Change happens slowly. Then all at once.
Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending year 2 of the Entrepreneurial Masters Program at MIT.
Our kickoff speaker was Pascal Finette, co-founder of be radical, former exec at Google, eBay, and Mozilla, and a globally renowned public speaker covering topics from disruption to transformation, and technology trends.
When Pascal said, “Change happens slowly, then all at once,” I felt dumbstruck.
While this sentiment is certainly not new (the quote is actually attributed to Ernest Hemingway from The Sun Also Rises), it feels more relevant than ever.
Anyone besides me feeling like they’re being run over by an AI steamroller?
How about you?
As I started to write this week’s SMART IDEA, I started as I always would. Brainstorming content. Outlining points to make.
I made a list of some of the disruptive changes I’ve seen in my lifetime:
- Personal computers (yes, I’m that old!)
- The Internet
- Job boards
- Mobile phones & Smartphones
- Streaming media
- Digital marketing
- Automation
- AI
And then it hit me.
I can do this ideation way faster (and way better) with AI. Yes, I know this is obvious, but old habits die hard!
In the spirit of accelerating change, I went to ChatGPT and had a conversation:
- I asked my AI partner what it knows about Pascal and his views on how leaders should embrace change.
- I then asked it to apply these concepts to changes happening in the staffing industry, specifically around digital transformation, staffing platforms, and AI for sales and recruiting.
- I asked my partner to map the changes against Pascal’s disruption curve (okay, technically the AI asked if I wanted to do that, and I said yes).
- I asked it to provide recommendations, the way Pascal might, for the ways in which staffing executives should be adapting to these changes.
- And finally, I asked my AI to organize the conversation into an outline for this newsletter.
Viola! I have an awesome outline of key trends impacting the staffing industry and ways you can deal with these challenges. And an awesome prompt ready for my SMART IDEAS writer GPT!
Here are lessons from Pascal, conceived by AI…and edited by David
The Disruption Nobody Saw Coming
“Change happens slowly, then all at once.” — Pascal Finette
Save that quote, because it’s the staffing industry’s new reality. These tidal waves of change didn’t show up overnight. They started as little drips—digital tools, AI pilots, platform rollouts—but suddenly, during COVID, post‑pandemic hiring furiousness, and a surge in client demands, the floodgates burst.
This SMART IDEA is designed to help you spot the weak signals of change before the deluge begins…and build the ship that can weather the coming storm.
Four tidal waves of disruption in staffing
What looked like gradual changes were masking seismic shifts. Then—BOOM—they hit.
1) DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Slow burn: ATS/CRM digitization over the 2010s remained incremental.
All at once: COVID changed the game. Client and candidates expected amazon-like experiences seemingly overnight. Firms that automated end-to-end value chains were 57% more likely to grow in 2024. Meanwhile recruiters now regain 14.6 hrs/week via AI-assisted search and screening.
2) STAFFING PLATFORMS & MARKETPLACES
Slow burn: Freelance platforms were niche (Upwork, TaskRabbit, Freelancer.com, etc.).
All at once: Platforms go mainstream and threaten even traditional clients. According to SIA, 7 of the top 10 global staffing organizations are building their own staffing platforms, and 40% of staffing firms report platform competition as one of their top challenges—up from just 12% two years ago.
3) AI IN SALES & RECRUITING
Slow burn: Automated parsing, scripted chatbots, and matching algorithms.
All at once: Gen AI becomes accessible to everyone. 55–72% of staffing firms now actively using AI—or planning to—across sourcing, screening, and outreach, with top adopters twice as likely to see revenue gains.
4) LABOR MARKET & REGULATORY SHIFTS
Slow burn: DEI, gig wage debates, remote work, and an aging workforce.
All at once: Clients and candidates expect transparency, speed, ethics. Firms must implement new systems to compete. And filling orders got harder in 2024; average fill time stretched into the high teens for clerical roles and 24+ days for IT—up 30–40% year over year.
What staffing executives should do now Pascal’s Playbook Applied
Reframe with first principles Ask: “What problem are we solving now?” “What do we fundamentally know to be true?” Challenge legacy assumptions about your value prop.
Spot state change Track the early adopters, tech usage by clients, and competitor experiments. Don’t wait for a trend to crush your company dashboard.
Run radical experiments Pilot AI tools for sourcing and outreach. Test a self-serve component. Quantify the impact of these changes and revenue and productivity. Then scale the winners.
Redesign your service model Offer multiple service options (high-touch, AI-augmented, and self-service marketplaces formats). Then let clients choose—and pay accordingly.
Upskill your people Teach AI literacy, prompt engineering, consultative selling. Expect teams to spend at least 5% of their time learning.
Tell a more strategic story Position yourself as a “talent strategist,” not “just a staffing vendor.” Market around delivering a tech-enabled workforce, not just qualified talent.
Tackle inertia Audit legacy processes. Kill the sacred cows. Inject internal pressure for constant change.
Build a recalibration loop Monthly tech reviews + quarterly client feedback + monthly competitor scans = change as a function, not a panic.
Disrupt yourself before someone else does
Pascal’s core message? Disruption is not optional. It’s inevitable. The question: Will you be the one who sees the flood coming and builds a better boat?
Or will you get swept away?
A final call to action (pick one idea to implement):
- Send your top three leaders this article.
- Schedule a “weak signals workshop” to scan client, tech, and competitor signals.
- Allocate 5% of team members’ time to AI or platform experimentation by Q3.
Want to integrate some radical change in your sales and marketing?
We’re doing some things with AI and process automation that feel like science fiction. We’re completely reimagining how we approach service delivery…and marketing overall.
Intrigued?
Give us a ring. We’ll be happy to show you what we’re up to…and how it can have a positive impact on your sales and recruiting.
Sources used in this article:
AmericanStaffing.net. Bullhorn.com, Carv.com, Businesswire.com, eCapital.com. |
