Many talent acquisition, human resources, and recruiting professionals turn to HR experts and influencers to get ideas and insights that can help them improve their work and grow their careers.
Today’s top human resources leaders have lots of knowledge and expertise. They know how to:
- Streamline their employee onboarding processes
- Drive and optimize workforce training initiatives
- Routinely optimize talent acquisition approaches
- Execute successful internal mobility programs
- Positively and consistently impact business growth
You might be an HR specialist solely focused on analyzing employee experience insights. Or perhaps you are a talent acquisition manager who oversees the recruiting function in your organization. Or maybe you are a sourcer who mainly handles candidate sourcing.
Whatever your human resources job title is, reading articles, listening to podcasts, watching webinars, and attending events that feature today’s top HR experts can help you grow your career. While there are an incredible number of HR experts and talent authorities to learn from, let’s take a look at 10 well-known influencers you should consider following in the coming year.
Start learning from these 10 HR experts in 2024
Listed in no particular order, and in no way exhaustive, here are 10 human resources experts with years of experience in HR and human capital management (HCM) who can provide inspiration for your employee experience efforts and recruiting strategies.
1) Josh Bersin
- Founder and CEO, The Josh Bersin Company
- Founder and Dean, The Josh Bersin Academy
Josh started Bersin & Associates, his first HR advisory firm, back in 2001. After selling the venture to Deloitte in 2012 and leaving the firm in 2018, Josh founded a new professional development academy in 2019 and consulting business with other leading industry analysts in 2020.
In addition to providing guidance to CEOs and CHROs at companies worldwide, Josh’s new firm also regularly releases HR-centric and talent research. These reports cover the latest trends and best practices that can help organizations transform their human resources and talent functions for the better.
- HR Expert Insight: “The new model of talent mobility is centered around agility, opening up the system to give people time to work on other projects, to change roles and participate in developmental assignments.“
2) Madeline Laurano
- Founder, Aptitude Research
Madeline runs a Boston-based human capital management research and advisory firm that specializes in technology investment recommendations for HR leaders.
Strategic guidance provided by Madeline and her team helps business leaders discover which human resources and talent acquisition solutions, including applicant tracking systems (ATS), will help them improve their talent management, employee engagement, and hiring strategies.
- HR Expert Insight: “Success in talent acquisition … hinges on the ability to link recruitment and retention — making informed, equitable, and intelligent decisions using accurate data.”
3) D.K. Bartley
- Global Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer, Hill+Knowlton Strategies
D.K. currently owns and executes DEI programs, including those centered around diversity recruiting and hiring, for Hill+Knowlton Strategies, a global public relations consulting firm.
This work follows tenures in similar roles at Moody’s, where D.K. won several awards for internal and external DEI initiatives, and Dentsu International, where he advised the diversity hiring efforts for Microsoft, Facebook, and other Fortune 500 companies.
- HR Expert Insight: “Evidence-based research is especially relevant as companies look to shift their approach to DEI during a time of heightened awareness on gender, racial and social inequities.”
4) Ben Eubanks
- Chief Research Officer, Lighthouse Research & Advisory
- Founder, HR Tech Awards
- Host, We’re Only Human Podcast
Ben educates HR professionals on best practices for improving the workplace experience. He also helps technology vendors learn how to provide valuable products for HR teams.
Ben’s popular podcast and speaking engagements at industry events have positioned him as a go-to HR expert. He is well-known among his peers and is sought after for workforce management advice and software insights into solutions that help HR and talent functions thrive.
- HR Expert Insight: “HR departments have a lot on their plates. Systems that allow them to easily prioritize incoming requests are very valuable, enabling them to work on the most important things first.”
5/6) Trish Steed & Steve Boese
- Co-founders, H3 HR Advisors and HR Happy Hour Media Network
Trish and Steve have built a renowned human capital management research and consulting agency that helps CHROs make savvy, data-driven decisions regarding various business needs.
The HR experts’ advisory firm offers advice on strategic working planning, talent management, compliance, and technology investment decisions. The pair also provides actionable reports and insights with human resources leaders via their consultative work and podcast.
- HR Expert Insight: “If you can create a sense where your people feel like they are accepted, respected, and appreciated at work, they’re seven times more likely to go out there telling others about your company and helping you fill those jobs instead of you having to do it all by yourself.”
7) Verna Myers
- Founder & President, The Vernā Myers Company
- Former VP, Inclusion Strategy, Netflix
Verna is a thought leader in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space, with two decades of experience. She spent five years as head of Netflix’s DEI strategy, where she created and curated culture-centric initiatives that positively impacted the company’s international operations.
Add on a TED Talk on how to overcome biases, two best-selling books on improving workplace culture and diversity, and a LinkedIn Learning course on allyship that has been viewed and syndicated widely, and it’s evident Verna is an HR expert worth following.
- HR Expert Insight: “In order for leaders to make true progress on diversity and inclusion, they need to work through not only the personal, but the interpersonal, organizational, and ultimately cultural level. If they do not work on all four levels, it’s really hard to see a shift.”
8) Meghan M. Biro
- Founder and CEO, TalentCulture
- Host, #WorkTrends Podcast
Empowering recruiters at hundreds of prominent organizations, including big-name brands like Microsoft and Google, has been at the heart of Meghan’s human resources and talent acquisition services at TalentCulture since 2008.
Meghan’s work centers on establishing strong, human connections with top talent.
On her podcast, Meghan regularly shares her take on the latest news and trends in the HR space and engages with other industry experts in lively conversations. Recent topics covered include planning for business resiliency, building workplace trust, and leveraging people analytics.
- HR Expert Insight: “Whatever [HR] technology you’re leveraging, make sure you focus on transparency, communication, relationships, and data-driven reporting when it comes to your talent strategies.”
9) Tim Sackett
- President, HRU Technical Resources
- Author, “The Talent Fix: A Leader’s Guide to Recruiting Great Talent“
Tim runs a successful IT and engineering contract staffing firm and has more than 20 years of experience working in various recruiting and human resources roles.
Insights from Tim’s tenure in the HR industry can be found in his best-selling book and widely read blog, where he shares what it takes for employers of all sizes — from SMBs to enterprises — to reinforce their organizations with top talent and future-proof their businesses.
- HR Expert Insight: “Too many of us break our ATSs by trying to customize the software to our bad hiring processes, and then we say the ATS doesn’t work! But it’s not the ATS’ fault.”
10) Sarah White
As SHRM noted, Sarah is “dedicated to revolutionizing the way we work” by helping business leaders discover the technologies that can help them attract, hire, and retain top talent.
Sarah and her team at Aspect 43 polls employers to unearth their recruiting challenges and hiring needs, then plans bespoke strategies and recommends strong-fit software solutions to empower clients to transform their talent acquisition and human resources approaches.
- HR Expert Insight: “Our individuals at work are so much more than just their skills, and where the actual gap is is understanding what that person not just has those direct skills, but also where their desires and passions of where they want to go and grow are as well.”
Speak with the NXTThing RPO team today to learn how our recruiting experts can help you fill near-term headcount needs and achieve your long-term hiring goals.
