Freedom of Work

Built for HR leaders, People Ops professionals, and Founders navigating the future of work, Freedom of Work is the human resources podcast for teams serious about building global. Episodes cover everything from global hiring and talent acquisition to remote work strategy, AI in HR, and international employment. Whether you're scaling across borders or rethinking how your team works, Freedom of Work has the expert conversations you need. This podcast is hosted by RemoFirst.com, an Employer of Record solution that manages every aspect of a company's global employment needs.

Freedom of Work is a business podcast hosted by RemoFirst, with 33 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

RemoFirst hosts Freedom of Work, a business show with 33 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #33

  4x the Applicants, 0x the Quality: The AI Recruitment Dilemma (Heather Erickson @ Obra)

  Aug 12, 202639 min

  Host Leah Cottham sits down with Heather Erickson, COO at Obra, to unpack why hiring feels broken and what teams can do about it. Heather brings a career spent at the intersection of HR, technology, and operations, and she explains how AI has flooded hiring inboxes with applications that all look the same. The conversation digs into a clear shift happening now. Applications have quadrupled since AI took off, yet quality has not kept pace, leaving hiring managers to waste time verifying whether candidates are even real people. Heather makes the case for going outbound, searching directly for candidates by skills rather than keywords, and building real relationships with job seekers. She also shares practical advice on hiring globally, why skills come first and location second, and how partnering with an employer of record removes the payroll and paperwork barriers to international growth. Key topics covered: [00:00] Intro [00:43] Meet Heather COO at Obra [03:11] How Ai bots flood hiring inboxes [06:03] Why job seekers feel ghosted [07:20] Detecting fake Ai candidates on camera [09:33] Using Ai the smart way [10:02] Building global teams that win [11:53] Why Ai engineers demand going global [13:50] Applications quadrupled since Ai [15:47] Hiring is just like dating [18:47] Why networks beat crowded inboxes [20:33] 83% now chase passive candidates [21:38] Matching skills not keywords [25:15] Skills first then location and culture [30:00] Make the first move yourself [32:07] What success looks like 12 months later [36:02] Putting the job seeker first If you are tired of drowning in AI applications or wondering how to find top talent across the globe, this episode gives you a clear path forward. Press play and rethink how you hire.

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  Episode #32

  Data First, AI Second: The Real Priority for TA Leaders (Gareth Pratten @ Nuvei)

  Jul 30, 202644 min

  Host Leah Cottham sits down with Gareth Pratten, Global Talent Acquisition Leader at Nuvei, to unpack how AI is reshaping recruitment and where it actually delivers value. Gareth brings over 10 years of experience from high growth payment companies like Checkout.com and Stripe, and he shares a grounded view on where the hype ends and reality begins. The conversation covers why AI is most useful at the top of the funnel, how to pitch new tools to a CFO by connecting time savings to revenue, and the difference between hiring the best candidate and the right one. Gareth also explains what breaks when you scale hiring across regions, why clean data is the foundation for any AI strategy, and how leaders can take practical first steps without feeling overwhelmed. Key topics covered: [00:00] Intro [00:42] Gareth's payments recruiting journey [02:08] When traditional recruiting broke down [03:50] AI systems fighting AI systems [06:19] Where AI delivers real value [06:50] Will AI replace recruiters [07:46] The emotional side of hiring [10:44] Pitching AI tools to the C suite [13:24] Scaling talent teams across regions [15:57] Adapting recruitment strategy per market [19:20] Keeping hiring quality high at speed [22:00] Referrals unlock hidden talent trees [24:33] Best candidate versus right candidate [26:46] Start with the problem not the tech [32:07] Reporting AI results to leadership [35:39] Fix your data structures first [39:05] First AI step for beginners [41:21] Automating repetitive daily tasks If you lead a talent team and want a clear, honest take on AI in hiring, this episode is worth your time.

