What if your most powerful brand influencers aren’t outside your company — but already working in it?
In this episode of Talent X Tech, our host, I sit down with Melissa Laurie, CEO of Oysterly Media, to explore how Employee-Generated Content (EGC) is transforming employer branding and redefining trust in an AI-enabled world.
As short-form video explodes across social platforms, audiences are turning away from polished corporate content and toward authentic human stories. Melissa explains how User-Generated Content (UGC) and Influencer Marketing have evolved - and why Employee-Generated Content is the next big wave shaping how brands connect, hire, and inspire.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
* Why Employee-Generated Content (EGC) is redefining employer branding in the age of AI
* How leading brands like PwC, Cisco, and Hilton Hotels use EGC to build credibility and culture
* The difference between UGC, Influencer Marketing, and EGC
* How to get started: ideation, training, and the “3 Es” - Education, Emotion, Entertainment
* What metrics matter - reach, engagement, and trust signals
* Practical advice for leaders and creators navigating the future of social media
🎙️ About the Guest
Melissa Laurie is a keynote speaker and the CEO of Oysterly Media, one of Asia’s fastest-growing social video agencies. The firm helps brands like Hilton, UPS, 3M, and Microsoft humanise their content through diverse, unfiltered storytelling.
Chapters
(0:00) Introductions & Building Oysterly Media
(7:03) User-Generated Content (UGC) & Authentic Storytelling
(10:16) Influencer Marketing & Long-Term Partnerships
(12:33) Employee-Generated Content (EGC)
(14:32) Companies Leading in EGC
(16:12) Benefits of EGC on Employer Branding
(21:57) The How - Strategy & Steps for EGC
(34:28) Handling Employee Fear & Resistance to EGC
(38:42) EGC Return on Investment & Metrics to Track
(42:32) Melissa’s Favourite EGC Videos & Campaigns
(47:30) Melissa’s Upcoming Book on Employee-Generated Content
(49:20) Career Advice for Those Passionate About Social Media
(50:52) Big-Picture Social Media Trends
(52:10) How AI Will Impact Social Media
👉 Hit Subscribe for more episodes and short clips exploring the intersection of Talent, Tech, and Transformation.
#EmployeeGeneratedContent #EmployerBranding #UserGeneratedContent #InfluencerMarketing #AuthenticStorytelling #FutureOfWork #AIandWork #BrandTrust #Leadership #TalentAttraction #SocialMediaStrategy #TalentXTech #FutureofWork
What if AI in recruitment wasn’t just about efficiency, but about creating five-star hiring experiences at scale?
In this episode, you'll hear how HSBC is using AI and automation as an opportunity to enhance recruitment, not just optimise it - building a more human, high-impact experience for candidates at every level - not just at senior exec level.
I’m Sital Ruparelia, your host. With 25+ years in leadership, recruitment and talent management — including a decade at Microsoft leading Executive Talent Acquisition across Asia - I speak with business leaders, HR leads subject matter experts at the intersection of talent, tech and transformation.
In this episode of Talent X Tech, I sit down with Lara Partridge, Head of Talent Acquisition for HSBC Asia-Pacific.
We explore the future of work, the role of AI in hiring, and how HSBC’s Human Hiring model is helping the bank move faster while still creating memorable, human-centred moments across all levels of recruitment.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why five-star service principles are being applied to hiring to attract top talent
How to scale executive-level candidate care into volume recruitment
The 6 Human Hiring principles, built from research beyond banking and recruitment
Lessons from fine dining, premium hospitality and digital-first brands
Localising Human Hiring - how HSBC’s recruiters are bringing the 6 principles to life across cultures
How to reframe success metrics in experience-led hiring
What it means to be findable in a skills-based job market
Lara’s advice to her 21-year-old self - and anyone starting out today
👉 Hit 'Subscribe' for more episodes and short clips on the future of talent, tech, and transformation.
(0:00) - Introduction
(06:10) - Career influences & leadership style
(10:30) - AI & automation: Enhancing experience, not just efficiency
(12:10) - Candidate experience and power dynamics
(14:21) - Human Hiring: 6 principles to codify and scale exec-level experience to volume hiring
(33:48) - Using tech to scale human-centred hiring
(37:13) - Measuring ROI of Human Hiring
(38:57) - Recruiters: Embedding Human Hiring across global, cross-cultural teams
(49:43) - Phase 2: Engaging hiring managers in Human Hiring
(53:11) - Skills-based orgs & hiring practices
(55:11) -AI & job search: How to be findable in a skills-first world
(59:40) - Career advice to 21-year-old self
#FutureOfWork #AIInRecruitment #HumanHiring #CandidateExperience #TalentManagement #SkillsBasedHiring #LeadershipInTech #HSBCHiring
Struggling with the pace of constant change and uncertainty?
