Talent Titans

Suky Sodhi
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High performance staffing industry mastermind leader, Suky Sodhi has always felt strongly about allowing the sales team within organizations to have a voice at the boardroom table. She has been working with global recruitment companies for almost 3 decades, helping them align their focus on both the bottom line and their people. President and Founder of Professional Selection, a leading rec2rec agency, and Founder of Elite Global Recruiters, a community of staffing industry professionals from around the globe, she is helping recruitment businesses scale like never before. Her podcast, Talent Titans serves as a platform to share her research and findings with us, including best tips and practices to take your business to the next level. If you enjoyed this episode, please tell us what you think so that we can create more content around this topic. Your feedback is key to help us grow!

  1. 5d ago

    Episode 139 - Focusing on staffing margins could be costing you millions

    Companies spent decades forcing staffing margins to single digits — now it's coming back to bite them.   In EP 139 of Talent Titans, Suky Sodhi sits down with David Mason from Philip Morris International (ex-military, dot-com boom recruiter, now global TA leader) for a real-talk masterclass on where the staffing industry actually stands. From why margin compression killed innovation, to why in-house TA is often a commercial illusion, to the AI arms race that is exposing weak recruiters.   If you own a staffing or recruitment agency in Canada, this is your wake-up call: the transactional model is dead. The consultative model is the only way forward. IN THIS EPISODE: ✓ Why 20-30% margins dropping below 10% destroyed agency investment ✓ The hidden cost of moving recruitment in-house (profit + tax myth vs. liability) ✓ How the internet democratized recruitment data — your black book isn't the moat ✓ Where agencies STILL win: passive candidate relationships agencies nurture for years ✓ AI interviews, candidate embellishment & the "arms race" no one is ready for ✓ "The most inaccurate instrument to measure a human is another human" — why human bias needs curation ✓ Sustainability, ethical treatment of temps & why due diligence will define your reputation   CHAPTERS — Key Moments: 00:00 The Margin Squeeze: How Decade-Long Cuts Are Now Hurting Clients 01:00 Meet David Mason — From Military to PMI's Global Talent Strategy 03:00 How Margin Compression Killed Innovation in Staffing 06:00 In-House TA — Commercial Advantage or Just Moved Liability? 08:00 The Democratization of Knowledge: Why Data Is No Longer Your Moat 11:00 Agency vs. In-House: Who Really Owns Passive Candidate Relationships? 17:00 Do Agencies Actually Understand Client Commercials? 19:00 Agentic AI Will Rewrite Business Models (White-Collar Work Under Threat) 22:00 Do Candidates Really Quit Over AI Interviews? PMI's Pilot Data Says... 26:00 The AI Arms Race: Candidates Using AI vs. Employers Using AI 35:00 Human Bias Is The Worst Filter — AI Needs "Human in the Loop" 40:00 Will AI Kill Human Connection? + Tech for Contingent Workforce Compliance 42:00 Sustainability & Ethical Due Diligence: Your Next Reputational Risk 47:00 The Future: The Consultative Model Is The ONLY Model   Connect with David: With close to three decades in staffing, talent management and workforce planning, David has built his career across both in-house and consultancy environments. His senior appointments include Director Global TA Delivery at PMI, Director of Recruitment at Capita, COO Resourcing at RBS, International Talent Acquisition Director at CH2M HILL and Group Head of Resourcing for AXA's UK and Ireland operations, where his remit spanned temporary and permanent hiring from board level through to customer service. Purchasing expertise gained through partnerships with most major staffing companies, alongside the integration and implementation of staffing programmes, rounds out a profile widely regarded as innovative within the sector. Earlier, he served in the Army, where highlights ranged from the 1st Gulf War and a posting as Jungle Warfare Instructor to leading the "Flying Gunners" – Royal Artillery Motorcycle Display Team.   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/resourcing1recruitment/   Check out more episodes of the Talent Titans Podcast: Why Contingency Recruiting is Dying: https://youtu.be/BAE9lrl8z74 Master Niche Recruiting: https://youtu.be/RoRWQ5bwPm0   Connect with Suky: Award-Winning Advisor & Industry Voice | Founder: Canadian Staffing Summit, Talent Titans, Recruitment Professionals Forum | Backing Bold Moves in Staffing, Tech & Investment — No Clickbait, Just Real Talk   Suky doesn't just observe the staffing industry — she helps shape it.   She's built platforms where the industry's most honest conversations happen: 🔹 Canadian Staffing Summit 🔹 Talent Titans Podcast 🔹 Recruitment Professionals Forum   For over two decades, Suky's helped recruitment businesses scale with integrity — from internal team builds to boardroom strategy. She works with agency leaders, tech innovators, and the investors backing the future of staffing.   But here's what Suky doesn't do: copy-paste playbooks, fluff-filled advice, or empty hype.   She believes in smart growth, real talk, and community over competition.   Her work sits at the intersection of:   People + Performance Tech + Disruption Strategy + Soul   Whether she's coaching founders, advising SaaS firms, or connecting those quietly rewriting the rules — one thing holds true: Suky backs those who build.   LinkedIn www.eliteglobalrecruiters.com    Grab of a copy of "How to Launch a Staffing Agency: Plan to Profits in 90 Days or Less"   Talent Titans is sponsored by Ascen. Ascen is an employer of record that helps staffing and recruitment agencies hire employees compliantly throughout the US and Canada. Ascen's all-in-one, white-label platform handles onboarding, timesheets, payroll, benefits, insurance, invoicing, and funding so you can grow quickly in the US and Canada without worrying about back office and paperwork. Visit ascen.com to learn more.

