SHRM Talent 2026

About SHRM Talent 2026

Welcome to the official limited podcast series from SHRM Talent 2026, recorded live at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. In collaboration with SHRM, WRKdefined created this 33-episode series, which captures real conversations shaping the future of hiring, recruiting, talent acquisition, HR technology, leadership, workforce planning, candidate experience, AI at work, and the evolving world of work. Across the series, WRKdefined sat down with HR practitioners, talent leaders, consultants, analysts, creators, founders, and technology providers to explore what’s actually happening inside modern HR and recruiting teams. No corporate theater. No overproduced sound bites. Just smart people sharing practical ideas, lessons learned, industry trends, and honest perspectives from one of the largest HR and talent events in the world. SHRM Talent brings together thousands of HR and talent acquisition professionals focused on recruiting strategy, employee experience, workforce transformation, leadership development, hiring technology, and the future of work. This limited series extends those conversations beyond the conference walls and into the hands of HR professionals everywhere. Whether you work in HR, recruiting, talent acquisition, people operations, HR tech, staffing, leadership, learning and development, or workforce strategy, these conversations were built for you. 28 episodes. One conference. Real conversations that matter. Recorded and produced by WRKdefined in collaboration with SHRM.

Publisher

WRKdefined Podcast Network

Category

business · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 May 2026

Latest episode

14 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

28 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Jun 2026

   AI Is Making Hiring Easier. So Why Is Everyone More Frustrated?

   Applying for a job has never been easier. Finding the right candidate has never felt harder. Tina Robinson argues that recruiters and candidates are trapped in an AI arms race where both sides keep adding technology and nobody seems happier with the outcome. The real challenge isn't AI. It's figuring out how to stay human while using it. Talent management, recruiting, AI adoption, leadership development, authenticity, future of work. This conversation explores what happens when technology moves faster than people can adapt. In this episode… Tina shares why recruiting feels more broken despite better technology, how AI is reshaping talent management, and why human skills may become even more valuable in an AI-driven world. Sharp discussion on authenticity, leadership development, recruiting challenges, AI adoption, and workforce transformation. Key Takeaways : • Tina describes talent management today as a mix of chaos, frustration, optimism, and massive transformation. • She believes many organizations expected COVID to permanently transform work, but AI quickly became the next disruptive force. • Unlike previous technology shifts, AI does not appear to have a clear endpoint. • Traditional talent management models were built around linear processes, but today's workforce realities are far more complex and interconnected. • One-click applications have created massive candidate volume for recruiters to manage. • AI-generated resumes and cover letters are making it harder to identify genuine candidate fit. • Recruiters and candidates are both trying to keep pace with rapidly changing technology, creating frustration on both sides of the hiring process. • Tina says she knows highly qualified candidates who cannot find jobs and highly skilled recruiters who cannot find talent, highlighting a growing market disconnect. • She believes technology now sits at the center of many recruiting challenges. • Recruiting increasingly feels like AI versus AI, with candidates using AI tools and employers using AI to detect and evaluate them. • Tina worries about maintaining authenticity while demonstrating technological fluency. • Human skills such as creativity, strategic thinking, relationship-building, and networking remain critical despite AI's rise. • She feels many professionals are under pressure to add AI to everything simply to prove they are keeping up. • Tina predicts AI has truly arrived when people stop talking about AI and simply treat it as part of everyday work. • Leadership development should be woven throughout the talent lifecycle rather than treated as a standalone initiative. • One of Tina's biggest lessons is learning to recognize burnout before hitting the wall. • She believes professionals often ignore physical and mental signals until exhaustion forces them to stop. Guest : Tina Robinson Founder and CEO of WorkJoy Coaching, leadership development expert, SHRM speaker, author of Developing Your Business Leaders, and advocate for helping organizations build stronger leaders without losing the human side of work. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinarobinsonspeaks/ Connect with Us : William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined : 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/

2. 

