Inside the Recruiter Performance Training Program

Executive search firms are under increasing pressure to deliver consistent results while scaling recruiter performance across their organizations. Hunt Scanlon and its HSiQ advisory unit have responded with a new training initiative aimed at bringing greater structure and accountability to the profession. To further explore the program’s impact, Hunt Scanlon and HSiQ will host an upcoming webinar examining how structured training can translate into measurable commercial outcomes for recruiting teams.

April 27, 2026 – As the executive search industry confronts growing pressure to deliver consistent, high-level performance, recruiting firms are rethinking how their consultants are trained and developed. To that end, Hunt Scanlon and its HSiQ talent intelligence advisory unit recently rolled out a new Recruiter Performance Training Program designed to bring greater structure, rigor, and scalability to recruiter performance. The initiative reflects a broader shift away from informal apprenticeship models toward systems designed to drive measurable outcomes across search organizations.

“The industry is at an inflection point,” said Richard Stein, CEO of HSiQ. “We are in the middle of what I call the Big Shift where recruiting is moving from a transactional activity to a strategic, intelligence-led function. Most recruiters today have access to more tools, more data, and more technology than ever before. Paradoxically, performance hasn’t kept pace. The gap isn’t access but rather application. This program was built to close that gap. It’s about turning capability into consistent commercial outcomes more wins, better client relationships, and higher revenue per recruiter.”

“Most training programs focus on knowledge,” Mr. Stein said. “This one focuses on performance. We are not teaching theory or frameworks in isolation but rather a repeatable system that recruiters can apply immediately to win work, run better conversations, and close mandates. Every session is grounded in real mandates, real client situations, and real language that works. The goal is simple: when you leave a session, you should be able to use it the next day and see measurable impact.”

Operating like vendors instead of advisors. Too many recruiters lead with “we can help you hire.” That’s not differentiated anymore, according to Mr. Stein. “Clients already know that. The best recruiters today lead with insight, context, and perspective. They help clients understand what’s happening in the talent market before a role even exists. That shift from filling roles to shaping decisions is where the real value, and the real fees, are created.”

Getting Results

“The outcomes from Recruiter Performance Training Program are very tangible,” Mr. Stein said. “Firms typically see: More qualified client meetings, higher conversion from meeting to mandate, stronger close rates on retained work faster execution timelines and ultimately, higher revenue per recruiter. Beyond metrics, the real shift is consistency, moving from opportunistic wins to a predictable, scalable growth engine.”

The program is for both junior recruiters or senior professionals. “For mid-level professionals, it builds the core capability stack they need to accelerate performance,” Mr. Stein explained. “For senior recruiters, it’s about refining their approach, increasing leverage, and operating more strategically especially in how they win and position work. Firms are using it to create a common language and system across their teams which is where you start to see real enterprise-level impact.”

Artificial Intelligence

AI is a powerful enabler but it’s not a substitute for judgment, according to Mr. Stein. “Technology can give you data, speed, and scale,” he said. “But it can’t give you context, nuance, or the ability to influence a client decision. This program is about ensuring recruiters know how to use AI and data in the right way to enhance their advisory capability, not replace it. In the end, the highest-value work in our industry still sits in judgment, relationships, and trust.”

Hunt Scanlon Launches Training Program for Executive Recruiters

The executive search industry has a training problem. For decades, recruiting firms have relied on apprenticeship models, learning by osmosis, informal coaching, and individual manager styles. It works for a few. But it does not scale. In a market now defined by AI, speed, precision, and commercial pressure, inconsistency in recruiter performance is no longer a tolerable inefficiency but a direct constraint on growth. Hunt Scanlon, in partnership with its HSiQ talent intelligence advisory unit, announced the launch of the firm’s Recruiter Performance Training Program – a structured, 10-session training module designed to boost recruiter productivity, performance, and revenue generation skills.

“The ambition is bigger than training,” Mr. Stein said. “It is more about elevating the profession. We want to help move the industry toward a model where recruiters are seen as strategic operators, not intermediaries. Where talent intelligence becomes a core part of how organizations make decisions—not just how they fill roles. If we do this right, we don’t just improve individual performance but we redefine how value is created, priced, and delivered across executive search.”

What Are CEOs Thinking

Most CEOs of executive search and staffing companies are thinking about two things right now: Are we going to make our quarter and our year? and do we have the right people to execute our strategy? “Both focus on the two most important value drivers in any company, performance and potential,” said Scott A. Scanlon, CEO of Hunt Scanlon and co-founder of HSiQ. “The practices and processes that elevate and sustain performance need to combine with a plan to accelerate the development of recruiter talent. Performance management is often a tolerated administrative practice, at best but not the infrastructure for how important things get done and the most powerful way to fulfil brand promise and revenue potential.”

“Most search firms are not set up to consistently produce the quality and depth of talent needed to scale,” Mr. Scanlon said. “When less than one-third of high potential recruiters have a development plan, there is a significant opportunity to do better. This is exactly the gap the HSiQ Recruiter Performance Training Program is designed to address. It moves beyond process into performance equipping recruiting professionals with the practical skills, frameworks, and market intelligence to build a repeatable system for identifying, assessing, and delivering high-impact talent aligned to strategy.”

