Talent Intelligence Collective Podcast

About Talent Intelligence Collective Podcast

A podcast about all aspects of Talent Intelligence, Talent Research, Talent Analytics, Labor Intelligence, Human Capital Intelligence, Competitor Labor Intelligence. This is a sister podcast to the main Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/talentintelligencecollective

Publisher

Alison Ettridge, Alan Walker and Toby Culshaw powered by Lightcast

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

28 Sept 2020

Latest episode

9 Dec 2025

Latest episodes

14 of 44 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   9 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT

   The one with David Edwards (Ericsson)

   Episode 43: David Edwards — Cracking the Code on Strategic Workforce Planning David Edwards has spent decades transforming strategic workforce planning from organisational afterthought into boardroom priority. Currently Head of Workforce Planning at Ericsson and founder of consultancy Dark Artistry, he's built SWP functions inside global enterprises including NatWest, where he created an internal mobility programme that saved over 500 roles from redundancy. His forthcoming book, The Strategic Workforce Planning Handbook (Kogan Page, January 2026), has earned endorsements from Dave Ulrich and David Green. In this conversation, he challenges conventional thinking about what SWP actually is—and crucially, what it isn't. What We Cover Why SWP Remains Reactive—and How to Change That Edwards argues that for most organisations, SWP is still "a reactive process to the setting of budgets." The real opportunity lies in extending the window for workforce preparation—moving from crisis-mode redeployment to proactive talent readiness. At NatWest, this meant identifying at-risk employees months earlier, creating genuine career pathways rather than scrambling at redundancy notices. Planning for Strategic Workforce, Not Whole Workforce One standout from the recent SWP Conference was Roche's methodology: rather than planning for everyone, they focus on workforce segments that are strategically critical right now. Edwards adds a counterintuitive twist—declining workforce segments deserve equal attention, as they represent the talent pool for emerging demand. Workforce Risk as the Underused Lever With CEO tenures averaging seven years and remuneration tied to short-term results, long-term workforce stewardship gets squeezed out. Edwards suggests reframing around risk: "What is the risk the workforce poses to the successful execution of even short-term business strategy?" The £50,000 Question: Reskilling vs Redundancy Financial Services Skills Commission research shows reskilling saves nearly £50,000 per person compared to redundancy-and-rehire cycles. Yet most organisations default to firing. Edwards connects this to mental wellbeing—having been made redundant himself, he's passionate about proving there's a better way. Key Quote "It is not so much planning strategically for the whole workforce, but planning for the workforce which is at this moment in time strategic." Practical Tips for SWP Practitioners Start using labour market data immediately—it creates compelling stories that move business leaders. Build multiple future scenarios rather than one fragile plan. Focus on workforce segments critical to current strategy, including those in decline. Frame workforce challenges as business risk, not HR administration. What David is Working On The Strategic Workforce Planning Handbook publishing 3rd January 2026 (UK)—pre-order at koganpage.com/SWPH Launching Dark Artistry consultancy offering masterclasses and advisory retainers Speaking at People Analytics World Zurich (February 2026) About David Edwards David Edwards is Head of Workforce Planning at Ericsson and founder of Dark Artistry Ltd. He previously spent over six years at NatWest building their strategic workforce management capability, and served as Advisory Services Director at Visier. A member of the Workforce Planning Institute's Global Standards Committee, he's a recognised speaker and mental health champion. Resources Mentioned Deloitte Insights: Is It Time to Break Workforce Planning Out of Its Silo? McKinsey: HR's Transformative Role in an Agentic Future Financial Services Skills Commission: Research on reskilling cost savings Roche and Sade Benjamin (American Airlines): SWP Conference presentations As ever—big thanks to our sponsors: https://lightcast.io (https://lightcast.io)

2. 