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  Episode #30

  No One-Size-Fits-All: Building Culture Across Seattle, Bangkok & Beyond (Tannum Sullivan @ RentSpree)

  May 14, 202654 min

  Host Leah Cottham sits down with Tannum Sullivan, People Experience and Culture Senior Manager at RentSpree, to explore building authentic employee engagement across distributed teams. Tannum shares her journey from the radio industry to managing employer brands for 4 different companies under Golden Hippo's umbrella, eventually creating dedicated people experience functions from scratch. The conversation dives into practical strategies for scaling culture programs across RentSpree's Seattle and Bangkok headquarters. Tannum reveals how employee podcasts became her most successful engagement tool, creating content that works for introverted team members while building pride and connection across time zones. She discusses the challenges of measuring people experience success without traditional ROI metrics and balancing hands-on execution with strategic thinking as a team of one. Key topics covered: [00:00] Intro [02:21] From Radio to People Experience Journey [06:32] Strive for Progress Not Perfection [08:51] Creating Your Own Job Description [13:25] Employer Branding as a Two-Way Promise [15:00] Employee Podcasts Drive Engagement Success [20:35] Balancing Hands-On Work with Strategic Vision [29:20] Bridging Global Teams Through Storytelling [34:38] Measuring Success in People Experience [39:09] Maintaining Authenticity While Scaling Programs [43:42] One Size Fits All Doesn't Work [47:39] The Evolution of People Experience Functions [50:23] Be Authentic and Advocate for Yourself Discover how to maintain authenticity while scaling people programs and why asking the right questions beats assuming what employees want.

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  Episode #29

  How Nadia Vatalidis Scales Remote Teams from 70 to 1000 People

  Apr 24, 202659 min

  Host Leah Cottham sits down with Nadia Vatalidis, Head of People at Doist, to explore the critical strategies for scaling remote organizations from 70 to 1000 people across 40 countries. Nadia brings extensive experience from GitLab and Remote, sharing practical insights on organizational design, performance systems, and the evolving nature of work in the AI era. The conversation covers essential frameworks for building flexible organizational structures that adapt during hyper growth phases. Nadia explains how companies can maintain transparency and accountability without becoming overly rigid, emphasizing the importance of continuous iteration in processes like onboarding, documentation, and communication systems. She shares specific examples from Doist's open source career framework and their innovative approach to performance evaluation that ensures equity across all roles and locations. Key topics covered: [00:00] Intro [03:40] Strategic scaling from 70 to 1000 people [07:50] What breaks structurally before culturally [10:20] Iterating onboarding every two weeks [14:30] Building for the people you work with [18:10] Defining high performance in distributed companies [20:40] Adaptability versus technical skills development [25:00] Bringing authentic self to work boundaries [28:15] Leadership accountability in tool implementation [33:50] Creating clarity without rigid job descriptions [39:15] Regular feedback culture over performance cycles [42:35] Highly leveraged specialists in the AI era [46:00] Embracing paradox with AI adoption [51:35] Performance evaluation evolution with AI integration [55:35] Never starting with perfect when scaling globally This episode provides actionable guidance for people leaders navigating the complexities of distributed team management and preparing for the future of work where AI and automation reshape traditional job descriptions and performance expectations.

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  Episode #28

  Building Trust and Transparency in AI Recruitment with Katrina Kibben

  Apr 14, 202647 min

  Host Leah Cottham sits down with Katrina Kibben, CEO and Founder of Three Ears Media, to explore how recruiters can maintain their humanity while leveraging AI tools effectively. Katrina brings deep expertise from her work helping recruiting teams optimize their processes and her extensive research into AI's impact on the industry. The conversation tackles the biggest misconceptions companies have about AI in hiring, particularly the false belief that AI should replace human workers rather than enhance their capabilities. Katrina shares practical strategies for building experimentation cultures, creating transparent hiring processes, and fixing the fundamental problems with job descriptions that lead to poor candidate matches. She emphasizes the critical role of setting clear expectations, measuring success against defined benchmarks, and ensuring human oversight remains central to any AI implementation. The discussion covers everything from onboarding automation to ethical decision making frameworks, with actionable insights for both recruiters and job seekers navigating this evolving landscape. Key topics covered: [00:00] Intro [02:23] AI replacement misconceptions in hiring [05:17] Creating experimentation culture over fear [08:05] Recognition drives AI adoption success [11:00] Making AI feel like enabler not threat [14:13] Critical thinking beats machine outputs [16:22] Avoiding bias through human detection training [22:08] Why resumes might finally die [24:53] Human first onboarding with AI automation [27:25] Job description copy paste problems [29:55] 70 percent rule for candidate applications [33:04] 37 percent quit within 90 days [36:03] Rebuilding trust through transparency expectations [39:21] Measuring AI with clear benchmarks [43:30] Ethical AI decision making framework [45:45] Lean into community over technology Tune in for expert guidance on balancing technology with the human elements that make great hiring possible.

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