Time to Hire

Ep 41 Heather Taylor of MAU: How to Build a Resilient Talent Pipeline Without Over-Hiring in a Downturn

• Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA)

Share episode

A majority of talent acquisition (TA) leaders lack hiring strategies ready for market fluctuations. This data expose how quickly teams lose traction when demand drops. Today’s talent acquisition teams face shrinking req loads, rising pressure to prove value, and unpredictable workforce needs, a combination driving a widening performance gap. Only a small fraction leverages data-driven workforce planning to convert this slowdown into strategic momentum, leaving most employers vulnerable to escalating costs, weakened pipelines, and missed growth windows.

Solving this uncertainty requires rethinking the entire recruiting engine—so what should TA leaders do to build resilience in a soft market? In this episode of the Time to Hire podcast, host Lamees Abourahma speaks with Heather Taylor, Director of RPO Solutions at MAU Workforce Solutions, to examine how RPO partnerships, analytics, and smarter processes strengthen quality of hire, reduce cost, and future-proof talent strategies across shifting labor conditions.

Join the RPO Association today to stay ahead of the latest trends and best practices in talent acquisition, achieve your professional goals, and benefit from improved business performance.

Contact the RPO Association at info@rpoassociation.org

Follow Heather Taylor on LinkedIn

Follow Lamees Abourahma on LinkedIn

Follow the RPOA on LinkedIn

Go here for more information about MAU

Go here for more information about the RPOA


Whether you're a seasoned talent acquisition professional or just starting in the field, "Time to Hire" provides an invaluable platform to expand your knowledge, learn from industry leaders, and stay up-to-date with the rapidly changing world of recruitment.


Lamees Abourahma 0:08 

What if the key to thriving in a soft labor market isn’t just hiring faster, but hiring smarter — and turning uncertainty into a strategic advantage? In today’s conversation, you’ll hear how forward-thinking organizations are reimagining talent acquisition with the help of innovative RPO partners. Welcome to Time to Hire, the podcast from the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association, where we explore stories and strategies shaping the future of talent acquisition. I’m your host, Lamees Abourahma. My guest today is Heather Taylor, Director of RPO Solutions at MAU Workforce Solutions. We discuss what it takes to build a resilient talent pipeline when the market slows down, why quality should trump quantity in hiring, and how embracing technology and analytics can future-proof your recruitment strategy. You’ll also get Heather’s advice for evaluating RPO partnerships and debunking common misconceptions about outsourcing recruitment — insights every TA leader needs right now. Let’s dive in.

Heather Taylor - MAU Workforce Solutions 1:37 

Thank you so much, Lamees, I'm happy to be here.

Lamees Abourahma 6:17 

Wonderful. Happy to have you. Before we get started, let's take a minute and tell us about MAU, please.

Heather Taylor 1:54 

Great. So MAU is a minority owned full service workforce solutions company. We specialize in the manufacturing supply chain and technology space.

So our corporate office is based out of Augusta, Georgia, and we've been in business since 1973. I have been with the company for the past 19 years, and just really happy to be here with you today to discuss RPO.

Lamees Abourahma 2:18 

And I'm looking forward to our conversation, because we are going to primarily focus on RPO as a strategic talent solution, especially in a soft hiring market.

So I want to start with understanding how you define the role of RPO in this soft hiring market, and what's changed, would you say, compared to more active hiring cycles?

Heather Taylor - 2:42 

Right? Well, I would say during an active hiring cycle, RPO is really primarily focused on speed and scale. So very quickly being able to source and hiring candidates to meet our clients demand.

Whereas we look as we're in a softer hiring market, the role of an RPO shifts from simply filling the high volume to a more strategic or consultative partnership with the fewer open roles. We focus more on quality over the quantity, and our RPO providers really become a strategic partner who helps companies in a number of ways, from refining their talent strategy, optimizing processes and really building a strong talent pipeline and preparation for future growth.

Lamees Abourahma 3:39 

Fantastic. And I want to probably dig deeper into some of what you just described, and particular, there is a trend, if you will, in the talent acquisition recently, and this is of organizations being more reactive in their hiring versus being more strategic.

And our what we're discussing here is RPO being that partner that can take organization to be more strategic and more proactive. So help us understand how an RPO can help with that.

Heather Taylor 4:22 

So an RPO has the opportunity to leverage data and analytics to help our customers and our clients do forecasting, and I think, with technology these days and the different forms and what we're what we're seeing out there, and the growth that's happening in that sector, we're really able to capitalize on that to bring in different technology partners to help the organizations be more effective.

Lamees Abourahma 4:45 

I love understanding through examples. Heather, so can you share some examples where RPO adds that strategic value beyond beyond filling roles?

Heather Taylor 4:57 

So a couple of examples come to mind. So working in mainly in the manufacturing and supply chain space, I talked about leveraging data to help provide that useful information that'll help the companies make informed decisions. This could be anything from compensation data to also being able to provide safety or legal recommendations from in house safety or legal teams working with the development of SOPs with a client organization just to help optimize the processes and the efficiencies.

I think about a time when we have worked with an automotive supplier also to help evaluate their overall talent acquisition process by using value stream mapping and lean tools to eliminate waste and repetition in their talent acquisition processes. You think more of that using those Lean tools on the manufacturing floor, but there's a lot of opportunity in in the office and those administrative functions where you can also use those tools.

And then a final example that comes to mind Lamees is really with employer branding and marketing. So, you know, we have an in house marketing team that's worked alongside our customers, whether they have a marketing team or not, to develop just really compelling marketing campaigns and a strong narrative over a range of platforms. So it could be, you know, a written marketing plan. It can be through social media, billboards, TV, what have you just covering a range of platforms. So we're able to help them attract that top talent once the hiring needs increase.

