP, Gelenberg guides Upstart’s innovative approach to work and recruitment while ensuring her HR strategies align with the company’s business goals.
Speaking with Toptal’s Michelle Labbe, Gelenberg discusses her commitment to employee empowerment and how Upstart retains a competitive advantage as the AI marketplace grows increasingly competitive.
Some Questions Asked:
- How do Upstart’s HR management and business strategies differ from tech giants like Google and HP?
- Which AI tools does Upstart use for people operations and how does it impact the employee experience?
- How does Upstart’s “digital-first” company culture differ from other hybrid models?
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- How a liberal arts background can help with HR management and analysis of employee performance.
- What to consider in a strategic HR plan for scaling a company.
- Why the shift to remote work may influence traditional workplace hierarchies and leadership perceptions.
Links:
- Becca Gelenberg - LinkedIn
- Upstart - LinkedIn
- Michelle Labbe - LinkedIn
- Toptal - LinkedIn
- Staffing.com
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New York Life: A Creative Approach to DE&I
The Talent Economy Podcast
05/22/23 • 42 min
As the largest mutual life insurance company in the US, New York Life has been advising policyholders on investment decisions for more than 178 years.
Toptal’s Chief People Officer Michelle Labbe spoke with Kathleen Navarro, New York Life Insurance’s Senior Vice President and Head of Human Resources Business Enablement on The Talent Economy Podcast.
Kathleen Navarro leads New York Life Insurance’s integrated diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and manages the HR business partners, strategy and analytics teams. During Navarro's tenure, the company has received broad recognition for its inclusion efforts, including being named one of the Best-of-the-Best Corporations by the National Business Inclusion Consortium in 2022.
Navarro has held a range of roles in finance, strategy, and operations since joining New York Life Insurance in 1994. She has been recognized as a Top 10 Champion of Global Diversity by DiversityGlobal and was included on the Top 50 Chief Diversity Officers list issued by the National Diversity Council.
Some Questions Asked:
- New York Life Insurance is a mutual company owned by policyholders without outside investors. How does this ownership model affect your talent strategy and company culture? 11:30
- Employees are increasingly looking for flexibility and balance in their jobs. With three days in the office and two at home, what sort of impact has your hybrid model had on hiring and employee happiness? 19:29
- New York Life Insurance was one of Seramount’s (formerly Working Mother Media) “100 Best Companies” for 2022 and listed as one of its “Best Companies for Dads.” How has New York Life Insurance created such a supportive culture for working parents? 29:50
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- What has made Kathleen Navarro want to stay at New York Life Insurance for nearly 30 years.
- Why The Dave Thomas Foundation recently listed New York Life Insurance as a 2022 Adoption Advocate.
- How New York Life Insurance maintains consistency across a distributed and independent workforce.
Links:
- Kathleen Navarro - LinkedIn
- Michelle Labbe - LinkedIn
- Toptal - LinkedIn
- The Talent Economy podcast
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Creating Culture and Collaboration in the Virtual Workplace
The Talent Economy Podcast
08/11/20 • 24 min
As more teams are settling into their remote work experiences, a number of challenges have surfaced: prolonged workdays, increased time spent in meetings, feelings of loneliness among employees, and frustration from managers struggling to effectively manage their distributed teams.
In this episode, we are joined by Shiran Yaroslavsky, CEO and Founder of Cassiopeia, a startup that empowers managers who lead fully or partially remote teams to maximize their workplace experience through data. Cassiopeia offers a solution that delivers actionable insights to help boost team collaboration, belonging, and mental health by analyzing communication patterns within and between teams. A former product manager, Yaroslavsky was featured in 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 in Israel.
She discusses how Cassiopeia is utilizing data to help teams better navigate how they work and how they want to work. She also shares her professional journey from intellectual property litigation to tech CEO, a transition inspired by Yaroslavky’s desire to connect directly with people and wanting to pivot “from advising to creating.”
Links
- Cassiopeia
- Shiran Yaroslavsky - LinkedIn
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Leading the Pack: Insights from Microsoft, Yoss, and the Mom Project
The Talent Economy Podcast
11/03/19 • 37 min
How can you make someone want to work for your company without paying them more?
