HRchat Podcast

AI is everywhere at work right now, but we keep hearing the same pitch: automate more, move faster, do more with less. I wanted to slow that down and ask a better question with Ritu Kiran, founder and CEO of Aubilities: can AI make work better for humans, not just more productive for spreadsheets? If AI saves two hours a week, do employees actually get that capacity back, or do we simply cram in t...

What if employee disengagement, turnover and resistance to change aren't primarily people problems, but predictable responses to the systems employees work within? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, Bill Banham is joined by Dustin Snyder, creator of the Strategic Workforce Insight Mapping methodology (SWIM), Executive Director at The SWIM Institute, Principal at Wayforward, and author of...

Curiosity can feel like a personality trait, but we treat it as something much more practical: a career strategy and an organizational advantage. Host Bill Banham sits down with futurist, entrepreneur, investor, and strategy professor Fenton Jagdeo to break down what “radical curiosity” looks like when you turn it into a repeatable discipline, especially for HR leaders, people managers, and anyone...

Is AI and automation making recruitment better, or are recruiters losing sight of the human relationships that actually drive successful hires? In this special HRchat Podcast crossover episode, Bill Banham speaks with Kat Kingshott , Rec Tech and Recruitment Advisor at Touchstone Talent and host of the new weekly podcast Recruiter Wake Up Call. Kat challenges the recruitment industry’s “automate t...

Headcount is one of the most familiar metrics in HR. But does knowing how many people work for an organisation really tell us whether the business has the capacity to deliver? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, Bill Banham is joined by Qadoos Rashid, a board-level Chief People Officer and transformation leader with more than 20 years of experience across PE-backed, listed and privately owned h...

What if the candidate whose resume looks “wrong” is actually the person your organisation needs most? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, Bill Banham is joined by István Szabó to discuss unconventional career paths, hiring for potential, leadership, workplace culture, career reinvention and the growing influence of AI on recruitment. István’s own career has rarely followed the expected path. He...

What does great HR leadership look like after more than 25 years of change in the profession? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, Bill Banham is joined by Siobhan Reid , Head of People and Culture at Circle Voluntary Housing Association, to explore the evolution of HR from the traditional personnel department to a modern People and Culture function built around human connection, psychological s...

Having a seat at the table doesn't automatically mean your voice shapes the conversation. So how do HR professionals become trusted advisors whose insights genuinely influence business decisions? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, Bill Banham is joined by Jennifer McClure, longtime HR executive, keynote speaker, founder of DisruptHR, and self-described "student of the future of work....

Big HR conferences often promise valuable networking, but how many meaningful conversations actually happen with the people making strategic decisions? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast , Bill Banham is joined by Robbie Jones , CEO and Co-Founder of Double Centurion Events and a global advisor in HR technology and people platforms, to explore why the traditional conference model is evolving an...

How much trust should employers place in psychometric assessments? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast , host Bill Banham is joined by Paula Baetu , Psychometric Specialist, Business Psychologist, and Executive Coach at Awemetrics / Pawsometrics , to demystify workplace assessments and explore how HR leaders can make better, more evidence-based talent decisions. With extensive experience evaluat...

What does it really take to thrive in the future of work? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, host Bill Banham is joined by Kevin Empey , founder of Work Matters and author of Thrive in the Future of Work , to explore how AI, hybrid work, digital transformation, and changing employee expectations are reshaping organizations around the world. Together, Bill and Kevin examine how the workplace ha...

Are your organization's wellbeing initiatives making a real difference—or simply creating the appearance of caring? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast , host Bill Banham sits down with Dr. Paul Jones , Associate Dean for Postgraduate Education and Student Experience at Aston Business School and upcoming DisruptHR Birmingham speaker, to explore the difference between genuine workplace wellb...

Is it ever too late to reinvent your career? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast's Next Chapter series , guest host Pauline James speaks with three inspiring professionals who prove that meaningful career transitions don't have an expiry date. Actor, writer, and producer Renée Hackett shares her journey of creating opportunities instead of waiting for them, discusses building confidenc...

