October 9, 2025 • 27 mins
Walter Sabrin takes us behind the scenes of one of the most remarkable growth stories in the HR industry. As Chief Talent Officer at Vensure Employer Solutions, he's orchestrated talent strategy through 94 acquisitions in just six years, transforming a company with modest beginnings into the world's largest private HR outsourcing firm.
The phrase "violent execution" might sound alarming, but as Walter explains, this term perfectly encapsulates the focused, competitive culture driving Vensure's explosive growth. This cultural alignment remains Walter's north star as he navigates talent acquisition across a global portfolio of brands, balancing aggressive scaling with consistent values.
Walter's journey from competitive tennis to talent leadership has profoundly shaped his approach to recruitment. The discipline, compartmentalization, and resilience developed on the court translate directly to talent acquisition challenges. "You're never as good as you are when you win a point and you're never as bad as you are when you lose a point," Walter shares, highlighting how this athletic mindset prevents the emotional rollercoaster many recruiters experience when deals succeed or fail.
Perhaps most fascinating is Vensure's near-shore hiring revolution. What began as 11 employees working from a house in Medellin, Colombia has exploded to 40,000 staff across 32 countries. This approach delivers approximately 65% savings on wages while dramatically expanding access to global talent. Walter candidly admits his transformation from American-centric thinking to recognizing the extraordinary capabilities of international talent when properly engaged and respected.
While embracing technological advances in recruitment, Walter makes a compelling case for the irreplaceable human element in hiring decisions. Despite the hype around AI and automation, he firmly believes that human intuition – the "gut feeling" that can't be replicated by algorithms – will remain essential to quality hiring.
Connect with Walter on LinkedIn or email him at waltersabrin@vensure.com to learn more about Vensure's approach to global talent acquisition and how their strategies might benefit your organization's growth journey.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's
most downloaded and sharedpodcasts designed for HR pros,
talent execs, tech enthusiastsand business leaders.
For hundreds more episodes andwhat's new in the world of work,
subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
hrgazettecom and visithrgazettecom.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show.
Hello listeners, this is yourhost today, bill Bannam, and in
this episode we're diving intothe evolving world of global
recruitment and strategic hiringwith a guest who knows how to
scale at speed.
Walter Sabrin is the ChiefTalent Officer over at Venture
(00:47):
Employer Solutions, where heleads internal and external
recruitment efforts across adiverse portfolio of brands.
With a deep understanding ofnearshore hiring models and a
data-driven approach toworkforce strategy, walter helps
organisations tackle today'stoughest hiring challenges while
(01:07):
preparing for tomorrow's talentdemands.
Walter also brings a uniqueperspective to the world of HR,
having transitioned from acareer in athletics into one
focused on leadership, cultureand growth.
Tune in as we explore Walter'sapproach to recruiting top tier
talent, managing hyper-growthand building future-ready teams.
(01:28):
Whether you're hiring locallyor globally, leading a startup
or scaling an enterprise, thisepisode offers powerful insights
to help you attract, engage andretain the right people.
Walter, it's my absolutepleasure to welcome you to the
HR Chat Show today.
How are you doing?
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Bill doing great.
Thank you so much.
I'm really excited to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Well, as we always like to do on this show, let's
start with a bit of backgroundon the guest, on yourself.
Can you tell us a bit aboutyour role as Chief Talent
Officer over at Venture EmployerSolutions and, of course, what
your team focuses on across theorganization?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah, absolutely, I'd be happy to Bill.
Like you just mentioned mytitle.
I basically head up talentacquisition across the global.
Mothership and venture reallyis like a mothership, because
you ready for this, bill.
Our company has made 94acquisitions over the last six
(02:35):
and a half years, so I head upTA for all of our what we call
division partners all 94 of them, for all of our what we call
division partners all 94 of theminternal hiring, because we're
in hyper growth and we've beenfor the last several years.
We've acquired internationalstaffing firms, so we now hire
(02:58):
globally as well.
So it's a big undertaking.
We have a phenomenal team, butwhen it comes to recruiting,
retention, talent acquisition,that's where my responsibility
lies.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Okay.
So in conclusion, a pretty busyguy by the sounds of it, first
off, the cuff question for you.
I didn't warn you before we hitrecord today that I like to
keep the conversation with thethrow questions here and there.
One thing that I just heardfrom you is that not only are
you responsible for externalfacing uh, hiring and talent
sourcing, but actually you're,you're instrumental in bringing
(03:39):
internal talent into yourorganization as well, because
you, because you're acquiringall these other businesses.
What are some challenges ofinternal hires versus a more
traditional TA recruitment role?
What are some differences there?
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Well, I think, because we act somewhat like a
private equity firm and we haveall these portfolio companies,
well, we still have to maintaina common culture, and that,
really, what I would say is it'snot necessarily a challenge,
but we have to keep our eyes onthe prize.
When it comes to that, ourculture is everything to us.