Overwhelmingly, the answer is flexible hours and work-from-home options. With the technology we have today, most “office” jobs can actually be done completely remotely. Of course, switching to this model of work requires radical transparency, communication, and a mission that connects with the employees, too.
Going forward, for both companies and individuals to be successful, it’s critical to develop these new work models, continuously reskilling, and disrupting yourself to stay relevant.
In this episode, I speak with David Francis, a world-renowned researcher with extensive experience covering the human cloud, freelance economy, and remote work. Throughout our conversation, we’ll discuss his groundbreaking reports, how the future of work is impacting large and small companies alike, and what the future looks like for the staffing industry overall.
Get ready to learn about the disruption of the staffing industry, and how you can get ahead of the curve.
Some Questions I Ask:
- What’s disrupting the world of work right now? (2:27)
- What did you learn from the case study at Microsoft? (11:40)
- What did you learn through your research on Toptal? (18:30)
- Tell me about the Mom Project. (27:58)
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- What drives the research around the future of work. (8:01)
- How companies are responding to the talent market. (9:03)
- How the staffing industry is implementing solutions to keep up with the world of work. (15:04)
- What non-cash benefits are most important to workers. (23:12)
- Where the staffing industry will be in 10 years. (34:01)
Connect with David Francis:
Connect with Paul Estes:
Resources:
List of Established Remote Companies
Talent Tech Labs Trends Report
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How Will Changing Consumer Trends Affect the World of Work?
The Talent Economy Podcast
11/05/19 • 39 min
Are you the right person for the job?
Nowadays, companies pushing to hire the best talent – but the talent is looking for more flexibility around the way they work and live. It’s not all about just getting the paycheck anymore – it’s about having the choice to find work that aligns with their values and aspirations as well. With this added freedom at work, matching up the best people with the right jobs is extremely crucial for everyone involved.
In this episode, I talk with John Healy, the Vice President and Managing Director of the Office of the Future of Work at Kelly Services. As a workplace disruptor himself, John understands the intrinsic value of connecting people to jobs that will enrich their lives, no matter where they are in the world.
At a high level, John and I discuss the current state of workforce dynamics, trends, and the ways that industry leaders are adapting – or not adapting – to these major shifts. As we get deeper into the conversation, John shares his insights about the experience of independent workers, how clients and freelancers are able to get to know one another, and what freelancers really are looking for in the work itself.
Get ready to learn about how individuals and corporations are taking steps to invest in the future of work.
Some Questions I Ask:
- Tell me about your journey to the office of the future. (1:50)
- Are you seeing differences in how people feel whether they are an employee or freelancer? (11:35)
- What can corporations do to connect with employees and contractors? (22:42)
- Rapid-fire questions. (33:47)
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- What role Kelly Services plays in developing the future of work. (3:46)
- Why workers are now likely to question the authenticity and transparency of companies. (9:05)
- Why the notion of work-life balance is over. (13:52)
- How algorithms can help find your next job that could enrich your life. (29:39)
Connect with John Healy:
Connect with Paul Estes:
Resources:
GigE Summit 2019 Event Summary
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The Human Cloud: Insights from GigE 2019
The Talent Economy Podcast
12/03/19 • 36 min
Are you part of the Human Cloud?
The Human Cloud is disrupting everything about the world of work, but it’s uniquely pushing the staffing industry to make some fundamental changes about how candidates are found, trained, and hired.
In this episode, I talk with Brian Wallins, a Research Manager at Staffing Industry Analysts. He is the global advisor on staffing and workforce solutions. Specifically, Brian focuses on the role that the Gig Economy and the shifting pressure to hire remote workers play in the staffing industry, and how companies need to adapt to this change in order to survive.
Throughout our conversation, Brian and I discuss all things related to the Human Cloud. As we dive in, Brian shares insights into what risks and challenges the staffing industry faces currently, and how they can benefit from utilizing the Human Cloud.
Get ready to learn about how the talent economy is disrupting the traditional staffing industry, and what they need to know to survive.
