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Recruiting Future with Matt Alder – What’s Next For Talent Acquisition, HR & Hiring? — Business
Recruiting Future with Matt Alder – What’s Next For Talent Acquisition, HR & Hiring?

Talent acquisition is undergoing unprecedented disruption as AI, economic uncertainty, and the ever-shortening lifespan of skills radically reshape recruiting. On Recruiting Future, Matt Alder explores this evolving landscape, using insightful interviews with transformational TA practitioners and forward-thinking experts to spark your imagination and provide the insights you need to shape the future of talent acquisition in your organization.
Each episode explores topics such as AI, recruiting automation, recruitment marketing, employer branding, skills-based hiring, assessment, candidate experience, DEI, internal mobility, and the transformation of TA teams. Recruiting Future is an essential resource for everyone involved in hiring.
Matt Alder is a globally respected talent acquisition futurist, author, and speaker with over 25 years of experience exploring what’s next in recruiting. Renowned for his expertise in strategic foresight and technology trends, Matt provides a unique perspective that empowers leaders to navigate disruption. His deep industry knowledge and ability to spark meaningful conversations make Recruiting Future a must-listen for talent acquisition and HR professionals everywhere.

Latest Episodes:

Ep 750: Agents, Data, and the Future of Talent Acquisition Nov 27, 2025

Show notes

SAP's recent acquisition of SmartRecruiters has generated considerable interest across the talent acquisition community. The deal brings AI-native recruiting capabilities into a broader HR suite, creating complete visibility into data across the entire employee lifecycle. For recruiters, this means seeing what happens after a hire is made with the potential to connect talent acquisition decisions to performance, retention, and engagement outcomes.

This is where AI agents become significant. When agents can access and act on a complete, harmonized data set spanning the whole employee journey, entirely new possibilities open up for how work gets done across the talent function. Yet despite the rapid pace of innovation, AI adoption is still lagging. Vendors are shipping capabilities faster than most organisations can implement them, held back by regulatory concerns, change management challenges, and uncertainty about where to start.

So how can Talent leaders close this gap and take advantage of what is a huge strategic opportunity?

My guest this week is Lara Albert, Chief Marketing Officer at SAP SuccessFactors. In our conversation, she discusses the SmartRecruiters acquisition, explains how agents working across the employee lifecycle could reshape HR, and shares her advice on how employers can get started.

In the interview, we discuss:

Why SAP acquired SmartRecruiters and what happens next

Connecting recruiting data to employee outcomes

Layering Agentic AI on top of people intelligence

What's holding back AI adoption

Regulation, change management, and mindset

TA and HR have a once-in-a-career opportunity to lead transformation

Business cases, buy-in, and getting started

What will the future look like?

Ep 749: Recruiting Past, Present, and Future (Live at TA Tech) Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

This is a special episode, recorded live on stage at TA Tech Europe in London earlier in November. It's a wide-ranging discussion about the state of our industry and where it's heading with one of recruiting's true pioneers, Jeff Taylor, the founder of Monster.com and the soon to be launched Boomband, . We debate AI's true impact on hiring, discuss why traditional tools and approaches are failing, and explore what recruiting could become.

In the interview, we discuss:

The story behind Monster

How Monster almost bought LinkedIn

Why has Jeff returned after two decades out of the industry

What has changed in recruiting in the last 20 years, and what hasn't

Why resumes and job postings are failing

AI's real impact on jobs

What is Boomband?

Rebuilding trust in recruiting

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Ep 748: The Real Value Of AI Agents Nov 20, 2025

Show notes

The AI agent marketplace has become a confusing landscape full of chatbots and co-pilots that aren't agents, claiming revolutionary capabilities. But genuine AI agents represent something fundamentally different. They're digital workers that can handle complex, multi-step processes independently, making decisions and adjustments along the way.

The technology is already here and working, and the employers succeeding with it are focusing on change management, not just on technology deployment. So what are the early results looking like, and how will agentic AI change recruiting in the months and years to come?

My guest this week is Tom Zrubecky, founder and CEO of Talent Pilot. In our conversation, he shares case studies demonstrating how AI agents are reshaping recruitment workflows and what autonomous hiring looks like.

