Hiring doesn’t improve by doing more.It improves by doing the right things — better.When you can’t compete on compensation, every part of your hiring process matters more. Speed, structure, and transparency aren’t nice-to-haves — they’re how you compete.In this episode, Josh Tolan (CEO of Spark Hire) sits down with Nicole Elder, Director of Human Resources at East Bay Innovations, to break down how her team improved hiring outcomes by focusing on what they could control.From restructuring the process to rethinking outdated rules, Nicole shares how small, intentional changes created faster hiring, better candidate alignment, and stronger long-term retention.

They discuss:

• Why speed matters more when you can’t win on pay

• How “day in the life” videos help candidates self-select

• Where hiring processes slow down — and how to fix it

• Why outdated rules can eliminate great candidates

• How training hiring managers improves decision-making

• Why hiring for teachability leads to better long-term outcomes

• How to design hiring from the candidate’s perspective

You don’t need a bigger budget to improve hiring.

You need a better process.

Key Takeaways

[13:26] You Can’t Always Win on Pay — But You Can Win on Speed

[14:58] Show Candidates the Job Before They Say Yes

[15:50] The Real Bottleneck in Hiring

[18:02] Rethinking Outdated Hiring Rules

[20:10] Train Hiring Managers to Make Better Decisions

[29:48] Hire for Teachability, Not Just Experience

[32:00] Why Shadowing Improves Hiring Decisions

[33:38] Hiring Is About Decision Confidence

[36:05] Every Step of Hiring Is a First Impression

[38:58] Design Hiring from the Candidate’s Perspective

About the Guest

Nicole Elder, Director of Human Resources at East Bay Innovations

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-elder-85745790

Website: https://www.eastbayinnovations.org/

About the Host

Josh Tolan, CEO at Spark Hire

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshtolan/

Website: https://www.sparkhire.com

▶️ How to watch

View on Spark Hire: https://www.sparkhire.com/resources/the-speed-to-hire-show

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/sparkhire

🎧 How to listen

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4QLyvYTonifHDRgVbPSRnc

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-speed-to-hire-show/id1670670940

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/aa447396-0015-4880-a6bd-efa484f11f8a/the-speed-to-hire-show

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9kYTIzYzZhNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw