Skip to content
RecTalk home

RecFest UK 2026: AI, Inclusive Hiring & The Human Touch with Jen Hulme and Thomas Woodhams

20 minWatch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

About this episode

Nitin and Sean host a special live RecFest UK episode with Jen Hulme and Thomas Woodhams exploring the intersection of AI, inclusive hiring and human expertise in talent acquisition. Thomas explains how organisations can inadvertently create recruitment barriers through job descriptions, interview formats and assumptions about communication styles, despite believing themselves to be inclusive. He emphasises that inclusive hiring must start with the job advert, not just the interview stage.

Jen brings a TA perspective to AI adoption, advocating for organisations to identify the underlying recruitment problem first before implementing technology. The conversation examines how AI should enhance human expertise rather than replace it, and what the human touch means in an increasingly automated recruitment landscape. They discuss neurodiversity, removing unnecessary barriers, the evolution of human roles in AI-enabled workflows, and the importance of diversity of thought within talent acquisition teams.

Key takeaways

  • Inclusive hiring requires examining job adverts, interview formats and communication assumptions to remove unintentional barriers.
  • Start with the business problem you need to solve before adopting AI technology, avoiding implementation for its own sake.
  • AI should enhance human expertise and the human touch in recruitment, not replace it.
  • Treating all candidates the same doesn't create fair hiring; different approaches may be needed.
  • Workplace and role redesign will evolve as AI becomes embedded in recruitment workflows.

Keep watching

Related episodes

All episodes

Be a guest

Think you should be on RecTalk?

If you've built, led or changed something in recruitment, we want to hear the unfiltered version.

Apply to be a guestSubscribe on YouTube (opens in a new tab)