Erica Weser

What happens when you combine deep technical expertise with a genuine love for people? You get Carrie Brophy, and she is everything. With over 20 years of experience driving HR and recruitment transformation across the globe, Carrie is a rare ATS specialist who can speak the language of the recruiter on the floor and the HRIT team in the boardroom. She has implemented some of the world’s most powerful platforms across more than 70 countries, and she brings every ounce of that expertise to this episode. Whether you're mid-implementation, considering a transformation, or just trying to figure out why your ATS is not working the way it should, this one is for you. Carrie breaks down what it really takes to “Go-live” successfully, stay successful after launch, and build technology solutions that actually serve your people. She also brings a refreshing dose of real talk about working motherhood, simplicity as a design principle, and why you should never lift and shift. It all comes together in an episode worth savoring like a Negroni on a Friday evening.Takeaways:Bridge the gap between functional and technical. The rarest skill in TA tech is being able to speak both languages, and it's what makes transformation actually stick.Executive buy-in is non-negotiable. If the goal isn't championed from the top down, adoption will stall before you ever reach go-live.Design principles are your north star. Name them early, whether LFR, candidate-first, or simplicity, and let them filter every single decision throughout the process.Go-live is not the finish line. Hypercare is where real success is determined, so plan for feedback, iteration, and long-term support from day one.Simplicity scales. Complexity doesn't. Fewer, well-designed processes beat hundreds of edge-case configurations every time and make future changes infinitely easier to manage.Working motherhood is a masterclass in prioritization. Carrie delivered her final training session at eight and a half months pregnant, proving that radical clarity on what matters is a superpower.Stay open to the wonky path. Say yes to sideways steps and boomerang moments, because they often lead somewhere more extraordinary than any straight line could.Quote of the Show:“Success is never final, and day one of go-live is not the end of the journey.” - Carrie BrophyLinks:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carriebrophyWebsite: https://www.smartrecruiters.com/ Ways to Tune In:Substack: HiringHappyHour.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Pnhu7Njmi09N6Yzye59Nf Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/hiring-happy-hour/id1868802369 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d60912b0-8925-4bba-aff1-f5230a0cc793 iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/317223012/ Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/hiring-happy-hour-6340769 

Ed Zetusky, Director of Talent Acquisition at Comoto Family of Brands, spent over a decade transforming a good referral program into a great one, starting at RevZilla, a Philadelphia-based motorcycle e-commerce company, where he identified that only a small group of employees were driving the majority of referrals and set out to fix it by designing a point-based contest that rewarded employees at every stage of the hiring funnel, layered public recognition at all-hands meetings, and capped each year with an Olympic-style celebration complete with a custom podium and cash medals, resulting in referrals going through the roof, a full-time average tenure of five years, and voluntary full-time turnover of just 20% across Comoto’s 180+ locations.Takeaways:Reward the journey, not just the destination. A point-based system that credits employees at every stage of the hiring funnel, not just when someone is hired, motivates broader, higher-quality participation from across the organization.Pair recognition with rewards to maximize impact. Publicly celebrating referral winners in front of the whole company creates social proof and friendly competition that cash alone can’t generate, and makes the recognition as visible as possible.Sell referrals as a team benefit, not just a bonus. Framing referrals as a way for employees to bring in great colleagues who will make their own jobs easier speaks directly to employees’ self-interest and drives genuine engagement.Lean into your company culture when designing the program. The most successful referral programs are tailored to the organization’s personality, whether that’s Olympic ceremonies, themed branding, or weekly shout-outs; the format should feel authentic to your team.Get leadership involved early. Executive advocacy when launching the program provides the initial momentum and signals to employees that this initiative has real organizational backing.Quote of the Show:“Take risks, wear a helmet." - Ed ZetuskyLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edzetusky/ Website: https://ridecomoto.com/http://www.revzilla.com/careers https://www.cyclegear.com/careers https://www.jpcycles.com/careersWays to Tune In:Substack: HiringHappyHour.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Pnhu7Njmi09N6Yzye59Nf Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/hiring-happy-hour/id1868802369 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d60912b0-8925-4bba-aff1-f5230a0cc793 iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/317223012/ Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/hiring-happy-hour-6340769