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.