  2. Aug 18

    Episode 138 - Why Companies Celebrate Older CEOs but Reject Older Talent

    How can the corporate world call a 90-year-old founder an "irreplaceable visionary" — while a 52-year-old candidate gets rejected as "not agile enough"? In this episode, Suky Sodhi exposes the Founder's Paradox: the massive double standard where age is treated as an appreciating asset for business owners, but an expiring liability for job applicants. Suky breaks down why HR's silence on this issue isn't neutral  it's active compliance with a broken, cost-cutting model  and lays out the real P&L damage companies do to themselves when they screen out talent aged 40-65: destroyed institutional memory, blown-up turnover budgets, and broken mentorship pipelines. She closes with a 3-step playbook e very recruiter can use TODAY to force hiring managers to justify  or drop  their age bias.   KEY MOMENTS: 00:00 — The Double Standard of Ageism 02:40 — The Real Cost of Age Bias 04:20 — Why HR Stays Silent 06:20 — The Founder's Paradox 09:40 — Why Is 52 "Too Old"? 13:40 — The Business Cost of Rejecting Experience 16:40 — The 3-Step Recruiter Playbook 19:40 — Ageism Will Eventually Affect All of Us 21:00 — Breaking the Silence on Ageism 21:40 — Closing & Sponsor    Check out more episodes of the Talent Titans Podcast: Why Contingency Recruiting is Dying: https://youtu.be/BAE9lrl8z74 Master Niche Recruiting: https://youtu.be/RoRWQ5bwPm0   Connect with Suky: Award-Winning Advisor & Industry Voice | Founder: Canadian Staffing Summit, Talent Titans, Recruitment Professionals Forum | Backing Bold Moves in Staffing, Tech & Investment — No Clickbait, Just Real Talk   Suky doesn't just observe the staffing industry — she helps shape it.   She's built platforms where the industry's most honest conversations happen: 🔹 Canadian Staffing Summit 🔹 Talent Titans Podcast 🔹 Recruitment Professionals Forum   For over two decades, Suky's helped recruitment businesses scale with integrity — from internal team builds to boardroom strategy. She works with agency leaders, tech innovators, and the investors backing the future of staffing.   But here's what Suky doesn't do: copy-paste playbooks, fluff-filled advice, or empty hype.   She believes in smart growth, real talk, and community over competition.   Her work sits at the intersection of:   People + Performance Tech + Disruption Strategy + Soul   Whether she's coaching founders, advising SaaS firms, or connecting those quietly rewriting the rules — one thing holds true: Suky backs those who build.   LinkedIn www.eliteglobalrecruiters.com    Grab of a copy of "How to Launch a Staffing Agency: Plan to Profits in 90 Days or Less"   Talent Titans is sponsored by Ascen. Ascen is an employer of record that helps staffing and recruitment agencies hire employees compliantly throughout the US and Canada. Ascen's all-in-one, white-label platform handles onboarding, timesheets, payroll, benefits, insurance, invoicing, and funding so you can grow quickly in the US and Canada without worrying about back office and paperwork. Visit ascen.com to learn more.

