Latest / Edan Haddock - Total Talent / Humans, AI & Australia’s 2025 Talent Event Shake-Up

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Humans, AI & Australia’s 2025 Talent Event Shake-Up · Edan Haddock - Total Talent

• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, you're here.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm here, season two.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do this.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Eden Haddock Total Talent.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Eden Haddock, Head of Talent and People Experience at Movember.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And today's topic.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's one I care deeply about.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's the HR and talent events in Australia.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Why we lead, not follow, and how humans and AI are building the future of talent together.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: My recap for 2025.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: And listen, I have receipts.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: I've attended events this year.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I lead a four-person talent team.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Three amazing humans.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: And one AI agent named Joel.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: 2025.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: We aren't imagining the future.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: We're already working in it.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Australia's HR industry is not waiting for global permission.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: We're building our own playbook.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: So grab a cupper, turn up the volume.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: This is where bold ideas go loud.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get stuck in.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now before we talk about the events that create this energy, we need to understand the arena we're in.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment with me.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Look around the talent world right now.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a hiring boom.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a freeze.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's a redesign.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: We are in transformation where employees demand security, flexibility, and purpose.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Organizations demand efficiency and impact.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: HR demands a voice and influence.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: And leaders demand future-proof capability.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: And slicing right through the center is AI.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Not a threat, not a gimmick, but a practical teammate.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: So pause there.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Feel that shift.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: We are moving from firefighting to foresight.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: We are moving from do more than less, a phrase that has irked me for I don't know how long.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: From do more with less to do more meaningful with better tooling.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'll say that again.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: Do more meaningful with better tooling.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: HR is an admin.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: HR is the architect of the workforce.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Australia and New Zealand get this.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: We adopt tech quietly, powerfully, and without fear.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: We don't hype change, we make change.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why we need spaces to connect.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: We need forums to build.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: We need events to accelerate learning.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: We can't evolve alone.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: We evolve together.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about where that evolution happens.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: The main stage of Australian talent, and the two that really rang true for me, the two events that were the highlights of 2025 for me.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Those being ATC 2025, the Australian Talent Conference, and the HR Retreat by Ashton Media.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: ATC is, I don't know if I should say this.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Joe might kill me, but I'm going to.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: And better coffee.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: I still remember standing on that stage with Fed Square buzzing, with people packed into sessions, with hearts open and minds on fire.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: ATC doesn't waste time on theory.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: It asks, how do we build the future now?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: And in twenty twenty-five, that future was all about workforce rewired, roles redefined, value reimagined, human and AI collaboration.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: In the breakouts or over lunch or morning tea, when I say to peers, I lead a team with three humans and an AI agent.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: No one reacts with fear at ATC.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: They react with tell me more.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: What did you learn?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: And how do I start?
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: ATC brings courage, connection, community, and most importantly, real innovation.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's the beating heart of talent in Australia and New Zealand.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it shows the world we're not waiting for best practice.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: We're building next practice.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: If you've ever left an ATC event with more questions than you arrived with, then you're doing it right.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: And Joe and the team have got it right.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: It was fabulous this year.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: So hats off.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how 20 years later you still do it, but it was absolutely brilliant.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then there was the retreat, the the HR retreat by Ashton Media.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Cape Shank, waves crashing, and leaders breathing again.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Where ATC brings the electricity, the HR retreat by Ashton Media, it brings the clarity.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's intimate, it's senior, it's strategic.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is where the deep questions show up.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: What does well-being look like in practice?
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: What should HR own that AI will never touch?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: How do we lead with heart at scale?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's a reset button.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: A chance to think more boldly, a chance to rise above the inbox.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: The energy is not fast, not loud, but transformative.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: ATC gives us momentum, and the HR retreat by Ashton Media gives us meaning.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Together, for me, in 2025, they were the blueprint of Australian HR and talent.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: They really were.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: The likes of Wreckfest, Taliant Partners, True.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Those touring shows, the hype balloons.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: They drop into Australia like rock stars.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: But sometimes they they leave like reality TV contestants.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been reflecting on why.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I really believe it's because Australia isn't a copy-paste market.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: We value depth, practicality, authenticity, and substance.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: We just don't have the time for tech theatre.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: We hate buzzwords without outcomes.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, the frameworks designed for two hundred thousand-person orgs in the US, right?
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: They just don't land.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Here in Australia, we don't lead with fear.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: And we don't need Hollywood to tell us that we're valuable.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, for example, in Australia, and it comes up and people still say it.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: When someone says AI will replace your job, we reply with, hey, I've already got AI booking my interviews and it's working.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: We're already ahead.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: We're already embracing technology as a teammate.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: And events must reflect that.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: But when the international formats do get it right here, and sometimes they do, they leave saying, wow, Australia is ahead.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: And they're right.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: So let's drop the modesty.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: We get underestimated globally because of our size.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: But size, it isn't the same as sophistication.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: If we look at Australia and New Zealand, we really have pioneered flexibility, well-being, psychological safety, hybrid work, inclusion that isn't performative, and practical innovation.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Here we show the world that progress doesn't need ego, arrogance, and chaos.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Our edges are softer.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Our leadership is more human, and our execution is faster.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: We don't brag, we deliver.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And that is how transformation happens.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's the engine powering that transformation.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: Augmented teams, human and AI, huge theme this year.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is the revolution.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Teams made up of people, AI agents, freelancers, digital workflows, all united, all contributing.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Early stages, but my team at Movember, humans three, agents one.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: And we make our agent human.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: He's part of our org chart.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: His name is Joel.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: He's very good looking, by the way.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: We've we've gone that far.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: We've humanized him.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: We've created him.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: He looks cool.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: And Joel does a lot for us.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Screening, scheduling, drafts and prep.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what's next.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Insights, right?
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: But the four of us, the humans, my three direct reports and myself, what we do, trust, influence, creativity, empathy, culture, human judgment, all the things that Joel will never be able to do.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: AI is removing the weight we never should have carried.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: Human work becomes more human.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Say this with me if you're listening.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: AI replaced tasks, not people.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: We need to drive this message home.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Recruiters became recruiters because they love people.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And AI gives love back its time.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I truly believe that Australia excels here.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it excels here because we are practical innovators.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: We plug in what helps, we ignore the noise, and we move, and we move fast.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: So where does that leave us as leaders, as creators, as humans?
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: I want to speak from the heart now, and this moment matters.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: What we do next matters.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Because the future of work isn't about robots or Silicon Valley, it's about humans.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Humans who feel, grow, care, create, connect, belong.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: That is our purpose.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: That is why we get up every day.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: We are shaping the next era.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: Human hearts and AI power.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: So our events, ATC, the HR Retreat by Ashton Media, the two that connected with me this year, they aren't conferences.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: They are evolution portals.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: They are where courage becomes contagious.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: They are where the industry learns to lead itself.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: If you work in talent or HR, you are a future maker, a culture designer, a dignity defender.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: So support these events.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: Build confidence.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: Champion innovation with heart.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: One team, one region, one movement.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: Australia leads and New Zealand leads.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: We lead.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: Stay bold, stay curious, stay human, stay augmented.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: This is series two, Eden Haddock Total Talent.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: I am Eden Haddock.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for being part of this moment, and I'll see you at both of those events in 2026.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be front row.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Catch you soon.