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) Vernā Myers

• Founder & President, The Vernā Myers Company
• Former VP, Inclusion Strategy, Netflix

Vernā 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 Vernā 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

• Founder and Head of Strategy & Insights, Aspect 43
• Advisory Board, Future of Talent, HR.com

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.”

Learn how you can improve your recruiting speed, quality, and efficiency with JazzHR. Book a demo today to take the tour of our recruitment software for small businesses.

Business success relies on too many variables to name, but there’s a reason that as many as 97% of HR professionals are planning to invest more in their recruitment process. An effective hiring process means better hires, which in turn means less employee turnover.

• With the cost of replacing an employee falling anywhere between six and nine times their salary, hiring has a direct impact on the bottom line.

What difference does the relationship between a franchisee and a franchisor make, then? What’s giving franchise owners the edge over independent businesses when it comes to hiring? Dig out your high school biology textbooks, because it’s all about one word: symbiosis.

Franchisee vs. franchisor: The fundamental difference

Franchisees and franchisors are working towards the same goal (the success of the franchise). Yet, they go about achieving it in different but complementary ways. It may seem obvious, but it’s worth explaining because it directly impacts the franchise hiring process.

• Franchisors come up with the business model. They’re in charge of developing products or services, branding, and marketing. They’re also responsible for training new franchisees and providing ongoing support.
• Franchisees run the business at the ground level. They’re in charge of operations, recruitment, onboarding individual employees, and everything else that comes with the delivery of the product or service in question.

There’s the symbiosis at work. Franchisors worry about the high-concept stuff, while franchisees make sure their business runs smoothly. Together, they (hopefully) succeed.

• That difference, which defines the relationship and sets franchises apart from independent businesses, has an influence on everything – including hiring.

Like an anemone protecting a clownfish (think Nemo’s house), the franchisor is there to ensure that the franchisee makes the right choices. Their first act was to hire a franchisee that they felt they could trust to run a business.

Chron’s Lainie Petersen had it right when she described franchisors as “mentors.”

“Because a franchisee is working with an established brand and business plan, he or she is less likely to make rookie mistakes that could sabotage the business.”

If you’re a franchisee (or thinking of becoming one), you’re in a pretty good position. When things are working as they should, you barely have to worry about improving your product, service, branding, or marketing efforts.

There’s a business powerhouse invested in your success. You’ve also got the benefit of experience that you haven’t had to earn the hard way — aside from the franchisor, there’s likely an entire network of existing franchisees that are a font of knowledge.

Capitalize on the free time

Use the bandwidth you’re saving on product development and branding to your advantage. While franchisors worry about hiring people like you, focus on developing your recruitment process at the local level. It may sound counterintuitive to talk about ‘personalization’ when it comes to franchising, but you’ve got an opportunity to make a great impression on candidates.

Often, franchisees are responsible for hiring. That includes advertising vacancies, responding to applicants, conducting interviews, and making job offers.

• At each stage in that process, you’re performing your operational role in the relationship and representing the brand-at-large while you do it.

You’ll likely have the benefit of job description templates (more on that below), but that doesn’t mean you can’t tweak them to ensure they’re the right fit for your location. That could involve notes on shift flexibility, disability access, and more. Responding to applicants quickly is also vital: Four in five job seekers would re-apply to a business if the candidate experience was positive.

Therefore, communication can’t be an afterthought.

Take every opportunity to create a local culture within the franchise business at large, and communicate it throughout the hiring process. Research shows you’ll attract top talent by doing so.

Use the resources at your disposal

Here’s another obvious point that still bears mentioning:

• Act like a franchisee, not an independent business. In other words, lean on the advantages you’ve got wherever possible to ensure your day-to-day operations are as smooth as possible and you have the training and support needed.

You can spend as many hours as you want crafting the perfect impact job description, but candidates will still spend an average of just 14 seconds deciding whether or not they’ll apply. Franchisors likely have the benefit of trial-and-error at a national level, so use whatever templates they’ve got for you and make a few tweaks.

They’re also responsible for some of the training you’ll need to deliver. Often, franchisors will agree to train those in management roles. It’s in your best interests to ask because it signposts an interest in development that franchisors value.

According to The Balance:

• “Most franchisors will be looking to see if you are taking training seriously. This is such an important issue…that your franchise agreement will likely allow [them] to terminate the relationship if you do not complete training to their satisfaction.”

Don’t forget the franchise agreement or the franchise disclosure document (FDD). They merit an entire post of their own, but when you’re unsure about what the franchisor should be providing on the hiring and training front the answers should be in those documents.

Connect with the Support Network

Chances are you’re not the first person to open a franchise location with your franchisor. That means your peers (a.k.a. other franchisee business owners) can be a valuable resource. That’s because they’ve had the exact same experience you’re having.

So, benefit from their experience, learn about the roles and responsibilities they assign to their employees, hear about their mistakes, and just ask for advice as needed. Ask questions like:

• What roles(s) did they fill first after submitting their initial franchise fee?
• What types of business systems and processes did they implement?
• What specific types of interview questions proved the most useful?
• How do they plan ahead to ensure they can pay franchise royalty fees
• How have they iterated and improved upon their hiring process over the years?

Other franchise locations may also be a fantastic source of candidates. If an employee at one location is looking to move to a different state, for example, see if you can nab them.

They’ll already know how everything works and could help you recruit staff. Many franchises also employ field support consultants — reps that make sure you get the help you need.

Bridging the gap between franchisor and franchisee

Franchise hiring can feel like an unusual process. The trick is to balance local culture with the brand-at-large and to look for people that reflect the values of your own business and a national — sometimes global — corporation.

That would be a difficult gap to bridge if it weren’t for the relationship at the foundations of a franchise. Franchisees are just one part of a support network that’s there to help them succeed.

Just invest in your first franchisee opportunity? Then it’s also time to invest in the ideal recruiting software for your small business. Learn why so many franchisees turn to our ATS to hire part- and full-time talent.