  3. Aug 11

    Episode 137 - You Didn't Get the Job. Here's Why You're Mad at the Wrong Person

    You Didn't Get the Job. Here's Why You're Mad at the Wrong Person  A listener wrote in furious  she'd done multiple interviews, an assessment, took time off work, paid for parking… and still didn't get the offer. In this episode, Suky Sodhi breaks down exactly why that anger is misplaced, walks through what's actually happening on the employer's side of the hiring funnel, and gives you the one move to make in the first 30 days after a rejection that turns it into your competitive advantage. This one's for every candidate stuck feeling "wasted my time" — and every recruiter who's tired of explaining the filtering math to angry applicants.   Key Moments:  00:00 – You're Mad At The Wrong Person  00:30 – Welcome to Talent Titans + Sponsor  01:15 – The Listener's Story: She Invested Everything, Still Got Rejected  03:10 – The Employer's Reality: Filtering Hundreds of Applicants Down to One  05:00 – The Other Candidate You're Not Thinking About  06:30 – Reframe: Disappointed, Not Angry  08:15 – What If Companies Screened Stricter? The Alternative Nobody Wants  09:20 – Turn Rejection Into Growth — The LinkedIn Trick  10:30 – Control Your Reaction, Stay In The Game     Check out more episodes of the Talent Titans Podcast: Why Contingency Recruiting is Dying: https://youtu.be/BAE9lrl8z74 Master Niche Recruiting: https://youtu.be/RoRWQ5bwPm0   Connect with Suky: Award-Winning Advisor & Industry Voice | Founder: Canadian Staffing Summit, Talent Titans, Recruitment Professionals Forum | Backing Bold Moves in Staffing, Tech & Investment — No Clickbait, Just Real Talk   Suky doesn't just observe the staffing industry — she helps shape it.   She's built platforms where the industry's most honest conversations happen: 🔹 Canadian Staffing Summit 🔹 Talent Titans Podcast 🔹 Recruitment Professionals Forum   For over two decades, Suky's helped recruitment businesses scale with integrity — from internal team builds to boardroom strategy. She works with agency leaders, tech innovators, and the investors backing the future of staffing.   But here's what Suky doesn't do: copy-paste playbooks, fluff-filled advice, or empty hype.   She believes in smart growth, real talk, and community over competition.   Her work sits at the intersection of:   People + Performance Tech + Disruption Strategy + Soul   Whether she's coaching founders, advising SaaS firms, or connecting those quietly rewriting the rules — one thing holds true: Suky backs those who build.   LinkedIn www.eliteglobalrecruiters.com    Grab of a copy of "How to Launch a Staffing Agency: Plan to Profits in 90 Days or Less"   Talent Titans is sponsored by Ascen. Ascen is an employer of record that helps staffing and recruitment agencies hire employees compliantly throughout the US and Canada. Ascen's all-in-one, white-label platform handles onboarding, timesheets, payroll, benefits, insurance, invoicing, and funding so you can grow quickly in the US and Canada without worrying about back office and paperwork. Visit ascen.com to learn more.

