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Why Community Matters in Talent · Edan Haddock - Total Talent

• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Hey everyone.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the very first episode of Eden Haddock Total Talent.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Eden Haddock, and I'm really glad you're here.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now, some of you might know me from the Rubberband community on Facebook.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's the group that I started for talent professionals that's grown into something really special.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe you listen to the Rubberband podcast too.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: But today I want to talk to you about why I handed that podcast back to the community, why it was important for me that it wasn't about me, and how that connects with what I'm doing here with this new podcast.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: This one's different.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: No sponsors, no agenda, no guests.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Just me talking honestly about what it's like working in talent acquisition and talent management from the inside in-house.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Tools down, sleeves rolled up.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start with rubber band.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: When I created the group, the idea was simple: a place for recruiters, talent people, HR folks to come together and share ideas, vent a little, celebrate wins, and talk about the challenges we're all facing.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: It grew and it grew fast.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thousands of members, daily conversations, resources being shared.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And what I loved most was the realness.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: No flashy marketing campaigns, no overproduced webinars, no corporate agenda, just people being people.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing: with growth comes responsibility.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I had to ask myself, was this really mine to lead forever?
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'd started something, yes, but the strength of rubber band was never me.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: It was always the community, the collective wisdom, the fact that everyone had an equal say.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I made the decision to hand that podcast back to the community.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want it to become Eden's show.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want people thinking there were bias or self-promotion.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Community groups only work when they're self-managed, when no one voice is louder than the rest.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because let's be honest, in talent and HR, we we already get bombarded by enough one-way content.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Thought leaders on LinkedIn shouting their opinions, vendors selling shining new tools, consultants with a framework for everything.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Rubber band was the antidote to that.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: A place that belonged to everyone.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it still is.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's talk about why that matters.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Talent acquisition and HR industries, you know, are complicated industries, right?
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: We're constantly balancing business needs with human needs.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: And when you throw in external noise, the latest HR tech, the hottest new engagement model, the endless conferences, it's easy to lose sight of what's real.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's why unbiased, self-managed communities are so powerful.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: When a community runs itself, no one is trying to push an agenda.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: People share their experiences because they've lived them, not because they're being paid to promote them.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: For example, in rubber band, one member might post about struggling with high volume hiring in retail.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Another might share a new onboarding hack that actually worked.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Someone else might open up about burnout.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: And suddenly you've got 20 different voices chiming in with empathy, advice, and solidarity.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's gold, that's real.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: So compare that with a polished white paper or a slick state-of-the-indust report.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: They have their value, sure.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: But they'll never give you the messy lived-in truth that comes from a peer-to-peer conversation.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Communities like rubber band keep us honest, they keep us human, and they remind us that we're not alone in this work.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: So if rubber band belongs to the community, why am I here with this podcast?
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's a really good question.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: The truth is, I still had things I wanted to share, but I wanted to do it differently.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted a space where I could give you unfiltered insights from my world.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: No gloss, no guests, no sponsors shaping the conversation, just me working in-house, in talent, telling you what's happening right now.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's what Eden Haddock Total Talent is about.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: Every week I'll share what's going on in my corner of the industry, the challenges we're facing in recruitment, the way talent management is shifting, the trends I'm noticing on the ground, not in theory, but in practice.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it's personal.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: These are my thoughts.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: Not Movember's, not anyone else's, just mine.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it'll be messy, sometimes it'll be blunt, sometimes I'll probably say things people don't agree with, but that's the point, right?
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: We we need more raw voices in our space, in our industry.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: It is so important and it's lacking.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Which brings me to another point.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: The lack of content from real leaders in talent and HR.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't mean the influencers.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: I don't mean the consultants.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't mean the keynote speakers at every conference, right?
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what I mean.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean the people actually doing the work inside organizations, the ones making hiring decisions, building employer brands, managing performance, driving culture change.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: Where are their voices?
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Too often we only hear from people who step outside of the day-to-day.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: And don't get me wrong, external perspectives have value, but it creates a gap.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because what leaders on the ground are thinking and experiencing doesn't always make it into the public conversation.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's dangerous.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because if we only listen to the polished voices, we miss the reality.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: I want Eden Haddock Total Talent to fill a little of that gap, to give you a window into what's actually happening in-house, in talent.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because maybe you'll listen and think, yep, same here.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you'll think, that's interesting, we're seeing the opposite.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, it sparks thought, reflection, and it sparks dialogue.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: So to wrap this up, I handed the rubber band podcast to the community because that's where it belongs.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Communities need to be self-managed, unbiased, and free from ego if they're going to thrive.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I started this podcast, Eden Haddock Total Talent, because I wanted to keep sharing, but on my own terms.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Weekly raw, unfiltered, a look at the reality of talent work from someone living it every day.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you are tuning in, thank you.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: Seriously.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't about being flashy or chasing downloads.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not even promoting it.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's about building a conversation that's honest and grounded and maybe a little refreshing in an industry that often feels overproduced.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: So stick around.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Every week, I'll be here sharing what's happening in my world.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: This has been Eden Haddock, Total Talent.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Eden, and I'll see you next week.