Season 2, Episode 2: Big Bang Change: Transforming Recruitment Systems with Sam Porter

In this episode, Sam Porter, IT Director at Morgan Hunt, shares the story of a sweeping digital transformation in their staffing operations. Facing fragmented systems and rising pressures from AI and automation, Sam and his team undertook a full overhaul of their CRM, onboarding, and pay-and-bill platforms — all at once in a “big bang” approach. He explains how they used a detailed time and motion study to uncover inefficiencies, engaged every department to shape the new systems, and balanced ambition with stability during implementation. Sam offers valuable lessons about prioritizing ROI, managing change, and sustaining momentum beyond go-live.The SROP is hosted by James Lawton: ex-recruiter, now helping enterprise-level companies with high volume hiring with automation and AI.More about Sam PorterSam Porter is the IT Director at Morgan Hunt, a leading staffing and recruitment firm specializing in the public sector. With a background in IT leadership, Sam has spearheaded transformative technology initiatives, including a company-wide overhaul of core systems to leverage AI, automation, and data-driven efficiency. He is passionate about aligning technology with business goals to empower teams and improve operational performance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, James sits down with John Gargan, Head of Operations at Manpower Northern Ireland, to discuss how they transformed a highly manual hiring process by integrating AI. The conversation explores how this shift streamlined operations and boosted recruiter productivity.The SROP is hosted by James Lawton: ex-recruiter, now helping enterprise-level companies with high volume hiring with automation and AI.More about John GarganJohn Gargan is the regional manager at Manpower UK. He currently managing a portfolio of 38 client accounts in Northern Ireland, with end-to-end ownership of team performance, commercial outcomes, and stakeholder engagement.We want to talk to youWherever you are in the world, if you work for a high volume staffing and/or recruitment firm then we want to talk to you! So do not hesitate to reach out to us if you would like to be on the podcast.The Staffing RecOps Podcast is sponsored by Sense. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode, our host and founder James takes a moment to reflect on the incredible journey we've had on The Staffing RecOps Podcast and we dive into the highlights of the past quarter.Throughout the quarter, we had the pleasure of hosting 4 amazing guests, Mason Barendrecht, Frank Gullo, Martin Allen and Michael Whitmer. A recurring theme in our conversations was automation in the recruitment landscape. Our guests, representing various recruitment firms, provided valuable insights into the different stages of their automation transformations.As we look back on the past quarter and year, we are grateful for the knowledge shared by our guests and the support of our dedicated listeners. Thank you for being a part of The Staffing RecOps Podcast community.More about James LawtonThe SROP is hosted and founded by James Lawton: ex-recruiter, now helping enterprise-level companies manage their high-volume contingent workforce. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this new episode, James talked with Michael from RGF Staffing about all things AI and data related. Michael talked about leveraging AI in matching, using tools in deep learning and natural language to manage both active candidates and to match passive candidates with open job opportunities. They are utilizing boolean search strings and refining them by examining skills in their taxonomy of data, thereby honing the search with automated enhanced searches. They are currently experimenting with Large Language Models (LLM) on enterprise licenses instead of publicly OpenAI data models, but they don't know where this will lead yet.The top 3 tips Michael shared with us are get your data clean, experiment and don't be afraid to fail and learn from this.The SROP is hosted by James Lawton: ex-recruiter, now helping enterprise-level companies manage their high-volume contingent workforce.More about Michael WhitmerMichael Whitmer is Global CIO at RGF Staffing. RGF Staffing is one of the world's largest providers of HR services.Every day around 265,000 people are employed through the network of RGF Staffing at companies and institutions across the world.We want to talk to youWherever you are in the world, if you work for a high volume staffing and/or recruitment firm then we want to talk to you! So do not hesitate to reach out to us if you would like to be on the podcast.The Staffing RecOps Podcast is sponsored by Mployee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this new episode, James talked with Martin about the significance of treating data as a valuable asset, emphasizing the importance of thoughtful consideration regarding its input and utilization, rather than merely viewing it as a byproduct of output. Martin advised that we need to start with why, why and what are we looking to achieve and very importantly how do we deliver on it.Martin shed light on the potential insights that can be derived from leveraging the data accessible to recruitment agencies. He highlighted how harnessing this data can not only provide valuable information but also enhance the overall value we offer to our clients.The SROP is hosted by James Lawton: ex-recruiter, now helping enterprise-level companies manage their high-volume contingent workforce.More about Martin AllenMartin Allen is a reference and master data modernisation consultant freelancer. Martin is a highly-experienced and pro-active reference and master data modernisation consultant / Senior Programme Manager. He has a successful background in B2B, B2C, telecomunications, retail, real estate, travel, financial services, defence, consulting, central and local governments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this new episode, James