HR Famous

In this episode of HR Famous, Tim Sackett sits down with one of the true originals of the show: Jessica Lee, Marriott’s Global Officer of Talent Acquisition and Associate Growth (aka: head of TA + learning… “just a small job” for a company supporting nearly 10,000 hotels). The vibe is classic HR Famous—smart, practical, and just the right amount of banter about being an “OG” (and whether the kids now call you “Unc”). Jessica shares what it was like jumping back into leading a global talent acquisition team after time in broader HR and learning. Some surprises? A lot has changed…and a lot hasn’t. Recruiting is still recruiting: hiring managers still want to see every candidate, sourcing debates still rage, and stakeholder management remains the timeless recruiter superpower. But the real energy is in what’s new—especially the explosion of AI in recruiting, automation, and the opportunities to make recruiters faster, better, and more human in their conversations. Tim and Jessica get into Marriott’s approach to recruiting technology and responsible AI. They talk stack (Marriott is an Oracle shop and layers in Paradox), and why Marriott has drawn a clear line between AI for automation (low risk) versus AI that makes decisions (higher risk, higher scrutiny, higher lawsuit headlines). Jessica offers a refreshingly candid view: it’s not always that employers don’t trust the tech—it’s that they don’t trust the world won’t sue them for using it. That leads to a bigger conversation on transparency, public perception, and why candidates want to know “what they’re being measured against,” even when that measurement has always been a bit of a black box. One of the most fascinating parts: the future of interviewing. Jessica is fired up about “no interview notes” / digital interviewing tools—because when recruiters and hiring managers stop typing, they can start listening. Tim goes deeper on what AI-powered interview capture could unlock: consistency of questions, better summaries for hiring managers, improved quality control, and skill development based on real interview data (not guesswork). Then they head into the realities of high-volume hiring at Marriott. Applications are surging—millions of candidates hitting the career site—so how do you prevent managers from drowning in volume without using AI to “decide”? Jessica breaks down the practical playbook: screening questions, assessments, shortlists, and human eyes where it matters. And yes, hiring managers still push back: “Why these three? I want to see all 200.” Finally, Jessica shares how Marriott measures TA success beyond “faster is better.” Speed matters—especially frontline—but not at the expense of quality. She walks through the metrics that actually matter at scale: time to fill, turnover, retention, internal growth, cost, and a standout KPI: “quick quits” (first 90 days, including no-shows on day one). Plus, there’s nuance—luxury hotels may take longer to hire, but see lower turnover and stronger guest service outcomes. If you’re leading TA, evaluating AI, or trying to balance speed, quality, risk, and candidate experience, this episode is packed with real-world strategy—and plenty of laughs along the way. Watch or listen, then connect with Jessica on LinkedIn to keep the conversation going.

et pitched new recruiting technology all the time. New ATSs, new “AI-powered” platforms, new promises to fix what’s broken in talent acquisition. So when someone first told me I needed to check out PerfectHire, another ATS, my reaction was pretty predictable: Here we go again. But then they added something that piqued my curiosity: "ATS+". That’s what pulled me into a conversation with Matt Schalsey, founder (or co-founder, depending on how you count it) of Perfect Hire, and the guest on this episode of HR Famous. And the deeper we went, the clearer it became this wasn’t a rip-and-replace ATS with a few shiny features slapped on top. This was a complete rethink of how recruiting technology should actually work. Matt’s background isn’t traditional HR tech; it’s sales enablement. And that matters. Sales figured out years ago what recruiting is still struggling with: high performers don’t win because they work harder on admin. They win because technology removes friction, so they can focus on what actually drives results. Conversations. Relationships. Decisions. That’s the core idea behind Perfect Hire. Instead of forcing recruiters into rigid workflows, Perfect Hire breaks the ATS down to its foundation and rebuilds it around recruiter enablement, not just tracking activity, but driving outcomes. Matt and his team talked to more than 300 TA leaders to understand why they hate their ATSs (and let’s be honest, almost everyone does). The answers weren’t shocking: too much admin, no visibility, no accountability, and tools that slow people down rather than speed them up. Where things get really interesting is how Perfect Hire uses AI. This isn’t “type the right prompt and hope for the best” AI. The platform is designed so that AI works quietly in the background, informing decisions, automating scheduling, generating interview questions, reducing bias, and keeping pipelines moving without recruiters having to babysit the system. We also talked about something the industry doesn’t discuss enough: accountability. Most ATSs give you dashboards, but they don’t really tell you who’s performing, where capacity is breaking down, or what happens when leadership suddenly increases hiring by 30%. Perfect Hire connects recruiting execution to forecasting, workforce planning, and even retention, so TA leaders can have real business conversations instead of crossing their fingers and hoping it all works out. And for hiring managers? Visibility finally makes sense. Instead of being angry because they don’t know what’s happening, they can actually see progress, bottlenecks, and next steps without needing recruiters to translate ATS chaos into English. This episode is a must-listen if: You’re tired of ATSs that track work instead of enabling it You believe recruiting should operate more like sales (because it is) You care about accountability, outcomes, and doing more with fewer resources If recruiting is truly critical to your business—and not just something you tolerate—this conversation will challenge how you think about talent technology. Watch or listen to the full episode of HR Famous and see why PerfectHire might be the future of recruiting.

