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TA Disruptors

This podcast is designed for disruptive Talent Acquisition leaders who want to get ahead.

Talent acquisition is changing faster than it ever has before. ChatGPT and other GenAI tools are literally turning the selection process on its head. This podcast is designed for disruptive Talent Acquisition leaders who

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  • 6. AI and hiring: Why transparency matters for finding future talent and the candidate experience | Ellie Long, Rolls Royce

    47:57||Season 3, Ep. 6
    You may have seen the big debate on LinkedIn - should we share interview questions with candidates beforehand?For Ellie Long, Global Head of Emerging Talent at Rolls-Royce, the answer is clear. While it’s a bold move, she believes it’s the right one. Her philosophy? Set candidates up for success so they can showcase their skills and potential. And in the age of AI, this has never been more important. That’s because many candidates assume AI will give them an edge—but in reality, it might be holding them back.With a background in Early Careers at E.ON UK, Ellie is passionate about using emerging talent as a strategic leaver focused on future skills and capabilities. In this episode, she shares why supporting all candidates is crucial — especially in the AI era — and how focusing on potential, not polish, is the key to building future talent.Join host Robert Newry and guest Ellie Long as they discuss:💡 Turning the tide of AI-generated applications – How to turn 1000s of identical AI-generated applications to your advantage and better support candidates throughout the hiring process.🤖​ ChatGPT in hiring – The UK initiative and approach to guiding candidates on using ChatGPT: leveraging it as a research tool while ensuring applications remain authentic and truly representative of the individual.⚡ A ‘Why Wouldn’t We?’ mindset – Ellie’s philosophy of starting from ‘yes’ to drive innovation, challenge the status quo, and keep the team forward-thinking.🫶 Enhancing the candidate experience – The importance of transparency in hiring. In the UK Rolls-Royce has shared interview questions, assessment materials, and even the scoring matrix to help candidates perform at their best.This episode is packed with insights and actionable learnings for talent acquisition leaders navigating the era of the AI-enabled candidate in early career recruitment. Don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ to be sure not to miss more episodes of the TA Disruptors podcast. Thanks for listening, and here are some helpful links:Connect with Robert on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q0282KjJ0  Connect with Ellie on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q03ctRc_0Download new research on the state of the AI-enabled candidate in 2024-25: https://hubs.li/Q02W8w3J0Sign up for the TA Disruptors newsletter - it's the easiest way to be updated with the industry’s brightest ideas and the freshest need-to-know data - every week:https://hubs.li/Q0282H370  The projects discussed in this episode are initiatives launched in the UK for Rolls-Royce’s UK-based graduate and apprenticeship programmes.________________________Talent acquisition is changing faster than it ever has before. ChatGPT and other GenAI tools are literally turning the selection process on its head. This podcast is designed for disruptive Talent Acquisition leaders who want to get ahead. For the innovators, the movers and shakers, and the TA leaders who will survive and thrive in this new era by moving quickly to future-proof their recruitment processes. Even when you’re feeling overworked and overwhelmed, we’ll help you keep up with the latest ideas from the industry’s brightest innovators and the freshest need-to-know data from new research. TA Disruptors has got you covered. All brought to you from the team behind Arctic Shores.

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  • 5. HMRC had 800 applications for one role 😱 | How AI is disrupting talent acquisition and what to do about it with Siobhan Stericker