Some Questions I Ask:
- How do you define the Human Cloud? (2:15)
- What challenges do companies face when they initially implement a Human Cloud strategy? (9:59)
- How much of the staffing industry represents work that could be impacted by the Human Cloud versus work that must be done on-site? (13:47)
- What risks do staffing companies feel? (20:58)
- What book or movie has inspired you most over the past year? (32:42)
In this Episode, You Will Learn:
- The 3 categories that make up the Human Cloud. (3:20)
- Brian’s key takeaways from the GigE Conference. (6:57)
- Why the line Human Cloud platforms and traditional staffing platforms is starting to blur. (11:12)
- What advantages come with hiring freelancers around the globe. (17:45)
- What the Human Cloud will look like in 5 years from now. (27:45)
Connect with Brian Wallins:
Resources:
“Reskill or Die: Why your future depends on it” by Paul Estes
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
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Shift The Future of Work
The Talent Economy Podcast
12/09/19 • 39 min
The future of work is no longer a distant dream. The future of work is today’s reality.
Changes to the nature of work and organizations’ fundamentals are finally starting to create space for women and those sitting at the margins.
In this episode, I talk with Gina Hadley, head and co-founder of The Second Shift, who was part of the freelance economy before the term even existed. Gina’s mission is to revolutionize working cultures to support and retain women—including mothers—by demonstrating how even small changes ripple into huge impact toward creating a more sustainable workplace.
Gina, however, is not making just small ripples; she’s inspiring huge waves in the world of work. Throughout our conversation, Gina shares her insights into why companies with strict rules and regulations must undergo stark transformation to regain the talent’s trust. She also shares specific strategies around how companies can get the best out of diverse teams without making them feel like inmates trapped in a prison.
It all comes down to giving good work, creating a safe environment, providing adequate flexibility, and empowering the talent.
Get ready to learn how Gina and The Second Shift are making a seismic and systemic change in the American workplace for professional women.
Some questions I ask:
● How did you decide to spend your career pursuing the mission of The Second Shift?
● What’s the meaning behind the name “The Second Shift”?
● Why do you dislike the term gig economy?
● What is your advice to someone trying to work in a new way?
In this episode, you will learn:
● How Gina started working as a freelancer.
● What the membership of The Second Shift looks like.
● Why companies need to get on board with the future of work.
● What millennials are really looking for in their work.
● How rewarding workers through promoting them to managerial positions creates a toxic environment.
● Why there is a need for a seismic and systemic change in the American workplace.
Connect with Gina Hadley:
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What You Won't Know Until You Try
The Talent Economy Podcast
12/16/19 • 39 min
Jumping into the talent economy can definitely feel like a daunting step. There’s a stigma around leaving a cushy full-time corporate job to jump into the uncertainty of the freelance world.
Look at it this way: You don’t know what you’re missing until you give it a shot.
With the explosion of freelance workers and the imminent decline of full-time work, nothing is really as “secure” as it seems. At this point, it’s just as risky to stay in a full-time corporate job as it is to freelance.
In this episode, I talk with Jonny Dunning, the founder and CEO of the on-demand workforce management system Talon. This talent management platform helps freelancers live up to their fullest potential while helping companies find the experts they need to survive and thrive in the changing world.
Jonny and I talk about the risks and rewards that come with diving into the freelance lifestyle, how companies utilize on-demand workers, and what the future of freelancing with these on-demand talent platforms looks like. Throughout our conversation, Jonny shares insights into why more and more companies are shifting away from using staffing firms to hire talent, how a workforce management system benefits the freelancer and the company, and how the future of work affects every generation of workers differently.
Get ready to learn about the shifting nature of work and figure out if it’s the right time for you to dive into the talent economy.
Some questions I ask:
- How did you make the decision to leave college and start traveling?
- How did you get your job at Jobsite?
- Have you seen a change in the way that people are looking at working?
- How do you help companies navigate their need for faster access to talent?
- What led you to found Talon?
- What’s the difference between freelancing and staffing programs?
- What do the next five years look like for Talon?
In this episode, you will learn:
- Why it’s important to buck the trend and test your limits once in a while.
- How the shift to on-demand work spans generations.
