What the FTE? - Tackling the tough questions about the future of work.

This week on What the FTE? we challenge the myths around hiring and talent functions with Joseph Withers, co‑founder of HighlightTA. We dig into the biggest misbeliefs startups carry into hiring, why “project” work is often a symptom of underload, how to recognise when to scale your talent capacity up or down, and what partnership really looks like in modern TA. If you want a more flexible, resili...

This week on What the FTE? we rethink one of the most overlooked levers in talent strategy, how we pay people. Traditional pay cycles were built for bookkeepers, not workers. Sean Paulseth, Head of Revenue, Canada at ZayZoon, is here to show why pay timing matters as much as pay level. We dig into how on‑demand pay reduces financial stress, boosts retention and becomes a strategic advantage in fro...

This week on What the FTE? Melissa Marcelissen talks with Alison Kaizer, Partner, Talent at Golden Ventures and one of today’s most incisive thinkers on early stage hiring.  If you want to make better decisions about who to hire and how to lead in fast‑moving environments this episode is for you. Enjoyed the episode? 👉 Get the full playbook on this topic: www.certn.co/blog 👉 Join thousands of HR...

This week on What the FTE?, Andy speaks with a cybersecurity founder about how AI and remote hiring have changed where risk shows up inside companies. What starts as a conversation about modern tools quickly reveals how resumes, PDFs, and automated applications can open the door to serious security threats. They discuss why rushed hiring creates blind spots, how insider risks actually emerge, and...

This week on What the FTE?, Andy talks with wellness strategist and energy coach Rich Ellis, whose approach to executive performance starts with the body. Rich shares how leaders can reverse burnout through “1% changes” that compound—simple shifts in sleep, nutrition, and recovery that rebuild sustainable energy. They explore how to measure your energy daily, why morning light and rest cycles matt...

This week on What the FTE?, we go to war with the CV. Former Australian Army Captain turned HR disruptor, Josh Hill, joins us to dismantle outdated hiring systems and explain what “discovery-led hiring” actually looks like. From military simulations to startup chaos, Josh shares how to slow down the process, ask better questions, and get radically clear on fit — before you ever post a job. If you’...

This week on What the FTE?, Rolando Lopez drops a bold new metric: Talent Replenishment Ratio — the hidden signal most leaders aren’t tracking. He also breaks down why recruiters need to think like business people, how buzzwords are holding HR back, and what happens when you integrate TA, HRBP, and Rewards into one strategic function. Whether you’re trying to scale sustainably, keep your top talen...

This week on What the FTE?, we hear from Chris Milligan, founder and CEO of Konfir (the UK tech company collapsing hiring timelines from weeks to seconds). Chris shares how open banking, GDPR, and machine learning have created a faster, more trusted way to verify employment data. They unpack the power of consent-based systems, the future of verification, and what it takes to scale lean in uncertai...

This week on What the FTE? , we’re joined by Wei Houng , co-founder of HumanOp Technologies . HumanOp decodes how people are wired using physics - not behaviour. Wei’s worked with VCs, Fortune 500s and Olympic athletes to help leaders stop managing personalities and start engineering flow. We unpack what this means for hiring, burnout, job design and team dynamics - and whether rewiring is actuall...

This week on What the FTE?, Maya Bellay sits down with Katy Hoszka, Global Total Rewards Leader at Certn, to talk about the real power behind pay. From building salary bands from scratch to navigating the messy truth of transparency, Katy shares how fairness, trust, and storytelling intersect inside a modern reward strategy. They unpack why equity—not equality—drives performance, how to win execut...

Steven Puri walked away from Hollywood blockbusters and studio power to chase a different story: what really drives human focus. After decades leading film sets and startups, he’s now on a mission to help remote teams cut through distraction and find flow. In this episode, Steven shares what Die Hard taught him about bad leadership, why most “remote work problems” are really hiring problems, and h...

This week on What the FTE? , we’re joined by Aubrey Blanche , global inclusion strategist and founder of The Mathpath , to tackle one of HR’s most stubborn challenges: how to actually operationalise your values. Aubrey breaks down a practical 3-part framework that turns your values from vague poster copy into real decision-making tools for hiring, reviews, and culture. She shares what most compani...

