Final thoughts, featured experts, & appendix
Final thoughts
In 2026, it’s clear that hiring success is no longer determined by effort alone, but by operational discipline. Insights from more than 500 senior talent leaders show an industry under pressure — yet also point to a clear path forward. Teams that simplify workflows, modernize coordination, and use AI intentionally are better positioned to navigate complexity, protect candidate trust, and deliver results in an increasingly demanding hiring environment.
Key lessons from this year’s findings include:
Efficiency is no longer optional.
Hiring teams are being asked to do more with the same (or fewer) resources. Reducing manual work, especially around interview scheduling and coordination, is now a prerequisite for maintaining speed and consistency.
Candidate experience is defined by speed and clarity
Today’s candidates expect fast movement, flexible scheduling, and transparent communication. Friction, delays, and uncertainty are the fastest ways to lose qualified talent.
AI has become hiring infrastructure
AI is no longer experimental. When applied to analytics, scheduling, and workflow orchestration, it helps teams surface bottlenecks, reduce time-to-hire, and focus human effort where it matters most.
Standardization enables scale and trust
Simpler, more consistent processes reduce risk, improve signal quality, and create a more equitable experience for candidates and hiring teams alike.
Where to focus in 2026
To meet the challenges ahead, we recommend prioritizing three critical areas:
Double down on AI and automation.
Invest in AI-powered workflows that eliminate low-value coordination work and provide real-time insight into hiring performance—not just more tools, but better systems.
Modernize scheduling and communication
Treat scheduling as a strategic capability. Self-serve scheduling, centralized communication, and fewer handoffs directly improve speed, candidate engagement, and recruiter capacity.
Lead with insight, not intuition
Use analytics to identify friction early, monitor funnel health, and anchor decisions in quality of hire and downstream outcomes, not just volume or cost.
Let’s move forward with confidence and redefine what effective hiring looks like in 2026.
Appendix
Special thanks to our featured experts:
Kobi Ampoma
Head of Talent Acquisition (NL)
The HEINEKEN Company
Tiffany Clark
Head of HR Strategy & Shared Services
S&P Global
Hung Lee
Curator
Recruiting Brainfood
Becky McCullough
VP, Talent Acquisition & Mobility
HubSpot
Jeff Moore
VP of TA Operations and Workspaces
Toast
Anastasia Pshegodskaya
Global Director, Talent Acquisition
Remote
Ben Sesser
Co-Founder
BrightHire
Robbie Simpson
Head of Talent Acquisition
Glovo
Manjuri Sinha
VP HR & Global Head of GTM Org Success & People Partners
Miro
Shelby Wolpa
Founder
Shelby Wolpa Consulting
Survey demographics/firmographics
- 504 leaders based in the U.S.
- Employment Status: 100% employed full-time
- Job Level: Director and above
- Job Function: Human Resources/Recruiting/Talent Acquisition
- Sectors: Technology, Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Retail (100+ respondents per sector)
- Company Size: 1,000 or more employees
Survey methodology
We developed the survey questions according to best practices in survey research, ensuring they were clear, concise, and understandable to people with various backgrounds. Questions had response formats designed to balance the richness of data to be collected with the ease of responding. We selected the topics based on a set of research questions identified by subject matter experts as relevant to emerging trends in the hiring landscape amidst the current economic and hiring conditions. Together, these actions encouraged participant engagement and high-quality responses while collecting in-depth information about changes in the hiring landscape.
About GoodTime
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