I sat down with Michael Goldberg to talk about recruiting operations the way it actually plays out and how teams can evolve while focusing on candidate experience.
Michael leads Global TA Ops and Sourcing at US Renal Care, where hiring outcomes are inseparable from retention, onboarding, and day-one readiness. This work is high-volume, high-stakes hiring in healthcare, where burnout is real, turnover is expensive, and process decisions show up fast in patient care and business continuity.
I’ve followed Michael’s writing through his Talent Transformer blog for a while, and he’s been someone I’ve wanted on the show because he doesn’t talk about RecOps like a tooling problem. He talks about it like an operating system. He’s led through mergers, unified fractured processes, worked with executives who need answers and spent years translating recruiting data into something leaders actually understand. This conversation went deep, fast.
Throughout the episode, we spend a lot of time on retention, and why most teams treat it as an HR problem when it’s actually a recruiting design problem that starts before day one. Michael breaks down why the first 45 days matter more than most TA metrics, how onboarding is one of the most underutilized levers in RecOps, and why explaining the why to hiring managers is the real test of operational maturity.
We also get into the parts of recruiting operations that don’t get enough airtime, like:
Why RecOps needs to own the experience, not just the process
Why stakeholder impact should come before system changes
Why recruiters should stay connected through the first paycheck and beyond
Why retention data tells a better story than time to fill
Why earning a seat at the table starts with learning the business, not buying more tools
Michael also shares how he’s using AI practically, not to replace people, but to build dashboards, scorecards, and internal tools that help RecOps leaders move faster and speak the language of finance, operations, and leadership.
If you care about post-hire outcomes, real retention, and what RecOps should actually own in 2026, this episode is worth your time.
Thanks for coming on the show, Michael. This one hit exactly where the industry needs to be looking. See you in San Diego at TA Week!
Connect with him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dallasmichaelgoldberg/
Timestamps
00:00 Why retention is the real recruiting metric
02:00 Michael’s background and operating in high-turnover environments
04:30 Unifying processes after acquisitions without breaking trust
06:45 Explaining the why to hiring managers
08:30 Onboarding as a retention lever
10:15 The first 45 days and why they matter
12:30 What recruiters should own post-hire
14:45 Checking in through the first paycheck
17:00 RecOps, data, and telling the right story to leadership
19:00 Building dashboards without waiting on engineering
21:00 AI as a force multiplier for RecOps
23:30 Learning the business to earn a seat at the table
26:00 Why empathy and operations have to coexist
28:30 What great RecOps leaders do differently in 2026
Shout out to our sponsor, Rooster.
Rooster is a native interview scheduling platform built inside Workday Recruiting that eliminates back-and-forth and gives recruiters and candidates a clean self-scheduling experience.
If you want fewer scheduling errors, faster coordination, and a smoother candidate experience, visit rooster.us to book a demo.
Planning your 2026 recruiting events?
TalentSphere Summit is worth checking out, especially if the usual conference circuit isn’t doing it for you anymore.
Hosted by Talent Collective, it’s a two-day, in-person working summit designed around how recruiting actually operates today.
About AI in recruiting, talent intelligence, candidate fraud, and the systems teams are trying to make work in practice.
What I like:
Less stage content, more practitioner-led workshops, playbooks, and training sessions
Solution sessions and customer stories without glossy demos
Space to connect, reflect, and recharge with your TA homies
It’s structured more like a retreat than a traditional industry event, which honestly feels overdue.
Savannah, GA | Feb 9–11, 2026
Vibe Out → Use my code BJEFFS for $200 off.
https://talentcollective.zohobackstage.com/TalentSphereSummit#/
