Talent Management conversations for future HR Leaders by Let‘s Talk Talent
Let’s Talk Talent 43 episodes Oct 28, 2026
This podcast features conversations with HR leaders about talent management and how organizations can help employees reach their potential. It explores practical ways to support, develop, and empower people within a business, with insights from senior HR practitioners. The show is aimed at future HR leaders and anyone interested in building stronger talent strategies.
Episodes
How Do You Start Your Career Again When Life Keeps Changing The Plan For You?
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent, host Jo Taylor sits down with Amanda Austin, Regional Administrative Manager - UAE at Let’s Talk Talent, her unconventional career journey has taken her from hotel management and events to government administration, running her own nail business, and working across multiple industries in Qatar and Dubai. Now working alongside Jo at Let's Talk Talent.
The conv
What Years in HR Teach You About the Leaders Who Make Your Team Want to Do More
In this episode of Let’s Talk Talent, host Craig Howells sits down with Imane Alaoui Staelen, HR Director for the Region.
The conversation explores a career built on bold choices, from leaving an academic path for the corporate world to relocating from Paris to Dubai. Craig and Imane discuss what she had to unlearn about HR, why the human side of HR must stay central in the age of AI, and the thre
Career Success Without A Perfect Plan - How Nick Clark Turned Uncertainty Into Opportunity
In this episode of Let’s Talk Talent Podcast, host Jo Taylor speaks with Nick Clark, Partner and Director at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), about building a successful career without a fixed roadmap.
Nick shares his journey from an uncertain start after university to becoming a global consultant, exploring how curiosity, resilience, mentorship, and unexpected opportunities shaped his career. He re
I Had No Career Plan, But It Took Me From Barclays To The Olympics With Chris Parkinson
In this episode of Let’s Talk Talent Podcast, host Craig Howells speaks with Chris Parkinson, Head of Organizational Development at Bupa UK & Non-Executive Director at Oxfordshire Cricket, about building inclusive, purposeful workplaces through trust, confidence, and enterprise leadership. Chris explains how leaders can create the conditions for people to take ownership, contribute beyond thei
Building an Employee Value Proposition (EVP): How to build an EVP and why it’s important for attracting and retaining top talent - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 17
Jo Taylor, MD of Let's Talk Talent talks all things EVP with Philomena Gray Global Chief People Officer of Imagination. Join them to find out how to build an EVP that attracts and retains top talent.
How to unlock your leadership potential: diversity, mentoring and growth as keys to unlock your potential with Hester Pooles - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 16
Join Claire Koryczan Senior Partner at Let's Talk Talent as she talks to Hester Pooles, Head of Legal at The AA about her leadership journey and how you can unlock the potential in yourself through a range of different interests and pursuits.
How you can lead from the heart - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 15
This month Jo Taylor from Let’s Talk Talent spoke with David Liversage people and development consultant and an associate of Let's Talk Talent about the meaning of Leading With the Heart in the work environment.
The importance of being an inclusive leader - Lets Talk Talent Podcast Episode 14
This month Craig Howells from Let’s Talk Talent interviews Stefano Battaglia, HR Consultant and Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour about the importance of inclusive leadership in the modern world.
How to embrace vulnerability at work - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 13 with Paul McGregor
Paul McGregor founder of Everymind at Work joins us for this month's Let's Talk Talent podcast and shares his story and mission to help leaders embrace vulnerability at work.
How To Create a Coaching Culture - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 12 With Shelley Hayward
Jo Taylor (MD of Let's Talk Talent) talks to Shelley Hayward, Head of Learning and Talent at Cumberland Building Society about Coaching and Leadership.
Championing Neurodiversity: Practical Tips from Mel Francis - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 11
Jo Taylor (MD of Let's Talk Talent) talks to Mel Francis about one of her passions - championing neurodiversity in workplaces.
How to manage your squiggly HR career: An example - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 10 with Mel Francis
Jo interviews Mel Francis about her career journey and explores what it is to navigate a truly squiggly HR career.
The Changing Role of Leaders in Team Development - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 9
One of our clients Lorraine Kelly, the Director of Organisational Development at Kings College London, joins Jo Taylor, MD of Let's Talk Talent to discuss the changing role of leaders in team development.
What we can learn from a business with over 10 years experience in Hybrid Working - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 8
This month Claire Koryczan (Senior Partner) at Let's Talk Talent interviews Wendy (Christie Chief People Officer) at The Social Element which is a business that has been remote for well over 10 years.
Come and find out what we can learn from a business that is hybrid first.
Hybrid working - The important question: Where do your employees do their best work? - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 7
Robert Hicks and Catrin Lewis from Reward Gateway joined us to talk through their approach to hybrid working.
Meet work modes, a tool that helps your employees discover the best places, to complete the tasks that they have in their roles.
Navigating hybrid working and how we can reinvent the world of work - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 6
Jo (MD of Let's Talk Talent) welcomes Kursty Groves to discuss the impact of hybrid working.
We discuss in this episode:
Everyone has had a different experience of lockdown - how can you deal with it?
How can teams work with some people in the office, and some at home without creating a two tier culture?
Performance Management from an experienced leaders’ perspective - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 5
This month Craig Howells from Let's Talk Talent interviews Richard Sinclair MBE, the Chief Operating Officer at Zzoomm for his perspective on how managers and leaders can have better performance management conversations.
