How to Build Talent Acquisition Systems: A 3-Part Masterclass

I've talked to over 200 Talent Acquisition leaders this year, and the best ones share a common trait: systems thinking. Each challenge they face (fraud, overfitting, pipeline quality) gets addressed within a larger talent strategy for how their org attracts and hires top talent. It's easy to lose perspective in the current AI frenzy. The landscape for attracting, assessing, and hiring talent is chaotic. But AI tooling is not strategy. I wanted to pick the brain of one of the best TA strategists I know: someone who's built a system that drives results. I've had the privilege of working with Adam G Hopewell, MBA, SPHR™, GTML™ as a client at Behavox, where he built a talent system grounded in scientific rigor. He pushed SquarePeg to produce the outputs he needed to make his system hum. And it seems more important than ever to share what he built with other TA practitioners. Adam graciously sat down with me and walked through the core systems he's used to lead successful TA functions. We've broken this into a three-part series, each with an overview of the core frameworks that make up the system. Part 1 covers the foundations: → SIRA Framework - designing backward from stakeholder outcomes → ROTI - the only metric connecting hiring to business impact → Outlier Analysis (0-3-5) - solving the calibration problem → The Five Competency Rule - why 30-item job descriptions fail → The science of prediction - why even great systems predict <50% of performance If you're a TA leader responsible for building systems, here is a blueprint you can build on. Packed with videos and explainers. Please leave a comment to spread the word, or share with folks on your team who could benefit from these TA frameworks. (link in comments)

I’ve spoken to three senior TA leaders from global enterprise companies in the past two weeks who said something that really surprised me. Some of the big consulting firms they’d brought in to review their hiring processes this year had suggested building internal coordination teams, actual people managing interviews instead of tech. The reasoning varied: better candidate experience, potentially cheaper in the long run with fewer dropouts and reschedules, and easier for complex global scheduling. I get the logic, but everything I’ve seen over the last few years points to the opposite. So it makes me wonder if we’re seeing a genuine swing back towards human-led recruiting, or if some of the big consultancies are simply reacting against AI to justify a consulting fee. Either way, it’s an interesting shift.

🚀 Skills-First Hiring: The Game Changer for Talent Acquisition I just read the article “What Skills-First Really Means” on the LinkedIn Talent blog and it reinforced a critical shift in how we should approach recruitment and workforce strategy. Key take-aways that resonated with me: 🔍 Focus on capability, not just credentials. Rather than leading with degrees, titles or tenure, organizations that adopt a skills-first mindset evaluate what a person can do and how they can contribute. 🌍 Expand and diversify your talent pool. When we move away from rigid pedigree filters, we unlock access to untapped talent—people who may have learned differently, changed career paths, or developed relevant skills through non-traditional routes. 🎯 Better hiring outcomes + organizational agility. Hiring for skills aligns more cleanly with what the role actually requires and where the business is headed. This leads to faster ramp-up, improved performance and ultimately a more resilient workforce. 🤝 My take for Talent & Leadership practitioners: Re-write job descriptions: emphasis key competencies over fixed years of experience. Use validated skill-assessments and structured interviews to surface real capability. Build internal mobility frameworks—if you can spot the skills, you can also grow them. 🔗 I’d love to hear from fellow talent leaders: What steps are you taking (or planning) to embed skills-first practices in your hiring or talent development process? #SkillsFirst #TalentAcquisition #LeadershipHiring #Recruiting #WorkforceStrategy #ExecutiveSearch #LifeSciencesTalent #FutureOfWork Full Article: https://lnkd.in/eVPGVvKM

💡 The True Measure of Candidate Experience: Clarity, Not Speed The candidate experience doesn't need to be instant feedback or a rapid process. 🏃💨 But it absolutely shouldn't be a multi-layer "security maze" 😵💫 where candidates are left confused and unsure of the next step. Both can be true: a thorough process and a positive experience. ✅ The secret? Internal clarity is vital, and it cascades through every stage. 👇 1. Sharpening the Funnel 🎯 Setting clear expectations fundamentally changes the quality of the hiring funnel. Clear role definitions and realistic expectations make it easier to apply, resulting in higher-quality applications. When the goal is clear, recruiters can create diverse application streams and reach the right audience. 2. Alignment 🤝 Once a candidate is in the process, alignment becomes crucial. It doesn't mean a recruiter must give feedback five minutes after an interview. But it does mean a candidate should never feel that each stage is a lesson in obscurity. 🤷 Recruiters must be up to speed with the goals and strategic objectives of the wider business, not just a list of required technical buzzwords. They must recruit for D&A as a business function. Value > Viability. 📈 Hiring Teams must be adept at running consistent processes aligned on criteria. This is what showcases the team as best-in-class and continues to attract the best talent. 🌟 3. Getting Your House in Order 🏠 Hiring must be treated as a strategic and core business function. Investment in internal clarity and accountability won't fix all external issues overnight. We can't control economic factors or the market. But despite that, we can get our house in order and create better processes! 🛠️ Positive does not mean immediate feedback. Negative does not mean slow. It's about clarity and ensuring the process aligns with the quality of hire you wish to make. Will we see an improvement on the current state of play? 🤔 Will new AI tech mean we will see the same buzzword chaos? 🤖 #CandidateExperience #Recruitment #HiringStrategy #TalentAcquisition #HR

The Broken Mirror – When trust cracks, the whole process shatters. Hiring managers are losing trust in what they see on paper — they tell us they can spot the AI-polished CVs and over-produced presentations, and it’s turning them off. At the same time, candidates are losing faith in the process — frozen by the visible volume of competition in the application process, and deflated by auto-rejections, feedback black holes and chatbot screenings. Both sides are frustrated: • Employers burned by inflated profiles, volume and automated noise. • Talent discouraged by the lack of genuine connection. The result? A broken hiring loop. The fix isn’t more tech — it’s more talk. More conversation. More human evaluation. More trust. Less automation. We’re rebuilding confidence in the hiring process — one real conversation at a time.