  4. Aug 4

    Episode 136 - Ageism Was Never About Performance — It Was Always About Cheap Labour

    Is ageism in hiring really an unconscious bias—or was it deliberately engineered over decades? In this episode of Talent Titans, Suky Sodhi challenges one of the most accepted narratives in modern hiring: that older professionals are "too expensive," "hard to manage," or "stuck in their ways." She explores how economic downturns created incentives to replace experienced professionals with cheaper labor, how those decisions evolved into long-standing hiring myths, and why businesses today are paying the price through lost institutional knowledge, weaker leadership, and widening generational divides. If you're a recruiter, staffing leader, hiring manager, or business owner, this episode will challenge how you think about experience, leadership, and the future of hiring.     ⏱️ Key Moments:  00:00 – Ageism Was Engineered, Not Accidental 00:40 – Welcome to Talent Titans 01:20 – How Economic Downturns Created Hiring Bias 03:10 – The Myth: "Older Workers Are Stuck in Their Ways" 04:15 – "Hard to Manage" or Hard to Fool? 05:15 – The Experience Gap Businesses Created 06:00 – The Generational Divide in Today's Workforce 06:50 – The Real Value of Experienced Professionals 07:55 – How Companies Can Eliminate Age Bias 10:15 – A Final Message Every Hiring Leader Needs to Hear 11:15 – Closing Thoughts   Check out more episodes of the Talent Titans Podcast: Why Contingency Recruiting is Dying: https://youtu.be/BAE9lrl8z74 Master Niche Recruiting: https://youtu.be/RoRWQ5bwPm0   Connect with Suky: Award-Winning Advisor & Industry Voice | Founder: Canadian Staffing Summit, Talent Titans, Recruitment Professionals Forum | Backing Bold Moves in Staffing, Tech & Investment — No Clickbait, Just Real Talk   Suky doesn't just observe the staffing industry — she helps shape it.   She's built platforms where the industry's most honest conversations happen: 🔹 Canadian Staffing Summit 🔹 Talent Titans Podcast 🔹 Recruitment Professionals Forum   For over two decades, Suky's helped recruitment businesses scale with integrity — from internal team builds to boardroom strategy. She works with agency leaders, tech innovators, and the investors backing the future of staffing.   But here's what Suky doesn't do: copy-paste playbooks, fluff-filled advice, or empty hype.   She believes in smart growth, real talk, and community over competition.   Her work sits at the intersection of:   People + Performance Tech + Disruption Strategy + Soul   Whether she's coaching founders, advising SaaS firms, or connecting those quietly rewriting the rules — one thing holds true: Suky backs those who build.   LinkedIn www.eliteglobalrecruiters.com    Grab of a copy of "How to Launch a Staffing Agency: Plan to Profits in 90 Days or Less"   Talent Titans is sponsored by Ascen. Ascen is an employer of record that helps staffing and recruitment agencies hire employees compliantly throughout the US and Canada. Ascen's all-in-one, white-label platform handles onboarding, timesheets, payroll, benefits, insurance, invoicing, and funding so you can grow quickly in the US and Canada without worrying about back office and paperwork. Visit ascen.com to learn more.

  5. Jul 28

    Episode 135 - Your Sales Team Looks Busy. But Is It Building Pipeline?

