Ray Smith
Global SVP of People and Culture
The Arbinger Institute
Episode 180
How HR earns its seat at the table: Empowering talent for organizational success.
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleMay 21, 2025 · 9:55
Thesis
“Empowering individuals through a culture of accountability and providing the autonomy to innovate, especially within HR initiatives, is crucial for organizational success and effective talent strategies.”
Show notes
Innovative Talent Acquisition Strategies with Ray Smith
In this episode of the Built by People Podcast, the host welcomes Ray, an HR veteran with 20 years of experience. Ray discusses her career journey from corporate recruiting to becoming an SVP of HR.
She shares the development of the 'Red Carpet Experience' strategy for talent acquisition, which significantly improved recruitment success.
Ray also talks about overcoming challenges in attracting diverse candidates through innovative promotional methods.
The conversation highlights the importance of building relationships with operational staff and creating a culture of accountability within organizations.
Ray concludes with advice on being proactive and taking chances in the HR field.
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:52 Ray's Career Journey in HR
01:30 Developing the Red Carpet Experience
04:08 Overcoming Recruitment Challenges
06:40 Building Relationships in HR
08:29 Parting Advice for HR Professionals09:47 Conclusion and Farewell
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What you'll take away
- 1Implement a 'red carpet experience' for candidates, providing personalized tours and interactions, which can dramatically increase fill rates (e.g., 95%) for hard-to-fill positions.
- 2Utilize innovative and creative promotional content (like early video reels with QR codes) to differentiate your employer brand and attract a diverse candidate pool.
- 3Proactively seek and secure a 'seat at the table' for HR, moving beyond reactive staffing requests to be involved in strategic organizational discussions.
- 4Foster a culture of accountability by presenting problems and empowering employees to devise their own solutions, then supporting them through implementation.
- 5Don't be afraid to take calculated risks with HR initiatives; successful 'out-of-the-box' approaches build credibility and open doors for future innovation.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Instead of dictating solutions, empower employees by 'giv[ing] them the problem, let them come up with the concept, and support them' to foster greater ownership and success.
- •Challenge the conventional fear of trying new things in HR; 'those people who take those chances are the ones who are remembered' and often achieve significant success by pushing beyond the norm.
In Ray's words
“The best part about my job is just being able to connect with people on a very personal level. And, and just making sure that everybody feels like they have a voice and is seen within the organization.”
This highlights Ray's core philosophy of human connection and visibility in HR.
“A lot of it was the talent that we had within the organizations. And in doing that, we had about a 95% fill rate when that happened, and we were able to close positions a lot quicker.”
This provides a concrete metric demonstrating the success of the red carpet experience.
“I created a promo reel in conjunction with, at the time, I think he was the regional vice president... And we connected it to QR codes.”
This showcases an early and innovative use of multimedia for recruitment marketing.
“I do ask for a seat at the table. So I want to know what's going on within the organization more than just, oh, what positions do you need? I'd like to be proactive in whatever is being done.”
This emphasizes the strategic and proactive role HR leaders should strive for.
“They're more likely to own something if you let them come up with the concept, give them the problem, let them come up with the concept, and support them in getting things over the threshold.”
This offers actionable advice on fostering accountability and innovative problem-solving within teams.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Struggling to fill specialized and critical positions in competitive industries.
- •Difficulty differentiating an employer's value proposition against competitors offering more perks or resources.
- •Challenges in attracting and building a diverse candidate pipeline.
- •HR departments being perceived as reactive rather than strategic partners in business operations.
- •Resistance or fear within HR to implement unconventional or innovative recruitment and engagement strategies.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
SVP of HR has been in HR for about 20 years
In the Elevator With HR Executives
Ray Miller developed the red carpet experience strategy for talent acquisition
Red-Carpet Experience
Physio faced challenges with filling positions and attracting diverse candidates
The Promo Reel
Building relationships with operational folks played a crucial role in the success of HR initiatives
Ray, Building Relationships in the Organization
Ray, what parting advice would you like to share with our community
Ray McGuirk on His Final Words
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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