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In this episode, we sit down with Rebecca Volpano, Vice President of Product Marketing at Cielo Talent, a global leader in talent acquisition and consulting.

Get the full show notes here.

Like many in the field, Rebecca didn’t plan to enter HR technology. Her journey started in retail operations and evolved through client services, technology transformation, and product development. Today, she leads Cielo's efforts in delivering compelling talent acquisition technology and consulting solutions.

Rebecca shares how she fell into HRIS, the evolution of her role at Cielo, and her views on AI, agentic tech, and the future of recruiting platforms. This episode is full of insights for anyone navigating the fast-changing landscape of HR tech, including those considering a leap into product marketing or tech transformation roles.

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If you are an HRIS professional submit your profile and sign up for Job Alerts at HRISCareers.com.

If you want to be on the podcast fill out the form at https://hriscareers.com/podcast

Try Braintrust to use AI to turbocharge your hiring process or sign up to their talent network (and earn $$ referring and helping others).

Get on the HRISCareers.com email newsletter with 3,000 of your new HRIS friends!

Troy welcomes Adam Jackson, Co-founder of Braintrust, the first user-controlled talent network built on Web3 principles. Adam shares his unconventional path from Vanderbilt to Silicon Valley, building multiple startups including Doctor on Demand (with Dr. Phil!) and his latest venture, Braintrust.

Our interview this real deal entrepreneur covered:

• Adam’s early experiences in building two way marketplaces
• The explosive growth of Braintrust and its AI hiring product, Braintrust AIR
• How AI can enhance—not replace—HR professionals
• Practical advice for job seekers, recruiters, and businesses embracing new hiring technologies

Whether you're an HRIS analyst eyeing your next role, a recruiter swamped with resumes, or a founder looking to streamline talent acquisition, Adam's insights will give you plenty to think about!

Listen On:

• YouTube
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• All Other Platforms

Resources Mentioned

• UseBrainTrust.com https://app.usebraintrust.com/r/troy10/
• Adam Jackson LinkedIn
• Doctor on Demand
• HRISCareers Jobboard

Chapter Timestamps

00:00 - Welcome to HRIS Careers & Intro to Adam Jackson

01:00 - Adam’s path to Vanderbilt and early tech interest

03:00 - Launching early marketplaces and selling to Intuit

04:30 - Founding DriverSide and selling to Advance Auto

05:15 - Co-founding Doctor on Demand with Dr. Phil

06:30 - The start of Braintrust and its AI hiring tools

07:45 - How Braintrust Air works (AI recruiter walkthrough)

09:15 - Custom screening & real-time video interviews

11:00 - Use cases for HRIS professionals and job seekers

13:00 - Tips for job seekers in the age of AI

15:00 - The Braintrust Professional Network & side hustle tips

17:00 - Solving challenges with ATSs like Workday & Taleo

20:00 - AI-driven outreach & handling spam risks

23:00 - From remote hiring to AI pivot at Braintrust

26:00 - Addressing bias in AI recruitment (audit results)

28:00 - Lightning Round: College bars, vineyards & tech obsessions

33:00 - Adam’s favorite AI productivity tool

35:00 - Final thoughts on the future of HR and AI

37:00 - Braintrust is hiring! Sales

Send us a text

If you have HRIS roles to fill you can post your job to HRISCareers.com for free.

If you are an HRIS professional submit your profile and sign up for Job Alerts at HRISCareers.com.

If you want to be on the podcast fill out the form at https://hriscareers.com/podcast

In this episode, we sits down with CJ Gustafson — former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), creator of the Mostly Metrics newsletter, and host of the Run The Numbers podcast.

CJ shares his path from finance student at Boston College to CFO of a successful SaaS company, culminating in a high-stakes exit. He also dives into how he started building an audience of over 65,000 newsletter subscribers and offers practical insights for HRIS professionals looking to better communicate with and influence CFOs. From favorite HRIS systems like HiBob and BambooHR to key HR metrics like average revenue per employee and hiring velocity, CJ breaks it down with clarity and humor.

The episode blends Boston sports banter, tech insights, and actionable tips on aligning HR data with financial decision-making.