    Is your sales team underperforming — or is the real problem sitting in the manager's seat?   Chris Beckage , Vice President, Business Development  at ProCom, doesn't pull punches. In this episode of Talent Titans, Chris and Suky break down the uncomfortable truth about why most staffing sales teams stall: it's not the market, it's not the reps, and it's almost never what you think.   From killing "Always Be Closing" to uncovering Canada's secret weapon in the US market — this is a masterclass in modern staffing sales built for founders and leaders who are done with excuses.    WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:  → The one question that instantly separates a pipeline builder from a busy salesperson  → Why "Always Be Closing" is dead — and the two principles that replace it  → How Canadian politeness became ProCom's competitive edge in the US market  → The mid-market opportunity most agencies are missing (and why ego is the reason)  → How ProCom uses AI coaching to level up junior reps faster than ever  → Why the market is almost never the real problem — and what actually is    ABOUT CHRIS:  My purpose is simple: to provide the guidance, support, and tools that empower people to build the lives and careers they choose — and to help them find success and happiness along the way.   At Procom, I lead client acquisition, account expansion, and recruiting operations, working alongside a team of account managers and recruiters who share that same commitment to the people we place and the clients we serve.   The value I bring is in the listening. I take the time to truly understand a business and its challenges before I try to solve anything. From there, I ask the right questions — even the uncomfortable ones — because that's what surfaces the real problem, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for everyone involved.   Growth — in revenue, in client relationships, in people — isn't something you force. It's something you build by paying attention first.   Connect with Chris on LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbeckage/   KEY MOMENTS:  00:00 Introduction & Chris Beckage's Personal Purpose  02:00 Golf, Trust & Reading Clients in Their Natural State  03:45 Canada's Secret Weapon in the US Staffing Market  06:25 Why Collaborative Decision-Making Wins Long-Term  08:00 Busy vs. Building: How to Spot True Pipeline Builders  12:20 Why "Always Be Closing" Is Dead  15:00 Always Be Aligning & Always Be Useful  17:00 AI Coaching Tools & Sales Development at ProCom  22:00 Culture Shock: US vs. Canadian Decision-Making Pace  26:00 Open Territories & North American Expansion 27:30 People Over Playbook: How to Scale in New Markets 30:30 The Mid-Market Sweet Spot (Stop Chasing Fortune 500)  34:00 When the Market Is the Excuse and Management Is the Cause    Check out more episodes of the Talent Titans Podcast: Why Contingency Recruiting is Dying: https://youtu.be/BAE9lrl8z74 Master Niche Recruiting: https://youtu.be/RoRWQ5bwPm0   Connect with Suky: Award-Winning Advisor & Industry Voice | Founder: Canadian Staffing Summit, Talent Titans, Recruitment Professionals Forum | Backing Bold Moves in Staffing, Tech & Investment — No Clickbait, Just Real Talk   Suky doesn't just observe the staffing industry — she helps shape it.   She's built platforms where the industry's most honest conversations happen: 🔹 Canadian Staffing Summit 🔹 Talent Titans Podcast 🔹 Recruitment Professionals Forum   For over two decades, Suky's helped recruitment businesses scale with integrity — from internal team builds to boardroom strategy. She works with agency leaders, tech innovators, and the investors backing the future of staffing.   But here's what Suky doesn't do: copy-paste playbooks, fluff-filled advice, or empty hype.   She believes in smart growth, real talk, and community over competition.   Her work sits at the intersection of:   People + Performance Tech + Disruption Strategy + Soul   Whether she's coaching founders, advising SaaS firms, or connecting those quietly rewriting the rules — one thing holds true: Suky backs those who build.   LinkedIn www.eliteglobalrecruiters.com    Grab of a copy of "How to Launch a Staffing Agency: Plan to Profits in 90 Days or Less"   Talent Titans is sponsored by Ascen. Ascen is an employer of record that helps staffing and recruitment agencies hire employees compliantly throughout the US and Canada. Ascen's all-in-one, white-label platform handles onboarding, timesheets, payroll, benefits, insurance, invoicing, and funding so you can grow quickly in the US and Canada without worrying about back office and paperwork. Visit ascen.com to learn more.

  6. Jul 21

    Episode 134 - Your Staffing Agency Is One Bad Contract Away From Losing Everything