(04:25):
So we're acquiring companiesthat may be in our industry, may
not be in our industry.
We've acquired payrollcompanies, technology, hr
outsourcing firms, but whichevercompanies, whichever of the
companies we acquire and then wego to hiring, we want to keep
(04:48):
the alignment in our culture.
And I'm going to tell you whatour cultural motto is, bill, and
it's a unique one and I happento love it.
Our motto is violent execution.
Now, that speaks to me.
I love our motto, I love ourculture.
(05:10):
It's exciting, it's competitive, but it also it gets the job
done.
But violent execution, to behonest with you, it's not for
everyone.
It happens to be a softwareterm that I think we adopted.
We didn't create the expression, but we've adapted it to our
(05:33):
company and our culture.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat
Podcast.
If you enjoy the audio contentwe produce, you'll love our
articles on the HR Gazette.
Learn more at HRGazettecom.
And now back to the show.
Okay, so it's a software term.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It's not heads rolling off platforms somewhere,
not that kind of environment.
Very good, so you've had afascinating journey from
athletics to talent strategy.
Walter, how has your experienceas an athlete influenced your
approach to hiring andleadership?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yeah, I'm very grateful for several reasons on.
You know, just as a teenagerthrough high school, through
university college, teenagerthrough high school, through
university college and evenafter that, being a competitive
tennis player, I had aspirationsof being the next John McEnroe
(06:33):
with hair, you know, and I feelit served me tremendously well
to take into my business andthen my talent acquisition
career.
It's taught me discipline, it'staught me to compartmentalize
(06:55):
my life.
In other words, I could havesome bad things happening, some
extra good things happening, butwhen you step on that tennis
court, you got to leave it.
You got to leave it in theclubhouse.
When you step on that court,it's all business all the time
and it's pretty much the samething you know when it comes to
(07:15):
work, when it comes to, you know, showing up at the office, no
matter what's happening outsidethe office, I got to leave it at
, you know, outside the office.
And the other thing that I amvery grateful to have to have
received what I feel from youknow my tennis playing career is
(07:36):
a short-term memory.
You know you're never as goodas you are when you win a point
and you're never as bad as youare when you lose a point.
So in my recruiting career,early on I would see recruiters
next to me slam the desk and andneed to take the rest of the
day off because someone accepteda counteroffer.
(07:59):
Or or they go out celebratingon a fourday binge because they
made a great hire and justbecause in tennis it's a long
journey, one point doesn't makea match.
So whether you win a point orwhether you lose a point,
(08:22):
whether you make the hire orlose the hire, you got to get on
to the next point.
You got to get on to the nextcandidate.
I feel that's been extremelyvaluable for me, for me and then
also, as I've grown in mycareer, to share with my teams.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
And I'm guessing that you're also a proponent of
healthy body, healthy mind as amantra.
Is that fair to say given yourbackground?
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Yeah, 100 percent, you know, not just like, you
know, healthy.
But you know, this is somethingthat I feel is missed in the HR
recruiting space.
How about some practice?
How about you know, even thoughyou've been doing it for a
while, you know you watch RafaelNadal before he retired.
(09:14):
I mean that guy, best player inthe world, and he's out there
practicing.
He's out there practicingforehands and backhands and and
recruiters and HR executives,you know?
How about practicing improvinglearning?
I mean, there's plenty ofexcellent podcasts.
No, you know, just throwing alittle plug for you, bill, but
(09:38):
there's excellent resources outthere that we should all be
absorbing, learning and growingour games, even if we're good,
very good or excellent, andespecially when we're just
starting out.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yeah, I completely agree with that.
I mean, I think thatcomplacency can be a killer.
I've had conversations on thisshow and in other places in the
past with HR leaders who,frankly, have got to a certain
level in their career andthey've become a little bit
comfortable and they don't pushthemselves out of their out of
their comfort zone anymore andwith that, leads to situations
(10:15):
where perhaps they're not asopen to innovation, as open to
new ideas.
And if that happens, then goodluck, because your competitors
are going to.
She was ahead of you.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Yeah, especially in our ever-changing world.
I mean one thing about HR youcan love it, you can hate it,
you can, you know, comment on it, but it's ever evolving, you
know now, especially withtechnology, and yeah, I just
find that, yeah, complacency canbe a killer for your
(10:50):
organization, especially if it'shappening in the HR suite.
Speaker 5 (10:58):
Once in a while, an event series is born that shakes
things up, it makes you thinkdifferently and it leaves you
inspired.
That event is Disrupt HR.
The format is 14 speakers, 5minutes each and slides rotate
every 15 seconds.
If you're an HR professional, aCEO, a technologist or a
community leader and you've gotsomething to say about talent,
(11:20):
culture or technology, disruptis the place.
It's coming soon to a city nearyou.
Learn more at disrupthrco acity near you.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Learn more at disrupthrco.