talked with Frank about the shift in organisational focus since Nov 2022, and the excitement and the concerns around AI. Frank talked about the need to understand the business strategy and the problems that need to be solved before thinking about where to invest in AI. Assessing what resources are available to the business, and what the use cases are. Frank talked about the importance of governance, privacy and security, and having an AI policy.More about Frank GulloFrank Gullo is Chief Technology Officer at Aleron. Aleron is a global workforce and business solutions company that builds relationships, connects people, and empowers the workplace. An industry leader since 1957, Aleron specializes in total talent solutions, workforce management, IT services, and more.Extra sources and reading material provided by FrankEconomist and writer Tyler Cowen https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2023/08/ai-update.htmlBusiness Consultant Melissa Copeland https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/elephant-room-one-wants-admit-what-dont-know-ai-melissa-copeland/Reading materialHow to Create the Best ChatGPT Policies: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/technology/pages/how-to-create-the-best-chatgpt-policies-.aspx?mkt_tok=ODIzLVRXUy05ODQAAAGNZB7EstpQ7CYs4da-Wjimt7P64ppD-v-qVb9HK6Y5P9BcG-lnicb8gSbuv38arvmgJ_kqzxrqb1rfdpovaBQep-JezNSrUsie-88PUrMRligFwY_S The A-Z of AI: 30 terms you need to understand artificial intelligence: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230717-what-you-should-know-about-artificial-intelligence-from-a-zBuying AI? The questions HR leaders should be able to answer: https://hrexecutive.com/buying-ai-questions-hr-leaders-should-be-able-to-answer-ai-governance/?oly_enc_id=8242I6865212B1M Generative AI tips and warnings from 5 providers: https://www.ciodive.com/news/Generative-AI-myths-tips-tricks-adoption/691496/ How Generative AI Will Transform Your Industry: https://www.gartner.com/en/webinar/534330/1202251 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this new episode, James talked with Mason about data, the quality of data, and migrating that data. Mason specified the key challenges for this; volume, complexity & ensuring have the right data. The importance of making sure the data you migrate into your new system is relevant, so clean the data before the move.Retention of data is always Mason's biggest concern and perceived risk, which is part of why Hales Group are moving from a legacy server based solution into the cloud. Mason's last tip for anyone about to conduct a data migration themselves is to create a Checklist before they start!The SROP is hosted by James Lawton: ex-recruiter, now helping enterprise-level companies manage their high-volume contingent workforce.More about Mason BarendrechtMason Barendrecht is Director of Technology and Systems at Hales GroupHales Group Ltd is one of the UK's leading home care providers and staffing businesses, delivering recruitment services to a wide range of sectors throughout the UK.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode, James recaps on the last quarter where he talked about customer & candidate care, automation & messaging with the SROP guests. The idea behind the Staffing RecOps Podcast is that by interviewing professionals from high volume staffing & recruitment firms about the operations strategies and business processes they have implemented or are implementing, why they did it and how, we can obtain and share insights for other staffing & recruitment professionals about to embark on similar projects.If you haven't already done so, do go back and listen to the individual episodes! The SROP is hosted by James Lawton: ex-recruiter, now helping enterprise-level companies manage their high-volume contingent workforce.Plans for next quarterNext quarter we will be focusing on Data & Security, Automation & Artificial Intelligence. We predominantly interview professionals from the UK and the US, but would love to hear from professionals in our industry from other regions.So if you are based somewhere other than the UK or the USA, and you work in strategic management or are operational please do reach out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this new episode, James talked with Graham about moving from one marketing automation tool to another, evolving the way of engaging with talent based on behavioural marketing and connecting with candidates at a moment in time using trigger points to deliver relevant marketing.They also talked about issues with data, the importance of data quality, potential process change and the human factor with that transformational change.The SROP is hosted by James Lawton: ex-recruiter, now helping enterprise-level companies manage their high-volume contingent workforce.More about Graham HalewoodGraham Halewood is Chief Operations Officer at BMS Performance. BMS Performance have been delivering recruitment solutions since 1990. They wanted to create a business that is focused on the needs of their clients and candidates, delivering first class results with quality service.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this new episode, James talked with Matt about how Astute started 5 years ago with a vendor in the automated messaging space. The catalyst of that project was the introduction of GDPR in 2018. They also talked about the importance of project management. Mapping out the process in detail, what messages are sent manually and having the right person or team run the project. The SROP is hosted by James Lawton: ex-recruiter, now helping enterprise-level companies manage their high-volume contingent workforce.More about Matt DickensMatt Dickens is director at Astute Technical Recruitment. Astute is an award-winning technical recruitment consultancy established in 2006. They are proud to have built an industry leading business focusing on the provision of high-calibre contract and permanent staff worldwide. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.