#22 - Podcast Alert!

It's Re-Entry January, where after holidays you struggle to remember your purpose in life and remember all that you are supposed to be doing. I've promoted a couple of episodes of a new podcast series I created with my friends at Purple Acorn , but I have yet to really talk about it in detail here.

Sometime after HR Tech, I was talking with Evan White about doing a podcast on his network. I love connecting with people and had a podcast for many years at Workhuman and I wanted to get back into hosting. I was trying to think of something work related that would provide insight into people and their career stories when it hit me. We all have a first job that we laugh about today. Usually, it's something ridiculous where teenage versions of ourselves are taken advantage of, but often people look back on these experiences as their first step into finding out what they wanted to do, and what a "dream job" looks like.

Over the first 5 episodes, I've had a lot of fun learning the origin stories of HR Tech friends John Baldino , Mary Faulkner , Richard Rosenow , Mary Ellen Slayter , and Elena Valentine . Each episode is funny, but gives the listener insight into why each person does what they do.

This week, we're highlighting my good friend Laurie Ruettimann . I first met Laurie at HR Tech 2013 and have come to love her advice and outlook on the world. It's always great when work connections become real friends and I've been lucky that she and her husband Ken happen to be in the Outer Banks the week my family goes down there every year. Ken has golfed with me, my Dad, and brother the past 5 years or so, and they always stop by our beach rental to say hi to my kids and army of siblings, nieces and nephews.

Take a look/listen to my interview with Laurie Ruettimann below and please subscribe to the podcast wherever you get podcasts. Also, do yourself a favor and get a copy of her book Betting on You. It completely flipped how I feel about my self worth when it comes to work - for the better!

I'll be taking My First Job on the road to San Diego at TA Week the first week of February. In the meantime, I'm recording a bunch of episodes and look forward to talking to Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor , old coworker and friend Dan Miller , Splunk 's Allie Wehling, MS, SHRM-SCP , Visier Inc. 's Sean Luitjens , and TA Week founder Kara Mignanelli . Stay tuned and if you or someone you know would be a great interview, just reach out!

On to this week's news. In this edition of The Wrap, Lars Schmidt provides resources for employees in southern California, Trent Cotton and J.T. O'Donnell explore the impact of AI on white-collar jobs, Paychex , Shaker Recruitment Marketing , and Employer.com all start the new year with acquisitions, and a Guinness shortage leads to a wellness check on Stephen McGrath .

Help your employees in southern California

Lars Schmidt is doing what Lars Schmidt does best, bringing the HR community together in a time of need. He's put together a crowdsourced document of ways to help your employees effected by the wildfires. Check it out below.

The Human Capitalist podcast explores the impact of AI on white-collar jobs.

If you haven't subscribed to Trent Cotton 's Human Capitalist newsletter, do yourself a favor and subscribe?here. Trent is a prolific speaker in the recruiting field and is always looking ahead to the latest innovations. This particular episode hit close to home because it examines AI's impact on white-collar workers.

According to a 2023 Goldman Sachs report, AI could automate the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs globally. And that was back in 2023. Now, I bet that number is much higher. I wrote in my last edition about the massive impact of AI replacing ( or displacing?) people and while I worry about where those people (including yours truly) will go, I love that J.T. O'Donnell has called out companies, saying, "Companies are going to have to start thinking right now about being truthful. Our headcount is going to reduce. That is what is going to happen."

Will companies be honest with their staff? No. They'll say they are "leaning into AI" or "working smarter with less," but what that 'less' is is humans. And if it's not AI, those jobs will go overseas to employees who will work for a fraction of the cost of an American who needs pricy basic life benefits like healthcare. Until we untangle social benefits from employment, those jobs won't come back.

Another key part that JT and Trent explore is how bad the hiring experience is now. AI might be making it faster to sort through resumes and find candidates, but companies need to implement it while ensuring it isn't making the experience for candidates worse with colder communications and toxic ambiguity.

There's a lot to discuss in this podcast, but I'll stop at one last point. I truly hope there isn't a rise in video resumes. There are already so many hoops candidates have to jump through that we don't need to make them sing for their supper. Not everyone is comfortable sending a video of themselves pleading for a job, and it opens the door for even more bias in the process.

It's a long, hot take, but be sure to listen to the full podcast?here.

Paychex to buy rival Paycor in $4.1 billion deal to expand AI-driven HR products

Paychex is purchasing Paycor in an aim to broaden its artificial intelligence capabilities and consolidate its market share. Keep an eye on Paychex as this acquisition will help them move more upstream into enterprise sales. Read the full press release here.

Shaker Recruitment Marketing acquires JobAdx

Congrats to Joe Shaker Jr and his team on adding JobAdX to their portfolio. Shaker Recruitment Marketing has long been one of the "good guys" in the space and their providing even more value to their clients with this acquisition. Check out a statement from Joe on the move here.

Employer.com acquires Canadian accounting startup Bench Accounting

This may have flown under the radar during the holidays, but Bench Accounting basically closed up shop before the holidays, leaving their customers scrambling. Three cheers to Employer.com , Jesse Tinsley , and Matt Charney for coming to the rescue. Check out how it all went down with this TechCrunch piece here.

Panic at the Pub as U.K. Suffers Guinness Shortage

Pubs in the UK are running low on Guinness. This story was posted on December 17, but if someone could do a wellness check on Stephen McGrath , The Wrap could sleep easier tonight.