   14 Jun 2026

   Recruiting Fraud Is Exploding. Most Companies Aren’t Ready for It

   Hiring has always involved a little deception. AI turned it into a completely different game. Philippe Beucher argues that recruiters now face a challenge they’ve never seen before: candidates using AI to optimize every part of the hiring process while companies race to figure out what’s real and what isn’t. The future of recruiting may depend on one question: can you still identify genuine talent in a world of perfect answers? Recruiting, AI hiring, candidate fraud, talent acquisition, leadership, recruiting technology. This conversation explores the growing tension between automation and authenticity. In this episode… Philippe shares why AI-driven candidate fraud is becoming a serious recruiting challenge, how recruiters are adapting to a new era of hiring, and why leadership still comes down to courage, listening, and learning from tough feedback. Sharp discussion on AI screening, recruiting technology, leadership, hiring integrity, and workforce transformation. Key Takeaways : • Philippe says one of recruiting’s biggest challenges is managing how candidates are using AI throughout the hiring process. • Recruiters are increasingly adapting their hiring practices to account for AI-assisted applications, interviews, and assessments. • Modern recruiting technology can detect signals such as multiple browser usage and AI-generated responses during candidate evaluations. • Philippe notes that fraud has always existed in hiring, but AI has made it easier to create answers that appear nearly perfect. • His rule of thumb: if a candidate response seems too perfect, it deserves closer scrutiny. • Philippe believes leadership is both learned and innate. Some traits can be developed, while others are rooted in behavior and character. • Courage is one of the defining characteristics of leadership, especially when speaking up about problems others avoid. • Great leaders listen carefully, care about people, and remain committed to doing the right thing even when it’s difficult. • Philippe’s formula for staying energized includes four fundamentals: sleep, physical activity, mental activity, and purpose. • He argues that people often focus too heavily on either mental or physical performance when long-term success requires both. • Balance remains one of the most underrated ingredients of sustained leadership performance. • Philippe believes recruiting is the foundation of effective HR. When recruiting works, everything else becomes easier. • The quality of hiring decisions has a ripple effect across culture, performance, retention, and employee experience. • Philippe says the fastest way to learn is through direct, honest feedback from people who care enough to tell the truth. • Constructive criticism from upset customers, employees, or stakeholders often provides more value than praise. • Leaders who actively seek uncomfortable feedback improve faster than those who only look for validation. Guest : Philippe Beucher Founder and CEO of RSight, building AI-powered recruiting technology that helps organizations source, enrich, screen, and engage talent while navigating the growing challenges of AI-driven hiring and candidate fraud. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippebeucher/ Connect with Us : William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined : 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/

3. 

   10 Jun 2026

   Time-to-Fill Is Broken. Nobody Knows What Great Recruiting Looks Like

   Most recruiting teams are hitting their metrics and still getting told they’re failing. Tim Sackett argues that’s because the metric everyone tracks most obsessively might be the one that matters least. Faster hiring doesn’t automatically mean better hiring. The future of recruiting isn’t speed. It’s trust, responsiveness, and human connection. Recruiting, candidate experience, AI adoption, workforce planning, talent acquisition, quality of hire. This conversation challenges some of the most accepted ideas in recruiting. In this episode… Tim explains why time-to-fill has become a misleading success metric, how candidate communication remains embarrassingly broken, and why AI should eliminate tactical work so recruiters can spend more time building relationships. Sharp discussion on workforce planning, recruiting metrics, candidate experience, and the future of talent acquisition. Key Takeaways : • Tim says recruiting’s biggest challenge changes constantly between having too many applicants and not enough applicants depending on the economy • He argues recruiting challenges are driven more by economic cycles than technology trends like AI • Tim believes talent acquisition must move away from time-to-fill as its primary success metric • Faster hiring is not always better hiring. “Fast” simply means faster, not necessarily higher quality • Some enterprise TA teams hit every recruiting KPI and still have CEOs who believe recruiting is underperforming • Candidate response time matters more than overall time-to-fill because interest disappears quickly in today’s market • Many candidates still apply to 100+ jobs and hear back from only a handful of employers • Tim calls it “insane” that organizations still fail to send basic rejection or status-update communications despite modern technology • He believes candidate experiences should function more like Uber, FedEx, or Domino’s tracking, with real-time updates and transparency • Organizations should provide candidates with context, expectations, and visibility instead of leaving them in a hiring black hole • Candidates are willing to complete assessments and hiring steps if employers clearly explain why they matter and share results when appropriate • Tim highlights an example where rejected candidates could receive learning resources and reapply after developing missing skills • His favorite recruiting compliment: “I didn’t get the job, but I liked your process.” • Workforce planning remains reactive because many HR and TA leaders still struggle with technology and data capabilities • Tim believes AI adoption fails when organizations remove work without showing employees how they’ll create value elsewhere • Employees often resist AI because they fear optimization will eliminate their jobs rather than elevate their work • The biggest unanswered question in recruiting is still how organizations should truly measure success in talent acquisition • Tim believes future recruiters will spend far less time on administrative work and far more time building genuine relationships with talent • His vision for recruiting is simple: AI handles the tactical work while humans focus on trust, relationships, and hiring decisions Guest : Tim Sackett President of HRU Technical Resources, bestselling author, speaker, and one of the most influential voices in talent acquisition, known for challenging recruiting orthodoxy and pushing the industry toward better hiring outcomes. LinkedIN : https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsackett/ Connect with Us : William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ WRKdefined : 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/

Contact SHRM Talent 2026

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.