Steve White: A Journey from Sports Agent to Top Talent Access Leader

My guest on episode 422 of #thePOZCAST is Steve White. He is the Head of Talent Acquisition at Sam's Clubs and previously, Vice President of Talent Acquisition at BECU, focusing on transformative leadership, fostering a culture of excellence, and building strong partnerships. With a career dedicated to transforming talent acquisition teams, Steve is passionate about leading with intention and ensuring teams are built to thrive now and in the future. His approach emphasizes the 3Rs: building relationships, delivering transformational results, and improving readiness to enhance the business. Steve brings valuable experience from his previous roles, notably at Lockheed Martin and FedEx, where he honed his leadership skills and commitment to excellence in talent acquisition. He also serves on various boards, contributing his expertise in leadership, culture, and people-first strategies to drive organizational success. Steve is dedicated to aligning talent acquisition with a clear vision and mission, ensuring it plays a pivotal role in achieving organizational goals. Connect with Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevewhite2/ #thePOZcast is proudly brought to you by Fountain - the leading enterprise platform for workforce management. Our platform enables companies to support their frontline workers from job application to departure. Fountain elevates the hiring, management, and retention of frontline workers at scale. To learn more, please visit: https://www.fountain.com/?utm_source=shrm-2024&utm_medium=event&utm_campaign=shrm-2024-podcast-adam-posner. Thanks for listening, and please follow us on Insta @NHPTalent and www.youtube.com/thePOZcast For all episodes, please check out www.thePOZcast.com Summary In this episode, Adam Posner interviews Steve White, the Vice President of Talent Acquisition at BECU. They discuss Steve's journey from being a sports agent to a leader in talent acquisition, emphasizing the importance of transformative leadership, organizational culture, and strategic hiring practices. Steve shares insights on the emotional challenges of leaving sports management, the transferable skills he brought into recruitment, and the need for a shift in how organizations approach talent access. The conversation also touches on metrics in recruitment, particularly the complexities of time to fill and cost per hire. In this conversation, Steve White and Adam Posner delve into the complexities of talent acquisition, focusing on metrics like time to hire and time of vacancy. They discuss the importance of building relationships within organizations, the impact of AI on recruitment, and unconventional hiring strategies. Steve emphasizes the need for talent acquisition professionals to understand the business deeply and to foster internal mobility as a key strategy for retention and growth. Takeaways - Steve White transitioned from sports management to talent acquisition. - Transformative leadership focuses on relationships, results, and readiness. - Culture is often deprioritized despite its importance in organizational success. - Talent acquisition should be viewed as talent access, providing opportunities. - Effective hiring requires understanding the broader business goals. - Interview processes should focus on culture and rather than culture fit. - Metrics like time to fill can be misleading and vary greatly by role. - Building strong partnerships is essential in talent acquisition. - Organizational culture should be discussed in every meeting. - Strategic hiring practices can significantly impact organizational success. Time to hire is influenced by many external factors. - Focusing on the time of vacancy and productivity is crucial. - Building relationships is essential for effective talent acquisition. - AI can enhance efficiency, but should not replace human engagement. - Understanding the business is vital for talent acquisition success. - Internal mobility can improve retention and employee satisfaction. - Recruiters should act as brand ambassadors for their organizations. - Unconventional sourcing strategies can yield great results. - Effective communication and feedback are key to leadership. - Continuous learning and adaptation are necessary in talent acquisition.