“If the CEO cares most about these two outcomes, then there needs to be more effective ways to deliver the value we know is possible,” Mr. Scanlon explained. “That starts with elevating how recruiters are evaluated and developed. If the CEO cares more about these two issues than any others, then there must be more effective ways to deliver the value we know is possible. That starts with treating recruiters as a critical asset investing in them accordingly, and ensuring development isn’t a one-time event, but a continuous, embedded part of how they operate and perform in a fundamentally different world.”

“For every CFO of a search or staffing firm, this is not training spend as much as it is a direct lever on revenue yield, conversion rates, and productivity per recruiter, with clear line of-sight to margin expansion,” Mr. Scanlon said. “In a market where time, efficiency, and capital allocation matter most, HSiQ 360 turns recruiter performance into a measurable driver of ROI and enterprise value.”

Upcoming Webinar

Join Mr. Stein for an in-depth webinar on May 19^th exploring the firm’s upcoming Recruiter Performance Training Program: a comprehensive framework designed to convert training into measurable commercial impact. This session will examine how leading firms are improving search outcomes, strengthening client relationships, and driving revenue performance in an increasingly competitive, AI-influenced market.

Built around 10 core training modules, the program focuses on developing recruiters across the full lifecycle of search. From originating new business and managing client relationships to executing high-quality search processes and leveraging data, tools, and AI, the curriculum is designed to accelerate productivity and enhance performance at every level.

Participants will gain insight into how top-performing recruiters are improving conversion rates, increasing fee levels, and building stronger pipelines through more disciplined execution and sharper market positioning. The session will also explore how firms are using structured training to enhance candidate engagement, deliver stronger shortlists, and generate repeat business through deeper client trust.

This webinar is ideal for executive search leaders, talent partners, and recruiting professionals looking to refine their approach to business development, execution, and long-term client value creation.

Free registration … Click here to sign up!

Moderator

Richard Stein is CEO of HSIQ. He has a distinguished career supporting the C-suite of many of the world’s top corporations and financial services organizations in all aspects of talent acquisition, development and retention. He is one of the industry’s top advisors with experience across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. In previous roles, Mr. Stein has driven innovation and strategy in human capital by focusing on turning talent intelligence into actionable revenues. His expertise includes market intelligence, due diligence, and expert witness services, helping companies navigate market disruptions, pre and post-merger due diligence and competitive challenges. Mr. Stein is an acknowledged industry leader and expert in creating high performance organizations, as well as lucrative outcomes through collaborative leadership efforts with board members, C-suite leaders and other stakeholders, with a focus on identifying top drivers of organizational value through talent. He is a frequent speaker and consultant on leadership, management, and corporate governance. He has held leadership roles at some of the world’s largest executive search firms and has served as CEO and founder of his own firm.

Panelists

Jennifer DeCastro is partner at True Search. For more than a decade, she has provided disruptive and innovative growth talent solutions across B2B and B2C companies including consumer internet, health and wellness, media. Many of her clients are growing rapidly or in a transformational period where they need original talent from adjacent industries. Ms. DeCastro has placed executives across the C-suite—including presidents, CMOs , CROs and broader commercially oriented senior leaders. She has completed top-level assignments with growth, private equity and Fortune 500/100 companies. Previously, Ms. DeCastro was a principal with Korn Ferry in the digital and marketing practices. Before becoming a search professional, she was part of a highly selective analytics program with Bloomberg Financial.

Jacquelyn Fasitta is widely recognized as one of the most influential leaders in Wall Street recruiting, with a distinguished career spanning decades at Salomon Brothers and Citi. She built and led large-scale recruiting organizations, developing talent strategies that supported complex, global businesses across institutional, consumer, and corporate functions. Over the course of her career, Ms. Fasitta led workforce planning, executive hiring, and talent acquisition initiatives at scale, partnering closely with senior leadership to align hiring strategies with business priorities. Her work helped shape high-performing recruiting teams and establish best practices across the full recruiting lifecycle, from candidate assessment to long-term talent planning.

Mahen Kathirithamby is a strategic talent acquisition leader with a track record of building and scaling executive and early-career recruiting functions across global organizations. He has advised C-suite leaders on talent strategy, succession planning, and organizational transformation, delivering measurable business impact through more effective hiring models. His experience includes senior talent acquisition roles at Xerox Corporation, American Century Investments, and BlackRock, where he led enterprise recruiting transformations, reduced reliance on external search firms, and built Centers of Excellence to strengthen talent pipelines. Mahen has also played a key role in M&A talent integration, executive hiring, and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of recruiting operations.

Michael Nelson is a managing director and head of markets for the Americas, based in Sheffield Haworth’s New York office. She leads the firm’s global markets search and consulting practice in the Americas, focusing on corporate and private credit, asset financing, structured finance and capital market & broader fixed income & equity markets. His expertise lies in advising leaders in the industry on franchise strategy, human capital trends, P&L optimization, and compensation.

Marnie McBryde is founder and owner of McBryde and Partners now part of the Terri Eagle Group. The firm specializes in executive search, organizational coaching, and career development, serving both commercial enterprises and non-profit organizations. She is known for her ability to bridge the commercial and non-profit sectors, helping organizations identify leadership that can navigate complex, mission-driven environments. Ms. McBryde is also a managing partner of the Terri Eagle Group where she advises founder-led and family-owned businesses, as well as private equity-backed organizations, on leadership strategy, organizational design, and executive talent. She has also served as a partner at Korn Ferry in the retail, fashion, and luxury goods practice and spent a decade at Spencer Stuart, with various postings in New York, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.