The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week
If you’re an HR pro, a recent article from Fast Company encourages you to travel back in time to the year 2015. “‘Uptown Funk’ was blaring on digital music outlets,” FC writes, “Snapchat filters were laid over every selfie, and hoverboards were all the rage.”
It was also the time when marketing departments confronted disruptive and industry-changing challenges. “Marketing teams were facing an uphill battle,” the article says, “to prove ROI as new digital marketing opportunities, like the rise of video content marketing and the shift towards mobile, led to changing tactics, and budgets came under more scrutiny.”
Fast-forward to today and HR teams are facing comparable challenges. “Similar to its marketing predecessor,” FC writes, “HR now needs to report results tied to business objectives in concrete ways that were previously unquantifiable. Increased scrutiny over cost efficiency is putting HR pros under the microscope, and results are no longer only about a ‘vibe check’ and building company culture.”
The good news, however, is that marketing departments found their way through these obstacles and came out the other side stronger for it. This also means HR pros have a model to follow and colleagues who may be a cubicle away who can help. Or as FC puts it, “When it comes to tech and showing business value, today’s CHROs should check with yesterday’s CMOs.”
To learn more about what HR can learn from marketing — including why employees should be looked at as customers and how to balance emerging tech tools with a human touch — be sure to check out FC’s piece at the top of our list below of must-read articles for talent professionals. And further down our list, you can also read why learning from other people’s mistakes could be key to your company’s training efforts; why AI will lead to sweeping job redesign; and how to realize the true ROI of AI investments.
Here are the must-read articles from this week:
1. Why HR’s Future Looks Like Marketing’s Past (Fast Company)
2. 4 Styles of Coaching — and When to Use Them (Harvard Business Review)
3. Talent KPIs: Who Tracks What and Why During a Volatile Talent Market (Andy Pittman on LinkedIn)
4. How to Incorporate AI into Your Everyday HR Work Streams (Melanie Naranjo on LinkedIn)
5. Are Your Recruiters Strategic Partners or Order Takers? (Rewrite Recruiting with Kat K.)
6. Learning from Other’s Mistakes (L&D Easter Eggs)
7. What International Women’s Day Means to HR in 2025 (Lattice)
8. Job Redesign Around AI: Work Intelligence Tools Arrive (The Josh Bersin Company)
9. Expert Tips on Leadership Development, Mentorship, and Showcasing L&D’s ROI (LinkedIn Talent Blog)
10. Beyond Dollars and Cents: Realizing the True ROI of AI Investments (Randstad Enterprise)
Here is the must-listen podcast:
L&D in the Startup World with Tom Bowen (L&D Must Change)