    51:21||Season 3, Ep. 5
    Most employers now recognise that banning or detecting AI usage is more likely to damage diversity than help your process. But how exactly do you embrace AI? And how can you clearly communicate this with applicants? HMRC recently published, ‘Understanding Artificial Intelligence in your job application’ for candidates, which provides clear guidelines on exactly how to use AI within the application process while also demonstrating how important it is for applicants to stand out, because ‘using a generic AI-generated response isn’t going to separate you from the crowd”.Siobhan Stericker, Talent Insights and AI Lead at HM Revenue and Customs is the brains behind these new guidelines that are challenging the way that organisations view candidate usage of AI. Siobhan is responsible for leading an innovative team at HMRC who alongside these innovative guidelines are exploring how they can leverage GenAI within the whole of the talent acquisition process, while also upskilling the wider teams in their use of GenAI to improve efficiencies. She’s joining us to talk through why and how she created this new guidance that’s helping candidates understand what exactly responsible usage of AI is, and more importantly, the benefit for them of leaving generic responses behind. Join host Robert Newry and Siobhan as they discuss:😱​ How receiving 800 applications should be a thing of the past: Hear how the volume of applications has become unsustainable for hiring managers, and why Siobhan thinks this new guidance will improve the quality of candidate applications ⭐​ Helping candidates to stand out: Learn how HMRC created and implemented its new candidate guidance which helps candidates understand why a generic AI response won’t help them advance in the application process🤖​ AI Skills are the future skills: Gain insight into how HMRC view AI Skills, and why the decision to embrace AI in the application phase will enable them to have a competitive edge with their future talent💡Why the detection of AI is a risk: Learn why HMRC chose not to use AI detection for application screening, and how they’re striving to create a fair and equitable application process 💥​ AI is a seismic shift in technology: Why we should be helping everyone through this technology transition, and how you can start to encourage your team to explore AI tools through gamificationThis episode is packed with insights and actionable learnings for talent acquisition leaders navigating the era of the AI-enabled candidate in early careers recruitment. Don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ to be sure not to miss more episodes of the TA Disruptors podcast. Thanks for listening, and here are some helpful links:Connect with Robert on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q0282KjJ0  Connect with Siobhan on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q0334S_j0 Download new research on the state of the AI-enabled candidate in 2024-25: https://hubs.li/Q02W8w3J0 Sign up for the TA Disruptors newsletter - it's the easiest way to be updated with the industry’s brightest ideas and the freshest need-to-know data:https://hubs.li/Q0282H370 
  • 4. Embracing the AI-enabled candidate: Practical insights for Early Careers | with Shoosmiths’ Samantha Hope

    46:01||Season 3, Ep. 4
    If you’ve been following discussions on LinkedIn or at recent conferences, you’ve likely heard about Shoosmiths — the UK’s fastest-growing national full-service law firm — and their innovative approach to embracing the AI-enabled candidate. While others focused on deterring and detecting AI use, Shoosmiths chose to embrace AI use in the application process, providing candidates with clear guidance along the way.Samantha Hope, Shoosmiths' Head of Emerging Talent, is leading the charge. Responsible for sourcing and developing trainee solicitors from initial attraction to qualification, Samantha was one of the first TA leaders to actively advocate for embracing AI in recruitment processes. And she’s joining us today to tell us exactly how she did it. This episode will finally give you a clear understanding of how to manage candidate use of AI in Early Careers and beyond –– in a way that’s led by humans, rather than AI fighting AI.Join host Robert Newry and Samantha as they discuss:🤖​Embracing AI in a human-led way: Learn how Shoosmiths took a pioneering approach by integrating AI into their processes while maintaining a human-led focus in a typically cautious and traditional industry⭐Setting expectations for candidates: Hear why clear guidance and support for candidates on AI usage in applications help them understand employer expectations while helping them to perform to their best ability in the hiring process💡​Balancing ethical and practical AI use: Learn why Shoosmiths have chosen not to use AI for application screening, and how they’re maintaining a fair and equitable process in the AI era 🚀​Upskilling for the future: Gain insights on how Shoosmiths are equipping employees with the AI skills necessary for the evolving legal landscape, and how they’re empowering their workforce to remain innovative and competitive💥​AI as a strategic business tool: Learn how Shoosmiths are leveraging AI in an ethical way to create internal efficiencies and innovate on their talent acquisition process –– all in a bid to help them achieve their strategic business goals, while setting a great example for other organizations to followThanks for listening, and here are some helpful links:Connect with Robert on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q0282KjJ0  Connect with Samantha on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q02_j6xk0 Download new research on the state of the AI-enabled candidate:https://hubs.li/Q02W8w3J0 Sign up for the TA Disruptors newsletter:https://hubs.li/Q0282H370  ________________________Talent acquisition is changing faster than it ever has before. ChatGPT and other GenAI tools are literally turning the selection process on its head. This podcast is designed for disruptive Talent Acquisition leaders who want to get ahead. For the innovators, the movers and shakers, and the TA leaders who will survive and thrive in this new era by moving quickly to future-proof their recruitment processes. Even when you’re feeling overworked and overwhelmed, we’ll help you keep up with the latest ideas from the industry’s brightest innovators and the freshest need-to-know data from new research. All brought to you from Arctic Shores.
  • 3. Gen Z are using AI in your recruitment process — how companies should respond | with Shoshanna Davis and Holly Hobbs

