In this episode, Chris chats to Ben Abear, an experienced recruitment strategist, to explore how data-driven decision-making and strong leadership can transform a hiring function into an indispensable strategic value-add. Drawing from his experiences at Google and Meta, Ben shares tips to help talent leaders become more adaptable, boost their data fluency, and build end-to-end hiring processes that support long-term business goals. Next, the conversation turns to the value of talent mapping, as Ben recommends strategies to track career journeys, improve internal mobility, and predict and prepare for attrition. Finally, Chris and Ben look to the not-too-distant future and ask: has our age of big data and smart AI rendered the résumé obsolete?