Highlights

🎧 We discuss:

• CJ’s journey from Boston College to CFO to newsletter entrepreneur
• Top HR metrics your CFO is watching 👀
• His favorite HRIS systems (hint: HiBob & BambooHR)
• Why hiring velocity and cost per employee matter 💼
• The wild world of selling a company… and giving your dog 65+ ice creams 🍦

Don’t miss this mix of Boston humor, practical HR finance advice, and career inspiration.

Listen On:

• YouTube
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• All Other Platforms https://pod.link/1741363105

Resources Mentioned

• Mostly Metrics newsletter
• Run The Numbers podcast
• Top HR Metrics CFOs Care About article on Mostly Metrics
• CJ’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjgustafson/
• Full Show Notes

Chapter Timestamps

00:00 – Intro from Troy in Omaha

01:50 – Guest intro: CJ Gustafson’s background

05:10 – CJ’s journey from Boston College to CFO

08:12 – The Mostly Metrics newsletter and Walter’s ice cream bribes 🍦

10:30 – HR metrics your CFO cares about

14:00 – Hiring velocity, time-to-fill, and sales capacity

19:00 – The “GOAT” metric: Revenue per employee

22:00 – Unlimited PTO: Perk or accounting trick?

24:50 – Favorite HRIS systems (HiBob, BambooHR, Workday)

28:00 – How to build a business case for HR tech

32:00 – How CJ started Mostly Metrics

35:30 – Podcasting with Run The Numbers

37:40 – Selling a SaaS company – behind the scenes

40:40 – Transitioning into finance roles – CJ’s advice

43:00 – Lightning round: Google searches, OnlyFans, Boston sports

48:00 – Bonus: Behind the scenes, kids, pets, and ceiling disasters

Send us a text

If you have HRIS roles to fill you can post your job to HRISCareers.com for free.

If you are an HRIS professional submit your profile and sign up for Job Alerts at HRISCareers.com.

If you want to be on the podcast fill out the form at https://hriscareers.com/podcast

In this episode https://hriscareers.com/blog/scott-trumpolt, compensation consultant Scott Trumpolt, G.R.P. shares how he transitioned into compensation, highlights the importance of HRIS systems in pay analytics, and breaks down certifications like the GRP and CCP. With 30 years of experience, Scott offers a global perspective on pay structure design, market-based compensation, and the strategic role of HR.

Highlights

• The surprising "death benefit" offered by Google ☠️
• What HRIS pros must know about pay structures 📊
• How to handle inflation and pay transparency in comp planning 🔍
• Why Excel is still your best friend in compensation 💻

Listen On:

• YouTube. https://youtu.be/cSgw06SKuTU
• Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/compensation-principles-all-hris-pros-must-know-with/id1741363105?i=1000705637939
• Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/3hZt6sN2sd3uJZkr2CbVOR?si=y2crr1o9TPWQ7d94MpRWNw
• All Other Platforms https://pod.link/1741363105

Resources Mentioned

• Scott Trumpolt on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-trumpolt-m-a-g-r-p-257a6b317/
• hrmpensationconsulting.com. https://hrcompensationconsulting.com/
• World at Work – GRP/CCP Certifications https://worldatwork.org/
• HRIS Software Overview – Past Episode https://youtu.be/xsPmT0dAYxs

Chapter Timestamps

00:00 – Intro and Welcome

01:14 – Meet Scott Trumpolt

02:00 – Entering the HR Field

04:30 – Mentorship and Data-Driven Compensation

07:15 – Strategic Value of HR

12:00 – Critical Comp Concepts for HRIS Pros

17:00 – Common Consulting Projects

20:00 – Inflation and Market Adjustments

25:00 – Cost of Labor Models

34:00 – GRP vs CCP Certification

40:00 – Compensation Tools and Budgets

46:00 – Fun Lightning Round

Send us a text

If you have HRIS roles to fill you can post your job to HRISCareers.com for free.

If you are an HRIS professional submit your profile and sign up for Job Alerts at HRISCareers.com.

If you want to be on the podcast fill out the form at https://hriscareers.com/podcast

Why Do Employees Smuggle AI Into Work? https://hriscareers.com/podcast

BBC article that inspired the idea.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn7rx05xg2go

If you are willing to come on to talk about this topic email troy.wallace@hriscareers.com

Send us a text

If you have HRIS roles to fill you can post your job to HRISCareers.com for free.

If you are an HRIS professional submit your profile and sign up for Job Alerts at HRISCareers.com.