    43:47||Season 3, Ep. 3
    If you thought AI's impact on recruitment was limited to a few CVs and cover letters, think again. Gen Z candidates have access to more tools and learning resources than ever — and they’re using them to shift the balance of power in their favour. But are recruiters ready to meet this wave of innovation –– with a clear plan and transparent communication about what that plan looks like?In this episode of TA Disruptors, host Robert Newry is joined by Shoshanna Davis and Holly Hobbs, to discuss how Gen Z sees the world of work, why employers are missing the mark, and how AI has become both a bridge and a barrier.Shoshanna Davis is founder of Fairy Job Mother, and is on a mission to empower young people with the skills and confidence they need for impactful careers, while giving managers the understanding and tools to engage, inspire, and elevate the next generation of leaders. She manages a community of 20,000+ young people and advises companies like M&S, BT and Diageo. Holly Hobbs is Founder of Apprentivia - The Early Talent Employer Branding Agency that specialises in helping employers attract & develop Gen-Z apprentices through social media; as well as managing a community of 40,000 young people. Holly has worked with organisations like Berkeley Group, British Gas, and the Department of Education.What’s in this episode?🔥 Gen Z’s social media pressure cookerFrom TikToks showcasing live job interview hacks with ChatGPT to Insta reels promising instant promotions, Gen Z candidates are navigating a minefield of misleading and conflicting advice. And the reality is, when it comes to using AI in the recruitment process, it can be impossible to tell what good looks like. ⚡ ChatGPT in job applications: Cheat code or toolkit?55% of Holly’s Gen Z community use ChatGPT to apply for jobs. From rewording clunky CVs to acing online tests, they’re turning to AI to fill the gaps where career mentoring and guidance have failed them. But are recruiters prepared to engage with these AI-enabled candidates?🤔 The transparency trap: Recruiters, take noteEmployers say, “be yourself,” but what does that mean to Gen Z candidates? Holly and Shoshanna highlight how some well-worn guidance is confusing for Gen Z candidates, and what emplyers can do about it. 🛠 Actionable insights for TA leadersDefine your AI policy now: Sitting on the fence isn’t an option. Decide if candidates can use AI tools and explain how.Be specific about your processes: If your recruitment involves AI or automation, tell applicants how it’s used. Transparency builds trust.Innovate your assessments: Incorporate tasks that AI can’t easily tackle, such as real-time problem-solving or behavioural exercises.And don’t forget to sign up for the TA Disruptors newsletter: https://hubs.li/Q0282H370 ________________________ChatGPT and other GenAI tools are literally turning the selection process on its head. This podcast is designed for disruptive Talent Acquisition leaders who want to get ahead. For the innovators, the movers and shakers, and the TA leaders who will survive and thrive in this new era by moving quickly to future-proof their recruitment processes. Even when you’re feeling overworked and overwhelmed, we’ll help you keep up with the latest ideas from the industry’s brightest innovators and the freshest need-to-know data from new research.All brought to you from the team behind Arctic Shores.
  • 2. How to fix your AI vulnerabilities - Martyn Redstone unpacks why AI is a DDoS attack on recruitment... and what to do about it

