The HR Community Podcast

AI Works Best When Humans Set The Rules with Olga Rankin, Head of HR Arinco

AI is everywhere in HR right now and that’s exactly why it’s so easy to get it wrong. Shane O’Neill sits down with Olga Rankin, Group Manager for People and Culture at Arinco, to cut through the noise and talk about what responsible AI adoption actually looks like inside a real business. We get practical about the big question: how do HR leaders use AI to boost productivity without stripping out the “human” part that makes hiring, culture, and leadership work? We unpack the essentials of AI in human resources: transparency, guardrails, and why “just try a tool” can turn into privacy and compliance risk fast. Olga shares how she thinks about safe experimentation using licensed platforms, why prompt engineering matters more than most people admit, and how different models (think Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude) can change the quality and tone of outputs. If your team is copying CVs, contracts, or sensitive employee info into random tabs, this conversation is your wake-up call. From there, we go deep on AI in recruitment and AI interviewing. We talk bias, how systems can learn the wrong trends over time, and why humans still need to stay in the loop with audits and judgment calls, especially as seniority rises. We also tackle the bigger talent and L&D challenge: when AI removes the entry-level “grind,” what replaces the traditional way people learn resilience, craft, and context on the job? If you lead people, talent acquisition, HR technology, or workforce planning, you’ll leave with clearer next steps and better questions to ask your business. Subscribe for more HR and talent conversations, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review if it helped. What’s one HR task you’re ready to redesign with AI this year? Get in touch with Civitas Talent! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2162935/fan_mail/new] Get the 2026 HR Talent Intelligence Report: https://www.civitastalent.com/resource-hub/ Download the report here: https://www.civitastalent.com/resource-hub/

What If Your Workplace Matched Your Community with Laura Jones, GM of People at Service Stream

DEI can feel like a debate topic right now, but at ground level it’s still about something simple: how humans treat each other at work. Shane O’Neill sits down with Laura Jones, GM People Experience at ServiceStream, to unpack what diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging look like when you strip away the slogans and focus on outcomes. We talk about diversity as more than demographics: diversity of thought, beliefs, and lived experience, and why businesses stagnate when teams become replicas of the same perspective. Laura shares how truly inclusive workplaces change performance in real terms: people speak up sooner, bring better ideas, challenge respectfully, and help the organization continuously improve. If you care about employee engagement, retention, and building a culture of accountability, this conversation makes the link clear. Then we zoom into critical infrastructure and construction, where the skills shortage and aging workforce make talent pipeline strategy urgent. Laura explains why culture can be a competitive advantage even without huge budgets, and why a low ego environment helps attract a broader range of candidates. We also explore women in the workforce, the caregiving reality many families live with, and the practical flexibility supports that make inclusion feel real, including school holiday programs that reduce pressure and build community. If you’re an HR leader, CEO, or people manager looking for practical DEI strategy, inclusive leadership ideas, and employee experience takeaways that fit fast-paced project environments, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review with the one change you’d make to help more people belong at work. Get in touch with Civitas Talent! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2162935/fan_mail/new] Download the report here: https://www.civitastalent.com/resource-hub/

Inside A Chief Talent Officer’s Playbook with Derek Del Simone Abano Healthcare Group

Hiring in shortage markets can’t be an admin exercise. We sit with Derek Del Simone, Chief Talent Officer at Abano Healthcare Group, to map out how Talent becomes a true growth engine—separate from HR yet tightly partnered—and why a single clinical hire can change a practice’s P&L. Derek shares the journey from an ill-fitting ATS to an AI-enabled stack that removes drudge work, sources international clinicians at scale, and frees recruiters to build real relationships. We get practical on what to automate, what to measure, and how to tell a financial story that wins buy-in from CEOs, COOs, and operations leaders. You’ll hear why job boards are fading, how to train AI rather than “set and forget,” and what it takes to keep candidates engaged through visas, accreditation, and relocation. We also dive into internal mobility and retention as core parts of the market, not afterthoughts. Derek outlines the operating rhythm that prevents burnout—clear metrics, flexible hours for global outreach, and AI handling after-hours FAQs—so teams can sustain high performance without losing their edge. Along the way, we explore the case for giving Talent its own seat at the table, how award submissions can build brand credibility, and the governance of an AI Council to keep tools aligned with strategy. If you lead People, Talent, or operations in healthcare or any hard-to-hire sector, this conversation gives you a blueprint to move from reactive hiring to proactive, ROI-driven growth. Subscribe for more candid playbooks from leaders who are building the next generation of TA, leave a review to share what resonated, and pass this along to someone who needs a smarter approach to hiring. Get in touch with Civitas Talent! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2162935/fan_mail/new] Get the 2026 HR Talent Intelligence Report: https://www.civitastalent.com/resource-hub/ Download the report here: https://www.civitastalent.com/resource-hub/

