RecTalk at RecFest: People Risk, Reputation & The Future of Hiring | Lorna Cobbett, Blue John

Nitin speaks with Lorna Cobbett, Founder of Blue John, about people risk intelligence and how organisations can better understand candidates beyond their stated qualifications. At RecFest, Blue John launched GREY, a platform designed to assess who someone really is rather than simply what they claim to be. The discussion covers the concept of people risk, the importance of reputation due diligence in hiring, and Blue John's five traitmarks that influence employee engagement and retention.

Lorna and Nitin explore why most organisations focus due diligence only on senior leadership whilst neglecting the wider workforce, and how the financial, cultural and reputational costs of poor hiring decisions extend throughout organisations. They discuss the critical role of middle managers as connectors between leadership and teams, and why understanding people risk matters especially in regulated sectors such as financial services, professional services and healthcare.

The conversation concludes by addressing the changing employment landscape, the emerging talent reset, and Lorna's view that the talent system is broken, emphasising the need for organisations to put people at the heart of their decision-making.