    51:52||Season 3, Ep. 2
    AI has brought about a DDoS attack on recruitment. What do we do about it? Martyn Redstone talks shifting power dynamics, assessing AI capability, and the cost of inaction.If your technical team faced a DDoS attack — an onslaught of overwhelming traffic designed to disrupt your systems — how would you expect them to respond? Would you expect them to freeze and do nothing? Or take proactive steps to address the vulnerability and reimagine their processes to not only prevent future risks, but to make their processes better?According to Martyn Redstone, founder of PPLBots and co-founder of genAssess, AI tools are doing to recruitment what a DDoS attack does to company websites — overloading them with applications and upending the balance of power between recruiters and candidates. With new AI tools enabling mass-personalised applications submitted at scale, recruitment have to do something differently if they stand any chance of managing candidate volumes while fairly assessing their true capability. And reclaiming control of the recruitment process. In this week’s episode of the TA Disruptors podcast, Martyn joins Robert as they discuss:💡 The shift in power dynamics: AI tools like ChatGPT have given candidates the ability to mass-personalize CVs, cover letters, and applications with near-flawless precision — upending the recruiter-candidate relationship. What happens when candidates wield the same power recruiters once held? 🤖 The Fight, Freeze, or Friend framework: How recruitment teams are reacting to the rise of AI🎓 Rethinking what we select for: Why banning AI in recruitment is at odds with workplace realities. If organisations expect employees to use AI on the job, why exclude candidates who use it during recruitment? 🔍 Practical steps for the future of recruitment: Martyn shares actionable advice for how recruiters can:Automate low-value tasks like CV screening without falling into the trap of “black box” decision-making.Build transparency and governance into their processes to comply with AI regulations like GDPR and the EU AI Act.Focus on hiring candidates with AI-enablement skills, ensuring they can use generative AI tools productively and responsibly from day one.🚀 Why recruiters must lead the AI transformation: AI is here to stay, and Martyn predicts a seismic shift in recruitment over the next 5-10 years.But the recruiters who thrive will be those who embrace AI, use it to drive productivity, and refocus their efforts on high-value tasks like relationship building and strategic hiring decisions. This episode is essential listening for anyone navigating the challenges of AI in recruitment—whether you’re overwhelmed by AI-enabled applications or looking to future-proof your hiring processes. Tune in now to discover how to embrace AI responsibly and stay ahead of the curve. And don’t forget to hit ‘Subscribe’ to catch the rest of the season.Connect with Robert on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q0282KjJ0  Connect with Martyn on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mredstone/ Download the new AI-enabled candidate in 2024-25 report:https://hubs.li/Q02W8w3J0 Sign up for the TA Disruptors newsletter - discover the industry’s brightest ideas and the freshest need-to-know data - every week:https://hubs.li/Q0282H370  
  • 1. How 94% of fake AI exam submissions went undetected and passed a UK Psychology degree - Dr Scarfe and Dr Roesch discuss why ChatGPT needs to be taken seriously in Early Careers