Reelist’s “Easy Button” for Frontline Hiring

In this episode of HR Famous, Tim Sackett sits down with Tom McCarty, CEO of OrgChart, to talk about something every HR and talent leader is wrestling with right now: how to design the org of the future in an AI-powered world—without losing your mind in spreadsheets. Tim and Tom kick things off by unpacking what OrgChart really is (spoiler: it’s way more than boxes and lines). Tom explains how modern org charting gives HR three critical advantages: visibility into what your org actually looks like today, insights that layer in performance, skills, pay and potential, and vision to model what your organization should look like in 1–5 years. Whether you’re at 100 employees growing 20% a year or a global enterprise, Tom shares why staying in Excel is quietly killing your workforce planning. They dive into the uncomfortable truth that technology and data remain two of HR’s weakest muscles, and why that’s not entirely HR’s fault. Tom argues that HR tech vendors haven’t always made it easy or intuitive—then walks through what “better” looks like when org design, data and decision-making actually work together. You’ll hear them tackle big questions that every HR leader is feeling in Q4 2025: How will AI agents fit into your org chart and headcount strategy? Why you can’t plan the future state of your organization if you don’t clearly understand the current state. Why CEOs are freaking out about succession and what real org visibility can do about it. How the best leaders in an AI world won’t be the ones with all the answers—but the ones who ask the best questions. Tom also shares a simple, no-software-required starting point: how HR can begin making better org and talent decisions just by aligning on the five or six things that should always be considered in pay planning, growth planning, or restructuring conversations. If you’re an HR leader, TA leader, or C-suite exec planning for 2026 and beyond—and you’re tired of pretending your “org design” is a tab in Excel—this conversation will give you a clearer vision of what’s possible and what to do next.

In this episode of the HR Famous Podcast, Tim Sackett welcomes communications pro Dinah Alobeid for a brutally honest, wildly entertaining conversation about corporate comms, brand moments, and the power of good storytelling in HR tech. Dinah, now Head of Communications at Visier and formerly with Greenhouse, joins Tim for a laugh-filled yet thought-provoking discussion that touches on everything from corporate crisis responses to acoustic wedding songs to how HR leaders get held to a higher standard than CEOs. 🔥 Topics covered in this episode include: What real corporate communications looks like (and why most companies miss the mark) The now-legendary Coldplay/CHRO kiss drama—and the brilliant response from Astronomer (yes, the one with Gwyneth Paltrow) Why the CEO’s wife may have written the best PR letter in recent memory American Eagle’s “great genes” ad featuring Sydney Sweeney and why it caused a social media uproar Why it's nearly impossible for brands to "win" online anymore—and why maybe that's okay The importance of honest, unscripted customer stories in HR tech marketing Dinah also shares her career shift into HR tech and what drew her to Visier, a people analytics company powering smarter decisions with workforce data and AI. Tim pushes her to get real about what Visier actually does and how comms leaders can explain complex HR tech in simple, compelling terms. But this episode isn’t just about work—Tim and Dinah go personal, trading stories about: Wedding songs (Tim forgot his, kind of…) Songs for their kids Dinah’s upcoming podcast, Play This at My Funeral, which dives into grief, existentialism, and the music that defines us Why Gen Z and future HR leaders crave unscripted, real content over overproduced messaging If you’ve ever worked in HR, comms, or brand marketing—or just love when pop culture crashes into corporate drama—this episode is for you. 💡 Key Takeaway: Authenticity wins. Whether you're handling a PR crisis, launching an HR tech product, or dancing to Sam Smith at your wedding, what resonates is being real. In an age of backlash and viral moments, the best brands and leaders don’t hide behind polished messaging—they show up human. 🎧 Tune in now to hear Tim and Dinah break it all down with humor, heart, and the kind of insight you won't find in a whitepaper.