Hiring demand is no longer linear—it’s uneven, unpredictable, and increasingly skills-driven. While some roles stall, others remain critically hard to fill, forcing talent leaders to rethink traditional hiring strategies. According to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends, 76% of talent professionals say skills-first hiring is a priority, yet many organizations still rely on outdated pedigree models. This tension is reshaping how RPO providers deliver value, requiring more flexible, human-centered, and data-informed approaches to workforce planning and execution.

So how can talent leaders balance shifting demand, evolving skill requirements, and candidate expectations in a cautious market? In this episode, host Lamees Abourahma speaks with Lori Prehar, Managing Director of ZRG Embedded Recruiting, to explore embedded recruiting models, passive talent strategies, and the shift toward skills-based hiring. Together, they unpack how RPO leaders can stay agile, deepen client partnerships, and build resilient talent strategies in today’s dynamic labor market.

Follow Lori Prehar on LinkedIn. 

Go here for the ZRG Embedded Recruiting website.  ZRG has been a Gold Member of the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association since 2025. 

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.

The manufacturing sector is facing a talent crisis that no amount of job postings will solve. Gartner predicts that by 2030, half of all enterprises will face irreversible skill shortages in critical roles — a warning that lands especially hard in advanced manufacturing and supply chain, where the silver wave of retiring skilled workers is already accelerating. Internal equity failures and uncompetitive compensation are quietly undermining hiring pipelines, putting organizations at risk of losing the talent they already have while failing to attract the specialized workers they urgently need.

How should manufacturing and supply chain leaders close critical skills gaps when the talent they need doesn't yet exist in the market? In this episode of Time to Hire, host Lamees Abourahma is joined by Jim Sheehan, Vice President at MAU Workforce Solutions, to explore skills-first hiring strategies, apprenticeship models, passive candidate engagement, and how AI-driven talent intelligence is reshaping how organizations source, assess, and retain specialized talent.

Statistic source: Gartner, "Future of Work Trends Post-COVID-19," 2021. Referenced directly in the episode transcript.

Correction: the client program Jim referenced should have a 12-month time period, not 12-weeks. 

Follow Jim Sheehan on LinkedIn

Visit MAU Workforce Solutions

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.

When hiring slows but demand for specialized skills accelerates, talent leaders face a paradox. According to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends research, 73% of professionals are passive candidates—open to opportunity but not actively applying—reshaping how employers must engage talent. In this recalibrated market, organizations are cutting noncritical roles while aggressively investing in AI, automation, and high-impact skill sets. The result? A mismatch between available workers and enterprise-ready capabilities, especially in AI engineering, digital transformation, and healthcare capacity.

So how can talent acquisition leaders hire for emerging skills while navigating uncertainty and global restructuring? In this episode of Time to Hire, host Lamees Abourahma speaks with Fede Calvino, Co-Founder and CSO of TAM Solutions, about skills-first hiring, passive candidate engagement, Latin American talent intelligence, and how RPO providers can deliver speed, context, and risk reduction in high-stakes hiring environments.

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.

Hiring volume may be cooling, but competition for specialized skills is intensifying. As AI adoption accelerates across industries, organizations face a widening gap between evolving role requirements and available talent. According to LinkedIn’s Workforce Report, 73% of professionals are passive candidates, making precision engagement more critical than ever (LinkedIn Talent Solutions). The strategic implication is clear: companies must rethink sourcing models, redefine job criteria around skills, and build sustainable pipelines that extend beyond traditional industry boundaries.

So how can organizations win scarce AI-adjacent and hybrid talent without overwhelming lean internal TA teams? In this episode, Lamees Abourahma speaks with Grant Jessup, Global Head of Sales and Solutions at LevelUP HCS, a Silver member of the RPOA. They explore passive talent strategy, embedded RPO models, skills-first hiring, and how flexible recruitment partnerships enable access to specialized and underrepresented talent pools in a rapidly evolving market.

Follow Grant Jessup on LinkedIn. 

Follow LevelUP on LinkedIn. 

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.

Applicant fraud is no longer a fringe issue—it’s becoming a structural risk in talent acquisition. As AI tools make it easier to fabricate resumes, manipulate interviews, and even generate synthetic identities, recruiters face mounting pressure to verify credibility without sacrificing candidate experience. Gartner projects that by 2028, 25% of job candidates globally could be fake (Gartner, 2023), signaling a major shift in how organizations must approach hiring governance and risk mitigation.

So how can talent leaders balance speed, candidate experience, and fraud detection in an AI-driven market? 

In this episode, host Lamees Abourahma welcomes Matt Corbett, President of ZRG Embedded Recruiting RPO, and Dan Harten of HireEZ, Customer Marketing Strategist, to explore five levels of applicant fraud (from AI-assisted embellishment to state-sponsored infiltration) and outline practical, recruiter-led strategies to build more fraud-resilient hiring practices in 2026 and beyond.

Connect with guests:

Follow Matt Corbett on LinkedIn.
Follow Dan Harten on LinkedIn. 

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.