While I’m convinced that companies and individuals must continue to invest time and resources in developing AI-related skills, I also firmly believe we should keep investing in another essential skill, one that was highly valued not long ago (in the pre-AI era) and still is, even if it’s taken a bit of a back seat: Emotional Intelligence. Recently, I’ve been involved in recruitment processes for our Business Development team. The candidates who impressed me the most, and who were ultimately hired, left me with a clear insight: after a few days, I could no longer recall their specific answers about competencies or performance metrics. What I do remember are their stories. Their answers to my “cultural fit” questions revealed personal values and experiences that truly stuck with me. I’m convinced the same thing happens in many of our client relationships. That’s why, together with our Enablement team, we’re dedicating time to redevelop these human skills: Storytelling, Emotional Intelligence and the art of building genuine rapport People make decisions when they trust, and trust isn’t built through an AI-generated message (at least, not yet). ☺️

Recruiting isn’t what it used to be. 🌍 📱 Candidates research you before you reach out. 🤖 AI tools are reshaping sourcing and screening. 💡 Skills and potential now outweigh degrees and titles. Yet, some things never change — A great hire still starts with a genuine conversation. 💬 Technology may speed things up, but human connection is what truly builds lasting teams. 🤝 #Recruiting #HiringTrends #TalentAcquisition #FutureOfWork #Leadership #HR #PeopleFirst

A new hiring trend seems to be gaining traction—and not necessarily for the better: more companies are recruiting for senior-level support roles without providing a job description. In my recent job search, I’ve noticed a pattern. Employers reach out about Senior Executive Assistant or Chief of Staff positions—yet when you ask for a role scope or description, there isn’t one available. The conversation begins, but the structure, expectations, and even the definition of success remain unclear. As candidates, we’re expected to be transparent—offering detailed resumes, references, and assessments. But that transparency isn’t always mutual. Without a defined role, it’s challenging to prepare meaningfully for an interview or to align your experience to the executive’s priorities. You can research the company, the leadership style, even their strategic goals—but not knowing what they envision for the role creates an uneven playing field. Interestingly, this lack of definition ties to a broader shift. According to SHRM’s 2025 Talent Trends Report, many organizations have moved toward skills-based hiring, accelerating recruiting before they’ve finalized what the position entails. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2025 report goes further—showing that clerical and administrative roles are among the most fluid and redefined as new tools, AI, and business models reshape support functions. In many cases, hiring teams are still catching up to those changes. So while adaptability is now prized, clarity shouldn’t disappear in the process. True transparency—defining scope, expectations, and success metrics—benefits everyone. It ensures that candidates walk into interviews ready to connect their capabilities to real business needs, rather than guessing what might matter most. If you’ve noticed this trend too, how do you handle it? Do you pause until there’s a defined job description—or ask strategic questions to build one through the interview process?

🌍 The world of hiring is evolving and fast. To attract and retain the best talent, businesses can’t rely on the old playbook anymore. Here are 3 key hiring trends every organization should keep an eye on 👇 1. Skills Over Degrees Companies are prioritizing real world skills, adaptability, and growth mindset over academic backgrounds. 💡 Tip: Build a competency based hiring model, it opens your doors to untapped talent. 2.Employer Branding = Talent Magnet Your company’s online presence matters as much as your offer letter. Candidates research culture, values, and employee stories before applying. 💡 Tip: Share authentic behind the scenes moments and employee voices on LinkedIn, it builds trust faster than ads. 3. AI-Driven Recruitment AI tools are transforming recruitment from screening candidates to predicting job fit and improving candidate experience. 💡 Tip: Use tech to save time, not replace human connection. Automation should enhance empathy, not eliminate it. At Peoplehive, we help brands stay ahead with data-driven strategies and human-centered hiring. #HiringTrends #Recruitment2025 #Consulting #Peoplehive #HRInsights #TalentAcquisition

How mature and AI-ready is your TA function? 🫥 Next question, please. Maturity and AI-readiness… how do you even judge that? It's normal not to know where to start - especially in a fast-paced, highly operational field like Talent Acquisition. The Recruiting Excellence Foundation Survey helped me find an answer (or multiple ones)! It’s clearly designed by people who live and breathe TA in all its aspects (Tony, thanks for sharing it with me!) The best part? You get your overall TA score compared to the international average. At the same time, you can dive into individual sections like Attracting, Interviewing, Hiring Decisions, HR Tech, and more. It’s free, takes only 20 minutes, and gives you your personalized report. With it, you can start building your TA strategy for 2026...and even create a business case for investments, since it highlights potential risks of not increasing maturity. 🚦 In my opinion? The perfect prep for your next budget and strategy meeting! 💡Link in the comments below 👇