In the interview, we discuss:

What an AI Agent is and what it isn't
Building responsible AI with human oversight
These are change management projects not technology ones
The power of instant job interviews
Where are employers getting the most value from agents
The importance of pilot project
Building a super recruiter
What does the agentic future look like?

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Ep 747: Rethinking Fairness in Hiring Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

Many organizations treat accessibility as just a compliance checkbox, checking the box to meet legal requirements and then moving on. But this mindset misses massive opportunities. When companies design truly inclusive hiring processes, they don't just help candidates with disabilities, but also improve the experience for everyone.

Forward-thinking employers are discovering that accessibility drives innovation, expands talent pools, and creates competitive advantages, so how do you move from minimum compliance to genuine inclusivity, and how do you do that at scale?

My guests this week are Business Psychologists Brittany Davies and Laura Kate Ruttle from Talogy. In our conversation, they share valuable advice on building an accessible assessment strategy, and we discuss how AI is shaping a whole new future for inclusive hiring.

In the interview, we discuss:

The current challenges around accessibility and fairness in hiring

The significant benefits to employers of going beyond the basic legal requirements

Improving hiring for everyone

Best practices for encouraging disclosure

How AI can help

How do you implement inclusive hiring at scale?

Advice to TA leaders on what to prioritise

The potential of personalized adaptive assessment

What might the future look like?

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Ep 746 Building Digital Trust In Hiring Nov 16, 2025

Show notes

The recruitment experience is undergoing a fundamental transformation with AI and automation playing an increasingly larger role. It's essential to recognise the consequences of lost human connection. Trust is an absolutely critical element here, and employers need to ensure they aren't losing the emotional intelligence and genuine connections that build trust with candidates.

So how do you create authentic connections when AI does the screening and robots send the emails?

My guest this week is Gal Borenstein, CEO of Borenstein Group. In our conversation, he talks us through his framework for building genuine digital trust in an increasingly automated world.

In the interview, we discuss:

The rapid digitalization and automation of business communication

The jolt into a new era for employer branding

The digital trust framework

How to use AI to help build trust rather than erode it

The importance of emotional intelligence

A vision for the future

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Ep 745: Recruiting Excellence In Disruptive Times Nov 16, 2025

Show notes

Talent acquisition is being tested like never before. Teams are continually being asked to do more with less, hiring volumes remain unpredictable, and technology is evolving faster than organizations can adapt. AI promises transformation but often delivers confusion, with some vendors labeling simple automation as intelligence, while, at the same time, genuinely disruptive AI capabilities are emerging that could reshape everything we do.

Meanwhile, the fundamentals haven't changed. TA leaders still need to deliver the right people at the right time in a cost-effective way. But how do you build that capability when the ground keeps shifting? How do you create structure, repeatability, and continuous improvement during constant disruption?

My guests this week are Toni de Graaf and Marcel Rütten, co-founders of the Recruiting Excellence Foundation. In our conversation, they share their framework for building high-performing TA teams and explain how to pursue recruiting excellence even in fast-moving, uncertain times. Also listen out for details on how you take part in the forthcoming Global State of TA Report, and by getting your own free maturity assessment.

In the interview, we discuss:

The Recruiting Excellence Methodology

Defining your North Star

Focusing on and optimising every TA touchpoint

Key challenges

What stops TA being more strategic?

Why automation is critical

Agentic AI disruption

What does the future look like?

Get your free TA maturity assessment here

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Ep 744: How Job Ads Impact Quality Of Hire Nov 15, 2025

Show notes

Application volumes are continuing to rise, but finding quality hires remains a challenge. The usual suspects that tend to get the blame are candidates using AI, economic uncertainty, and a continuing decline in job board effectiveness. However, research suggests a more fundamental issue that many organizations overlook.

The words in job descriptions matter more than most teams realize. Non-inclusive language is actually a key factor that stops many qualified candidates from applying. At the same time, regulations around pay transparency and anti-discrimination are proliferating across the US and EU, creating complex compliance requirements for job ads that vary by market. Many employers are also outsourcing their job ad creation to generic LLMs that have more potential to amplify bias than they do to eliminate it.

