Sustainable hiring: Managing the peak for long-term talent success

In my role leading talent acquisition at HiBob, I’ve seen firsthand how unpredictable today’s hiring market can be. 

Some sectors have slowed due to economic uncertainty, while others—especially for highly skilled roles—remain fiercely competitive. Businesses can no longer rely on traditional hiring methods; instead, they need to take a more strategic and proactive approach, and rethink how they attract, engage, and retain talent.

By considering long-term workforce planning, strong employer branding, and AI-driven recruitment, you can build a sustainable talent acquisition strategy that supports long-term business success.

The reality of the talent market

A quick glance at the job market presents two contrasting realities. Some industries are facing ongoing talent shortages, making sourcing and hiring even more challenging while, in others, there’s an oversupply of candidates due to widespread layoffs. 

For example, every time we open a talent acquisition role at HiBob, the difference in application volume compared to other positions is staggering. We can get hundreds of applications within a matter of days, whereas hiring for other specialized roles—like payroll or engineering—often requires months of sourcing and outreach just to find the right candidates. 

In these cases—and usually in those industries facing talent shortages—it’s because the best hires are often already employed. Plus, with ongoing economic uncertainty, those people are choosing to stay put rather than risk a career move, making proactive talent engagement more critical than ever.

This imbalance is something I’ve seen across the industry, and it’s why businesses need to rethink their hiring strategies. Posting job ads and waiting for applications won’t secure the best talent—businesses must take a strategic, proactive approach that focuses on building relationships and positioning themselves as an employer of choice for when candidates are ready to make a move. 

But even with this approach, hiring teams can still face challenges if internal stakeholder expectations don’t align with market realities.

Managing internal expectations

Hiring managers and senior leadership often expect a perfect candidate to walk through the door immediately—but the reality is that hiring top talent takes time. 

Hiring teams must educate internal stakeholders on market conditions—for example, if hiring for niche or high-demand roles, they need to set realistic expectations on timelines and talent availability. Being flexible on role requirements and hiring criteria can help businesses secure great candidates faster, rather than waiting months for a “perfect” fit that may never arrive.

By ensuring alignment between hiring teams and internal stakeholders, companies can avoid unnecessary hiring delays and build a more efficient recruitment process.

Scaling up requires hiring clarity

One of the biggest hiring challenges in high-growth companies is role clarity. Many hiring managers struggle to define exactly what they need, leading to delays, misaligned expectations, and a poor candidate experience.

I’ve seen this happen often in high-growth environments, where teams are scaling fast, but hiring managers aren’t always sure what they need. This is especially true when hiring for new or evolving roles—where the scope isn’t always clearly defined from the start. In these cases, we’ve found that working closely with stakeholders to clarify key qualifications early in the process makes a huge difference, ensuring alignment between hiring teams and business needs and leading to a much smoother recruitment process.

It’s also important to revisit and refine hiring profiles regularly. For example, here at HiBob, we have to continually evolve expectations for well-established roles, such as Sales Account Executives, as the business scales. Keeping job descriptions updated ensures hiring remains aligned with business needs.

By defining clear role expectations before launching recruitment, companies can avoid delays, reduce hiring bottlenecks, and ensure a smoother process for both hiring managers and candidates.

Workforce planning: Avoiding hiring peaks & bottlenecks

A common mistake in recruitment is last-minute hiring. Many businesses only start hiring in Q4 for the following year, leading to a January bottleneck where teams scramble to fill positions. This results in:

• Overwhelmed hiring managers struggling to make rushed decisions.
• Onboarding teams stretched too thin, impacting new hire experience and future employee engagement.
• Increased competition for talent due to multiple companies hiring at the same time.

My advice to avoid hiring bottlenecks and manage the peak is to take a more strategic, long-term approach. By spreading recruitment efforts throughout the year and aligning hiring timelines with business needs, companies can create a smoother, more efficient process—one that secures top talent without putting unnecessary strain on hiring managers or onboarding teams.

