Recruiting teams often track hiring metrics but forget to ask the team how it feels to do the work.

Will Ducey, Head of Recruiting Operations at Ashby, joins Shannon Ogborn to talk about how internal recruiter surveys create a feedback loop that leads to better tools and processes. Throughout the conversation, Will explains the balance between quantitative and qualitative feedback, sharing real-world examples from Ashby on how they’ve implemented surveys to gauge recruiter satisfaction.

He also addresses how small wins, like reducing administrative burdens, can have a huge impact on overall efficiency. Whether you’re a recruiting leader looking to implement your first survey or aiming to refine your current process, this episode offers valuable insights into how recruiters can lead to actionable change and, ultimately, create a more effective and happy recruiting team.

Key takeaways:

• Survey consistency builds trust: Quarterly cadence shows that feedback leads to real change
• Small wins compound: Simple fixes often reduce friction the fastest
• Sentiment data guides priorities: Low survey scores highlight where RecOps should focus next
• Collaboration is a solution: Engaging team members in fixing the pain points creates better outcomes

Timestamps: 

(00:00) Introduction

(00:43) Meet Will Ducey

(02:18) Why traditional metrics don’t reflect recruiter experience

(03:13) What makes recruiter surveys so valuable in RecOps

(04:14) How Ashby runs quarterly recruiter surveys

(06:32) Structuring the survey for actionable feedback

(08:44) Understanding time-use with a 1–4 scale

(10:37) Why acting on survey data matters more than collecting it

(11:59) How Will identifies small process wins

(13:22) Organizing teams for long-term improvements

(14:15) Building trust and consistency through surveys

(16:26) The NPS score that led to a full ATS transformation

(19:10) Comparing tools using internal data

(20:07) Helping recruiters become more confident with data

(21:19) Why alerts are Will’s favorite Ashby feature

(23:57) Where to connect with Will