What if growth in 2026 isn’t about doing more — but choosing better? In this keynote from Benjamin Mena’s Elite Recruiter Sales & BD Summit, Kortney Harmon reframes what winning looks like in today’s staffing market.

In this episode, you’ll hear insights from Kortney Harmon’s keynote at Ben Mena’s Sales and BD Summit, where she explores why narrowing focus, redesigning revenue strategy, and protecting the right relationships are critical in today’s staffing market. As sales cycles lengthen and effort becomes more expensive, Kortney breaks down how intentional account selection, system alignment, and leadership judgment can eliminate wasted activity and margin erosion. From confronting burnout and revenue concentration to building repeatable processes that reduce reliance on heroics, she shares practical frameworks to help firms move from reactive selling to relationship-driven growth

Whether you’re an agency leader, full-desk producer, or building the next phase of your firm’s growth, this episode challenges you to rethink where your effort is going — and whether it’s truly compounding.
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In an industry built on speed, what actually sustains long-term success. In this Industry Spotlight, Kortney Harmon sits down with Elizabeth Rosenberg to examine why trust and reputation remain recruiting’s most durable advantage.

Drawing on decades of experience advising executives on communication and personal brand, Elizabeth offers a grounded perspective on how credibility is built through everyday behavior. The conversation explores where transactional habits quietly undermine relationships, why visibility without intention can weaken trust, and how recruiters shape their reputations long before deals are closed. Rather than focusing on tactics, this discussion reframes personal brand as a reflection of consistency, judgment, and how leaders show up when it matters most.

The conversation reveals why lasting relationships—not speed alone—define long-term success, and how investing in trust and authenticity shapes both stronger firms and more durable careers.

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Is the recruiting industry actually changing—or simply recalibrating? Kortney Harmon cuts through the noise to examine what’s really shaping recruiting leadership as firms look toward 2026. Rather than chasing headlines or hyped predictions, this Express episode outlines eight quiet but powerful signals emerging from real conversations with owners, operators, and executives. Kortney explores why relationships are becoming strategic again, how discipline is replacing tech accumulation, and why AI is shifting from competitive advantage to expected infrastructure. The conversation reframes growth around sustainability, trust, and clarity—highlighting the rise of operator-strategists, the redefinition of candidate experience, and the identity questions firms can no longer avoid.

Grab a coffee and tune in for quick, practical inspiration to help you lead and grow your talent business—with less chaos and more purpose.

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As AI accelerates across recruiting, the firms pulling ahead aren’t chasing tools—they’re doubling down on relationships. In this Industry Spotlight, Kortney Harmon sits down with Tom Wilson, Partner at Buffkin/Baker, to unpack what actually keeps recruiting leaders relevant as automation, speed, and expectations continue to rise.

The conversation explores how client and candidate expectations have shifted across industries, where AI creates real leverage, and why human judgment, context, and trust remain irreplaceable. Rather than focusing on tactics, Tom offers a leadership perspective on building relevance, consistency, and long-term value in a rapidly changing talent market.

Key insights you can’t miss:
• Why relationships—not speed or tools—remain the real competitive advantage
• How recruiting strategies must adapt across industries and market cycles
• Where AI adds efficiency and where human judgment still matters most
• What advisory-led recruiting looks like in a changing talent economy

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What happens when candidate submissions disappear—and no one can explain why? In this FDE Express episode, host Kortney Harmon breaks down how undefined submission processes quietly drain revenue and momentum.

Drawing on real-world audits, Kortney reframes failed submissions as an operational issue, not a recruiter problem. She outlines how inconsistent formats, missing follow-up, and lack of visibility create a costly “figure it out” tax—and what a revenue-protecting submission framework actually looks like.

Key Takeaways

• Why submissions are as revenue-critical as invoicing

• The hidden cost of letting recruiters “figure it out”

• What a standardized, flexible submission process includes

• How visibility and tracking protect placements and momentum

Listen in for practical strategies you can implement immediately to bring consistency and control back to your submission process.

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CEO turnover is accelerating—so how are boards, leaders, and search firms adapting while maintaining the judgment that high-stakes decisions demand? In this Industry Spotlight, host Kortney Harmon sits down with Lynne Murphy-Rivera, Managing Director of the Americas at AESC, to unpack how AI, demographic shifts, and rising performance expectations are reshaping the future of executive search. Lynne shares on-the-ground insights from global member firms, revealing how today’s volatility is redefining leadership, governance, and the work of retained search.

Key insights you can’t miss:

• Why CEO transitions are at an all-time high—and why boards expect results faster

• How AI is transforming research, oversight, and the need for clearer judgment

• What a five-generation workforce means for leadership pipelines and succession

• How “chaos moments” at the top create strategic opportunities for retained search firms

This episode shows how executive search can lead through uncertainty by combining AI-driven efficiency with the human judgment that defines great leadership advisory. Tune in and discover how executive search is not just keeping pace with change, but helping shape the future of strategic leadership.

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AESC Website: https://www.aesc.org/

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In this episode, Kortney Harmon and Chris Hesson join Benjamin Mena on The Elite Recruiter Podcast to examine how AI agents are reshaping the recruiting workflow and challenging the traditional KPIs many teams still rely on. They explore why sourcing is shifting, why volume-based activity metrics no longer reflect real performance, and how automation is redefining the recruiter’s day-to-day responsibilities.

Kortney and Chris break down how AI agents now support sourcing, research, data cleanup, enrichment, and workflow execution—returning hours each week while exposing the widening disconnect between legacy activity tracking and modern recruiter impact. They also discuss how measuring calls, emails, and task volume can unintentionally penalize recruiters who leverage automation effectively, and why leaders must adopt outcome-based metrics grounded in influence, advisory work, and relationship-building. The conversation highlights how living resumes, real-time data enrichment, and agent-driven workflows inside the ATS can unlock value long buried in existing databases.

Listen in to explore how automation changes the work—and how humans elevate the results.
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What does AI look like in practice—not in theory—for the recruiters and leaders using it every day? In this FDE+ panel, Kortney Harmon sits down with Neal Osler, Chris Allaire, and Justin Bellante to examine how AI is reshaping job intake, sourcing, candidate conversations, and recruiter productivity in real time.

The panelists share where AI is truly delivering value: rewriting job descriptions with clarity clients can finally react to, transforming interview transcriptions into stronger submittals, accelerating sourcing through smarter Boolean generation, and returning hours of lost admin time each week. They also surface the harder truths: declining response rates, over-reliance on automation, hallucinated requirements, and the widening trust gap created as inboxes become more machine-written than human-led.

If you're navigating the noise around AI and looking for what truly drives performance, this panel reveals how the most effective teams blend innovation with authenticity to build stronger, more resilient recruiting operations in an AI-powered world.
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