This episode with Haresh Khoobchandani shares grounded advice on how to adapt and thrive.
I’m Sital Ruparelia. I help organisations build future-ready teams and support individuals in shaping future-ready careers in an era of intelligence. With 25+ years in leadership, talent, and recruitment - including a decade at Microsoft leading executive hiring across Asia - I now host the Talent X Tech podcast, where we explore how AI and emerging technologies are transforming the way we work, lead, and manage talent.
In this episode, I sit down with Haresh Khoobchandani, Vice President for Asia Pacific & Japan at Autodesk, author of Growth by Choice, TEDx speaker, and Oxford alum. A senior leader with over 25 years of experience, Haresh has built and led multicultural teams across the region with Microsoft and Autodesk. He brings a calm and intentional approach to growth, leadership, and self-disruption in today’s fast-changing world.
You’ll learn:
🎧 If you're leading, learning, or navigating this era of change, this conversation is for you.
👉 Hit 'Subscribe' for more weekly episodes and short clips on the future of talent, tech, and transformation.
(00:00) – Highlights reel
(00:45) – Introducing Haresh – his journey, roles, and mindset
(03:06) – Witnessing Singapore’s transformation and Asia's growth
(05:54) – Favourite Asian food and the role of food in connection
(07:40) – Key leadership influences and how they shape leadership today
(11:26) – Navigating a world of constant change, disruption, and uncertainty
(16:14) – Tech innovation: lifelong learning and solving problems with tech
(20:23) – Embracing change: owning our own disruption in a shifting world
(23:04) – Self-awareness: the key to Growth By Choice
(25:02) – Leadership traits needed in times of constant change:
(30:48) – Investing in yourself in a world of distraction and overwhelm
(34:29) – Defining success at different stages of life
(39:12) – Role of HR teams in times of change and tech transformation
(41:37) – Building Digital literacy: Importance of upskilling and change management
(48:36) – Leading businesses in Asia: cultural nuance and regional insight
(50:44) – Gen Z: career advice to his children and early professionals
(59:42) – Kintsugi - Japanese story of resilience
KEEP IN TOUCH:
👤 With Sital on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sitalruparelia/
🌐 Talent x Tech LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/talent-x-tech/
🌐 Learn more at www.talentxtech.com
📸 Instagram - @talentxtech
Worried about how AI will impact jobs, careers, or leadership?
Then this episode is a must-listen.
I’m Sital Ruparelia, your host. With 25+ years in leadership, recruitment and talent management — including a decade at Microsoft leading Executive Talent Acquisition across Asia — I now speak weekly with business leaders, HR heads, and subject matter experts at the intersection of talent, tech, and transformation.
In this first episode of Talent X Tech, I sit down with Annella Heytens — a global HR leader with experience at Microsoft, AWS, and Coca-Cola — to talk about career growth in an AI-enabled world.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Be sure to subscribe, follow, and share.
0:00 Highlights reel of the interview
0:45 Introduction
1:41 Favorite Asian food
2:24 Annella’s big career leap that shaped her style and mindset
10:33 Lessons from taking career risks
12:26 AI’s impact on jobs
14:48 AI: Types of new jobs/skills
15:57 Continual learning of technology skills
20:08 Human-centric skills needed in the New World of Work
22:32 Career management in the AI-enabled workplace
26:58 Self-driven careers & risk-taking
28:20 Leadership & succession in a tech-enabled workplace
32:33 How HR policies need to evolve for the New World of Work
35:50 How companies should reward for innovation and risk-taking
39:39 Asia: How to lead and manage talent in Asia
41:26 Career advice for graduates today
44:26 Advice for parents
46:12 Advice Annella would give to her younger self
🔔 Subscribe for more discussions on the talent, tech and transformation.
KEEP IN TOUCH:
🌍 My website - www.TalentXTech.com
📸 Instagram - @talentxtech
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/talent-x-tech/