Natasha Valani
SVP, Human Resources
Tubi
Episode 254
Unlocking Gen Z: HR's Bold New Strategy for Long-Term Talent Development
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleMarch 27, 2025 · 11:38
Thesis
“The future of HR demands innovative, long-term talent development and agile resource optimization, driven by a deep appreciation for human connection, belonging, and powerful storytelling, especially when engaging with the entrepreneurial spirit of Gen Z.”
Show notes
Tubi delivered a Super Bowl broadcast with 700 employees. That's not a headcount oversight — it's a deliberate talent philosophy called "talent density," and it reshapes how you think about hiring, redeployment, and early career development.
As SVP of HR at Tubi, Natasha Valani has done something most companies won't: scrapped the traditional internship program entirely and replaced it with an 18-month immersive tech rotation program. The logic is straightforward but underutilized. Short-term internships produce surface-level results, limit meaningful assessment, and often exclude candidates who can't afford three months of low-pay work. The Tubi Builders Program solves for all of that — full-time, benefits-eligible, long enough to actually evaluate someone and develop them. The result is a talent pipeline that converts at much higher rates. And in a lean organization, conversion matters.
Natasha's lens on Gen Z is worth sitting with. She's bullish on them — not in a platitudinous way, but because she sees specific qualities that others treat as problems: directness, willingness to challenge misalignment, entrepreneurial confidence, and digital-native fluency. Her analogy for the future of work is borrowed from her own industry: just as media consumption shifted from broadcast to streaming — personalized, on-demand, curated — career development is heading the same direction. The organizations that figure out how to build the infrastructure for that model will win the next generation of talent.
What you'll learn:
- Why Tubi replaced traditional internships with an 18-month rotation program — and what it took to design it
- The "talent density" operating philosophy: how 700 people deliver Super Bowl-scale projects
- How to approach strategic talent redeployment instead of overhiring for short-term projects
- What Gen Z's "audacious entrepreneurial spirit" actually looks like in practice — and how to leverage it
- The "streaming model" of career development: what it means and why it's the future
- Why storytelling is becoming the most critical leadership skill in decentralized, AI-influenced workplaces
This episode is in partnership with Transform. Check out their community here.
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What you'll take away
- 1Replace traditional, short-term internships with longer, immersive rotation programs (e.g., 18 months) to foster deeper skill development, better assess capabilities, and improve talent conversion.
- 2Prioritize 'talent density' and continuously evaluate initiatives to strategically redeploy existing talent across the organization, rather than over-hiring for short-term projects.
- 3Embrace the 'audacious entrepreneurial spirit' and tech literacy of Gen Z, encouraging them to challenge policies, drive innovation, and streamline processes.
- 4Recognize that the workforce is shifting to a 'content streaming-based model,' requiring HR to offer flexibility, autonomy, and curated career choices to meet modern employee expectations.
- 5Cultivate strong, authentic storytelling as a critical leadership skill to communicate vision, rally teams, and inspire action in increasingly decentralized and fast-paced work environments.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Replaced traditional 2-3 month internships with an 18-month tech rotation program (Tubi Builders Program) to address issues with engagement, conversion, and meaningful skill-building.
- •Advocates for 'talent density' and redeploying existing talent over 'overhiring for a project or a short-term initiative' to avoid job displacement and optimize resources.
In Natasha's words
“My life has been shaped by a ton of change and just constant movement... my upbringing gave me those experiences of just deep appreciation for human connection and belonging.”
This quote highlights the personal experiences that shaped Natasha's foundational belief in human connection and belonging, which drives her approach to HR.
“We took a hard look at our own experience and partnered closely with the business... to design a replacement program that would solve for a lot of the roadblocks and add value to the business.”
This demonstrates a strategic, problem-solving approach to talent programs, emphasizing partnership with the business to create impactful solutions.
“A lot of people can't take a step back and do a 3-month internship experience for like low pay or something. So this is 18 months, it's full-time, you get, you get benefits, there's a little bit more stability.”
This quote underscores the inclusive and accessible nature of the 18-month rotation program, making it a viable option for a wider range of early career talent.
“Tubi's 700, and to be fair, we are part of a larger, great, phenomenal company in Fox... but the reality is when you look under our cover, we are tiny and mighty in so many ways, and it's really part of our ethos to be firm on talent density.”
This highlights Tubi's lean operational model and their core philosophy of maintaining high 'talent density' for efficiency and impact.
“I find them refreshingly honest. They're not scared of a healthy debate. They're confident to speak up when they see misalignment... I think that's probably their biggest asset.”
This showcases a positive and empowering perspective on Gen Z's contributions, valuing their directness and willingness to challenge the status quo.
“I do think just like streaming platforms like Tubi, it's streaming and the way we consume media has transformed how people just review and download and digest content... a workforce is starting to feel like it's shifting to almost a content stream, streaming-based model too.”
This provides a unique and insightful analogy, comparing modern media consumption habits to the evolving expectations of employees for personalized and flexible career development.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Traditional short-term internship programs struggle with low talent engagement, inadequate capability assessment, and poor conversion rates, often resulting in interns focusing on tasks rather than meaningful skill development.
- •Companies frequently overhire for specific projects or short-term initiatives, leading to subsequent job displacement and negative impacts on employee careers.
- •Lean organizations face the challenge of balancing critical business decisions with strategic prioritization to deliver big projects without overextending a smaller workforce.
- •Attracting and retaining early-career talent (Gen Z, millennials) is difficult as they increasingly expect flexibility, autonomy, and the ability to curate their own career paths, mirroring a 'content streaming' consumption model.
- •Leaders in fast-paced, decentralized, and AI-influenced work environments struggle to effectively communicate vision, rally teams, and inspire action through compelling narratives.
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
Natasha: I'm happy to talk to Saba about her career
In the Elevator With Natasha
Tubi has implemented an innovative rotation program to replace traditional internships
Tuvi's 'Immersive Tech Rotation' Program
Tubi runs very lean with just over 700 employees
Tubi's Talent Redemptions
Natasha: I'm extremely bullish on Gen Z talent
The Challenges and Opportunities of Gen Z
Natasha: I think the future of work and talent development is streaming
The Future of Work and Talent Development
Natasha shares some parting advice with the Built by People community
Natasha on the Built by People Podcast
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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