What if you’ve been asking the wrong questions about hiring all along? In this episode of What the FTE?, Andy’s Andrew McLeod sits down with Dan Eberhard, CEO and founder of KOHO, one of Canada’s fastest-growing fintech, to unpack a radically different approach to talent strategy. This is a raw and practical conversation for HR leaders who are tired of fluff and ready to build talent systems that...

When things get messy, culture’s usually the first thing to go. But Stacy Parkinson has led teams through chaos, and still walked away with top culture awards. In this episode, Maya Bellay interviews Stacy about the complexities of maintaining organizational culture during times of significant change. Enjoyed the episode? 👉 Get the full deep dive on this topic: www.certn.co/blog 👉 Subscribe for...

At most companies, EVP (Employee Value Proposition) is just a slide deck. At Go Auto, it’s a lived experience. Brent Lazanik, VP of Talent Acquisition, shares how they’ve built real loyalty - not with perks, but with purpose, growth, and follow-through. If your EVP looks good on paper but falls flat in real life, this one’s for you. Enjoyed the episode? 👉 Get the full deep dive on this topic: www...

What happens when you get executive hiring wrong? In this episode, executive search leader Marianne Bulger joins Melissa Marsellison to unpack the unseen forces that shape high-stakes recruitment.  From CEO blind spots to broken team dynamics, this is a candid look at what really derails the hiring process - and how to fix it. Expect sharp insights on trust, alignment, candidate experience and why...

In this episode of What the FTE, Certn's CTO Saba El-Hilo discusses the importance of discipline in leadership, the evolving role of AI in the workplace, and the critical need for effective communication in tech teams. She emphasizes that delivering higher value faster is essential, and that leaders must focus on critical thinking and team dynamics to drive success. Enjoyed the episode? 👉 Get the...

This week’s guest, Anitta Krishan , shares how burnout in the tech trenches led her to breathwork, Bali, and a whole new philosophy of leadership that’s gaining serious traction: embodied leadership. Anitta is the Chief Culture Officer at Hoogly AI and former VP, Global Head of People & Strategy at TikTok. Enjoyed the episode? 👉 Get the full deep dive on this topic: www.certn.co/blog 👉 Subsc...

On the latest “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘛𝘌?” podcast, our Head of People & Culture Melissa Marcelissen sits down with Alice Burks (Director, People Success @ Deel) to crack the code on remote-first hypergrowth. Deel proves you can achieve hypergrowth without a single office. This deep-dive breaks down actionable lessons that every remote-first HR team can put to work today. Enjoyed the episode? 👉 Get the fu...

Still think cybersecurity isn’t an HR problem? Think again. Discover how insider threats start with hiring. Learn why HR is key to cybersecurity and how smarter screening can prevent credential leaks and internal fraud. Enjoyed the episode? Get the full deep dive  on this topic:  www.certn.co/blog Subscribe for weekly HR strategy updates :  www.certn.co/podcast

Martin Hauck joins What the FTE? to cut through the chaos of HR tech in 2025. Martin shares his litmus test for real ROI, why tool curiosity beats trend-chasing, and what every HR leader should be asking before they buy. Enjoyed the episode? 👉 Get the full deep dive on this topic: www.certn.co/blog 👉 Subscribe for weekly HR strategy updates : www.certn.co/podcast

On this episode, Certn’s Donal Greene and Doug Beavis dive into the rise of deepfakes, synthetic candidates, and the AI-fueled fraud risks reshaping hiring. From a real CEO impersonation attempt to tips for deepfake-proofing your TA process, this one’s unmissable.

Certn CEO Andrew McLeod sat down with ⁠Zack Cormier⁠ , a senior sales and strategy leader at ⁠VidCruiter⁠ , a company specializing in structured video interviewing and recruitment automation software to talk about hiring. Not the buzzy, AI-driven, “future-of-work” kind. I mean the actual, messy, inconsistent interview process that most teams are still running behind the scenes, where managers go r...

The HR landscape is evolving, and fast. As AI moves from concept to practical application (albeit more slowly than some people predicted), HR leaders are stepping into a new kind of responsibility: leading both people and intelligent systems. Krista Skalde, a seasoned global talent executive, captures it well: “The future is now.” In a world of job design disruption, hybrid workforces, and machine...

82% of first-time managers receive no training, yet they have more impact on retention and engagement than executives. In this episode, Melissa Marcelissen breaks down why leadership training needs to start at the first level, why DEI without real culture change fails, and how HR can fix the leadership gap.