- How global workforces like Toptal integrate with staffing companies and freelance management systems.
- Why companies are now shifting to hire talent based on quality rather than cost.
- How the job board markets and on-demand talent economy are evolving in similar ways.
Connect with Jonny Dunning:
Resources:
About The Talent Economy Podcast:
Companies today face a global war for talent. Highly skilled on-demand talent demand flexibility around the way they work and live. This future of work podcast brings together thought leaders, staffing experts, and top freelancers to talk about the evolving nature of work, the future of freelancers, and how companies can navigate these changes to remain competitive, drive innovation, and ensure success.
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Corporate HR Leader Takes 12 Months To Live As A Digital Nomad
The Talent Economy Podcast
01/20/20 • 33 min
That’s what Mathilde Fouque’s digital nomad life looks like. In her life, Mathilde visited 33 countries around the world. In the past 18 months, as a digital nomad, she has visited 29 American states, and 15 US national parks—all while steadily holding down her position at GE.
In this episode, I talk with Mathilde about her transition into the world of remote work and what her first year of travel looked like. She shares stories about becoming a digital nomad, how her colleagues handled it, and why this newfound freedom continues to inspire her to be an outstanding employee at GE.
Get ready to learn about Mathilde’s adventures as a digital nomad and how companies can help create experiences like this for their employees.
Some questions I ask:
- What role did company culture play in your transition to remote work?
- How did your colleagues react to your decision to work remotely?
- What routines did you develop when you started working as a digital nomad?
- What advice do you have for companies on how to help people who want to experiment with the digital nomad lifestyle?
In this episode, you will learn:
- How to talk to your manager about working remotely.
- What drove Mathilde to be a star employee as a digital nomad.
- How Mathilde separates work and personal time.
- How managers can trust their remote employees even when they can’t see them.
Connect with Mathilde Fouque:
Resources:
“12 months living as a digital nomad” by Mathilde Fouque
7 Habits of Highly Effective People
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Warner Music Group: Working in Harmony
The Talent Economy Podcast
06/25/24 • 31 min
HR leadership is the silent composer of a successful music industry. In this episode, Warner Music Group’s Masha Osherova discusses leading a company filled with creative ambition and shaping the future of music with HR.
One of the “big three” recording companies in the music industry, Warner Music Group operates in over 50 countries and represents major artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dua Lipa, and Ed Sheeran. In 2021, Warner Music Group won the Diversity in the Workplace accolade at the Women in Music Awards.
As Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Masha Osherova has been instrumental in crafting a culture that matches Warner Music Group’s creative aspirations. Since joining the company in 2006, Osherova has overseen all aspects of Warner Music Group’s people functions worldwide.
On the podcast, Osherova joins Toptal’s Michelle Labbe to discuss curating a creative ecosystem that supports artists from breakthrough to stardom.
Some Questions Asked:
- How does Warner Music Group support flexible work arrangements while continuing to foster an in-person creative culture among its employees?
- What innovative approaches has Warner Music Group taken to identify and attract top talent in a competitive industry?
- What music-related perks does Warner Music Group offer to its staff?
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- How a STEM education can provide the skills needed for success in HR.
- What challenges arise when trying to align the needs of creative professionals with the business objectives of HR.
- How to address employee mental health through proactive leadership.
Links:
- Masha Osherova - LinkedIn
- Warner Music Group - LinkedIn
- Michelle Labbe - LinkedIn
- Toptal - LinkedIn
- The Talent Economy Podcast
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Talent Economy Podcast have?
The Talent Economy Podcast currently has 108 episodes available.
What topics does The Talent Economy Podcast cover?
The podcast is about Future Of Work, Work, Podcasts, Technology, Business and Freelancer.
What is the most popular episode on The Talent Economy Podcast?
The episode title 'Booking.com: Travel, Talent, and Transformation' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Talent Economy Podcast?
The average episode length on The Talent Economy Podcast is 29 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Talent Economy Podcast released?
Episodes of The Talent Economy Podcast are typically released every 12 days, 8 hours.
When was the first episode of The Talent Economy Podcast?
The first episode of The Talent Economy Podcast was released on Nov 3, 2019.
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