Latest / Recruiting Evolution / FDE Express| Eight Signals Redefining Recruiting Leadership in 2026
Transcript
- Kortney Harmon [00:00:00]: AI becomes an expectation, not an advantage. AI has moved fast. Let's face it. In 2026, the question isn't should we be using AI? It's where does it belong? Where does it not belong? How does it impact the human experience? Our business development process. AI really is going to become an infrastructure. What differentiates firms isn't whether they believe they should use it, it's how intentional. They combined AI with with a human in the loop. Kortney Harmon [00:00:28]: Hi, I'm Kortney Harmon, Director of Industry Relations at crelate. Kortney Harmon [00:00:31]: Welcome to FDE Express, a short, sweet. Kortney Harmon [00:00:34]: Format of the Full Desk Experience Acrylate Original podcast. We'll be diving into specific topics to show you how you grow your firm within 10 minutes or less. Each episode will cover quick hit topics to give you inspiration and food for thought for your talent businesses. Kortney Harmon [00:00:58]: If you're paying attention to the recruiting industry right now, it probably feels like there's a lot of noise. At least I'm seeing it and hearing it from a lot of folks. There's a lot of talk about new platforms, new tools, new predictions, new opinions everywhere. Honestly, everyone has a take, everyone has a framework, everyone has a solution. And yet that's different. It's different from what I am hearing when I talk to leaders behind the scenes. As I talk to those owners and operators and executives for the podcast, the conversation sounds very different. They're quieter, they're more thoughtful and more grounded. Kortney Harmon [00:01:33]: It's less about what's new and more about what's necessary. Because right now, leaders aren't asking what's the next big thing? They're asking, what do we keep? What do we keep doing? What do we keep, technology wise, what do we stop? What do we stop in our processes? What do we stop using in our tech? What actually overlaps? And that's what actually moves the business forward without creating chaos. And that's the lens I'm going to bring to today's conversation. Today isn't about the headlines. It's not about the hype cycles and not about predictions designed to get clicks. So today, what I'm really seeing as we look towards 2026 is the undercurrents, the soft spoken, the signals, the shifts that leaders already are responding to. But they're often very quiet but very intentional. In 2026, it's not shaping up to be the year of disruption. Kortney Harmon [00:02:25]: We're not moving and shaking. It's really shaping up to be the year of intentional recalibration. A year where leaders pause, they reassess, they make smarter, more disciplined decisions about how they lead and grow and build their teams. As I've spent time talking with leaders in our industry over the past few years for the podcast, I keep seeing the same theme pop up the last few months, and it comes up time and time again. It's not framed as a trend, it's not packaged as a prediction, but more as a real time signal about how decisions are being made right now. And when I finally stepped back and I thought about them and I looked at all of my conversations, I went back to and mapped them out and it really came down to eight clear signals that I think that are going to really define 2026. And those signals don't exist in isolation. Together, they tell a very clear story about where recruiting is headed and where leadership is going and what it looks like in this next chapter. Kortney Harmon [00:03:26]: So let's talk about them. The first signal is relationships. I know that sounds crazy, but relationships are becoming strategic again. So I want to start here because this is where everything else connects. In 2026, relationships aren't a soft skill, they're your strategic advantage. As automation increases AI and technology becomes more embedded in our workflows, relationships are going to be your differentiator between your leaders and teams, between your recruiters and candidates, between your clients and business development leaders, and between partners and platforms. Here at the podcast, we're intentionally leading Q1 with a focus on relationships. That's what you're going to hear from us most. Kortney Harmon [00:04:09]: Because before you can scale a system, a team, adopt a new technology, or even chase growth, trust has to exist. It has to exist with your candidates, it has to exist with your clients. It has to exist with your team and your tech. But this isn't just about networking. It's about how relationships are built, how they're maintained, and how they scale in the modern recruiting organizations. In today's society, signal number two is tech. And I know there's a lot of that. But tech intentionally replaces tech accumulation. Kortney Harmon [00:04:44]: Now, when you think about this, leaders aren't anti tech. I'm not hearing that. They're anti chaos in 2026. It's actually more about asking the question, what are we actually using? What integrates well? What simplifies our work? Instead of complicating it, the signal shows up as consolidation, better adoption, a clearer return on your investments and expectations. Technology isn't going to go away in 2026, but discipline replaces impulse in 2026. Signal number three is AI becomes an expectation, not an advantage. AI has moved fast. Let's face it, in 2026, the question isn't should we be using AI, it's where does it belong? Where does it not belong? How does it impact the human experience, our business development process. Kortney