Okay, so now let's talk aboutnear-shore hiring and global
workforce strategies.
Walter Venture has a strongfocus on near-shore hiring
solutions.
What does that mean inpractical terms and how does it
help organizations expand theirtalent pools?
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Yeah, so I got a great story for you, bill, if
that's OK.
About six and a half years ago,venture Employer Solutions we
were a, I would say, a small tomid-sized growing company and we
discovered an internationalstaffing firm called Salvo
(12:13):
Global in Medellin, colombia,and I was sent there to go check
it out to see if this issomething that venture could
utilize.
And literally, I get toMedellin, colombia.
There's about 11 people therein a house, not even in an
office building.
They're working out of a houseand what they do is they work.
(12:39):
They live in Colombia and theywork for a US company.
Well, we thought that was agreat model, especially because
of the exchange rate, the costof living, literally saving
about 65% on wages.
So Venture started to utilizethis model more and more and
(13:01):
more.
Again, we started with about 11or 12 people six and a half
years ago, bill.
Today.
Today, salvo Global has 40,000employees.
It's been a whirlwind of a rideyou know talk about I don't even
know how to define it.
(13:21):
I believe there will be whitepapers written about this.
But what it has done, it's donea couple of things, for I'm just
going to talk from a venturestandpoint, not even from our
clients, but from a venturestandpoint, it has given us the
ability to hire great talent,fantastic talent.
(13:44):
You know, bill, I used to be oneof those Americans who thought
only in America can it be donethis well, can it be done the
right way?
I'll admit it, and I have beenconverted because I have seen
firsthand because now SalvoGlobal's in 32 countries around
(14:06):
the world and I've seen it timeand time again where people
around the world can do it justas good, if not better, than our
workforce and at the same timewe're paying a lot less in wages
.
We pay much more, we don't payminimum wage, we pay very well
(14:28):
in those countries.
But for a US company to be ableto get excellent talent, where
now you're increasing yourcandidate pool, like you
mentioned, bill, I'm not goingto say there's anything wrong
with the US talent pool.
However, there are some pocketsof self-entitlement, there's
(14:52):
some pockets of laziness,there's some pockets of, as you
can imagine, in any industry,any type of role.
So why not expand your talentpool so you could look at the
best of the best, not justlimited to the United States?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Well, as a British Canadian, I would fully support
that.
But OK, so what you just toldme there is you guys have grown
exponentially up to tens ofthousands of employees, it
sounds like, and your employeesare not just based in one locale
, they're in lots of placesaround the world.
With that, though, just meplaying devil's advocate with
(15:35):
that does come some challenges.
Scaling at speeds does mean,for example, it can be difficult
for new hires, new employees,to connect with the original why
of of an organization, that theoriginal dream of of the
co-founders, of the originalleaders.
(15:56):
And then, if you add anotherlayer of complexity when it
comes to that connection, whichis different cultural norms and
values, if, if you've gotemployees in different countries
, I guess that could potentiallyadd a layer of complexity as
well.
So my question there is aquestion here is two-parter A,
(16:17):
would you agree?
And B, what can you do aboutkeeping your folks aligned with
the original vision of theorganization?
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Yeah, bill, you know I'd love to tell you it's been
easy peasy and no issues here,but certainly not the case.
A lot of growing pains, a lotof cultural challenges as well
as just logistical.
You know hard skill type, youknow of challenges.
(16:48):
Technology, I mean all acrossthe board, starting in, you know
the house, la Casita inMedellin, and then growing into
an office and then growing intoseven offices in Medellin and
then going into Bogota and thenoutside of into Latin America
(17:10):
and then into places like Kenyaand you know places like Egypt.
And we are in Canada, we're inEurope.
So talk about all of not just awork culture.
I mean, we're talking just alifestyle culture and I've been
lucky enough to visit many, manyof our offices and, yeah, I
(17:37):
have to speak to peopledifferently in the Dominican
Republic than I may have tospeak to them in Peru, and I
have found that our company isexcellent at listening first and
talking second listening to thepeople, listening to candidate,
listening to the individuals.
(17:58):
You know that come in and thenthen kind of speaking and
talking about what we do and howwe do it.
But you know, when you're inKenya, look, work is work, I get
it, but there are definitecultural differences everywhere
we go.
I feel that our flexibility hasbeen tremendous.
(18:22):
You know to bridge thosecultural and work.
You know type of differences.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Something you said there reminded me of an
interview I did last year with alovely guy in the UK called Al
Kingsley, where he said to me,Bill, we were given two ears and
one mouth for a reason.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
And I think you just summed that up there, I love
that one and I use it all thetime.
So yeah, I love that one and Iuse it all the time.
So yeah, I love it.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Walter, what role does technology and automation
play in managing high volumehiring while still ensuring that
candidate quality is high andthere's a natural culture fit?
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Yeah, I'm glad you brought this up and I figured
you would, because who's nottalking about AI and co-pilot
and chat GP?
