Ep 760: Co-Creating The Future Of TA

Strategic partnerships in talent acquisition can mean the difference between incremental improvement and transformational change. But what does a true strategic partnership actually look like? How do you move beyond the traditional vendor-client relationship to genuine co-creation?








My guests this week are Simon Bishop (  / ukbish  ) , Head of Talent Acquisition at SoftwareOne, and Ritu Mohanka (  / ritumohanka  ) , CEO at VONQ (https://www.vonq.com/eqo/?utm_campaig...) . Their partnership spans employer branding, recruitment marketing, and agentic AI deployment—all while Software One was navigating the complex integration challenge of merging two TA functions post-acquisition.








Their collaboration was central to VONQ's recent launch of EQO (https://www.vonq.com/eqo/?utm_campaig...) , their agentic AI platform. SoftwareOne was a development partner, helping shape the product through real-world testing and feedback. You can watch the full launch on VONQ's LinkedIn page.








In the interview, we discuss:




• How the partnership evolved over time


• Building employer brand in competitive markets


• Multi-channel brand-led recruitment marketing campaigns


• Piloting and implementing agentic AI


• The vital importance of transparency and explainability


• Managing change and recruiter adoption


• Candidate reactions to AI screening


• Navigating TA through a major acquisition


• What the future of talent acquisition will look like






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