Harmon [00:05:33]: AI really is going to become an infrastructure. What differentiates firms isn't whether they believe they should use it, it's how intentional. They combine AI with a human in the loop. So this becomes actually our core of our quarter two conversation around innovation. How are you using the tech more intentionally to get that flow, return on investment? Because let's face it, our workflows are going to change in 2026. It's no longer the same way we've been doing business for years and years. It's already changed, frankly. Signal number four, breaking through the noise becomes a leadership skill and sounds crazy as that comes out of my mouth. Kortney Harmon [00:06:12]: There is more data, more content and more reporting than ever. And yet clarity feels harder to find in 2026. Strong leaders aren't necessarily going to become louder, they're clearer. They can filter signal from noise, they can interpret data and not just report it. They can make decisions without overreacting. And this is where innovation stops being about tools and starts being about thinking differently. So super excited for number four. Signal number five, the rise of the operator strategist. Kortney Harmon [00:06:46]: I have talked about this at a few of my talks across the country and it's really about how our industry's changing. This industry is moving away from extremes. Less pure vision, less pure execution, and more about leaders who sit in the middle. Really they're the operator strategist who the leaders who really understand the systems, the processes, the people, why the decisions are made, what tech is, is moving. How are we understanding what people are spending their days on, their time on, and how do we get time back to do things differently? So Q3, as we think about this, really becomes crucial about growth. This role is going to become more critical in organizations that don't have an operations person. But growth without operational leaders purely doesn't scale. The ones that I'm seeing be most successful has that person in the middle that really sees everything from a different level. Kortney Harmon [00:07:42]: Signal number six, growth without chaos becomes a goal. So for years, growth was the headline metric. Now the question is, can we grow without breaking our people or our systems? 2026 growth conversations are about readiness, sustainability, intentional pacing, fewer yet better aligned hires and goals. So that impacts your clients and what they're doing. Their mindset shift is changing and it shows maturity in leadership. Signal number seven is candidate experience gets reframed around trust. So candidate experience used to be about speed. Now it's about consistency and trust. Kortney Harmon [00:08:28]: Candidates, let's face it, they understand automations exist, they understand bots exist, that they're speaking to somebody, but what they're evaluating is, is the process, does it feel intentional or transactional? So leaders are going to look to become more operationally designed. How does the systems support us in trust? How do the teams show consistency at scale? So this is very much about intentionality and not making it transactional to make your candidates and clients just feel like they're a number signal. Number eight, I think, becomes about a strategic question with a firm's identity. This is the quietest signal probably, but maybe the most important leaders are asking, who are we actually for? What do we actually want to be known for? What kind of firm are we building for today, but more unlikely for the future? So 2026 is an identity year for a lot of organizations, and identity thrives on things like technology decisions, hiring decisions, growth strategy, partner alignment. And this really comes down to, are you having those same conversations with your clients? So these eight signals don't again, exist in isolation. Together they shape how our leaders are thinking, how they're structuring conversations. Throughout 2026, is it about relationships and trust? Eventually you get to in innovation, intention, growth and discipline and operations. And this is the arc of our year. Kortney Harmon [00:10:06]: So in closing, 2026 is going to feel hopefully less frantic, more thoughtful. If you're asking better questions instead of faster ones, you're not behind. You're evolving. And you're going to hear more about that from us as well, because we know that you are evolving. The industry is evolving and so is our podcast, and we're going to have those conversations all year long. So thank you so much for being a part of where we're going, where the industry is going, and really looking forward to what 2026 brings us. Think about how you can be more thoughtful in your modern recruiting business and be more intentional about what you're driving to your organization. Can't wait to see more of this until next time, have a wonderful day. Kortney Harmon [00:10:54]: And I can't wait to see what 2026 brings us for dates and topics and all the wonderful things. So stay tuned till the next episode. Kortney Harmon [00:11:03]: That's all for today's episode of FDE Express. I'm Kortney Harmon with Crelate. If you have any questions or topics you'd like from us to cover in future episodes, please feel free to submit them to fulldesk@crelate.com or ask us live next session. And don't forget to subscribe to our podcast wherever you listen and sign up for our monthly events to keep learning and growing your business. Thanks for tuning in to FDE Express, a short and sweet format of the full desk experience. We'll see you next time. Kortney Harmon [00:11:37]: Sam.