Talent acquisition is evolving – fast. With shifting business needs, emerging technologies, and increasing demands for efficiency, recruitment teams are under more pressure than ever to deliver. But without a clear framework to assess where you are today, how can you chart a path to where you need to be?
This was the central theme of SocialTalent Live: TA Maturity Models, our latest virtual event, where industry experts came together to explore how organizations can move from reactive hiring to a truly strategic, high-impact talent function.
More than just a benchmarking tool, Hiring Maturity Models provide a roadmap for companies looking to scale their hiring function effectively. Throughout the event, our expert speakers shared insights on what hiring excellence looks like at different stages of maturity, the challenges and opportunities at each level, and the practical steps organizations can take to advance their TA strategies.
Hosted by Johnny Campbell, CEO of SocialTalent, the event featured three thought-provoking discussions with top TA leaders:
- Jon Christensen, Director, Talent Acquisition at Deloitte.
- MaryAnne Pelland, EVP & Head of Talent Acquisition at Citizens.
- Joshua Secrest, VP, Marketing & Client Advocacy at Paradox.
- Rebecca Volpano, VP, Product Marketing at Cielo Talent.
Below, we’ll explore the key insights and actionable takeaways from each session, providing a roadmap for organizations looking to elevate their talent acquisition strategies.
And as an added bonus, we launched our Hiring Maturity Model tool – an AI-powered, interactive assessment you can use to scope out where your hiring maturity currently sits and recommendations for further growth. Check it out HERE.
1. From the Ground Up: Hiring in the Early Stages
Key theme: Exploring essential metrics and adaptability for early-stage talent acquisition.
Jon Christensen, Director of Talent Acquisition at Deloitte Luxembourg, kicked off SocialTalent Live with a powerful session focused on building talent acquisition (TA) functions from the ground up. Drawing from his extensive experience at major organizations like Amazon and the scale-up Spire, Jon provided invaluable insights into the essential building blocks of effective talent acquisition, particularly in the early stages.
Jon emphasized the critical role of metrics in understanding and driving maturity within TA teams. Reflecting on his experience at Spire, he noted,
“The first thing I had to do was really figure out what was happening. And so I spent a good first month digging through the ATS to figure out the metrics and to use that to start driving some of the conversations.”
Metrics allowed him to identify bottlenecks, highlight successes, and clearly communicate with business stakeholders. This data-driven approach significantly improved Spire’s recruiting effectiveness and helped align business expectations with recruitment capabilities.
During the conversation, Johnny cautioned TA leaders against blindly adopting practices from larger, established organizations without contextual consideration. “What works at Amazon might not necessarily translate directly to your business,” he explained. Jon expanded on this, recommending organizations to focus on core metrics, like recruiter productivity and time-to-hire, but adapt their interpretation and use to the specific needs of their business.
Another key point Jon shared was about stakeholder perception, specifically through implementing a Hiring Manager Net Promoter Score (NPS) at Spire. This allowed the recruitment team to gain an accurate picture of performance and counterbalance the naturally louder negative feedback.
“Most of the hiring managers that I hear from contact me because something is not working. And that can get hard on recruiting teams,” Jon said, highlighting how this practice provided clarity and reassurance that many processes were effective and appreciated by stakeholders.
Lastly, Jon underscored the importance of adaptability in talent acquisition processes. Having led vastly different recruiting operations, from high-volume hiring at Amazon to specialized talent acquisition at Deloitte, he recognized that a one-size-fits-all approach rarely succeeds. Hiring strategies must adapt based on the business stage, location, role complexity, and volume. This flexibility ensures TA teams remain agile and responsive to changing business needs.
Jon’s parting advice to talent acquisition leaders navigating through uncertainty was clear: embrace ambiguity.
“Start asking questions. Start doing research. Start interviewing some of the business. Ask them what they would like to see in talent, what would great look like, what are some of the things that are missing?”
For Jon, the path to talent acquisition maturity starts by embracing the unknown, turning ambiguity into strategic clarity.
2. Scaling TA: Lessons from the Mid-Maturity Stage
Key theme: Prioritizing candidate experience to differentiate talent strategy in a consumer-focused business.
Johnny next welcomed MaryAnne Pelland, EVP and Head of Talent Acquisition at Citizens Bank, for a detailed discussion about prioritizing candidate experience within talent acquisition strategies.
Highlighting the unique responsibilities faced by consumer-oriented brands in recruitment, Johnny noted that, “every single candidate who could apply to Citizens could be a customer.” This insight underscores the critical need for Citizens to deliver a consistently exceptional candidate experience, as it directly impacts the bank’s customer relationships and overall brand perception.
Central to Citizens’ approach is their explicit “candidate promise.” MaryAnne shared,
“We started our transformation by ensuring we stacked and aligned how we’re going to differentiate ourselves to the market by increasing and improving candidate experience. We want that to be a distinction for us at Citizens.”
To measure this commitment effectively, Citizens employs real-time candidate surveys throughout every stage of the hiring process, including candidates who aren’t ultimately hired. These immediate insights allow MaryAnne and her team to continuously refine and enhance their approach.