Here’s how you can avoid last-minute hiring rushes and ensure a sustainable hiring strategy:

• Start hiring earlier: For example, Q3 for January hires. This ensures sufficient time to attract, evaluate, and secure the right talent before the holiday slowdown and the start of the new year.
• Factor in regional hiring challenges: Different markets have different hiring constraints. For example, in Germany, many employees have three-to-six-month notice periods, meaning recruitment for a January start should ideally begin by the middle of the previous year. Companies hiring across multiple regions should adjust their timelines accordingly to remain competitive.
• Include TA teams in workforce planning discussions: Often, talent acquisition is brought in too late, after headcount decisions have already been made. Instead, TA teams should be included in planning discussions from the start, allowing them to provide insights on talent availability, hiring timelines, and potential bottlenecks before they become problems. 

By aligning recruitment efforts with business growth objectives early on, companies can ensure they have the right people in place when they need them, while avoiding the stress of reactive hiring.                         

Employer branding: The competitive advantage

Your employer brand is just as important as your benefits when it comes to hiring top talent. In today’s market, candidates are looking beyond salary—they want to work for companies with a strong reputation, clear values, and an engaging culture. 

A compelling employer brand doesn’t just attract job seekers; it draws in talent before they even start actively looking for new opportunities. Authenticity and transparency are key in employer branding because:

• People trust employees over corporate messaging: Candidates want to hear from real people, not just polished recruitment campaigns.
• Unpolished, real content performs better: Selfie-style videos of people sharing their experiences are more authentic and impactful than scripted corporate branding.
• Employee advocacy is key: Candidates want to hear about life at your company from the people who actually work there.

One of the most effective employer branding tactics we’ve used at HiBob is encouraging our own employees to share their experiences online. I’ve seen LinkedIn posts from team members about career growth, our company culture, or even the challenges they’ve faced and overcome—and those posts always get way more engagement than corporate recruitment ads. Candidates want to hear from real people, not marketing teams. The more open and relatable we are, the better our ability to attract the right talent.

Building a strong talent pipeline

Hiring shouldn’t start from scratch every time—companies that treat it as a continuous process succeed in hiring faster and smarter. Some of my top tips to build a strong, future-proof talent pipeline include:

• Maintain relationships with past candidates: Just because someone wasn’t the right fit for one role doesn’t mean they won’t be in the future.
• Use a CRM-like approach to hiring: Track and engage candidates over time so you’re not always starting from scratch.
• Proactively source and nurture passive candidates: Especially in competitive industries where the best talent isn’t actively job searching.

A strong talent pipeline reduces dependency on last-minute hiring and ensures better quality hires.

The role of AI in hiring

AI is one of the most exciting developments in recruitment right now and I’m watching it transform almost every aspect of the process—from sourcing and screening to candidate evaluation. But how do we ensure AI is used effectively, ethically, and transparently? Rather than fearing AI, companies should focus on integrating it thoughtfully into their hiring processes.

We’re already seeing candidates use AI to enhance applications, and businesses need to adapt rather than resist this shift. The key is setting clear guidelines and evolving best practices. For example, if candidates use AI in their job applications, they should be able to explain how they used it in their interview.

I’ve also seen teams experimenting with AI-driven candidate screening tools and automated outreach, and while the results are promising, it’s clear that AI works best as a support tool, not a decision-maker. Without proper frameworks, businesses risk inconsistent hiring decisions or bias creeping into AI-driven assessments. Setting clear policies now ensures that AI remains a tool for efficiency rather than a source of confusion in recruitment.

When used effectively, it can increase hiring efficiency, reduce bias, and create a more data-driven recruitment process.

The path to sustainable hiring success

The hiring market will always evolve, but one thing I’ve learned is that companies that invest in long-term hiring strategies always come out ahead. At HiBob, we’ve seen how shifting to workforce planning and building a strong talent pipeline has helped us attract and retain top talent more effectively. 

My advice to TA leaders is simple: don’t wait until you need to hire to start thinking about hiring. The most successful teams think long-term and plan ahead, build strong relationships with potential candidates, consistently strengthen their employer branding, and continuously evolve their hiring strategies—including using AI smartly—to stay ahead of the curve.