Who's not talking about?
I mean, it's the buzzword ofthe last within 10 years?
So in easily our lifetime,we're going to literally have
robots powered by AI in ourhouse.
Those are the prevailingpredictions.
Look, we need advancedtechnology, we need machines, we
need the automation part of thejob to help us.
You know for sure.
So I want to be clear aboutthat.
(19:52):
We use some AI tools, we usesome automation tools, you know
for sure.
But I'm going to go on therecord here, bill, and I am
ready if you want to bringsomeone else on for a future
podcast, and for a futurepodcast I will debate anyone
(20:14):
that the human element is goingto be necessary forever in human
being selection.
Recruiting will always need thehuman element.
There's just something aboutwhether we call it the it factor
, whether we call it the gutfeeling.
It the it factor, whether wecall it the gut feeling, but I
truly feel that we're alwaysgoing to.
(20:34):
No matter how much AI andautomation we bring into the
process, we're still alwaysgoing to need, you know, us
human beings involved.
You know just a real quick.
I remember I don't remember theyear necessarily, bill, but
when monstercom came around, Iremember said that's it.
(20:55):
Recruiting is over.
Get into a different field,because they're not going to,
they're going to go on a Website, they're going to pick out
a resume and they're going tomake the hire.
Who needs a recruiter?
Who needs anyone to lookanything over?
You know.
And here we are, 20, 25 yearslater.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Well, I'm going to challenge you on that one,
because I like to do thatsometimes on this show.
Okay, I agree with you thatthere are lots of roles where
folks will need to have thatin-person contact with a
recruiter because they're highlyskilled roles, for example.
But would you agree that lowerskilled jobs, perhaps a lot of
(21:39):
the recruitment process for highchurn hospitality for example,
maybe that can be pretty muchautomated?
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Once again, I feel even right, hospitality,
customer service, maybe someblue collar type roles yeah, I
definitely agree that the AI,intelligence, the machines, will
make the automation easier,better, faster, more efficient.
(22:08):
I think that will create awhole other industry also for
humans to be a part of.
But I still feel, at the end ofthe selection, at the end of
the quality control at the youknow getting into the details of
(22:29):
the quality control, as far asyou know the metrics on
retention and you know morehiring, I feel that there still
will need to be humans at thecontrols.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Okay, very good, my job here is to play devil's
advocate.
I always like to hear fromsomeone when they say no, we
will remain relevant, Bill, fearnot.
We are already coming towardsthe end of this particular
conversation.
Just before we wrap up, I'dlove to get some advice and
final reflections from you.
What excites you most about thefuture of work and talent
(23:03):
acquisition as we look ahead tothe next two to three years?
Speaker 3 (23:19):
technology, you know, keep them coming.
I mean guys, you know, inSilicon Valley and wherever the
nerdy tech guys sit, and guysand gals, you know, keep
building, keep creating, becausewe need you, we need more help.
So I certainly welcome.
I can't even imagine some ofthe technology that's ahead of
us.
So I'm certainly very, verylooking forward to that.
(23:41):
You know, I'm also.
We're still coming out of theCOVID years.
We're coming out of the greatresignation and quiet, quitting
and all those corny terms thathas shifted the workers, the
employers, the employees, andI'm really excited because I see
(24:05):
a lot more listening from theemployers, a lot more open and
transparent communication to theemployees, which I think was
well needed to the employees,which I think was well needed,
and I think pre-COVID there wasnot as much transparency going
on.
I feel the employees have risenor have grown in the level of
(24:31):
respect that they are receivingfrom employers and I'm very
interested and curious to seethat that continues, where it
goes and how it affects you knowI'm hoping in a very positive
way but how it affects theemployer, employee relationships
.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Excellent and just finally for today, walter, how
can folks connect with you?
Is that LinkedIn?
Do you want to share your emailaddress?
Are you all over the othersocials?
And, of course, how can folkslearn more about Venture and all
the work that you guys?
Speaker 3 (25:04):
do, and thank you for that opportunity, bill and, by
the way, it's really really beena pleasure Great host, great
conversationalist, and I hope todo this again at some point.
So please call me if you everneed anything but Venturecom,
(25:24):
and that's V like VictorE-N-S-U-R-E, so it's Venturecom,
you can check us out.
We are now the largest privateHR outsourcing company in the
world.
Private HR outsourcing companyin the world, second largest
overall.
We're very proud of that.
Bill, you ready for this?
I feel and I'm going tochallenge your audience I feel
(25:50):
that I may be the only WalterSabrin in the world.
So I'm easy to find on LinkedIn, I'm easy to find on all the
socials, walter, I mean, whonames their kid Walter anymore?
So there's very few of us left.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
And.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
Sabrin, thank you, but it is old school and, sabrin
, my last name was made up frommy parents who came over from
Europe, and they created thename.
So I firmly believe I'm theonly Walter Sabrin.