Evolution of TA: Reactive → Strategic, with Kyle Hurley, Head of TA, Medhealth Group

Talent teams aren’t just filling roles anymore; they’re steering growth. We sit with Kyle Hurley, Senior Manager for Talent Acquisition at MedHealth, to explore how a 25‑brand portfolio builds a unified hiring engine without losing each brand’s edge. Kyle’s journey from coding classes and agency desks to enterprise TA leadership unlocks a playbook for moving beyond requisitions to true talent intelligence—where data, empathy, and clear operating rhythms translate into hiring quality, speed, and trust. Kyle shares how his team returned to “brilliant basics,” then layered in the right tools to lift both experience and output. That foundation now shows up in real numbers: a 99% NPS from new starters and a 31% hiring increase year over year. We dig into where AI makes the biggest difference today—AI‑assisted video analysis, predictive analytics for attrition and mobility, and conversational agents that cut friction across the funnel—while unpacking why governance and bias monitoring must sit inside the TA function. Tech should accelerate judgment, not replace it. We also get tactical about multi‑brand strategy in scarce‑talent markets like allied health. Kyle explains how to centralize ways of working while keeping local employer brands vibrant, how to swap leaky “talent pools” for continuous mapping and referrals, and how to balance BAU delivery with multi‑year “big rocks” that shift capability. Looking ahead, he sees a blended TA team—analysts, sourcers, brand pros, recruiters—augmented by AI and aligned to skills‑based hiring, internal pathways, and measurable impact on the business. Agencies still play a role for confidential searches, off‑market mapping, and areas in‑house teams can’t touch. Curious how to future‑proof your hiring without losing the human edge? Press play, then tell us your boldest TA bet for the next 12 months. If you enjoyed the conversation, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a TA leader who should be part of it. Get in touch with Civitas Talent! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2162935/fan_mail/new] Get the 2026 HR Talent Intelligence Report: https://www.civitastalent.com/resource-hub/ Download the report here: https://www.civitastalent.com/resource-hub/

How AI Is Changing Learning and Why Soft Skills Matter More Than Ever, with Peter Kokkinos, VP at Udemy

The way we learn at work is finally catching up to the way we actually work. Shane O’Neill sits down with Udemy APAC VP and MD Peter Kokkinos to unpack how AI is transforming learning from a one-size-fits-all catalog into personalized, in-the-flow support that meets people at the exact moment of need. From the early days of laser discs to today’s AI-powered role plays, Peter shares what’s changed, what still doesn’t work, and why soft skills like critical thinking, communication, and leadership now matter more than ever. We dive into AI fluency as a new baseline capability—less about mastering a specific tool, more about using the tools you have to improve real workflows. Peter explains how demand for AI skills has surged across functions like HR, finance, operations, and marketing, and why organizations that frame learning around outcomes (productivity, mobility, retention) see stronger engagement. We also get practical about culture: how leadership intent shows up in budgets and time, how to personalize learning paths based on current skills and role transitions, and how to deliver learning inside the tools employees already use, reducing friction and increasing adoption. Measurement gets a much-needed reset. Instead of counting hours, we focus on skills confidence proven in simulations, visible behavior change, and usage of approved AI tools that ties to performance. You’ll hear candid takes on common pitfalls—copy-paste AI undermining learning—and concrete ideas to future proof your HR function with contextual practice, embedded guidance, and smarter metrics. If you’re ready to move past generic courses and build a learning culture that actually moves the needle, this conversation will give you the language, the levers, and the next steps. Enjoy the episode, then subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review to help more HR leaders find these conversations. Got a question or a story about AI in your learning strategy? Drop us a comment—we’d love to hear it. Get in touch with Civitas Talent! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2162935/fan_mail/new] Get the 2026 HR Talent Intelligence Report: https://www.civitastalent.com/resource-hub/ Download the report here: https://www.civitastalent.com/resource-hub/