If you want to be on the podcast fill out the form at https://hriscareers.com/podcast

In this episode, Troy interviews Lisa-Maree Blumenfeld, founder and CEO of RetainHR https://www.retainhr.com/, a fractional HR consultancy helping startups scale their people operations. Lisa shares her unconventional entry into HR — from a degree in Religious Studies to becoming a recruiter, then ultimately leading HR at startups and Fortune 500 companies. The conversation explores her experience building infrastructure for 20+ startups at Expa, the founding story of RetainHR, and the increasing demand for flexible HR support in fast-growing companies.

Lisa also introduces Eleven https://getelevenapp.com/, her new venture designed to improve the quality of one-on-one conversations between managers and employees. From Gen X music nostalgia to deep insights on HR tech stacks, global compliance, and the future of performance management, this episode is packed with value for HR and HRIS professionals alike.

Listen On:

• YouTube. https://youtu.be/hAQw5Wahiao?si=-1Kyb90WfywMBRsq
• Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/solving-start-up-hris-and-payroll-with-lisa/id1741363105?i=1000700954881
• Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/4n3sLrnbn1oGwBMVKg6MYU?si=c85a9dba47dd46d3
• All Other Platforms https://pod.link/1741363105

Time Stamps

00:00 - Intro: HRIS Careers Podcast with Troy Wallace

01:18 - Meet Lisa-Maree Blumenfeld, Founder of RetainHR

04:04 - From Religious Studies to Recruiting: A Non-Traditional HR Journey

07:29 - Working at Expa and Building HR for 20+ Startups

09:53 - The Birth of RetainHR and the Power of Fractional HR

11:22 - Ideal Clients: Who RetainHR Helps Most

14:06 - HR Tech Stack Talk: Gusto, PEOs, and Scaling Smart

20:12 - Global Employees, EORs & HRIS Compliance Challenges

22:53 - Launching “11”: Reinventing One-on-One Meetings

28:46 - The Impact of Micro-Moments in Performance Management

31:28 - Lightning Round: Pearl Jam, AI in HR, Advice for Startup HR Pros

35:58 - Final Thoughts and Contact Info

Resources And Links

Eleven https://getelevenapp.com/

RetainHR https://www.retainhr.com/

Lisa' LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamareeblumenfeld/

Gusto (Payroll and HRIS Lisa mentions: https://gusto.com/

Pearl Jam Set List We Mention

Send us a text

If you have HRIS roles to fill you can post your job to HRISCareers.com for free.

If you are an HRIS professional submit your profile and sign up for Job Alerts at HRISCareers.com.

If you want to be on the podcast fill out the form at https://hriscareers.com/podcast

Simple yet powerful career tip inspired by Scott Galloway (Prof G). In this solo episode of HRIS Careers, host Troy Wallace shares a simple yet powerful career tip and reflects on a personal experience where overhearing a negative comment changed his perspective on workplace relationships.

Full Show Notes: https://hriscareers.com/blog/say-something-nice

👉 Build a reputation as someone who speaks positively about others behind their backs.

He then shares five actionable ways to build a career-enhancing reputation by lifting others up.

Key Takeaways:

✔️ Why speaking well of others benefits your career 🚀

✔️ A real-life story of how workplace gossip can impact trust 😲

✔️ 5 easy ways to put this advice into action ✅

✔️ The importance of building allies in your career

💡 Challenge for Listeners:

Find one opportunity this week to get caught saying something nice about a colleague. Try it out and share your experience!

• YouTube. https://youtu.be/dwbz2gN2GOg
• Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hris-careers-podcast/id1741363105?i=1000699540261
• Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/5UMDbPAlXaGE55Ee0N8xWX?si=r_AiPmqjTgGuTfPr1UkqjA
• All Other Platforms https://pod.link/1741363105

Send us a text

If you have HRIS roles to fill you can post your job to HRISCareers.com for free.

If you are an HRIS professional submit your profile and sign up for Job Alerts at HRISCareers.com.

If you want to be on the podcast fill out the form at https://hriscareers.com/podcast

Ugh! You Have To Migrate Your Cloud ATS To Another Cloud Platform (What You Need To Know)

Send us a text

If you have HRIS roles to fill you can post your job to HRISCareers.com for free.

If you are an HRIS professional submit your profile and sign up for Job Alerts at HRISCareers.com.

If you want to be on the podcast fill out the form at https://hriscareers.com/podcast