Takeaway 1

Efficiency Without Losing the Human Touch 🔄

Stephanie emphasized how automation can streamline processes, but maintaining space for authentic, personalized connections is key to candidate satisfaction. Automation can handle routine tasks, but the human element is what builds trust and a lasting relationship with candidates. 

Why It Matters:
While automation improves efficiency, it’s the personal, human connection that ultimately defines the candidate experience. Without it, recruiting can feel transactional and detached.

Quick Tips:

• Automate Repetitive Tasks: Use automation to handle routine processes like scheduling or follow-ups, freeing recruiters to focus on personal interactions.
• Prioritize Personal Touches: Even when automating, find ways to inject human touches, like personalized messages or thoughtful candidate outreach.
• Balance Tech with Empathy: Ensure automation creates more room for recruiters to engage empathetically with candidates, building authentic relationships.

Takeaway 2

Borrowing from Sales and Marketing 📈

Stephanie shared how recruiting teams can benefit from borrowing techniques from sales and marketing, such as pipeline management and customer personas. By applying these strategies, recruiting teams can streamline processes, enhance candidate experiences, and improve alignment across teams.

Why It Matters:
Recruiting, like sales, involves nurturing leads and delivering a great experience. Leveraging proven techniques from these departments can optimize recruiting efforts and ensure a smoother, more strategic process.

Quick Tips:

• Utilize your Cross-Functional Operations Experts: Tap into the expertise of operations teams in other departments to help improve your recruiting processes. The wheel has likely already been invented, you just need to apply it to recruiting.
• Create Candidate Personas: Just like customer personas, candidate personas help tailor your approach to different talent segments.
• Leverage Marketing Tools: Borrow tools like CRM or content management systems to enhance candidate engagement and tracking, and LMS systems to administer internal enablement content to your team.

Takeaway 3

Training vs. Enablement 🚀

Training has its place, but true enablement empowers teams with the tools, systems, and autonomy, in conjunction with training to succeed without relying on constant oversight. Stephanie discussed how enablement gives recruiters the ability to self-serve and thrive independently.

Why It Matters:
It’s not always about one-off training sessions. True enablement means creating a structure that allows recruiters to access the resources they need when they need them—leading to greater independence and efficiency.

Quick Tips:

• Focus on Systems Over Sessions: Invest in tools and systems that allow recruiters to self-serve, rather than relying solely on one-off formal training sessions.
• Encourage Autonomy: Empower your team to make decisions and find answers on their own by providing easy access to necessary resources.
• Enable Continuous Learning: Rather than a one-time training, provide ongoing support through tools, coaching, and accessible information.

What Hiring Excellence Means to Stephanie

For Stephanie, hiring excellence is about building a system that prioritizes both efficiency and the human touch. It’s ensuring that recruiters have the tools to move fast while maintaining personal connections with candidates, ultimately leading to better experiences for both sides.

>> Watch the Clip

Stephanie's Recruiting Hot Take

Stephanie’s hot take? While automation and process management have their place, we can’t lose sight of recruiting’s roots: building relationships. No amount of automation can replace the importance of empathy, active listening, and personalized engagement when it comes to creating a great candidate experience.

>> Watch the Clip

Timestamps

(00:00) Introduction

(01:28) Stephanie’s journey in recruiting enablement

(03:46) What recruiting enablement looks like in practice

(06:22) Streamlining processes and reducing friction for recruiters

(08:54) Balancing automation and the human element 

(12:03) The importance of daily habits in driving hiring excellence

(16:10) Borrowing ideas from sales and marketing 

(18:36) Distinguishing between training and enablement

(21:22) Creating self-motivated, empowered recruiting teams

(25:10) Building a champion team through enablement and support

(28:05) The future of recruiting and the role of enablement