(26:31):
My email iswaltersabrinadventurecom.
You could find me on LinkedInand Facebook and Insta and I
don't know where else, but Iwelcome any kind of contact,
whether it's just to geek out,talking, recruiting or hiring or
HR.
You just want to say hello.
You want to learn more aboutSalvo Global and venture?
Yeah, please reach out to meand I'd be happy to have a
(26:55):
conversation.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Excellent.
Well, I have very much enjoyedthis.
I will be reaching back out toyou soon, walter, to get you on
more shows that I'm involvedwith, because I've enjoyed my
time with you today.
Thank you very much, thank youBill.
Thank you and listeners asalways, until next time, happy
working.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Thanks for listening to the HR Chat Show.
If you enjoyed this episode,why not subscribe and listen to
some of the hundreds of episodespublished by HR Gazette and
remember for what's new in theworld of work?
Subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
hrgazettecom.
Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's
most downloaded and sharedpodcasts designed for HR pros,
talent execs, tech enthusiastsand business leaders.
For hundreds more episodes andwhat's new in the world of work,
subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
hrgazettecom and visithrgazettecom.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show.
Hello listeners, this is yourhost today, bill Bannam, and in
this episode we're diving intothe evolving world of global
recruitment and strategic hiringwith a guest who knows how to
scale at speed.
Walter Sabrin is the ChiefTalent Officer over at Venture
(00:47):
Employer Solutions, where heleads internal and external
recruitment efforts across adiverse portfolio of brands.
With a deep understanding ofnearshore hiring models and a
data-driven approach toworkforce strategy, walter helps
organisations tackle today'stoughest hiring challenges while
(01:07):
preparing for tomorrow's talentdemands.
Walter also brings a uniqueperspective to the world of HR,
having transitioned from acareer in athletics into one
focused on leadership, cultureand growth.
Tune in as we explore Walter'sapproach to recruiting top tier
talent, managing hyper-growthand building future-ready teams.
(01:28):
Whether you're hiring locallyor globally, leading a startup
or scaling an enterprise, thisepisode offers powerful insights
to help you attract, engage andretain the right people.
Walter, it's my absolutepleasure to welcome you to the
HR Chat Show today.
How are you doing?
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Bill doing great.
Thank you so much.
I'm really excited to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Well, as we always like to do on this show, let's
start with a bit of backgroundon the guest, on yourself.
Can you tell us a bit aboutyour role as Chief Talent
Officer over at Venture EmployerSolutions and, of course, what
your team focuses on across theorganization?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah, absolutely, I'd be happy to Bill.
Like you just mentioned mytitle.
I basically head up talentacquisition across the global.
Mothership and venture reallyis like a mothership, because
you ready for this, bill.
Our company has made 94acquisitions over the last six
(02:35):
and a half years, so I head upTA for all of our what we call
division partners all 94 of them, for all of our what we call
division partners all 94 of theminternal hiring, because we're
in hyper growth and we've beenfor the last several years.
We've acquired internationalstaffing firms, so we now hire
(02:58):
globally as well.
So it's a big undertaking.
We have a phenomenal team, butwhen it comes to recruiting,
retention, talent acquisition,that's where my responsibility
lies.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
Okay.
So in conclusion, a pretty busyguy by the sounds of it, first
off, the cuff question for you.
I didn't warn you before we hitrecord today that I like to
keep the conversation with thethrow questions here and there.
One thing that I just heardfrom you is that not only are
you responsible for externalfacing uh, hiring and talent
sourcing, but actually you're,you're instrumental in bringing
(03:39):
internal talent into yourorganization as well, because
you, because you're acquiringall these other businesses.
What are some challenges ofinternal hires versus a more
traditional TA recruitment role?
What are some differences there?
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Well, I think, because we act somewhat like a
private equity firm and we haveall these portfolio companies,
well, we still have to maintaina common culture, and that,
really, what I would say is it'snot necessarily a challenge,
but we have to keep our eyes onthe prize.
When it comes to that, ourculture is everything to us.
(04:25):
So we're acquiring companiesthat may be in our industry, may
not be in our industry.
We've acquired payrollcompanies, technology, hr
outsourcing firms, but whichevercompanies, whichever of the
companies we acquire and then wego to hiring, we want to keep
(04:48):
the alignment in our culture.
And I'm going to tell you whatour cultural motto is, bill, and
it's a unique one and I happento love it.
Our motto is violent execution.
Now, that speaks to me.
I love our motto, I love ourculture.
(05:10):
It's exciting, it's competitive, but it also it gets the job
done.
But violent execution, to behonest with you, it's not for
everyone.
It happens to be a softwareterm that I think we adopted.
We didn't create the expression, but we've adapted it to our
(05:33):
company and our culture.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat
Podcast.
If you enjoy the audio contentwe produce, you'll love our
articles on the HR Gazette.
Learn more at HRGazettecom.
And now back to the show.