In 2026, demand for emerging skills is accelerating even as overall hiring slows—yet only 21% of companies have fully adopted skills-based hiring, according to LinkedIn’s 2024 Future of Recruiting report. Talent acquisition and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) teams face a widening execution gap as AI and automation create new roles faster than traditional, credential-based hiring can keep up. Only a small share of employers are redesigning sourcing, screening, and workforce planning to capture this opportunity, while most risk deeper talent shortages, stalled innovation, and long-term competitiveness challenges.

Bridging this gap requires rethinking how organizations define, find, and develop talent. In this episode of the Time to Hire podcast, host Lamees Abourahma speaks with RPO leader Chip Holmes of Randall Reilly to examine how RPO providers and talent leaders can use skills-first hiring, talent communities, cross-industry recruiting, and targeted outreach to underrepresented groups to close critical capability gaps and build resilient, future-ready workforces.

Follow Chip Holmes on LinkedIn 

Go here for more information about Randall Reilly 

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.

Did you know that 81% of jobs on Indeed are now matched to candidates based on skills, not degrees? Yet talent acquisition leaders struggle as employer expectations outpace candidate realities—creating a crisis where high hopes and rigid requirements collide. With only a small fraction of job seekers filling out "what do you want to do" fields on job sites (according to Indeed), recruitment faces unprecedented disconnect, making it urgent for employers to rethink old hiring playbooks. Only by embracing new approaches, organizations can seize the skills-first hiring opportunity to future-proof their teams.

What should forward-thinking organizations do when the rules of hiring are being rewritten at record speed? In this episode of the Time to Hire podcast from the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference, host Lamees Abourahma welcomes Kyle MK, Indeed’s Senior Talent Strategy Advisor and bestselling author, to explain how skills-first frameworks—and smart use of AI—are transforming the way employers attract and retain talent.

Indeed is a sponsor of the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference and a Gold Partner of the RPO Association. 

Learn about and find more content from the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference here. 

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.

The RPO landscape faces a reckoning: according to Nelson Hall, 60% of buyers now view providers as largely interchangeable—a figure underscoring industry-wide commoditization. As Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) leaders struggle to differentiate amidst shrinking margins and rapid AI transformation, this crisis demands urgent adaptation. Only forward-thinking providers who evolve beyond transactional models can unlock lasting client value and seize tomorrow’s opportunity in an era where business outcomes, not just hires, define success.

Amidst this competitive tension, how can RPOs transform from cost-focused vendors to strategic business partners—or even indispensable catalysts? In this episode of the Time to Hire podcast, host Lamees Abourahma welcomes Alex Ridder, Global Head of Client Partnerships at LHH, to reveal how RPOs can drive real transformation, enhance workforce agility, and shape the future of work. Recorded live at the trusted RPOA annual gathering, this episode delivers expert insights for the entire RPO community.

LHH is a sponsor of the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference and a Gold Member of the RPO Association.

Learn about and find more content from the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference here. 

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.

AI-driven recruiting is rewriting the rules of talent acquisition. At the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference, we learned of an innovative AI hiring platform that made 5,201 hires in just 12 hours, compared to only 40 by a traditional human team (according to Stan Wasalski, Co-founder, Scotty AI). Recruitment organizations worldwide are confronting a crisis: AI digital workers now outperform humans not only in speed, but in empathy and judgment. Only RPOs (recruitment process outsourcing providers) embracing experimentation with AI can seize this opportunity and avoid obsolescence.

Solving this unprecedented disruption requires practical, bold strategies. In this episode of the Time to Hire podcast, host Lamees Abourahma welcomes industry innovator Stan Wasalski. He explains how multi-agent AI systems can revamp high-volume hiring, compliance, and candidate experience. Recorded live at the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference, this conversation delivers actionable insights for RPO leaders seeking to thrive as recruitment is redefined by artificial intelligence.

Scotty AI is a sponsor of the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference and a partner of the RPO Association.

Learn about and find more content from the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference here. 

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.

Global RPO revenue growth took a stark turn, with 2024 marking a -13% drop and 2025 showing flat or even negative growth (according to multiple industry analysts). As the RPO industry faces unstable markets, leaders must navigate economic uncertainty, mounting client caution, and the soaring demand for frontline hiring. Only those who adapt strategy and blend innovation with trusted relationships will seize the opportunities in this challenging climate.

Confronting this turbulence, this episode—recorded live at the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference, cementing RPOA’s role as the trusted convener for the industry—dives deep. Host Lamees Abourahma sits down with RPO pioneer Terry Terhart (former CEO, enterprise RPO leader) to share how RPO providers can balance AI with human touch, sustain profitability, and stand out through flexibility, creativity, and enduring client partnerships. Tune in for actionable strategies from the heart of the RPO community.

NXTThing is a sponsor of the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference and a Silver Member of the RPO Association.

Learn about and find more content from the 2025 RPOA Annual Conference here. 

About the Podcast

Time to Hire is produced by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA), the leading authority on recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) foresight and innovation, and the trusted convener for the global RPO community. Through conversations with industry leaders, the podcast explores the trends, insights, and innovations shaping the future of talent acquisition.

Learn more about RPOA and join the community at: https://www.rpoassociation.org.

Follow the host, Lamees Abourahma, on LinkedIn.