Expanding Your Horizon: A Podcast on Business and Technology · Horizon Managed Services

How Technology Helps Businesses Attract and Retain Talent

·48 min·4 clips

Employees today demand a 'why' in their jobs—without it, they're just working to pay bills and die.

This episode of the Verizon Managed Services podcast features host Mitchell and guest Jason Rivas, CEO of The Talent Department, discussing how technology intersects with human resources to attract and retain employees. Jason Rivas brings over 15 years of HR experience, having previously worked at a managed service training company in California. He founded his firm to provide holistic, day-to-day HR support for businesses that want to elevate their practices beyond basic payroll services. The conversation identifies key trends employees now value, such as work-from-home options, pay transparency, and a clear sense of purpose in their roles. Rivas explains that the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally shifted employee expectations, making them question what they receive beyond a paycheck. He emphasizes that employees seek meaningful perks, not generic company swag like cheap tumblers, and require genuine engagement with their managers from day one. A critical tool he advocates for is a detailed onboarding plan shared between the employee and employer to set clear expectations. Rivas argues that people often leave jobs to escape a toxic person or environment, a phenomenon he calls "rage applying," where dissatisfied employees mass-apply to other positions. He stresses that employees need to understand the "why" behind their work to feel connected and avoid feeling they are just working to pay bills. A surprising insight is Rivas's comparison of the pandemic work shift to everyone "going vegan" for two years, making a forced return to the office akin to suddenly demanding they only eat steak. He advises employers to implement hybrid schedules with a two-to-three-month transition period, not abrupt mandates. Rivas claims the first three months for a new employee are critical, but the newer generations now make a stay-or-go decision within 45 to 60 days. He observes that Generation Z and millennials are "experiential" employees who typically stay in a role for only two to three years, prioritizing immediate take-home pay and dynamic work experiences over traditional benefits like 401(k)s. Rivas reveals he personally operates on a four-day work week and believes the status quo of lifetime employment is completely dead. The tone is conversational and advisory, blending personal anecdotes with practical business recommendations. The style is direct and opinionated, with Rivas frequently using metaphors and emphatic language to drive his points home. HR professionals, business owners, and managers struggling with employee turnover would find actionable strategies in this episode. Listeners interested in generational workplace dynamics, especially regarding Gen Z and millennials, would gain valuable perspective. Those seeking a highly technical, data-driven analysis of HR technology tools might find the discussion too broad and anecdotal.

As heard by us

A plainspoken reset on hiring, retention, and what employers now have to do better.

This episode treats hiring as a culture problem as much as a technology one. Jason Rivas makes the case that companies keep losing good people when they lean on stale interview questions and fail to adjust to how candidates think now.

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Why you'd press play

Hear why hiring gets better when you rethink the questions you ask.

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