HR Morning Show

Hello. Gina, my girl. Surprise. You know, Kyle, I never realized how Italian you are. I was worried about talking with my hands too much, but now I feel comfortable using the hand language. I have had This was all full of Americano. So, I just had to get ready. I was in a terrible mood yesterday, but here we are. Hi. Hello. Good to see you. >> Welcome to the HR Morning Show. It’s so good to see you, too. And I hear there’s some pretty big news. Do you want to say hey to everybody and introduce yourself? Yes, sure. So, hi. I’m Gina Alioto, and I lead brand and marketing for Shaker Recruitment Marketing. And I’m here to share that Shaker is celebrating 75 years this year. Wow. Wow. >> That is insane. I think it’s also a really important reminder that this space has that much history, and Shaker has been there for all of it. Mhm. >> Yeah. If people aren’t familiar with Shaker, tell us who they are. Sure. So, Shaker is an agency that helps talent leaders, whether it’s talent acquisition, employer branding, recruitment marketing, all talent leaders. And we help them with their branding, talent attraction, martech, and analytics. And martech, what you were just talking about, choosing the right technology that’s going to work for you and help you, because there’s so many options now, and it’s getting more and more complex. So, we help talent leaders parse through all of that and choose the right tech stack for them. So, You’ve been partnering with the leading HR teams for a long time. How are you going to celebrate? What’s 75 years look like for Shaker? Yes. So, we started the celebration late last year at RecFest. That’s where we had the official kickoff with an interactive art installation where talent leaders literally walked through the eras of recruitment marketing. And it was a lot of fun. There’s some really great video content out there on socials. If you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend you take a look. It was a lot of fun walking through the eras of recruitment marketing, everything from the newspaper days through the rise of the internet, through the Great Recession, all the way into the future, and what is upon us now through AI and what’s to come. And, you know, the thing that I personally value about Shaker is how they have been leading the industry through every major life milestone, not just changes in talent and talent marketing, but through major life milestones and shifts. They’ve been through the through really everything. >> Yeah, I mean, I think that that is really important because everything feels very reactive lately, right? There’s just like there’s daily disruption, I call it. There’s a lot of noise right now. I feel like an organization with that much history, I don’t want to say you’ve seen it all, cuz we are literally seeing new things now, but you’ve seen enough, right? And I think to be a steady hand and a trusted advisor for your clients, I I really I don’t think I made it through the walk through time at the booth at RecFest. Are you guys activating anywhere else this spring? Yes, we will. We’ll be having uh we’re we’re actually going to Unleash in a few weeks. Are we going to see you there, Kyle? So, Absolutely. Yeah, >> at Unleash. Mhm. And we we go to many conferences throughout the year. So, you’ll see us all throughout the year just as you did last year. And and to your point, by the way, Kate Price, our head of content marketing, she she said it best. She said that Shaker’s longevity has given us the gift of perspective. And I thought that was a great way to summarize it because I think having a company this, you know, 75 years old in our industry or any industry for that matter is rare. But to be in business for 75 years and leading through all of the change and having innovation through every generation is rare, no matter what industry you’re in. And I think that longevity has given Shaker the perspective to understand when there are these major tectonic shifts that take place in our industry, they understand how to navigate that and how to lead through it. I can only imagine. I know that you were backstage as we were talking through one of the latest waves of innovation. What are you seeing? How are you seeing the conversation change for your client partners in the last couple of years as we’ve come out of COVID and into the AI era? What is top of mind for them? How is Shaker meeting this moment? So, exactly what you described is what we’re seeing as well, that the call to action is do more with less, especially through COVID. That was the call to action. Now it’s do even more with even less. And the pressure is really weighing on all talent leaders, no matter what area you’re in, employer branding, recruitment marketing, talent acquisition, really every aspect. And honestly, Kyle, in marketing mainstream, we’re seeing that, too. When we look at where do you invest in for your