    Two words. That's it. Two words buried in your indemnity clause that could save your staffing agency hundreds of thousands of dollars — and most agency owners have never heard them. In this episode, Suky Sodhi sits down with employment and staffing lawyer Dale Friedland to pull back the curtain on the legal landmines hiding inside the MSAs and contracts you're signing every single day. If you run a staffing agency or recruitment firm, this is the episode you forward to your lawyer — and then wonder why your lawyer didn't already know this.   What We Cover: The single most dangerous clause hiding in your MSA (and the two words that neutralize it) Uncapped liability vs. third-party liability — why the difference matters enormously Contractor misclassification: Canada vs. US vs. UK — and why "at will" changes everything The "control test" — how to legitimately protect your independent contractor relationships Backdoor hiring protection: the contract clause that stops clients from cutting you out Extended payment terms and the early warning signs of a client who won't pay When to use an EOR service vs. incorporating locally in the US   🔑 Key Moments: 00:00 The 2 Words That Could Save You Thousands 01:03 Meet Staffing Industry Lawyer Dale Friedland 05:20 The Biggest Legal Risks in Staffing Contracts 08:00 The Clauses Staffing Firms Need to Watch 13:00 Why Your MSA Could Be Putting You at Risk 19:20 Protecting Your Agency in Client Agreements 22:00 Building a Stronger Staffing Contract 27:00 Employment Law & Protecting Your Business 34:33 What Happens When Clients Backdoor Hire 41:00 Protecting Your Recruitment Fees 47:00 When Clients Refuse to Pay 51:41 When to Walk Away From a Bad Client 52:48 Closing & How to Connect With Dale   Connect with Dale: Dale Friedland is a trusted employment and staffing law lawyer based in Toronto, with a focused practice on advising businesses, recruitment agencies, and HR professionals navigating complex workforce challenges. With years of experience and a deep understanding of the legal landscape governing hiring, employee relations, and contingent workforces, Dale provides strategic, practical counsel tailored to modern workplace realities. Specializing in staffing, recruitment, and employment law, Dale regularly advises clients on matters including master staffing agreements, employment contracts, independent contractor agreements, sub-vendor/subcontractor agreements, workplace policies, compliance with provincial and federal regulations, wrongful dismissal claims, and dispute resolution. As former In-House Counsel at a leading Canadian staffing firm, Dale has particular expertise in the legal nuances affecting staffing agencies, including temporary placements, co-employment risks, and regulatory compliance.   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dale-friedland-95065a3a/   Check out more episodes of the Talent Titans Podcast: Why Contingency Recruiting is Dying: https://youtu.be/BAE9lrl8z74 Master Niche Recruiting: https://youtu.be/RoRWQ5bwPm0   Connect with Suky: Award-Winning Advisor & Industry Voice | Founder: Canadian Staffing Summit, Talent Titans, Recruitment Professionals Forum | Backing Bold Moves in Staffing, Tech & Investment — No Clickbait, Just Real Talk   Suky doesn't just observe the staffing industry — she helps shape it.   She's built platforms where the industry's most honest conversations happen: 🔹 Canadian Staffing Summit 🔹 Talent Titans Podcast 🔹 Recruitment Professionals Forum   For over two decades, Suky's helped recruitment businesses scale with integrity — from internal team builds to boardroom strategy. She works with agency leaders, tech innovators, and the investors backing the future of staffing.   But here's what Suky doesn't do: copy-paste playbooks, fluff-filled advice, or empty hype.   She believes in smart growth, real talk, and community over competition.   Her work sits at the intersection of:   People + Performance Tech + Disruption Strategy + Soul   Whether she's coaching founders, advising SaaS firms, or connecting those quietly rewriting the rules — one thing holds true: Suky backs those who build.   LinkedIn www.eliteglobalrecruiters.com    Grab of a copy of "How to Launch a Staffing Agency: Plan to Profits in 90 Days or Less"   Talent Titans is sponsored by Ascen. Ascen is an employer of record that helps staffing and recruitment agencies hire employees compliantly throughout the US and Canada. Ascen's all-in-one, white-label platform handles onboarding, timesheets, payroll, benefits, insurance, invoicing, and funding so you can grow quickly in the US and Canada without worrying about back office and paperwork. Visit ascen.com to learn more.