Lamees Abourahma 6:41 

To build on the strategy and I appreciate the details and the examples that you shared as well. What metrics/KPIs would you say are most impacted by an RPO strategy in a soft market, and how might that be different than in a more active market?

Heather Taylor 7:01 

We talked a little bit about, you know, speed is one of the main factors that you think of in a different market, but really in a soft market, quality, costs and efficiency and hirings are the main metrics that we can influence in this soft market.

So with a source of a hire. So an RPO strategy can help companies better understand sourcing channels and where those those top quality candidates are coming from. So there's a more targeted and efficient use of marketing dollars towards sourcing.

We touch base on the quality so we can improve the quality of hires, because we have more of that time to invest with individual candidates. Net promoter scores from candidates is another metric that can be impacted with that lower volume of applicants, that more dedicated, focused time with them, we can ensure as an RPO that the candidates are having a positive experience, and that helps strengthen the employer brand in the marketplace.

And just the final metric I'd like to mention is a cost per hire. So with an RPO helping to optimize the hiring processes and improve sourcing efficiencies. We can lower that cost per hire once hire resumes.

Lamees Abourahma 8:29 

Yeah, and I love that you touch on that because I wanted to ask your advice specifically for TA leaders who might be considering RPO as a strategic investment, not just a cost saving tactic. So what would that be? What would that advice be?

Heather Taylor 8:42 

So my advice to TA leaders is to view an RPO as a strategic investment and a true partnership. So you want them to ask, How can an RPO partner help build talent strategies that align with our long term business goals? Think about things like, what kind of market insight and data can an RPO provide that we normally don't have access to? How can they help us with our employer branding?

I would recommend they meet with several RPO partners and think about what different parts of the process they may want to outsource. If they don't want to outsource the entire process, I think I'd ask, what kind of experience does the provider have? Is it in the manufacturing space, the technology space, is it similar to what you're looking at there, and then be collaborative and work towards the common goals with that RPO provider.

An RPO provider really should be thought of as a partner. We've used that word several times, and not just a supplier or a vendor, because that's truly what the relationship is. And you ultimately, as a TA leader, want to make sure that the provider that you select aligns with you culturally. That should be a big part of this decision making process as well, because that partner will be an extension of your internal talent acquisition team, and having that cultural alignment will help the extension be seamless to the internal stakeholders as well as the candidates who are engaged.

Lamees Abourahma 10:22 

That is very thorough, and I appreciate the response my next next question, Heather, you've been in the industry for a long time. I've been with the Association for a long time. So from where we said, you would think people know about RPO and they're well informed, but I still find it surprising that, especially in the industry, there are people who are not as well informed about RPO, and there is a lot of misconception.

As you work with many clients and prospective customers. What are the common misconceptions these days about RPO that you see in the market?

Heather Taylor 11:05 

So one of the largest misconceptions Lamees that I see in the market is that RPO is a one size fits all, and it's an all or nothing solution that is not the case. And RPO is really highly customized, customizable.

So a company can, as I touched on it earlier, they can have an all inclusive RPO, or you can segment it. You can just do a part of the process where you outsource the sourcing process, or you outsource the contingencies or onboarding process, but it's really customizable to what the client needs, and so having that commonality, having those discussions together, when you're interviewing RPO providers, it's important to just align on what it is that you're looking for.

I also think it's a misconception that people believe it's only for large companies with hundreds of roles that are open, and that's not the case either. You may have a quick need to hire 25 people, but your current team does not have the capacity to do that, so a short term project, RPO could come in very quickly scale where you need to be with your head count and get you where you need to be.

And then the final thing is, I think a common misconception is that it's too expensive for those on a budget. Again, it can be a cost saving measure, because it does offer that flexibility and scalability to having a fixed cost internal TA team that ramps up and ramps down.

Lamees Abourahma 12:43 

I love that, and it's as you know and our audience, I'm sure, aware AI has been a hot topic and recruiting this year and last few years. So I have to ask a technology related question, MAU, being in manufacturing and supply chain, working these industries, tell me about the adoption of technology.

How is that industry viewing AI? Are they open to adopting more AI, or are you seeing more resistance? What has been your experience in that space?

Heather Taylor 13:19 

It's definitely a hot topic. Now. We are constantly piloting new AI technology. Had a conversation earlier today about one we piloted two weeks ago. We're going to move on from that because it didn't fit our solution. Solutions. But already have two more in the process that we're looking towards.

I think companies and RPO organizations that don't embrace the need to change are going to be left behind, because there's just so many things out there that can help bring down costs to the customer as well as offer efficiencies in the hiring process and still provide that level of service, that that seamless integration that we like with our customers, and that level of service to not only those customers, but to the candidates that they expect.

Lamees Abourahma 14:13 

Yeah, and you're bringing that expertise to your customers and piloting technology solutions. That's one of the advantages that an RPO can bring, versus having to do that internally.

Heather Taylor 14:23 

Absolutely, and some, sometimes our technology we integrate into our customers platforms. Sometimes we are able to utilize that with our own ATS and our own platform. So it's, it's really, we're going to customize that piece as well to what's going to meet the needs of the client.

Lamees Abourahma 14:46 

Fantastic. Well, this is exciting. I there was a question that I can't think of now, but this has been a very informative conversation. I appreciate your thoughts and coming on on the podcast.

Heather Taylor  14:52

 Lamees, thank you so much for the opportunity. It is a pleasure to be here and look forward to connecting again very soon.

Lamees Abourahma 15:12

I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Time to Hire podcast from the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association. Give us a review wherever you listen to the podcast. And always stay connected, stay engaged, and stay informed of what's happening in the talent and recruiting world by tuning into the RPAA, the place to go for RPO™.