Tools for HR leaders to improve their Performance Management process in times of crisis - Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 4
Jo Taylor (MD of Let's Talk Talent) is joined by Sally Henderson the high stakes leadership mentor. We discuss the current situation and how leaders and HR professionals can adapt their processes and truly care for the development of their people.
Humble Leadership - what can leaders learn from this different approach? Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 3
Jo Taylor (MD of Let's Talk Talent) is joined by Craig Austin and Amjad Khan who work in the banking industry in the Middle-East to discuss cross cultural leadership, and more specifically Humble Leadership.
Getting back to business - re-onboarding your people post-COVID Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 2
Jo (MD of Let's Talk Talent) welcomes Kursty Groves to discuss the impact of bringing people back into your business post-COVID. We offer inspiration and tips for making it the best possible experience.
We discuss in this episode:
Working from home works - what is the impact?
Everyone has had a different experience of lockdown - how can you deal with it?
How to bring your people back into the
Coronavirus Careers: How a Pandemic will Create a Labour Market Revolution Let’s Talk Talent Podcast Episode 1
Chadi & Claire from Let's Talk Talent explore trends that are shaping all of our careers post-pandemic.
We discuss in this episode:
The biggest shifts in working life
How organisations values been tested
What has pandemic leadership shown us?
What will future careers look like?
Listener Q&A
In this episode of Let’s Talk Talent, Jo answers a number of listener questions, including:
How can organisations get better at devoting proper time for professional development?
What's the most effective way to develop people at busy times?
Where do you start with succession planning?
What her advice would be for developing a cohort of leaders internationally?
Fixing a broken culture
In this episode we discuss who has the responsibility for creating and maintaining workplace culture in an organisation; What are the pillars for creating a thriving workplace culture; and what are the signs that you have a broken culture and how do organisations go about fixing it.
Is data-driven learning the right approach for L&D?
There is a lot of discussion around data driven learning so in this episode we discuss is this the right approach for L&D and is L&D changing?
Listener Q&A
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent, Jo answers a number of listener questions, including:
- The impact of Brexit on the attraction and management of talent
- What HR needs to focus on in the era of the gig economy and portfolio career
- How HR can maintain their company's culture amid a more virtual and disperse workforce
- How organisations can build a pipeline of diverse future leaders
The importance of building an Alumni network
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent, Jo discusses the importance of building an Alumni network, shares some interesting examples of companies who have done a great job of building an alumni network, together with sharing some advice on some things to consider when building an alumni for the first time.
Tackling some questions from the HR media!
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent, Jo shares her thoughts on some recent new articles around Gender Pay, Engagement and Happiness, and productivity!
Why do Values matter?
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent, we discuss the importance of values. Do they matter? Do people take them seriously? What can organisations do to bring theirs to life? We answer all of the above and Jo also shares some examples of organisations who are doing great 'values' work.
Preventing Burnout at Work
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent, Jo discusses burnout at work. There's some useful tips on what organisations can do to prevent their employees from burning out and advice for managers on how they can better spot the early warning signs, together with some examples of what other organisations are doing in regards to tackling employee wellbeing.
Why is Succession Planning often neglected in organisations
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent Jo discusses Succession Planning and we ask her why this is so often neglected in organisations. Jo shares her thoughts, together with her views on the essential components that are needed for a successful succession planning programme, what are the most common problems organisations experience and who is doing succession planning well.
A round-up from our latest Let's Talk Talent HR Leaders round-table
In this episode of Let’s Talk Talent, we share our thoughts from our latest HR Leaders round-table, where we had a great discussion on performance management and the importance of driving a culture of continuous feedback.
Managing Under-Performers
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent, we explore how you can manage under-performers, with some useful advice for first-time managers.
How can talent management and OD keep up in a fast evolving environment?
In our latest episode of Let's Talk Talent, Jo answers questions from our listeners!
Encouraging 2-way Manager/Employee feedback
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent we are joined by the team's newest member, Chadi Moussa, who discusses the importance of 2-way manager/employee feedback and how companies can go about putting a true 2-way feedback process in place. Chadi also shares advice for managers who may receive feedback they do not like.
Why isn't performance management working?
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent, we explore why traditional performance management approaches aren't working; ask the question can performance management be more personalised? and Jo offers up her three pieces of advice for you to enhance your performance management approach.
What makes a good EVP and who does them well?
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent, Jo discusses the EVP (Employee Value Proposition) including what makes a good EVP and which companies have done them well.
Managing high potentials - is there a better way?
In this episode Jo discusses approaches to measuring and managing high potentials. Is there a better way? Do your employees feel confident and positive about their longer-term opportunities with your business?
Why are Leadership Development programmes failing?
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent Jo discusses the area of leadership development and questions whether as an HR profession we are approaching leadership development in the wrong way.
Engaging your new joiners
In this episode of Let's Talk Talent, Jo shares her advice on onboarding and what HR teams can do to create an engaging experience for new joiners.
What makes great Organisational Design
In this latest episode Jo discusses what makes great organisational design and why robust organisational design is needed to give you the best possible vehicle for creating an envisioned future.
Focusing on the 'how' in Talent Management
In this latest episode Jo discusses 'talent management', the war for talent and how the psychological contract between organisations and employees has changed.
Creating an amazing culture
In this first episode of Let's Talk Talent, Jo discusses the topic of culture and shares her advice on how you can go about creating an amazing culture that adapts to change.
Welcome to Let's Talk Talent
Welcome to Let's Talk Talent, a new podcast series for HR leaders.