  7. Jul 14

    Episode 133 - Your Gut Is Lying to You: How Unconscious Bias Kills Your Best Recruiter Hires

    Are your instincts costing you your best recruiter hires? In this episode of Talent Titans, Suky Sodhi exposes the hidden unconscious biases that cause staffing firms to reject proven revenue producers — and how to stop it before it costs you thousands.    We break down a real case study: a tech recruiter who knew his contractor counts, profit margins, and fill rates cold — but got rejected because he hesitated on a complex tiered commission question. The verdict? "Not hungry enough." The reality? A textbook case of the Fundamental Attribution Error.    This is vibe-based hiring. And it's statistically broken.    The research is clear: gut-feel interviews carry only 14% predictive validity for job performance. Structured, competency-based assessments? 48%. Every week a seat stays empty on a 15-contractor desk is $12,000 in unrealized gross profit. The math is simple. The bias is the problem.    In this episode:  → The "hungry enough" fallacy and why it's a legacy sales stereotype  → Fundamental Attribution Error, anchoring bias & confirmation bias — the psychology behind bad hiring decisions  → Why operational metrics (contractor counts, margins, fill rate) predict performance better than any interview gut feeling → The financial cost of prolonged vacancies in your firm  → A 3-step consultation framework to challenge and coach your clients through biased rejections  → Why the candidate who "dodged a bullet" is still getting a final interview — because consulting works    Don't hire by vibes. Hire on facts. Let the numbers tell the story.  KEY MOMENTS: 00:00 The Hidden Bias Costing Recruitment Firms Millions  01:40 The Interview Mistake That Rejected A Top Recruiter  03:20 Why "Not Hungry Enough" Is A Dangerous Assumption  04:40 The Metrics That Actually Matter In Recruiting  06:30 How Unconscious Bias Impacts Hiring Decisions  08:30 Why Gut Feel Interviews Fail  10:30 The Real Cost Of Passing On Top Talent  12:00 How Recruiters Can Challenge Client Bias  13:30 Stop Hiring On Vibes — Use Data Instead  15:00 Final Thoughts    Check out more episodes of the Talent Titans Podcast: Why Contingency Recruiting is Dying: https://youtu.be/BAE9lrl8z74 Master Niche Recruiting: https://youtu.be/RoRWQ5bwPm0   Connect with Suky: Award-Winning Advisor & Industry Voice | Founder: Canadian Staffing Summit, Talent Titans, Recruitment Professionals Forum | Backing Bold Moves in Staffing, Tech & Investment — No Clickbait, Just Real Talk   Suky doesn't just observe the staffing industry — she helps shape it.   She's built platforms where the industry's most honest conversations happen: 🔹 Canadian Staffing Summit 🔹 Talent Titans Podcast 🔹 Recruitment Professionals Forum   For over two decades, Suky's helped recruitment businesses scale with integrity — from internal team builds to boardroom strategy. She works with agency leaders, tech innovators, and the investors backing the future of staffing.   But here's what Suky doesn't do: copy-paste playbooks, fluff-filled advice, or empty hype.   She believes in smart growth, real talk, and community over competition.   Her work sits at the intersection of:   People + Performance Tech + Disruption Strategy + Soul   Whether she's coaching founders, advising SaaS firms, or connecting those quietly rewriting the rules — one thing holds true: Suky backs those who build.   LinkedIn www.eliteglobalrecruiters.com    Grab of a copy of "How to Launch a Staffing Agency: Plan to Profits in 90 Days or Less"   Talent Titans is sponsored by Ascen. Ascen is an employer of record that helps staffing and recruitment agencies hire employees compliantly throughout the US and Canada. Ascen's all-in-one, white-label platform handles onboarding, timesheets, payroll, benefits, insurance, invoicing, and funding so you can grow quickly in the US and Canada without worrying about back office and paperwork. Visit ascen.com to learn more.

