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Buzzwords? Polished decks? Surface-level trends?
Let’s just say… those weren’t in the room at Employ’s recent Customer Advisory Board (CAB) meeting.
What was in the room? Honest conversations about what TA pros are really up against right now, and how we can better show up to support them.
Here’s a snapshot of what kept coming up:
- There are too many tools, and not enough clarity on what they really do.
- Being AI fluent today doesn’t mean you’ll be fluent tomorrow.
- Not every industry hires the same way, so our solutions can’t either.
- If you’re not talking about candidate fraud, you’re not solving it.
- The best partnerships aren’t passive, they’re collaborative (and sometimes a little challenging).
But we’re not trying to gatekeep what happened in the room. Because this is the kind of feedback, insight, and perspective you don’t get every day—it’s real, unfiltered, and grounded in what teams are actually dealing with.
So, we asked a few of our leaders who were there to share what stood out: the biggest takeaways, the lessons learned, and what they’re doing next.
Jerry Jao, Chief Executive Officer
What’s one theme or takeaway from CAB that stuck with you the most?
When it comes to AI, we need to solve for real pain—not just adding it in for the sake of it.
TA teams aren’t asking for more solutions—there’s already a tool for everything. If anything, there might be too many. What they’re really looking for is a better understanding of what each tool is designed to solve. Is it saving time? Filtering qualifications? Increasing candidate pipeline?
TA teams want to try AI, but these capabilities need to be part of the existing workflow. Otherwise, it becomes an extra step—and an inconvenience.
And even when it is embedded, there’s still a bigger question: can we trust it? Is the AI built responsibly? What guardrails are in place?
The technology that makes the biggest difference won’t be the newest or the buzziest—that wave has passed. It’ll be the tools that are built with intention and earn trust over time. The ones grounded in explainability, transparency, and how hiring works in the real world.
Dara Brenner, Chief Product Officer
What’s one problem customers are trying to solve that product teams need to pay closer attention to?
Last summer, we launched Talent Fit to rank candidates against job requirements with clear explanations behind each match. It’s been incredibly useful—but today, it works the same way across every industry.
What we heard from customers is that “best fit” doesn’t look the same everywhere. A great retail or hospitality hire doesn’t necessarily need experience in those exact industries—they might just need to be good at working with people and able to think on their feet. On the flip side, industries like healthcare require workers with very specific credentials, certifications, and hands-on training.
That nuance matters—and it’s exactly the kind of feedback we’re looking for when we launch something new. How does hiring actually work in your world, and how should we be evolving our tech to better support that?
What’s one thing we should be building (or building differently) based on the conversations you had at CAB?
Today, skills assessments are the go-to way to validate whether someone can do the job, but they don’t really show what the job feels like. At CAB, we played with the idea of taking them a step further through gamified candidate simulations.
Instead of relying solely on resumes or interviews, imagine giving candidates a chance to step into the role and work through real scenarios they’d actually face. That creates value on a few levels:
- It helps teams better communicate what the job really looks like—day-to-day work, pace, and environment.
- It gives hiring teams a clearer signal of how a candidate thinks and performs, not just how they interview.
- And it helps candidates understand if the role is truly the right fit before they even choose to apply, interview, or accept an offer.
In a process that’s often full of guesswork, this creates a more transparent—and more accurate—way to evaluate fit on both sides.
Stephanie Manzelli, Chief People Officer
What did attendees say was the most important skill or quality they’re looking to develop this year?
AI literacy and fluency. What’s interesting is that attendees probably would’ve given the same answer last year…and the year before that. But what they mean by it would’ve changed every time.
A few years ago, the focus was on simply understanding what AI actually is—how it works, what it can do, and where the risks and benefits are. Even just getting comfortable with using tools like ChatGPT or learning how to write prompts was a big step forward.
Over the last year or so, it started to feel more practical. Teams were spending more time training their people, experimenting with where AI could actually make a difference in their workflows, and trying to move from curiosity into real application.
Now, the conversation is evolving again. There’s more focus on the harder questions—things like responsible AI, governance, and how to balance using AI internally while setting expectations for candidates. Should candidates be allowed to use AI? If we want AI-fluent candidates, should we let them use it in the application process? And if we do, how do we still prevent bad actors from getting into the funnel?