Okay, so it's a software term.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
It's not heads rolling off platforms somewhere,
not that kind of environment.
Very good, so you've had afascinating journey from
athletics to talent strategy.
Walter, how has your experienceas an athlete influenced your
approach to hiring andleadership?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yeah, I'm very grateful for several reasons on.
You know, just as a teenagerthrough high school, through
university college, teenagerthrough high school, through
university college and evenafter that, being a competitive
tennis player, I had aspirationsof being the next John McEnroe
(06:33):
with hair, you know, and I feelit served me tremendously well
to take into my business andthen my talent acquisition
career.
It's taught me discipline, it'staught me to compartmentalize
(06:55):
my life.
In other words, I could havesome bad things happening, some
extra good things happening, butwhen you step on that tennis
court, you got to leave it.
You got to leave it in theclubhouse.
When you step on that court,it's all business all the time
and it's pretty much the samething you know when it comes to
(07:15):
work, when it comes to, you know, showing up at the office, no
matter what's happening outsidethe office, I got to leave it at
, you know, outside the office.
And the other thing that I amvery grateful to have to have
received what I feel from youknow my tennis playing career is
(07:36):
a short-term memory.
You know you're never as goodas you are when you win a point
and you're never as bad as youare when you lose a point.
So in my recruiting career,early on I would see recruiters
next to me slam the desk and andneed to take the rest of the
day off because someone accepteda counteroffer.
(07:59):
Or or they go out celebratingon a fourday binge because they
made a great hire and justbecause in tennis it's a long
journey, one point doesn't makea match.
So whether you win a point orwhether you lose a point,
(08:22):
whether you make the hire orlose the hire, you got to get on
to the next point.
You got to get on to the nextcandidate.
I feel that's been extremelyvaluable for me, for me and then
also, as I've grown in mycareer, to share with my teams.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
And I'm guessing that you're also a proponent of
healthy body, healthy mind as amantra.
Is that fair to say given yourbackground?
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Yeah, 100 percent, you know, not just like, you
know, healthy.
But you know, this is somethingthat I feel is missed in the HR
recruiting space.
How about some practice?
How about you know, even thoughyou've been doing it for a
while, you know you watch RafaelNadal before he retired.
(09:14):
I mean that guy, best player inthe world, and he's out there
practicing.
He's out there practicingforehands and backhands and and
recruiters and HR executives,you know?
How about practicing improvinglearning?
I mean, there's plenty ofexcellent podcasts.
No, you know, just throwing alittle plug for you, bill, but
(09:38):
there's excellent resources outthere that we should all be
absorbing, learning and growingour games, even if we're good,
very good or excellent, andespecially when we're just
starting out.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yeah, I completely agree with that.
I mean, I think thatcomplacency can be a killer.
I've had conversations on thisshow and in other places in the
past with HR leaders who,frankly, have got to a certain
level in their career andthey've become a little bit
comfortable and they don't pushthemselves out of their out of
their comfort zone anymore andwith that, leads to situations
(10:15):
where perhaps they're not asopen to innovation, as open to
new ideas.
And if that happens, then goodluck, because your competitors
are going to.
She was ahead of you.
Speaker 3 (10:26):
Yeah, especially in our ever-changing world.
I mean one thing about HR youcan love it, you can hate it,
you can, you know, comment on it, but it's ever evolving, you
know now, especially withtechnology, and yeah, I just
find that, yeah, complacency canbe a killer for your
(10:50):
organization, especially if it'shappening in the HR suite.
Speaker 5 (10:58):
Once in a while, an event series is born that shakes
things up, it makes you thinkdifferently and it leaves you
inspired.
That event is Disrupt HR.
The format is 14 speakers, 5minutes each and slides rotate
every 15 seconds.
If you're an HR professional, aCEO, a technologist or a
community leader and you've gotsomething to say about talent,
(11:20):
culture or technology, disruptis the place.
It's coming soon to a city nearyou.
Learn more at disrupthrco acity near you.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Learn more at disrupthrco.
Okay, so now let's talk aboutnear-shore hiring and global
workforce strategies.
Walter Venture has a strongfocus on near-shore hiring
solutions.
What does that mean inpractical terms and how does it
help organizations expand theirtalent pools?
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Yeah, so I got a great story for you, bill, if
that's OK.
About six and a half years ago,venture Employer Solutions we
were a, I would say, a small tomid-sized growing company and we
discovered an internationalstaffing firm called Salvo
(12:13):
Global in Medellin, colombia,and I was sent there to go check
it out to see if this issomething that venture could
utilize.
And literally, I get toMedellin, colombia.
There's about 11 people therein a house, not even in an
office building.
They're working out of a houseand what they do is they work.
(12:39):
They live in Colombia and theywork for a US company.
Well, we thought that was agreat model, especially because
of the exchange rate, the costof living, literally saving
about 65% on wages.
So Venture started to utilizethis model more and more and
(13:01):
more.
