Offer acceptance rate is the clearest signal of whether your recruiting engine is actually working.

Jordan Trott, Talent Lead at Taptap Send, joins Shannon to break down how his team maintains a 93% offer acceptance rate across global hiring. He explains why this metric reflects everything from role clarity to candidate experience, and where most teams lose candidates long before the offer stage.

Jordan shares the four practices that changed outcomes for his team, including tighter candidate profiles, culture-first interviewing, rigorous benchmarking, and a partner mindset with candidates.

Key takeaways:

1. Clarify both sides of fit: Define not only who you want, but who will genuinely want your job.
2. Interview for values first: Design intentional questions that test cultural alignment.
3. Hunt for bad news early: Actively surface concerns and misalignment before the offer stage.
4. Own the talent bar: Build credibility by pushing back on unrealistic expectations and misaligned budgets.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:44) Meet Jordan Trott

(02:12) Why offer acceptance rate is a high-signal recruiting metric

(03:44) The four levers behind a 93% offer acceptance rate

(04:54) Building a candidate profile that answers “do they want this job”

(07:59) Interviewing for culture over content and why it changes the sell

(10:49) Benchmarking compensation at three moments in the hiring cycle

(12:31) The pre-close conversation that prevents late-stage surprises

(15:08) Treating candidate experience like a partnership, not a transaction

(20:03) Hunting for bad news early and using an “anti-sell” to build trust

(23:23) How this approach improves retention and reduces churn

(26:09) Where to connect with Jordan

Recruiting teams often track hiring metrics but forget to ask the team how it feels to do the work.

Will Ducey, Head of Recruiting Operations at Ashby, joins Shannon Ogborn to talk about how internal recruiter surveys create a feedback loop that leads to better tools and processes. Throughout the conversation, Will explains the balance between quantitative and qualitative feedback, sharing real-world examples from Ashby on how they’ve implemented surveys to gauge recruiter satisfaction.

He also addresses how small wins, like reducing administrative burdens, can have a huge impact on overall efficiency. Whether you’re a recruiting leader looking to implement your first survey or aiming to refine your current process, this episode offers valuable insights into how recruiters can lead to actionable change and, ultimately, create a more effective and happy recruiting team.

Key takeaways:

• Survey consistency builds trust: Quarterly cadence shows that feedback leads to real change
• Small wins compound: Simple fixes often reduce friction the fastest
• Sentiment data guides priorities: Low survey scores highlight where RecOps should focus next
• Collaboration is a solution: Engaging team members in fixing the pain points creates better outcomes

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:43) Meet Will Ducey

(02:18) Why traditional metrics don’t reflect recruiter experience

(03:13) What makes recruiter surveys so valuable in RecOps

(04:14) How Ashby runs quarterly recruiter surveys

(06:32) Structuring the survey for actionable feedback

(08:44) Understanding time-use with a 1–4 scale

(10:37) Why acting on survey data matters more than collecting it

(11:59) How Will identifies small process wins

(13:22) Organizing teams for long-term improvements

(14:15) Building trust and consistency through surveys

(16:26) The NPS score that led to a full ATS transformation

(19:10) Comparing tools using internal data

(20:07) Helping recruiters become more confident with data

(21:19) Why alerts are Will’s favorite Ashby feature

(23:57) Where to connect with Will

Clarity is the foundation of any effective internal mobility program.

Angie Peterson, Talent Operations & Programs Manager at Coursera, joins Shannon to break down how her team turned employee feedback into a durable system for internal career growth. After survey data showed employees didn’t understand how to move internally, Angie partnered with L&D to diagnose the real blockers, conduct listening circles, and reframe internal mobility as a company-wide operating model.

She walks through how Coursera moved from one-off efforts to a shared language, accessible tools, and a structure that centers employee agency. Because of this, a scalable system was made that gives people confidence to navigate their careers, and gives the business better retention and planning.

Key takeaways:

• Clarity changes behavior: Most internal mobility issues are due to confusion, not lack of opportunity.
• Start with shared language: Defining terms company-wide is a low-lift, high-impact first step.
• Use what you have: Coursera kept 70% of its existing materials but packaged them better.
• Make internal hiring feel human: Candidate experience doesn’t end after someone joins the company, it only starts there.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:43) Meet Angie Peterson

(02:13) Why internal mobility is often underutilized

(03:53) What Coursera learned from its employee engagement survey

(06:52) How listening circles revealed the real blockers

(10:28) Why internal mobility is an operating model, not a perk

(13:42) What Coursera kept, repackaged, and rebuilt from their existing program

(15:18) Launching the internal mobility hub and resources

(17:50) The unexpected value of a career chatbot

(19:58) Addressing mentorship without building a full program

(21:16) How Coursera enabled hiring managers and recruiters

(24:28) Measuring early signals of program impact

(28:01) Making internal mobility a durable business system

(30:13) Where to connect with Angie