Talent Acquisition Is Dying. We Backed the Wrong Future

In this episode, Edan Haddock challenges the future of Talent Acquisition and whether it even has one.

As AI, hiring managers, and access to talent reshape the hiring landscape, TA isn’t being replaced overnight… it’s being quietly stripped back. But the real tension? It’s not just external disruption. It’s that TA backed the wrong future.

From the rise (and quiet stall) of skills marketplaces to the over-engineering of talent frameworks, Edan explores how the industry invested in ideas that looked smart… but never changed behaviour.

This episode is a raw take on what’s actually happening beneath the surface and what survives if Talent is to remain relevant.

Join the Edan Haddock - Total Talent community (formerly Rubberband)

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Welcome back to Eden Haddock Total Talent. I'm your host, Eden Haddock, Head of Talent and People Experience at Movember. I've had a really busy week this week, and I'm a little bit of a freak as to when I'm really busy, right? I do a lot of thinking. And I've been doing a lot of thinking this week. And this episode, well, it may sting a bit. And not because it's controversial, but because I think a lot of people already feel it. But we we haven't really said it out loud yet. And this week, as I've been busy, I've been sitting on this and thinking about it a lot. But on reflection, I have to say I've been sitting on it for quite a while, watching, listening, working inside it. Telene acquisition isn't being disrupted in some big, dramatic, headline-grabbing way. It's not like one day we all woke up and went, right, that's it, TA's done. And that's not what's happening. What's happening is quieter than that, slower, more uncomfortable. It's being stripped back layer by layer, responsibility by responsibility, decision by decision. And most people haven't clocked it yet. Or they have, but they're choosing to ignore it. Because if you actually reflect on it, you start asking questions that get a little bit too close to home. Like, what is the role of talent acquisition anymore? What do we actually own? And even more confronting, are we building something that matters? Or are we just protecting what we're used to? And I want to be really clear up front. This isn't an AI is coming for your jobs episode. I mean, that's lazy. That's surface level. That's not what this is. This is deeper than that. Because I don't think TA is disappearing because of AI. I actually think TA is disappearing because we misread the future. And worse than that, we backed the wrong one. I'll call it. This isn't a collapse. It's erosion. Small pieces over time. And if you zoom out, even reflecting just three to five years, you can see it happening. Things that Talon Acquisition used to own, we don't really own anymore. Screening is automated. Scheduling is automated. First touch engagement is automated. You've got the tools now, and I'm literally using one that can run structured, consistent, scalable conversations with candidates and better than most humans can on their third coffee of the day. And that's not a dig. That's just reality. Hiring managers, right? They don't need us in the same way anymore. They've got access. They've got networks. They've got tools. And I mean, they've got LinkedIn, they always have. But they've got AI now helping them write outreach. They've got AI helping them assess responses and compare profiles. And they don't need a gatekeeper. They need speed. Candidates, same story. They're not waiting. They're not navigating the process the way they used to. They're moving faster. They're choosing access over experience. And this is the bit people don't like hearing. Good enough hiring decisions are winning, not perfect ones. And here we are, talent acquisition. We're still measuring ourselves on time to feel. We're still debating EVP messaging. We're still refining process steps. We're still trying to optimize something that the business is already moving past. And you can feel it in the room if you're honest. That shift from we need talent to help us to we can do this with talent. And furthermore, I think we can do this without. And no one announces that shift. No one sends an email or a slack. It just happens quietly. Now, this is where it gets uncomfortable. Because it's one thing to say the world changed. It's another thing to say we helped accelerate our own irrelevance. Let's talk about what we bet on. Skills. Skills-based organizations, skills marketplaces, internal mobility platforms. For years, this was the narrative. This was the future we were sold. Map the skills, tag the capability, build the marketplace, and talent will flow. It sounded brilliant, structured, logical, controlled, and very HR. And so many organizations went all in. And I the previous organization I worked in went all in. Massive investments, new platforms, consulting engagements, operating model redesigns, entire strategies built around this idea. And now it's gone quiet. Very quiet. Because here's what actually happened. Skills data expires faster than you can maintain it. By the time you've mapped it, it's already out of date. Managers don't want to hire from