Strategy beats panic when work changes this fast. We sit down with Karla Eidem, North American Regional Managing Director at the Project Management Institute, to explore how HR can turn AI disruption into a springboard for skills, execution, and meaningful outcomes. From facts over fear to practical, lightweight tools, we walk through the moves that help teams adapt with less noise and more impact.

Karla breaks down the PMI Talent Triangle—power skills, ways of working, and business acumen—and shows why these capabilities now matter across every HR function. We dig into skills-based hiring, internal mobility, and creating early-career on-ramps when routine tasks are automated. If you’ve ever run a “meeting for everyone with no one accountable,” you’ll get immediate value from simple project tools like a team register, a sharp charter, and a clear cadence that turns ambition into action.

We also tackle the tough questions about AI: where it helps, where it can’t, and how HR should evaluate tools to truly capture value. Karla shares field stories, including leading a COVID-19 vaccine rollout, to illustrate how project management provides structure in ambiguity. Plus, we highlight insights from her SHRM session and extend an invitation to stay connected with PMI’s global community through year-round learning and networking, including the annual PMI Global Summit.

If you’re ready to shift from operations to strategic leadership, this conversation offers a practical playbook. Subscribe, share this episode with your team, and leave a review with the one skill you’re prioritizing next—we’ll feature our favorites in a future show.

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The HRchat show has had 100,000s of downloads and is frequently listed as one of the most popular global podcasts for HR pros, Talent execs and leaders. It is ranked in the top ten in the world based on traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness. The podcast is also ranked as the Best Canadian HR Podcast by FeedSpot and one of the top 10% most popular shows by Listen Score.

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How much of your benefits budget actually helps people live and work better?

In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, host Bill Banham sits down with David Duckworth, Co-Founder and COO at Ben, to explore why so much global benefits spend gets wasted—and how a smarter, more human approach can turn perks into performance.

David draws on his background in payments, financial services, and HR tech to reframe benefits as what they really are: complex, recurring payments that deserve the same precision and transparency as payroll. That mindset, he argues, is key to building cleaner, simpler, and more impactful experiences for employees everywhere.

The conversation covers:

• The shift from work-life balance to work-life integration—and how policy design must evolve
• How Ben encourages real-time off and embeds wellbeing into daily workflows
• Why boldness and resilience define great hires and high-performing teams
• The mechanics of fixing a fragmented benefits ecosystem with AI, automation, and open architecture
• How to measure ROI in practical ways—through adoption, engagement, experience scores, and retention impact

We also preview Disrupt London 25.0, hosted at Ben on November 12, 2025, and discuss why bringing innovators together accelerates progress in employee experience and HR tech.

If you’re rethinking your benefits strategy or building the next generation of workplace experience, this conversation is your playbook.

Support the show

Feature Your Brand on the HRchat Podcast

The HRchat show has had 100,000s of downloads and is frequently listed as one of the most popular global podcasts for HR pros, Talent execs and leaders. It is ranked in the top ten in the world based on traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness. The podcast is also ranked as the Best Canadian HR Podcast by FeedSpot and one of the top 10% most popular shows by Listen Score.

Want to share the story of how your business is helping to shape the world of work? We offer sponsored episodes, audio adverts, email campaigns, and a host of other options. Check out packages here.

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Policy headwinds are rising, but the work still needs doing. In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, host Bill Banham sits down with Pavel Shynkarenko, founder of Mellow, to unpack the ripple effects of proposed H-1B and L-1 visa reforms—and a possible 25% outsourcing levy—on the global freelance and contractor economy.

Pavel has spent more than 20 years in financial and HR technology, building platforms that help freelancers access fair pay, benefits, and social protections on par with employees. He brings a pragmatic, data-informed view of how these policy changes could reshape the cost calculus for U.S. employers, HR leaders, and cross-border teams in 2025 and beyond.

Together, Bill and Pavel explore how tightening U.S. visa policies could unintentionally accelerate the shift toward remote-first and distributed workforces. When companies face rising administrative costs or talent shortages at home, they often turn to Employer of Record (EOR) and Contractor of Record (COR) models to stay compliant while continuing to access top talent worldwide. Pavel walks through the hidden math behind total landed cost—how everything from currency fluctuations to social contributions can alter hiring decisions—and why the real bottleneck isn’t policy, but supply: there simply aren’t enough local workers to replace the global freelance engine that powers innovation.

The conversation then turns to platform evolution. Legacy marketplaces once promised cheaper rates through mass competition, but that model no longer serves enterprise needs. Today, trust, verified track records, and long-term fit matter far more. Pavel explains how Mellow is redefining the space by using AI and behavioral data to connect companies with freelancers they’re statistically more likely to succeed with—based on shared networks, past project outcomes, and verified credentials. This AI-first approach also simplifies complex backend tasks such as KYC, tax, and payments across 100+ countries, giving HR teams one compliance-ready platform to manage their distributed workforce.

Bill and Pavel also compare U.S. protectionist trends with Europe’s fragmented response. Some countries, especially those with aging populations and shrinking workforces, may loosen immigration for high-skill talent, while others tighten entry. The result? A global balancing act where companies must blend onshore, nearshore, and offshore strategies

Support the show

Feature Your Brand on the HRchat Podcast

The HRchat show has had 100,000s of downloads and is frequently listed as one of the most popular global podcasts for HR pros, Talent execs and leaders. It is ranked in the top ten in the world based on traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness. The podcast is also ranked as the Best Canadian HR Podcast by FeedSpot and one of the top 10% most popular shows by Listen Score.

Want to share the story of how your business is helping to shape the world of work? We offer sponsored episodes, audio adverts, email campaigns, and a host of other options. Check out packages here.

• Follow us on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to our newsletter
• Check out our in-person events