    38:17||Season 3, Ep. 1
    Since the COVID pandemic accelerated reliance on unsupervised ‘take-home exams’, the education system has found itself with a fundamental problem –– one which has only been exacerbated by the recent rise in easily-accessible AI tools like ChatGPT. And new research shows just how great the scale and impact of the problem is for the education system and Early Careers teams alike. Dr Peter Scarfe, Associate Professor, and Dr Etienne Roesch, Professor of Applied Statistics & Cognitive Science, both at the University of Reading, are two of the minds behind a recent groundbreaking study which proved just how easy it is for students to not only use AI in exams but to outperform real students. And most importantly –– evade AI detection in the process. Join Robert, Peter and Etienne for the first episode of our new season of the TA Disruptors podcast on the impact of the AI-enabled candidate on recruitment. Our guests dive into:💡 The details behind the study in which 94% of fake, ChatGPT-generated submissions for five modules in a BSc Psychology degree went completely undetected (and performed half a grade higher than the average student) –– even with simple copy-paste answers and no advanced prompting🤖​  Why detecting AI usage is notoriously difficult and what this means for universities, Early Careers teams, and hiring managers when it comes to ensuring their assessment process is fair, accurate, and maintains its integrity 🎓 Why reverting to traditional invigilated exams or proctored assessments isn’t a sustainable solution –– and how universities are already ahead of employers in rethinking their assessment process to embrace AI rather than treating it as a threat.🧠 What these findings mean for talent acquisition: as graduates increasingly rely on AI to boost their results, how should recruiters and hiring managers adapt their processes to evaluate candidate capabilities fairly? 🔮 The broader implications of AI for education and recruitment, and how we can expect advances in tech to reshape the future of work and learning foreverIf you want to understand just how difficult it is to detect AI, both from a human perspective and also a software perspective, and just how severe the implications are for the world of Talent Acquisition and Early Careers recruitment, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss. We promise this will be the most valuable podcast episode you listen to this week.And don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ to be sure not to miss more episodes of the TA Disruptors podcast. Thanks for listening, and here are some helpful links:Connect with Robert on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q0282KjJ0  Connect with Peter on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q02W8xs40 Connect with Etienne on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q02W8xwy0 Download new research on the state of the AI-enabled candidate in 2024-25:https://hubs.li/Q02W8w3J0 Sign up for the TA Disruptors newsletter - it's the easiest way to be updated with the industry’s brightest ideas and the freshest need-to-know data - every week:https://hubs.li/Q0282H370  
  • 10. What 3 million data points say we need to hire for and select in the era of the AI-enabled candidate – introducing Skill-enablers™

    39:18||Season 2, Ep. 10
    There’s been a lot of debate recently about whether AI changes what we need to select for, to predict candidate success. But the reality is that most companies have needed to reframe how they select for quite some time. At the end of 2022, Arctic Shores’ Senior Psychometrician Luke Montouri and Senior Applied Psychologist Sanchia Dennis set out to review a huge data set with one key objective –– to understand which skills, competencies, and behaviours would be most predictive of candidate success in the “future of work”. And to establish how psychometric assessment measures would need to evolve to select for them. What they uncovered is as true today as it was back in 2022 –  and the advancement of Generative AI has made it even more urgent for talent acquisition teams to rethink how they select.In this episode, Luke and Sanchia join Robert to unpack the research and science they used to update the Arctic Shores assessment model, and the wider implications of their findings for TA teams. Listen to learn:📊  What the three factors most predictive of success in an AI-enabled workplace are –– according to an extensive analysis of data from the likes of McKinsey and the World Economic Forum; customer competency frameworks; and a decade’s worth of data-informed by 3 million candidate assessments (including subsequent workplace performance) 💡 Why evaluating Skill-enablers™ –– the core human traits that inform our ability to acquire new skills, navigate change, and adapt –– is (mostly) mission-critical for any employer from today. And when you might not want to evaluate a candidate’s Skill-enablers™ 🚀 A deep dive into what the Skill-enabler™ model is – and why evaluating traits that go beyond technical capabilities to assess interpersonal abilities, self-management, and decision-making is essential in the age of the AI-enabled workplace🔍 And why we need to move beyond the traditional five-factor model to unlock new ways to understand and assess potential –– plus insights into why we need to rethink how we measure cognitive ability (and the issues with traditional approaches)Dive in to understand more about the data that is shaping the future of talent acquisition and how organisations’ should be thinking about identifying high-potential candidates in a fast-changing world.Don’t forget to hit ‘subscribe’ to catch more episodes of the Arctic Shores podcast, and download The Arctic Shores Skill-enabler™ companion guide here: https://hubs.li/Q02Q4QCB0 Thanks for listening, and here are some helpful links:Connect with Robert on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q0282KjJ0  Connect with Luke on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q02RYVZs0 Connect with Sanchia on LinkedIn:https://hubs.li/Q02RYVZk0 Sign up for the TA Disruptors newsletter:https://hubs.li/Q0282H370  ________________________All brought to you from the team behind Arctic Shores.