systems. They hire people they trust, people they know, people they've worked with, or people that feel right in the moment. Employees. They don't sit there thinking, let me log into the internal marketplace and navigate my career. They talk to people. They follow opportunities. They move when something feels right. And most organizations, if I'm being really honest, never got past the pilot mode. And we didn't in my previous workplace. So what you're left with is a beautifully designed idea that never changed behavior. And that's the problem. Because we didn't just experiment with it, we bet on it. We positioned it as the future of talent. And while we were busy doing that, something else was happening. While TA was building frameworks, the business moved. It moved towards speed, access, autonomy. AI didn't ask for permission, it just showed up. And it started doing things faster, more consistently, more scalably. Now hiring managers didn't wait. They adapted. They figured out how to move without the friction. Candidates didn't sit still. They found new ways in. And suddenly the center of gravity shifted away from structured systems towards fluid, real-time decision making. And this is the tension. Because what TA built was controlled, predictable, structured. But in reality, is none of those things. Reality really isn't. Reality is messy, fast, human, relational, augmented by tech, not replaced by frameworks. And we miss that. We tried to engineer talent movement like a system, but talent doesn't move like that. People don't behave like that. And while we were perfecting that model, that model stopped mattering. This is the bit most people won't say, so I will. Some TA roles should disappear. Not because people aren't good, not because they're not working hard. But because the work itself doesn't need to exist anymore. And that's hard to hear. Because a lot of identity is tied up in this function. But being busy is not the same as being valuable. That was the trigger for me this week. I was busy all week. And being busy is not the same as being valuable. Running process is not the same as driving outcomes. And if we are honest, a lot of what sits inside TA today still is process. So the question becomes not how do we protect TA, but what is actually worth protecting? And this is where it gets personal. Because at some point you have to ask yourself, am I building something that the business can't live without? Or am I maintaining something it's already moving beyond? And that is not a comfortable place to sit. Now, this isn't all doom, far from it. Because something does survive. And actually something better emerges. But it doesn't look like traditional TA. It looks like talent as a growth engine. Not a service function, not a process owner, not a reactive team. A strategic layer that sits inside the business. Owning workforce planning, capability strategy, talent movement, internal and external, blending TA, talent management, engagement, and development. Not as separate silos, but as one integrated ecosystem. This is where your total talent lens comes in. This is where it actually matters. And the way it operates is different. Smaller teams, higher capability, augmented by AI, not replacing humans, but removing the work that doesn't need them. And shifting humans towards judgment, context, and influence. From gatekeepers to orchestrators, from process managers to business partners in the truest sense. So where does that leave us? It leaves us at a choice. Because right now, in 2026, you can go one of two ways. You can double down on frameworks, process, skills mapping, internal platforms, and convince yourself that you're evolving. Or you can step back and ask a much harder question. What actually moves the business forward? And what role does talent play in that? Not historically, not theoretically, but right now. Because if your strategy still sounds like better process, clearer frameworks, stronger internal mobility systems, you're not reinventing talent acquisition. You're preserving it. And that is exactly why it's disappearing. All right. That's where I'll leave it. I told you, I've been doing a lot of thinking. And if this one made you feel something good, please do sit with it. I love a good thought provoker. And the worst thing we really could do right now is pretend everything's fine. Finally, I have a huge favor. This is an independent podcast. It's free from sponsorship and it is not monetized. I am intending to do something really special during the month of November, which I'll be tying into my November campaign. And I would really love for you to like and share this podcast as much as you can. I need more followers, I need more listeners, and I appreciate every single one of you. There are hundreds and hundreds of you listening every week. I appreciate and love every one of you. Thank you. But if you could share it wider, it would really mean the world to me. And it will make a difference in the lives of the men that you love. I will be doing something very special for men's health for the Movember campaign this year. I'm Eden Haddock, head of talent and people experience at Movember. I'm excited to catch you again next week. Have a wonderful weekend.