Ep 43 Ted Pierni of Robertson Explains How Organizations Can Transform Their Talent Acquisition Function

Across the talent acquisition landscape, 77% of companies report difficulty keeping teams right-sized amid unpredictable hiring cycles, according to the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA). Recruiting leaders confront a perfect storm: skills gaps are widening, candidate fraud is on the rise, and AI disrupts every facet of hiring. Only 42% of organizations proactively modernize their recruitment processes when volatility strikes, putting business agility and resilience at risk.

Amid this shake-up, how can organizations make their hiring strategies future-ready, manage compliance, and deliver a standout candidate experience—all at scale? In this episode of the Time to Hire podcast, host Lamees Abourahma sits down with Ted Pierni, Head of Delivery at Robertson and Company, to explore how innovative RPO models can solve today's biggest recruiting pains. With over 25 years leading recruitment transformation, Ted offers hard-won insights for building resilient, data-driven teams in an era of rapid change.

Robertson and Company is a Silver Member of the RPO Association.

Follow Ted Pierni on LinkedIn

Go here for more information about Robertson and Company

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.

Transcript

Podcast Introduction

[00:00] Lamees Abourahma:
The Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) isn’t just about filling roles—it’s about building resilient, future-ready organizations. That perspective sets the tone for a candid conversation about how recruitment is evolving and why the stakes have never been higher. Welcome to Time to Hire, the podcast from the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association. We explore stories and strategies shaping the future of talent acquisition. I’m your host, Lamees Abourahma, here with Ted Peerney, Head of Delivery at Robertson and Company. Hi, Ted.

[00:00] Ted Pierni
Hello, Lamees. How are you today?

[00:00] Lamees Abourahma:
Good. I’m excited for this conversation. Before we get into our topic, can you give us some background on your RPO experience, and about Robertson?

Guest Background & RPO Experience

[01:07] Ted Pierni:
Absolutely. I’ve spent about 25 years in recruitment, with approximately half of that in RPO environments. I’ve worked with major RPOs like AON Hewitt and People Scout, leading teams and managing accounts in Canada, the US, and Latin America. I’m based in Toronto, Canada. My experience spans both sides of the US-Canada border.

[02:01] Lamees Abourahma:
Has your experience mostly been in financial services?

[02:06] Ted Pierni:
Yes, I’ve focused primarily on financial services for the last 18 years, but I’ve also worked in hospitality and manufacturing sectors. The majority is in financial services.

[02:25] Lamees Abourahma:
And Robertson and Company—can you share about your current role there?

[02:30] Ted Pierni:
I joined Robertson and Company in January as Head of RPO Delivery. I was brought on to set up the RPO division, focusing on financial services clients. We handle various types of recruitment, but RPO is relatively new to Robertson. We offer both end-to-end and project-based RPO solutions.

Modern Recruitment Challenges

[03:00] Lamees Abourahma:
Let’s start by discussing the new hiring reality. Many organizations face unpredictable hiring cycles and must rethink how they build and scale their talent functions. What are the biggest challenges companies face today in recruiting and workforce planning?

[03:45] Ted Pierni:
A lot has changed in five years. The biggest challenge is the volatility of demand and stop-start hiring cycles. Markets fluctuate, and it’s difficult to keep in-house teams right-sized. With all this change, companies must adjust recruiter capacity quickly. Another key challenge is the shift from hiring based on past job titles to focusing on candidates’ capabilities, growth, and learning agility.
There’s also a rise in candidate fraud. At recent conferences, we discussed the new reality of agents interacting—sometimes without real candidates involved. Screening and validation have become critical. Candidates now expect more transparency, faster responses, and a human touch, all at scale.
AI is changing everything. It’s not just about using AI, but managing governance, ensuring fairness, and preventing bias in AI tools.

Understanding and Defining RPO

[06:58] Lamees Abourahma:
The industry complexity is increasing, and leaders must do more than ever. Let’s discuss RPO as a solution. How do you define RPO today?

[08:31] Ted Pierni:
I define RPO as a managed talent operating system. It brings together embedded teams, technology, process, and analytics to deliver outcomes. The scope can range from end-to-end solutions—including workforce planning, sourcing, assessment, offers, onboarding—or modular components. We serve enterprises or project-based needs.

RPO differs from staffing firms and internal recruitment. Staffing firms are transactional and focus on individual requisitions, while RPO delivers repeatable capacity, branding, analytics, data, and compliance as an extension of the internal HR team. We offer flexibility and often bring specialized technology and continuous improvement.

Transforming RPO Relationships

[11:14] Lamees Abourahma:
Let’s explore RPO’s evolving role. How does it shift from transactional to transformative?

[12:07] Ted Pierni:
The real value of RPO is in its transformation—from transactional processes to consultative and strategic partnerships. The conversation shifts beyond simple metrics like time to fill or cost per hire, to quality of hire, retention, internal mobility, and candidate satisfaction (NPS).
Transformation means incorporating talent intelligence, demand forecasting, skills taxonomy, compensation insights, and process modernization. Recruiter upskilling is essential; recruiters must become consultants who understand both market trends and business needs.

A key example: At previous companies, we held transformation events with Six Sigma professionals. We brought together hiring managers, business leaders, HR, recruiters, and sourcers—about 40 participants—to map the recruitment process, identify inefficiencies, and redesign for better experience and efficiency. These events resulted in real improvements and enhanced client satisfaction.

Stakeholder Impact & Communication

[19:37] Lamees Abourahma:
Stakeholder buy-in is critical. How do organizations get to the point of recognizing the need to transform, and who are the key stakeholders?

[20:23] Ted Pierni:
Change often starts with leadership initiatives. We ran quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with executives to identify gaps, escalating issues as needed with dashboards indicating performance (green, yellow, red).

Key stakeholders include TA leaders, CHROs—focusing on readiness, retention, DEI, branding, and account health; CFOs and business leads—concerned about productivity, time to value, cost; compliance and IT—ensuring data protection and vendor risk; hiring managers—seeking better shortlists and reduced interview burdens; and candidates—who care about clarity, speed, fairness, and personal connection.

Advice for Successful Recruitment Transformation

[27:29] Lamees Abourahma:
For those inspired to adopt transformative recruitment models, what advice do you have?

[27:54] Ted Pierni:
Start with clear business objectives—retention, mobility, quality—and design processes and metrics backwards from those goals. Focus on skills-first approaches, AI governance, and fairness. Make QBRs about more than metrics; use them to set 30/60/90-day improvement plans.
Invest in change management and recruiter upskilling, especially around data and emotional intelligence (EQ). We emphasized training recruiters in EQ and self-awareness, as these are vital for working successfully with people.

Podcast Conclusion

[30:09] Lamees Abourahma:
Thank you, Ted. I’ve learned a lot about the transformation of RPO and appreciate your insights.

[30:30] Ted Pierni:
You're welcome. It was a pleasure speaking with you.

[30:41] Lamees Abourahma:
Thank you for tuning in to the Time to Hire podcast by the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association. Stay informed on the future of talent and recruiting by connecting with RPOA.