   18 Nov 2025

   The one with Tony Holly (Magnit)

   Tony Holly, Senior Director at Magnet's Strategic Advisory Team, joins the podcast to reveal the massive blind spot in most organisations' talent intelligence: contingent labour. Tony's team touches 600,000–800,000 contingent workers every single week across 600+ Fortune 500 clients. Despite this enormous scale, contingent workforce data remains largely invisible to strategic workforce planning—a gap that's costing organisations millions. What We Cover The Contingent Workforce at Scale - Large organisations manage 2,000–4,000 contingent workers weekly through 100+ staffing agencies. One pharmaceutical client had billions in professional services spend with no way to connect costs to quality outcomes. Time-to-fill averages 15 days but hits 53 in markets like New York, yet most organisations lack visibility into these metrics. The Fatal Migration to SOW - Organisations systematically move contingent workers from staff augmentation (40% markup) to statement of work arrangements (70%+ markup) to circumvent headcount policies. Same worker, same work, same supplier—but a 30 percentage point premium. Tony calls this expensive policy avoidance masquerading as workforce strategy. Redeployment as Competitive Advantage - Leading organisations maintain talent pools including recently completed assignments, silver medallists from permanent recruitment, and retired workers seeking short engagements. Technology matches historical quality scores, pricing data, and skills to new requisitions—eliminating onboarding friction since workers already have systems access and cultural knowledge. Context Over Numbers - Tony's team contextualises data against benchmarks to identify red flags before they become crises. When five consecutive workers cite the same manager's attitude in exit feedback, that's not a data point—it's a leadership intervention waiting to happen. Total Talent Intelligence Remains Elusive - Despite years of rhetoric, permanent and contingent workforces remain siloed. Magnet's "stage five visionary clients" achieve true total talent intelligence—mapping all workers in one view to answer strategically: should we build, borrow, or bot this capability? Key Quote "We've seen organisations pay 70% more to get around artificial headcount policies. They're paying 30 percentage points more to circumvent rules that are hurting the organisation and costing more money. Why do that?" Practical Tips for TI Leaders Consolidate all contingent workforce data immediately—dirty and unclean—then identify gaps rather than waiting for perfect data Audit whether workers are moving to SOW to avoid headcount limits—you may be paying a 30-point premium Build redeployment pools including completed assignments, silver medallists, and retired workers Map contingent workers geographically and analyse metrics by location before making return-to-office decisions Always provide context through benchmarks and identify red flags before they become crises What Tony is Working On Expanding total talent intelligence capabilities integrating FTE and contingent workforce data Developing redeployment matching tools pairing skills, quality scores, and pricing history Advising clients on the "fatal migration to SOW" and quantifying cost impacts About Tony Holly Tony Holly is Senior Director with Magnet's Strategic Advisory Team, leading 40+ business intelligence consultants globally. He supports 600 of Magnet's 700 clients—including 20% of the Fortune 500. With degrees in psychology, industrial-organisational psychology, and organisational development, Tony has spent over a decade building analytics capabilities in the contingent labour space. As ever—big thanks to our sponsors: https://lightcast.io (https://lightcast.io)

3. 

   2 Oct 2025TRANSCRIPT

   The one where Kim Bryant returns

   Kim Bryant, Global Head of Research at AMS, discusses AI's impact on employment, the evolution of talent intelligence, and why recruiter-candidate relationships drive offer acceptance in this interview.

Inside a recent episode

The one with David Edwards (Ericsson)

Published 9 Dec 2025 · Transcript excerpt

[…] But it feels like the world is so fragile and decision making is so erratic that actually having a direction of travel and kind of multiple attack points feels better and more fluid than having a hyper accuracy that can be a bit fragile. And then most importantly, getting rid of the silos. I think we touched on it here before, getting rid of those silos, the amount of conversations around roping in and getting together different parts of your organization, whether it's finance, whether it's real estate, et cetera, bringing that all together, and then kind of having a single, trusted, robust data foundation seems to be more important than ever. […]

Who has been a guest on Talent Intelligence Collective Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Kim Bryant
• Jen Allen Jardine
• Kumar Vaibhav
• Gerrit Schimmelpenninck
• Steve Kerwin

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

10 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

10 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 49 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

64

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

85

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Guest appearances

Books guests

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

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