AI literacy and fluency isn’t really a skill you “check off.” When the technology is evolving this quickly, you have to evolve right alongside it. It’s something TA teams will need to continuously build, refine, and adapt over time.
Katy Jenkins, VP of Product
During your conversations with attendees about candidate fraud, what surprised you the most?
The amount of “quiet uncertainty” that exists today. Here’s what I mean by that: unless a recruiter notices inconsistencies in an application or something goes wrong later with onboarding or performance, most TA teams don’t know if they’re catching fraudulent candidates or not.
They’re hearing about it all the time, seeing it in the news, and feeling the pressure to stay ahead of it. But without tools to spot signals, confirm what they’re seeing, and report on it, there’s no clear way to measure how effective they really are.
This is a reality that most teams are afraid to say out loud. So instead of openly sharing challenges or solutions, they’re navigating it quietly, often in silos. That’s why forums like CAB and conversations like our candidate fraud webinar series matter—because if teams aren’t talking about it, they can’t tackle it.
Jaime Perez, VP of Support
What did you hear that made you think, “we can make this easier”?
Hiring is a people function. So, if you work in recruiting, you’re probably a people person—and that really came through in our conversations. One thing we heard loud and clear: customers want to talk to us. Not just send an email and wait, but actually connect with someone when there’s a roadblock.
Because when you’re stuck, you don’t want a ticket—you want a conversation. So, we are working every day to make the experience feel even more personal, more responsive, and more human. That’s a big focus for us.
The other thing that stood out is how much impact the “small” improvements can have. Things like making our search functionality better, so it’s easier to find candidates. These aren’t huge, flashy changes, but they make a real difference in the day-to-day. Sometimes making things easier isn’t about adding more—it’s about smoothing out what’s already there.
How will what you heard at CAB influence how we show up for customers this year?
This was my first time meeting and talking to our customers face to face, and it really changed how I think about the work we do in support. I got a much clearer view of the bigger goals that our customers are working toward, not just the individual moments where they need help.
That context matters. It helps us see how a single support request fits into a larger workflow or challenge, and it allows us to show up as better partners—not just problem-solvers. It also helps us prioritize the right work, so we’re focusing on the things that will actually make a difference in our customers’ day-to-day experience.
Sara O’Donnal, VP of Customer Experience
How are customer expectations evolving when it comes to what they want from their ATS?
Customer expectations are always evolving, but one thing hasn’t changed: reliability. It doesn’t matter the company size, industry, or how advanced the tech gets—if the core functionality isn’t dependable, nothing else matters.
Customers don’t care about new features if the basics don’t work. We have to earn the right to introduce more by consistently delivering on what we’ve already promised and continuing to improve the foundation.
At the same time, expectations are getting higher around how we respond to change. Customers want to know we’re listening—and more importantly, that we’re actually doing something with that feedback. It sounds simple, but that’s the bar: listen, adapt, and deliver.
What does it take today to actually be a true partner, not just a platform?
It starts with listening, but it doesn’t stop there. Being a true partner means investing in a real understanding of the problems customers are trying to solve and getting ahead of challenges before they even surface.
It also means not just being an order taker. In fact, I’d argue that just saying “yes” to everything is what makes a vendor a bad partner. The best partnerships are collaborative, and sometimes that includes a little healthy debate.
Our job isn’t just to agree—it’s to help our customers succeed. That might mean challenging assumptions, offering a different perspective, and working together to get to the best outcome.
Putting Insights into Action
The conversations didn’t end when CAB did—they’re already shaping what we’re building next. And none of that happens without the people in the room.
To our CAB members: Thank you for showing up and showing out. You didn’t hold back. You gave honest feedback, challenged our thinking, and got real about what you’re actually dealing with day-to-day. Those are the conversations that push us to build better products and show up as better partners—and we don’t take that lightly.
And to the rest of our customers who weren’t in the room, this applies to you too. Thank you for trusting us, for testing what we build, and for continuing to share your feedback with us. It’s what helps us get better, every single day.
Stay tuned for what’s next. We’re excited for where we’re going, and we think you will be too.
