“We Did the Skills Work. Nothing Happened.” | PayPal’s Sarah Gretczko on The Truth About Skills Strategy

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The TechWolf Podcast

TechWolf

17 episodes

5 days ago

Technology in HR is booming, yet confusing. Many vendors claim to include AI (agents), skills, seamless integrations, and other technologies in their product offerings. In practice, product promises often differ from reality. In this podcast, our host, Julius Schelstraete, holds no-nonsense conversations with business practitioners and thought leaders on everything related to "the skills-based organization": what it is, whether it's realistic, typical roadblocks, real-life use cases, and more. Join us as we move beyond the hype and examine skills-based HR from a critical, realistic lens!

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“We Did the Skills Work. Nothing Happened.” | PayPal’s Sarah Gretczko on The Truth About Skills Strategy

The TechWolf Podcast

51 minutes 53 seconds

6 months ago

“We Did the Skills Work. Nothing Happened.” | PayPal’s Sarah Gretczko on The Truth About Skills Strategy

In this in-person episode of The TechWolf Podcast, recorded live in New York City, we sit down with Sarah Gretczko, Head of Talent & Belonging at PayPal.

With 20+ years of experience in HR strategy, Sarah shares unfiltered insights on the evolution of skills-based organizations—and why focusing only on skills is a mistake.

From her time at MasterCard and JP Morgan to PayPal today, she brings stories of real transformation, failed pilots, business alignment, and the human side of tech.

Sarah shares:

Why skills are only one piece of the puzzle when understanding human potential.

What companies get wrong when jumping into skills transformations.
How a failed workforce planning project became a critical success during COVID.
Her advice for choosing the right use cases and getting business buy-in.
How to evaluate HR tech vendors without getting lost in the hype.

💡 Final Takeaway: Don't get distracted by buzzwords. Skills data is only useful if it's connected to real business problems—and implemented in a human-centric way.