On October 23rd, Talent Talks NYC was held at the stunning CohnReznick offices in New York City, bringing together top HR and talent acquisition leaders from financial services giants like BlackRock, Nomura, Evercore, and Lazard. This event focused on the rapidly evolving recruitment landscape in finance and professional services, offering attendees invaluable insights into the challenges and innovations shaping the future.
From AI-driven recruitment strategies to navigating employee retention in the hybrid era, the event was packed with actionable takeaways and forward-thinking strategies that left a lasting impression on everyone in attendance.
AI and Automation in Recruitment: Revolutionizing the Process
One of the most anticipated discussions, the panel titled “The Big Questions in Recruiting: What’s Shaping the Future?”, brought together recruitment leaders from New York Life Insurance, Nomura, WilsonHCG, and TalentNeuron. The focus? How AI is transforming recruitment processes. From initial screening to interview scheduling and reducing unconscious bias, AI is undeniably streamlining hiring practices.
Kyle Lagunas, Head of Strategy at Aptitude Research, presented research findings, emphasizing, “Every hire matters.” His presentation was a stark reminder that quality of hire remains the top priority for HR leaders, and AI should be leveraged to make data-driven decisions that elevate hiring outcomes. The consensus? AI enhances efficiency, but human judgment is irreplaceable, particularly in assessing cultural fit and soft skills.
“Everyone is on their own tailored journey using AI and progressing forward with their skills strategy. And there’s really no ‘‘one size fits all’’ to any company wanting to leverage the power and the optimization of AI and a skills journey. It really depends on looking for the impact that you’d like to achieve, and tailoring results and a strategy that aligns to it and making sure that you have a really good change management plan so that it is adopted in every organization that wants to leverage and harness the power of it.” – Elin Thomasian, Talent Neuron
Proactive Recruitment & Targeted Talent Acquisition
The importance of proactive recruitment emerged as a central theme throughout the day. Elizabeth Fletcher from Lazard highlighted how they use AI-driven tools to target passive candidates, building a talent pipeline long before the hiring need becomes urgent. This approach allows companies to stay ahead, particularly in specialized fields like fintech, cybersecurity, and data analytics.
Genevieve Bean from New York Life shared how they’ve implemented a “keep warm” strategy, maintaining ongoing engagement with candidates met at recruitment events. This proactive approach has significantly boosted applications, helping to future-proof New York Life’s talent pipeline.
“One of the biggest takeaways from today was learning how companies like ours can better prepare for tomorrow by building robust talent pipelines. It’s about staying ahead of the game, even when the need isn’t immediate.” – Genevieve Bean, New York Life
Diversity in Recruitment: Moving Beyond the Surface
Diversity initiatives were another major focus of the event. Erin Thomasian emphasized the need for data-driven diversity tracking across the recruitment funnel, rather than just at the attraction stage. By monitoring dropout rates by ethnicity and gender, recruiters can better identify where systemic changes are needed to create truly equitable hiring practices.
“Talent Talks stands out because the speakers were very well versed in the early careers space, and it was applicable to everyone here. We all walked away with insights into how to better attract and retain diverse talent across industries.” – Claudia Suarez, BlackRock
Employee Retention in the Hybrid Work Era
In today’s hybrid work environment, employee retention has become increasingly complex. Leaders like Susan Gaines emphasized the importance of mentorship and building personal connections to foster a sense of belonging. At Brookfield Asset Management, Tamisha Baako-Boafo shared how her firm incentivizes office return with perks like pizza Fridays and catered lunches, but acknowledged that maintaining engagement requires more than just perks. It’s about fostering community-building and consistent feedback loops.
“Being part of Talent Talks was incredibly helpful. I gained a better understanding of market trends and talent trends, especially around AI, which will help me better support my team, particularly in avoiding recruiter burnout.” – Anita Galiano, CohnReznick
Globalization and Cross-Border Teams
With the expansion of global teams, managing cross-border recruitment is more critical than ever. Imad Khoury from CohnReznick emphasized the role of AI-driven automation in streamlining early-career recruitment, making onboarding smoother for global hires. However, integrating international hires into a unified corporate culture remains a challenge that leaders must address.
Key Takeaways
The evolving landscape of recruitment requires HR and talent acquisition professionals to adopt forward-thinking strategies to stay ahead. Here are the top takeaways from the day:
- AI & Automation: Use AI to streamline processes, but retain human oversight for assessing cultural fit and soft skills.
- Diversity: Measure diversity throughout the recruitment funnel to ensure equitable hiring practices.
- Proactive Recruitment: Build pipelines of passive candidates to future-proof your talent acquisition strategy.
- Retention Strategies: Continuous mentorship and engagement are critical to keeping top talent motivated in hybrid work environments.
- Globalization: Address logistical and cultural challenges when integrating global teams through effective onboarding processes.
If you missed this event, we hope to catch you at our next Talent Talks! Be the first to hear about upcoming Talent Talks events and register by visiting our page here.
