This week on What the FTE?, we’re joined by Wei Houng, co-founder of HumanOp Technologies.
HumanOp decodes how people are wired using physics - not behaviour.
Wei’s worked with VCs, Fortune 500s and Olympic athletes to help leaders stop managing personalities and start engineering flow.
We unpack what this means for hiring, burnout, job design and team dynamics - and whether rewiring is actually possible.
If you’re still building teams around résumés or gut feel, this one’s a reset.
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This week on What the FTE?, Maya Bellay sits down with Katy Hoszka, Global Total Rewards Leader at Certn, to talk about the real power behind pay.
From building salary bands from scratch to navigating the messy truth of transparency, Katy shares how fairness, trust, and storytelling intersect inside a modern reward strategy.
They unpack why equity—not equality—drives performance, how to win executive buy-in, and what it really takes to build systems employees believe in.
If you think rewards are just HR’s domain, this episode will change your mind.
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Steven Puri walked away from Hollywood blockbusters and studio power to chase a different story: what really drives human focus. After decades leading film sets and startups, he’s now on a mission to help remote teams cut through distraction and find flow.
In this episode, Steven shares what Die Hard taught him about bad leadership, why most “remote work problems” are really hiring problems, and how trillion-dollar companies are fighting to steal your attention.
We dive into the science of flow states, the tools he’s built to protect focus, and what leaders can do to create the conditions for their people to do the best work of their lives.
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This week on What the FTE?, we’re joined by Aubrey Blanche, global inclusion strategist and founder of The Mathpath, to tackle one of HR’s most stubborn challenges: how to actually operationalise your values.
Aubrey breaks down a practical 3-part framework that turns your values from vague poster copy into real decision-making tools for hiring, reviews, and culture. She shares what most companies get wrong, what it means to “design for equity,” and how to balance fairness with performance in high-growth environments.
This episode is a must-listen for HR leaders ready to stop talking about culture and start building it.
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What if you’ve been asking the wrong questions about hiring all along?
In this episode of What the FTE?, Andy’s Andrew McLeod sits down with Dan Eberhard, CEO and founder of KOHO, one of Canada’s fastest-growing fintech, to unpack a radically different approach to talent strategy.
This is a raw and practical conversation for HR leaders who are tired of fluff and ready to build talent systems that actually work.
If you care about performance, retention, and building organisations where your best people want to stay, this one’s for you.
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When things get messy, culture’s usually the first thing to go. But Stacy Parkinson has led teams through chaos, and still walked away with top culture awards.
In this episode, Maya Bellay interviews Stacey about the complexities of maintaining organizational culture during times of significant change.
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At most companies, EVP (Employee Value Proposition) is just a slide deck. At Go Auto, it’s a lived experience.
Brent Lazanik, VP of Talent Acquisition, shares how they’ve built real loyalty - not with perks, but with purpose, growth, and follow-through.
If your EVP looks good on paper but falls flat in real life, this one’s for you.
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In this episode of What the FTE, Holly Phillips and Marianne Bulger discuss the complexities of executive hiring, focusing on common pitfalls, the importance of culture fit versus culture add, and the role of transparency in the hiring process.
They explore the differences between transformational and transactional search partners, the signs of a homogeneous executive team, and the critical role of the CEO in hiring.
The conversation emphasizes the need for alignment, effective communication, and the importance of building relationships and networks for successful hiring.
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In this episode of What the FTE, Certn's CTO Saba El-Hilo discusses the importance of discipline in leadership, the evolving role of AI in the workplace, and the critical need for effective communication in tech teams.
She emphasizes that delivering higher value faster is essential, and that leaders must focus on critical thinking and team dynamics to drive success.
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This week’s guest, Anitta Krishan, shares how burnout in the tech trenches led her to breathwork, Bali, and a whole new philosophy of leadership that’s gaining serious traction: embodied leadership. Anitta is the Chief Culture Officer at Hoogly AI and former VP, Global Head of People & Strategy at TikTok.
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On the latest “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘛𝘌?” podcast, our Head of People & Culture Melissa Marcelissen sits down with Alice Burks (Director, People Success @ Deel) to crack the code on remote-first hypergrowth.
Deel proves you can achieve hypergrowth without a single office. This deep-dive breaks down actionable lessons that every remote-first HR team can put to work today.
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Still think cybersecurity isn’t an HR problem?
Think again.
Discover how insider threats start with hiring. Learn why HR is key to cybersecurity and how smarter screening can prevent credential leaks and internal fraud.
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Martin Hauck joins What the FTE? to cut through the chaos of HR tech in 2025. Martin shares his litmus test for real ROI, why tool curiosity beats trend-chasing, and what every HR leader should be asking before they buy.
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On this episode, Certn’s Donal Greene and Doug Beavis dive into the rise of deepfakes, synthetic candidates, and the AI-fueled fraud risks reshaping hiring.
From a real CEO impersonation attempt to tips for deepfake-proofing your TA process, this one’s unmissable.
Certn CEO Andrew McLeod sat down with Zack Cormier, a senior sales and strategy leader at VidCruiter, a company specializing in structured video interviewing and recruitment automation software to talk about hiring. Not the buzzy, AI-driven, “future-of-work” kind. I mean the actual, messy, inconsistent interview process that most teams are still running behind the scenes, where managers go rogue, bias creeps in, and interview “best practices” are more of a rumour than a reality.
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The HR landscape is evolving, and fast. As AI moves from concept to practical application (albeit more slowly than some people predicted), HR leaders are stepping into a new kind of responsibility: leading both people and intelligent systems. Krista Skalde, a seasoned global talent executive, captures it well: “The future is now.”
In a world of job design disruption, hybrid workforces, and machine-human teaming, here’s what HR leaders need to know, and do, to stay ahead.
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82% of first-time managers receive no training, yet they have more impact on retention and engagement than executives.
In this episode, Melissa Marcelissen breaks down why leadership training needs to start at the first level, why DEI without real culture change fails, and how HR can fix the leadership gap.
Hiring fast can fill roles, but hiring smart builds teams that last. In a competitive market, it’s not just about getting people through the door, it’s about bringing in the right people who will help your company grow and thrive. So how do you scale without sacrificing quality? Let’s dive in.
For years, the conversation has revolved around productivity, efficiency, and retention. Though, organizations that win are the ones that master connection at scale. Let’s discuss the elephant in the room: engagement.
Certn’s CEO, Andrew McLeod, sits down with Steve Cadigan, LinkedIn's first Chief HR Officer and a renowned talent advisor. While AI presents immense opportunities for efficiency and scalability, the true potential of AI lies in how we balance its power with a human-centric approach.