Beyond candidate experience, MaryAnne provided clarity on the metrics driving Citizens’ TA function. Traditional KPIs such as time-to-fill, recruiter capacity, and source-of-hire remain crucial. However, Citizens also incorporate hiring manager feedback surveys – not just to gauge satisfaction but specifically to assess recruiter effectiveness. MaryAnne noted, “We’re checking to see that our recruiters are delivering as talent advisers. So we’re looking to see whether we’re showing up the way we’ve committed to.”
Benchmarking externally is another vital practice at Citizens. The TA team regularly measures their performance against both industry peers and regional employers using platforms like Glassdoor. MaryAnne emphasized the importance of external benchmarks: “Anytime I can get an external benchmark, I use that.” This disciplined approach helps ensure Citizens stay competitive and responsive to market dynamics.
Reflecting on the shift within her TA team from transactional recruiting to consultative advising, MaryAnne shared insights into their intensive capability-building initiatives. “We observe. We create. We coach. We require a lot of practice from our team,” she said, underscoring the strategic investment in building recruiters’ confidence and competence. She noted, “Change is uncomfortable, but we ensure our team is ready,” highlighting the depth of support provided during their transition towards becoming true talent advisors.
Finally, MaryAnne touched on technology’s critical role in enabling this transformation, despite operating in a highly regulated sector. She mentioned the strategic use of automation, their recent introduction of generative AI, and the ongoing optimization of their TA tech stack. Her proactive stance on innovation ensures Citizens remain agile and effective in their talent strategy, continuously driving improvements and enhancing their candidate and recruiter experiences alike.
3. Mastering TA Maturity: Advanced Strategies in Action
Key theme: Leveraging advanced TA maturity to align recruitment directly with business outcomes.
Closing SocialTalent Live was a dynamic conversation between Joshua Secrest, VP of Marketing and Client Advocacy at Paradox, and Rebecca Volpano, VP of Product Marketing at Cielo Talent. They discussed advanced talent acquisition (TA) maturity strategies, highlighting how top-tier organizations leverage TA to directly influence business outcomes.
Joshua, drawing from his extensive experience as the former Head of Global Talent Acquisition at McDonald’s, opened the conversation with a compelling story illustrating the revenue impact of talent acquisition. “At McDonald’s, we quantified that each understaffed position resulted in significant daily revenue losses,” Joshua shared, adding, “By reducing our hiring time from 21 days to 3 days, we recouped huge amounts in revenue recovery.”
Rebecca then provided insights into how Cielo – a global talent acquisition partner handling approximately half a million hires annually – approaches TA as a core revenue-driving function. “Our entire business revolves around talent acquisition,” she stated, emphasizing that at Cielo, the success metric directly ties to hires completed. However, Rebecca clarified that successful hiring goes beyond just closing roles, highlighting the importance of embedding strategic workforce planning and measuring deeper metrics such as quality of hire, employee engagement at 30, 60, and 90 days, and time to performance.
One critical insight Rebecca shared was around balancing operational efficiency and candidate experience, especially when leveraging new technologies. “Experience is always at the core of what we do,” she stressed. “We never implement technology that negatively impacts candidates, recruiters, or hiring managers, even if it promises significant cost savings.”
Joshua and Rebecca also discussed the transformative potential of automation and generative AI. At Cielo, these technologies are strategically used not merely to cut costs but to significantly elevate the candidate experience and empower recruiters to shift from transactional roles to strategic talent advisors. Rebecca elaborated, “Automation allows us to focus on more strategic and high-value activities. It’s about doing more with more, rather than just reducing headcount.”
Rebecca highlighted the importance of segmenting recruitment strategies based on role types, balancing high-volume roles and professional or corporate positions. She explained how advanced technologies now allow a tailored, personalized experience at scale without sacrificing operational excellence. “You can introduce hyper-personalization without compromising efficiency, essentially getting the best of both worlds,” she noted.
Finally, Rebecca spoke about the culture of innovation at Cielo, emphasizing the importance of continuously questioning established norms to maintain their competitive edge. “We’re not afraid to ask big, challenging questions, like what if there were no resumes or requisitions? This pushes us to constantly innovate and stay ahead,” she shared.
Joshua summarized the conversation by reinforcing how advanced TA maturity requires thinking beyond traditional KPIs, aligning recruitment closely with business strategy, and continuously innovating processes and technologies to enhance both business results and candidate experience. The conversation concluded with a clear call for TA leaders to embrace innovation and strategic alignment as central to mastering talent acquisition maturity.
Conclusion
Talent acquisition maturity isn’t just about benchmarking – it’s a strategic roadmap guiding organizations toward true hiring excellence. By learning from leaders at Deloitte, Citizens Bank, Paradox, and Cielo, we’ve seen how adaptability, candidate-centricity, and direct alignment with business outcomes are essential for evolving your talent function. Wherever you stand today, embracing these insights can position your TA strategy for future success.
Our next edition of SocialTalent Live is only around the corner! Taking place on May 28th, we’re tackling the topic of Talent Advisor 2.0, sign-up today to reserve your place!
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