Again, we started with about 11or 12 people six and a half
years ago, bill.
Today.
Today, salvo Global has 40,000employees.
It's been a whirlwind of a rideyou know talk about I don't even
know how to define it.
(13:21):
I believe there will be whitepapers written about this.
But what it has done, it's donea couple of things, for I'm just
going to talk from a venturestandpoint, not even from our
clients, but from a venturestandpoint, it has given us the
ability to hire great talent,fantastic talent.
(13:44):
You know, bill, I used to be oneof those Americans who thought
only in America can it be donethis well, can it be done the
right way?
I'll admit it, and I have beenconverted because I have seen
firsthand because now SalvoGlobal's in 32 countries around
(14:06):
the world and I've seen it timeand time again where people
around the world can do it justas good, if not better, than our
workforce and at the same timewe're paying a lot less in wages
.
We pay much more, we don't payminimum wage, we pay very well
(14:28):
in those countries.
But for a US company to be ableto get excellent talent, where
now you're increasing yourcandidate pool, like you
mentioned, bill, I'm not goingto say there's anything wrong
with the US talent pool.
However, there are some pocketsof self-entitlement, there's
(14:52):
some pockets of laziness,there's some pockets of, as you
can imagine, in any industry,any type of role.
So why not expand your talentpool so you could look at the
best of the best, not justlimited to the United States?
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Well, as a British Canadian, I would fully support
that.
But OK, so what you just toldme there is you guys have grown
exponentially up to tens ofthousands of employees, it
sounds like, and your employeesare not just based in one locale
, they're in lots of placesaround the world.
With that, though, just meplaying devil's advocate with
(15:35):
that does come some challenges.
Scaling at speeds does mean,for example, it can be difficult
for new hires, new employees,to connect with the original why
of of an organization, that theoriginal dream of of the
co-founders, of the originalleaders.
(15:56):
And then, if you add anotherlayer of complexity when it
comes to that connection, whichis different cultural norms and
values, if, if you've gotemployees in different countries
, I guess that could potentiallyadd a layer of complexity as
well.
So my question there is aquestion here is two-parter A,
(16:17):
would you agree?
And B, what can you do aboutkeeping your folks aligned with
the original vision of theorganization?
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Yeah, bill, you know I'd love to tell you it's been
easy peasy and no issues here,but certainly not the case.
A lot of growing pains, a lotof cultural challenges as well
as just logistical.
You know hard skill type, youknow of challenges.
(16:48):
Technology, I mean all acrossthe board, starting in, you know
the house, la Casita inMedellin, and then growing into
an office and then growing intoseven offices in Medellin and
then going into Bogota and thenoutside of into Latin America
(17:10):
and then into places like Kenyaand you know places like Egypt.
And we are in Canada, we're inEurope.
So talk about all of not just awork culture.
I mean, we're talking just alifestyle culture and I've been
lucky enough to visit many, manyof our offices and, yeah, I
(17:37):
have to speak to peopledifferently in the Dominican
Republic than I may have tospeak to them in Peru, and I
have found that our company isexcellent at listening first and
talking second listening to thepeople, listening to candidate,
listening to the individuals.
(17:58):
You know that come in and thenthen kind of speaking and
talking about what we do and howwe do it.
But you know, when you're inKenya, look, work is work, I get
it, but there are definitecultural differences everywhere
we go.
I feel that our flexibility hasbeen tremendous.
(18:22):
You know to bridge thosecultural and work.
You know type of differences.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Something you said there reminded me of an
interview I did last year with alovely guy in the UK called Al
Kingsley, where he said to me,Bill, we were given two ears and
one mouth for a reason.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
And I think you just summed that up there, I love
that one and I use it all thetime.
So yeah, I love that one and Iuse it all the time.
So yeah, I love it.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Walter, what role does technology and automation
play in managing high volumehiring while still ensuring that
candidate quality is high andthere's a natural culture fit?
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Yeah, I'm glad you brought this up and I figured
you would, because who's nottalking about AI and co-pilot
and chat GP?
Who's not talking about?
I mean, it's the buzzword ofthe last within 10 years?
So in easily our lifetime,we're going to literally have
robots powered by AI in ourhouse.
Those are the prevailingpredictions.
Look, we need advancedtechnology, we need machines, we
need the automation part of thejob to help us.
You know for sure.
So I want to be clear aboutthat.
(19:52):
We use some AI tools, we usesome automation tools, you know
for sure.
But I'm going to go on therecord here, bill, and I am
ready if you want to bringsomeone else on for a future
podcast, and for a futurepodcast I will debate anyone
(20:14):
that the human element is goingto be necessary forever in human
being selection.
Recruiting will always need thehuman element.
There's just something aboutwhether we call it the it factor
, whether we call it the gutfeeling.
It the it factor, whether wecall it the gut feeling, but I
truly feel that we're alwaysgoing to.