Welcome to a landmark episode of HRchat . As we celebrate Episode 900 and a decade of conversations with the world's leading HR thinkers, host Bill Banham is joined by longtime friend, strategic HR leader, and DisruptHR co-organizer Steve Foulger . Bill and Steve reflect on how the HR profession has evolved over the past ten years, separating genuine progress from recycled ideas wrapped in ne...

For years, HR leaders have relied on dashboards to guide workforce decisions. But what happens when AI agents can analyse data, surface insights, and even recommend actions faster than any human? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, Bill Banham is joined by Ankita Poddar , speaker, blogger, and Senior Human Resources Business Partner at Amazon Web Services (AWS), to explore why the future of HR...

In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, host Bill Banham talks with Chris Locke, Executive Director for Work + Family at Bright Horizons, about how employee benefits are evolving to meet the realities of modern life and work. Traditional benefits packages were once built around a handful of standard offerings. Today, employers are being asked to support employees through a much wider range of life...

What does it take to modernize HR systems in a complex, highly operational organization without damaging trust, culture, or employee engagement along the way? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, host Bill Banham sits down with John Kennedy , HR leader at Irish Rail, to explore the realities of HR transformation in organizations where legacy systems, long-standing processes, and deeply embedded...

Margins are under siege. Between tariffs, retail media costs, markdown pressure, and the explosion of e-commerce complexity, suppliers are juggling more P&L lines than ever—and the fallout doesn’t stop with finance. We sit down with Dallas Counts, COO at Vendormint and former Walmart/Sam’s Club leader, to explore how operational strain shows up in culture, talent decisions, and the day-to-day...

The fastest way to lose trust as a leader is to pretend you’re fine when you’re not. Bill Bannham sits down with leadership strategist and emotional intelligence practitioner Russell Robinson to unpack a deceptively simple idea: leadership has to be “selfish” first. Not selfish in the ego sense, but selfish in the disciplined sense of knowing your values, naming your non-negotiables, protecting yo...

AI is moving faster than most workplaces can rewrite their playbooks, and that raises a blunt question: if machines can handle more tasks, what should people leaders double down on? We sit down with chartered psychologist and leadership coach Dr. Mary Collins to make the case that emotional intelligence, empathy, and relationship building are not “nice to have” anymore. They are the skills that ke...

Workplace bullying isn’t rare — it’s a persistent, under-recognised business risk that quietly erodes culture, trust, and retention. In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, host Bill Banham speaks with Mary Cullen , Founder and Managing Director at Insight HR and host of The HR Room, to unpack the findings from the Insight HR Irish Workplace Bullying Report 2026 . Together, they explore what workpl...

A candidate can look perfect on paper and still become the person who damages your culture, erodes trust, or puts your employer brand at risk with a single post. In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, host Bill Banham speaks with Ben Mones , founder and CEO of Fama , about how “people risk” has evolved in a world where work and behaviour increasingly play out online. With up to six generations now...

AI is forcing a question many leaders would rather avoid: are we improving work — or quietly deleting it? In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, Bill Banham is joined by Kevin Oakes , CEO and co-founder of the Institute for Corporate Productivity and author of Culture Renovation , to cut through the hype and explore what’s actually changing inside organisations right now. Together, they compare th...

“I think I’m resigning.” Jennifer Outlaw still remembers blurting those words out in a meeting, and the clarity that followed. That single moment opens a bigger conversation about career reinvention, values-based leadership, and what it really means to be successful when the job looks great on paper but feels wrong in your body. Pauline James is joined by Jennifer Outlaw , a values-rooted leadersh...

Workplace wellbeing is everywhere, yet too many programs still feel like duct tape on a deeper problem. Bill Banham sits down with Professor Jo Yarker, Professor of Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck University of London and managing partner at Affinity Health at Work, to get practical about what actually drives healthy performance and what HR leaders can do when quick fixes fail. We dig into why...