Improving Internal Perception of TA

Chris Hoyt: I have to say, Kerry—we’re live by the way—I didn’t ask you if you liked the music. Can you hear the Christmas music in the background?

Kerry Karle: No, I can’t hear it… Oh wait, yeah, now I can.

Chris Hoyt: It’s quite terrible, isn’t it?

Kerry Karle: Well, it’s not Mariah Carey or anything.

Chris Hoyt: I posted this on Facebook the other day—if there’s one artist I don’t need to hear any more of, it’s Mariah Carey.

Kerry Karle: I heard there’s a new Christmas song from Blake and… what’s his wife’s name?

Chris Hoyt: Oh, B-A-N-A-N-A-S! Gwen Stefani!

Kerry Karle: That’s it. They came out with a new Christmas song that’s supposedly very catchy. I heard it a few days ago driving to work.

Chris Hoyt: I’m going to check that out. Do you have Christmas plans?

Kerry Karle: I do, and they’re very non-traditional. We’re going to Egypt. We leave next Monday.

Chris Hoyt: Wow! I’ve been to Egypt—it’s amazing. I was shocked at how close a Pizza Hut is to the pyramids. Maybe it was a Domino’s… Anyway, it’s really close.

Kerry Karle: Yeah, so I’m going to liken it to Red Rocks. You’re in this beautiful natural venue but you can still see the city in the distance. I’m choosing to see the silver lining.

Chris Hoyt: That’s a perfect analogy. It is magnificent. I hope you go to the museum—so much history. I assume you’ve got a full itinerary?

Kerry Karle: We do. We’re taking a boat trip down the Nile and doing some flights within the country. We’ll be away from the city too.

Chris Hoyt: You’re going to love it. All right, you ready to get started?

Kerry Karle: Let’s do it.

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Chris Hoyt: Thanks for joining us. I’m Chris Hoyt, your host, and you’re watching the Recruiting Community Podcast. We do this nearly every week, bringing in TA leaders to talk about the challenges, wins, and insights from their work.

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All right—today’s guest is someone I’ve known for quite some time. Kerry, welcome to the show!

Kerry Karle: Thanks for having me.

Chris Hoyt: So, for those who haven’t met you yet, give us the elevator pitch. Who is Kerry Karle, and why should we listen to what you have to say?

Kerry Karle: Sure. I’ve been in the talent space for about 30 years. I’ve seen all sides—starting in agency recruiting during the dot-com boom and bust in Silicon Valley. I got interested in automation and spent time as a recruitment tech consultant, including international assignments with a company called RemX.

From there, I went into multi-process and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) with Exult and Hewitt, which is now Aon, and later WilsonHCG. I’ve also worked in consulting and ultimately moved in-house, which I love because it lets you see the results of your work.

I’ve worked at HP, Wells Fargo, and now Dish Network. I lead TA from executive to frontline hiring, including campus programs, immigration, and internal mobility, which we recently centralized. Dish is also evolving—our big transformation is into wireless, becoming the fourth U.S. carrier with Boost Mobile and Boost Infinite. It’s been an exciting ride!

Chris Hoyt: That’s a big shift. And I got flashbacks when you mentioned RemX—wow, way back!

Kerry Karle: Yeah, they were the go-to tech firm for ATS implementation back then.

Chris Hoyt: So today we’re talking about improving internal perception of TA. TA is critical, but often misunderstood or undervalued in the business. Do you want to share your thoughts on how TA supports the broader business?

Kerry Karle: Absolutely. I’ve worked both inside and outside organizations, and a key learning has been that TA needs to own its story. We sometimes assume if we deliver the hires, that’s enough—but if we don’t tell the story, it gets told for us, and not always in a favorable light.

One of my objectives each year is storytelling. We build OKRs—objectives and key results—around it. It’s about telling our story internally and externally to improve brand and recruitment outcomes.

Chris Hoyt: I love that. TA moving from order-taker to strategic partner. So many teams are measured on time to fill, cost per hire, etc., but the real value lies in business impact.

Kerry Karle: Exactly. Every organization I’ve worked for has had perception challenges. It’s not a one-and-done fix—it’s ongoing. We do one-on-ones, focus groups, and regular stakeholder meetings to ask: what do you think of TA?

And it’s often the usual: we’re too slow, not diverse enough, not proactive. So we work on reshaping that story and showing our value in business terms.

Chris Hoyt: Can you give us an example of aligning TA goals with broader business goals?

Kerry Karle: Sure. We start by looking at what the business needs—like driving wireless subscriber growth or increasing efficiency. Then we map TA strategies to support those.

We’ve structured our team so that communication happens at every level. Recruiters work with hiring managers, managers with directors, and so on up to EVPs. We have monthly and quarterly business reviews (QBRs) where we talk through performance, results, and upcoming needs.

It’s about using their language and framing what we do in terms they care about.

Chris Hoyt: That’s fantastic. Is there flexibility to adapt as the business changes?

Kerry Karle: Yes, definitely. For example, when one area needs more support—like revenue-generating functions—we shift resources. That flexibility is key.

And we also help forecast hiring based on past data, attrition, and mobility. Then we show the business what we think they’ll need and get their input. It’s more effective than asking them to guess at headcount.

Chris Hoyt: Gina Molinas in the chat shared that in her last role as an executive recruiter at a hospital system, TA was only seen as nurse recruiters. Getting executive buy-in was hard. Have you faced similar challenges?

Kerry Karle: Definitely. When I came in, executive recruiting was mostly outsourced. We built an in-house team and started with a stealth approach. Then we gained wins and trust by delivering great results.

We modeled it after retained search firms—weekly meetings, market data, talent profiles. Executives don’t read long emails, so we meet them where they are. And yes—make friends with their executive assistants. That’s a strategic move.

Chris Hoyt: Let’s talk tech. Everyone’s evaluating their stack, thinking about AI and simplification. Any tools or trends that help demonstrate TA’s value?

Kerry Karle: I’ve seen a lot, and honestly, there’s no silver bullet. The key is making the most of what you already have. Many tools go underutilized. If you invest the time, even your current tech can be transformative.

That said, we’re rolling out conversational AI next. It’s going to be a game-changer for high-touch engagement—especially since our candidates are also our customers. We want to create a great experience and even offer things like discounts as part of the process.

Chris Hoyt: That’s a great example of aligning TA with brand and customer experience. You become part of the company’s go-to-market strategy.

Kerry Karle: Exactly. We brought that idea to our business leaders recently, and they hadn’t thought of it. They were excited. It’s one more way we add value.

Chris Hoyt: Final question—if you were going to write a book on this topic, what would the title be?

Kerry Karle: What Have You Done for Me Lately? It’s all about showing your ongoing value.

Chris Hoyt: And who gets the first signed copy?

Kerry Karle: Jerry, of course! But if not Jerry, maybe some of the great leaders who shaped me—like Dave Scott or Cheatham Gensler. They’ve had a big impact on my career.

Chris Hoyt: I love that. Kerry, thank you so much for joining us and for sharing your insights. Have an amazing time in Egypt!

Kerry Karle: Thanks, Chris. Appreciate it!

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