(20:34):
No matter how much AI andautomation we bring into the
process, we're still alwaysgoing to need, you know, us
human beings involved.
You know just a real quick.
I remember I don't remember theyear necessarily, bill, but
when monstercom came around, Iremember said that's it.
(20:55):
Recruiting is over.
Get into a different field,because they're not going to,
they're going to go on a Website, they're going to pick out
a resume and they're going tomake the hire.
Who needs a recruiter?
Who needs anyone to lookanything over?
You know.
And here we are, 20, 25 yearslater.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Well, I'm going to challenge you on that one,
because I like to do thatsometimes on this show.
Okay, I agree with you thatthere are lots of roles where
folks will need to have thatin-person contact with a
recruiter because they're highlyskilled roles, for example.
But would you agree that lowerskilled jobs, perhaps a lot of
(21:39):
the recruitment process for highchurn hospitality for example,
maybe that can be pretty muchautomated?
Speaker 3 (21:47):
Once again, I feel even right, hospitality,
customer service, maybe someblue collar type roles yeah, I
definitely agree that the AI,intelligence, the machines, will
make the automation easier,better, faster, more efficient.
(22:08):
I think that will create awhole other industry also for
humans to be a part of.
But I still feel, at the end ofthe selection, at the end of
the quality control at the youknow getting into the details of
(22:29):
the quality control, as far asyou know the metrics on
retention and you know morehiring, I feel that there still
will need to be humans at thecontrols.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Okay, very good, my job here is to play devil's
advocate.
I always like to hear fromsomeone when they say no, we
will remain relevant, Bill, fearnot.
We are already coming towardsthe end of this particular
conversation.
Just before we wrap up, I'dlove to get some advice and
final reflections from you.
What excites you most about thefuture of work and talent
(23:03):
acquisition as we look ahead tothe next two to three years?
Speaker 3 (23:19):
technology, you know, keep them coming.
I mean guys, you know, inSilicon Valley and wherever the
nerdy tech guys sit, and guysand gals, you know, keep
building, keep creating, becausewe need you, we need more help.
So I certainly welcome.
I can't even imagine some ofthe technology that's ahead of
us.
So I'm certainly very, verylooking forward to that.
(23:41):
You know, I'm also.
We're still coming out of theCOVID years.
We're coming out of the greatresignation and quiet, quitting
and all those corny terms thathas shifted the workers, the
employers, the employees, andI'm really excited because I see
(24:05):
a lot more listening from theemployers, a lot more open and
transparent communication to theemployees, which I think was
well needed to the employees,which I think was well needed,
and I think pre-COVID there wasnot as much transparency going
on.
I feel the employees have risenor have grown in the level of
(24:31):
respect that they are receivingfrom employers and I'm very
interested and curious to seethat that continues, where it
goes and how it affects you knowI'm hoping in a very positive
way but how it affects theemployer, employee relationships
.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Excellent and just finally for today, walter, how
can folks connect with you?
Is that LinkedIn?
Do you want to share your emailaddress?
Are you all over the othersocials?
And, of course, how can folkslearn more about Venture and all
the work that you guys?
Speaker 3 (25:04):
do, and thank you for that opportunity, bill and, by
the way, it's really really beena pleasure Great host, great
conversationalist, and I hope todo this again at some point.
So please call me if you everneed anything but Venturecom,
(25:24):
and that's V like VictorE-N-S-U-R-E, so it's Venturecom,
you can check us out.
We are now the largest privateHR outsourcing company in the
world.
Private HR outsourcing companyin the world, second largest
overall.
We're very proud of that.
Bill, you ready for this?
I feel and I'm going tochallenge your audience I feel
(25:50):
that I may be the only WalterSabrin in the world.
So I'm easy to find on LinkedIn, I'm easy to find on all the
socials, walter, I mean, whonames their kid Walter anymore?
So there's very few of us left.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
And.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
Sabrin, thank you, but it is old school and, sabrin
, my last name was made up frommy parents who came over from
Europe, and they created thename.
So I firmly believe I'm theonly Walter Sabrin.
(26:31):
My email iswaltersabrinadventurecom.
You could find me on LinkedInand Facebook and Insta and I
don't know where else, but Iwelcome any kind of contact,
whether it's just to geek out,talking, recruiting or hiring or
HR.
You just want to say hello.
You want to learn more aboutSalvo Global and venture?
Yeah, please reach out to meand I'd be happy to have a
(26:55):
conversation.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
Excellent.
Well, I have very much enjoyedthis.
I will be reaching back out toyou soon, walter, to get you on
more shows that I'm involvedwith, because I've enjoyed my
time with you today.
Thank you very much, thank youBill.
Thank you and listeners asalways, until next time, happy
working.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Thanks for listening to the HR Chat Show.
If you enjoyed this episode,why not subscribe and listen to
some of the hundreds of episodespublished by HR Gazette and
remember for what's new in theworld of work?
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