  8. Jul 7

    Episode 132 - Your ATS Contract Is Trapping Your Recruitment Agency

    If your ATS needs a 24-month contract to keep you, that's not a partnership — that's a trap. In this episode of Talent Titans, Suky Sodhi sits down with Karen Somal , CEO and Founder of Athena CRM, who's disrupting the recruitment software industry with a radical promise: full customizability, month-to-month contracts, and zero migration costs. After 15 years in recruitment tech, Karen has seen it all — from directors building systems that treat recruiters like "data entry clerks" to agencies trapped in "bad marriages" with their ATS providers.    She breaks down:  • Why legacy ATS platforms force YOU to adapt YOUR workflow to THEIR software  • The hidden cost of poor recruiter adoption (and why it's killing your placements)  • How data migration horror stories are keeping agencies stuck in broken systems  • Why Athena covers migration costs — and buys clients out of existing contracts  • The "director-led vs. recruiter-led" design philosophy that's changing the game    Karen's message to agency founders: "If you need a 24-month contract to keep someone, you're admitting that the product can't retain them on merit." This is real talk for recruitment leaders who are tired of software that works against them instead of for them.    🔑 Chapters  00:00 — The ATS Trap: Why Your Software Is Working Against You  02:15 — Director-Led vs. Recruiter-Led: The Design Philosophy Shift  08:30 — The 24-Month Contract Problem 14:00 — Data Migration Horror Stories 22:45 — "We're Unsellable Right Now": When Bad Data Kills Acquisitions  28:30 — Athena's Radical Approach: No Migration Fees, Monthly Contracts  35:00 — Why Recruiter Adoption Is Never About Features  42:00 — Word-of-Mouth Growth: From Canada to Dubai  47:30 — What's Next for Recruitment Tech  Connect with Karen: I'm Karen Somal, a recruitment technology specialist with years of experience helping agencies improve their systems, processes, and use of technology. I've worked on CRM implementations, automation projects, data transformation, and business process improvement across the recruitment sector. I'm also the founder of Athena CRM, a platform created to give recruitment businesses a more flexible and configurable approach to managing their operations. I'm passionate about using technology to solve real business challenges while keeping people and relationships at the heart of what I do.    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-somal-35569117/   Check out more episodes of the Talent Titans Podcast: Why Contingency Recruiting is Dying: https://youtu.be/BAE9lrl8z74 Master Niche Recruiting: https://youtu.be/RoRWQ5bwPm0   Connect with Suky: Award-Winning Advisor & Industry Voice | Founder: Canadian Staffing Summit, Talent Titans, Recruitment Professionals Forum | Backing Bold Moves in Staffing, Tech & Investment — No Clickbait, Just Real Talk   Suky doesn't just observe the staffing industry — she helps shape it.   She's built platforms where the industry's most honest conversations happen: 🔹 Canadian Staffing Summit 🔹 Talent Titans Podcast 🔹 Recruitment Professionals Forum   For over two decades, Suky's helped recruitment businesses scale with integrity — from internal team builds to boardroom strategy. She works with agency leaders, tech innovators, and the investors backing the future of staffing.   But here's what Suky doesn't do: copy-paste playbooks, fluff-filled advice, or empty hype.   She believes in smart growth, real talk, and community over competition.   Her work sits at the intersection of:   People + Performance Tech + Disruption Strategy + Soul   Whether she's coaching founders, advising SaaS firms, or connecting those quietly rewriting the rules — one thing holds true: Suky backs those who build.   LinkedIn www.eliteglobalrecruiters.com    Grab of a copy of "How to Launch a Staffing Agency: Plan to Profits in 90 Days or Less"   Talent Titans is sponsored by Ascen. Ascen is an employer of record that helps staffing and recruitment agencies hire employees compliantly throughout the US and Canada. Ascen's all-in-one, white-label platform handles onboarding, timesheets, payroll, benefits, insurance, invoicing, and funding so you can grow quickly in the US and Canada without worrying about back office and paperwork. Visit ascen.com to learn more.

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High performance staffing industry mastermind leader, Suky Sodhi has always felt strongly about allowing the sales team within organizations to have a voice at the boardroom table. She has been working with global recruitment companies for almost 3 decades, helping them align their focus on both the bottom line and their people. President and Founder of Professional Selection, a leading rec2rec agency, and Founder of Elite Global Recruiters, a community of staffing industry professionals from around the globe, she is helping recruitment businesses scale like never before. Her podcast, Talent Titans serves as a platform to share her research and findings with us, including best tips and practices to take your business to the next level. If you enjoyed this episode, please tell us what you think so that we can create more content around this topic. Your feedback is key to help us grow!

Information

  • Creator
    Suky Sodhi
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    139
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2022
  • Show Website
    Talent Titans