So, how should employers utilize technology to ensure inclusivity, compliance, and a high-quality response from their advertising

My guest this week is Pil Byriel, CEO and co-founder of Lyser. In our conversation, Pil shares research on how language shapes candidate behavior, why LLM reinforces bias, and the growing complexity of job ad compliance around the world

In the interview, we discuss:

The impact of language on applications from qualified candidates

The human-led research behind inclusive communication

Why generic AI LLMs amplify stereotypes and bias

Compliance challenges across global markets

What actually drives job ad performance

Why structure, clarity, and transparency matter

Building data-driven recruitment communication

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Round Up October 2025 Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

Recruiting Future Round Up is back in a brand-new live format.

Round Up has always been a quick way to catch up on the most important insights from the month’s Recruiting Future interviews. Now we’re taking it further, streaming live on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube so you can join the conversation in real time.

In this recording (previously live) Matt is joined by special guest Rhona Pierce, as they look back at October’s eight interviews.

Episodes featured in this Round Up:

Ep 734 Why Skills Really Matter

https://recruitingfuture.com/2025/10/ep-734-why-skills-really-matter/

Ep 735: AI’s Impact On Recruitment Marketing

https://recruitingfuture.com/2025/10/ep-735-ais-impact-on-recruitment-marketing/

Ep 736: Trust, Influence & The Future Of Recruitment Marketing

https://recruitingfuture.com/2025/10/ep-736-trust-influence-the-future-of-recruitment-marketing/

Ep 737: Building A Team Of Talent Partners

https://recruitingfuture.com/2025/10/ep-737-building-a-team-of-talent-partners/

Ep 738: How to Implement AI Successfully In HR & TA

https://recruitingfuture.com/2025/10/ep-738-how-to-implement-ai-successfully-in-hr-ta/

Ep 739: TA’s Challenges and Priorities for 2026

https://recruitingfuture.com/2025/10/ep-739-tas-challenges-and-priorities-for-2026/

Ep 740: Are We Really Ready For AI?

https://recruitingfuture.com/2025/10/ep-740-are-we-really-ready-for-ai/

Ep 741: The Competitive Advantage Of Neuro-Inclusion

https://recruitingfuture.com/2025/10/ep-741-the-competitive-advantage-of-neuro-inclusion/

Ep 743: The Talent Acquisition Revolution Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

The recruiting technology landscape is transforming at an unprecedented speed. AI Tools that seemed like far-fetched concepts just a few years ago are hitting the market and delivering results.

But adoption is messy and uneven. Some employers are experimenting with AI-driven interviews, while others worry about bias and legal risks. High-volume recruiters are automating entire processes while executive search remains deeply human. Everyone's trying to figure out which tools actually work and how to integrate them without breaking what already exists.

So how should talent acquisition leaders navigate this revolution?

My guest this week is Josh Bersin, one of the world's leading HR technology analysts. In our conversation, he reveals why this transformation is inevitable and what smart TA leaders should be doing today.

In the interview, we discuss:

Why TA is facing a reckoning

Time, resources, and human error

Where AI currently has the most impact

Mass personalization

Regulatory risks

What role should human recruiters be playing?

Superworkers

AI Fluency versus amount of work experience

The impact on an already bloated TA Tech Stack

Technology mergers and acquisitions

What does the future look like?

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Ep 742: Aligning Hiring with Values Nov 03, 2025

Show notes

Most hiring currently focuses on assessing a mix of skills and experience. However, there's a deeper layer that often gets overlooked. Companies talk endlessly about culture and values, yet few know how to genuinely assess them.

This matters especially for purpose-driven organizations. Whether it's a B Corp, a sustainability-focused business, or any company with a strong mission, finding people whose values are truly aligned isn't just nice to have—it's essential.

So how do you find genuinely aligned candidates, and where does technology help, and where does it hinder

My guest this week is Leon Richards, founder of Good Talent, an Executive search & leadership advisory consultancy for values-led organizations. In our conversation, he explains how values-based recruiting actually works, why human judgment matters, and what responsible AI use looks like.

In the interview, we discuss:

Values, purpose, and mission-driven organizations

The importance of alignment

Why cultural fit is often missed

How to assess for values alignment

AI, human skills, and accountability

The "moral crumple zone"

What does responsible AI look like?

The future of TA

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