brand, for marketing. So, feeling the squeeze, and I think it’s important now more than ever that talent leaders connect with each other peer-to-peer, which we’ve always done really well in this industry. We’ve done really well. Shaker is helping to be that facilitator between our clients and helping them connect with each other. And that’s what we’re doing all throughout the year. We’re inviting our customers into the Vision Lab, which is at our global HQ in Chicago. Kyle, you’ve got to come out and visit us. So, come to the Vision Lab. Come have a great conversation with us. We have our customers coming to the Vision Lab, so everyone can look out for those conversations, and we’re doing a special edition for the 75th anniversary this year to help our customers and really everybody in the industry hear from directly from the peers. What’s going on with you? What are you doing? What are you trying? What are you testing? >> 100. And then, we also have the Vision Report. We’re actually in volume three this year. Volume two is out now, so you can go and download the Vision Report. It’s free. And you’ll hear from all of the greatest leaders in talent acquisition, employer branding, recruitment marketing, analysts. If if anything, make sure we get get you into the volume three. So, you can download that at shaker.com. We hope that these tools and resources will help leaders, whether you’re a customer or not. Honestly, Shaker prides itself on building relationships. The core of its story is that relationships matter. And that relationships matter through our people at Shaker, the subject matter experts at Shaker, through our clients, our partners, and our collective impact on the industry. And that is a constant, because innovation changes through generations. Relationships matter, no matter what, and that’s what Shaker believes in. And what a great time to be leading the charge over there, bringing that story to market. Yeah. I’ve known you for several years now. It’s really cool to see you at the helm here. It’s a precious story to tell, and I think that anybody that’s listening can see that. I think you’re familiar with some of the opportunity that lies ahead and the need that they have. Getting together right now is just huge. That was one of my biggest, you know, at the end of every like fireside, they’re like, “What’s your word of advice for talent leaders?” I’m like, “Get out. Get out, sit down with each other, learn from each other.” Super cool to see you guys facilitating a lot of that. It just matters a lot. >> It’s so important. Go shake hands. Go meet each other. Go talk about it. And have the conversation the tough conversations or ask the questions that seem silly. I think that’s a really important time now more than ever. And by the way, we know each other probably a little bit more than several years. So, we know each other a long time. I can’t believe that I’ve been in this industry for this long. And I have to say, throughout my entire career, working with Shaker is a different type of responsibility, because I’m handling a heritage brand, and that is really important because I’m seeking ways to honor the past, but then also looking to the future, and it’s a challenge because there’s so much to this family-owned business, and it’s their name, and this amazing legacy that this whole family has built throughout their years. And now we’re a global organization of upwards of, you know, 200 employees servicing not just the Fortune 500, but Fortune 10. So, Yeah. >> It’s a great responsibility, and I’m so grateful that the family has trusted me with this, and it’s a great story to tell, right? But it’s easy marketing when it’s a great story to tell. I think the pressure is something to respect, too. You know, like have to treat it with care, especially cuz the work that we do matters in a big way. Is there going to be a big party? Are we doing anything? Should I be like getting a tuxedo or getting it tailored? So, we’ll do things in the true Shaker style where they value their the people at Shaker. So, we’re going to have an employee event in July bringing together all of the subject matter experts across the globe, because now we’re based in Chicago, but Shaker is actually across all of the US. And then, we also have a global partnership with OneAgent, which is a network of agencies all throughout Europe and beyond. So, we will have an event for Shaker employees, and then we’re going to do a special customer event in the year. So, stay tuned for that. And then, the greater audiences will definitely see us through the Vision Lab special edition episodes, the Vision Report, and through the conferences that we’re going to see you at throughout the year. I can’t wait. Thank you so much. Congratulations. What a legacy. And I am excited to take a walk through time at Shaker at Unleash. We will see you in Las Vegas. Thanks, Gina. Thanks so much. Bye. Bye.