With 25 years of experience spanning agency and in-house recruitment, Marshall Coyle has seen the talent landscape evolve across multiple business cycles. Now leading North American TA and Inclusion and Belonging at global med tech firm KARL STORZ, he shares how the TA function is adapting to a more complex, uncertain environment, and why the best recruiters today are equal parts consultant, operator, and strategist.
The biggest shift for me has been around operational excellence. When I stepped into my current role, I was quickly pulled into a major reorganization, which meant going from leading recruitment for one division to covering the entire US business. That expansion exposed all the inefficiencies: different teams doing things differently, fragmented standards, and overlapping responsibilities.
So, while most people think of TA leadership as being about sourcing and assessing talent, I’ve been heavily focused on optimizing how we work: standardizing processes, auditing legacy tasks, and making sure the right people are doing the right work. That operational lens is critical when your environment is constantly changing.
Absolutely. But I’ll be honest, TA leaders usually have to fight for a seat at that table. Legacy organizations often don’t naturally think of bringing recruiters into early strategic planning. But we’re the ones who need to execute on those decisions, so we need to be in the room when questions like: “Do we have the right talent?” or “Should we move this function to a new market?” are being asked.
The earlier we have visibility, the more we can prepare, whether that’s hiring new recruiters with different specialties or stress-testing the capacity model. It’s about getting out of reactive mode and into a position of strategic readiness.
We’re in a weird in-between stage right now. A lot of hiring managers are still operating with legacy mindsets; they’re looking for resumes that match an old template of success: same companies, same schools, same career paths. But at the same time, they’re demanding more data, more insight, and more market intelligence from TA.
It’s like one foot is in the old world and one in the new. And that puts pressure on recruiters to upskill fast – to be strategic business partners, storytellers, and analysts, all while still delivering results.
Three things stand out. First, you’ve got to be a consultative partner. Not just order-taking, but helping the business zoom out and understand how a role fits into the bigger picture. Second, you need to be able to build and execute a sourcing strategy, not just grind through 20 requisitions. Think forecasting, channel mix, and what’s working where.
And thirdly, you need to know how to manage up. That means being vulnerable and willing to step into uncomfortable conversations with senior leaders, admit what you don’t know, and be prepared with data. Don’t just pitch ideas. Show the trade-offs, the ROI, the impact. And if it doesn’t work, be agile enough to walk it back and try something else.
For me, data is the language of influence. You don’t have to be a data scientist, but you do need to understand ROI, cost vs. investment, and what the numbers are telling you. For example, if a leader wants to add 80 engineering roles and I know we only have capacity to handle five, I can’t just say “that’s a stretch.” I have to show the impact: how long it will take, what the trade-offs are, and what the realistic outcome will be if we proceed without changes.
Also, I make sure my team sees the direct connection between their daily effort and broader business outcomes. Outreach calls today will show up in placements 60-90 days from now. Every interaction matters.
It starts by being honest about trade-offs. When someone asks us to take on more, I’m very clear: “We can, but here’s what we’ll have to stop doing.” Then I get surgical about where our time is going. I audit meetings, workflows, and even small tasks, like internal visa renewals, that somehow ended up with TA. Clearing out inefficiencies isn’t just about productivity; it’s about protecting the team’s focus and energy for the work that actually moves the needle.
In a COE model, I like to think of the HR business partner as the general contractor – they own the big picture, and TA is the tile guy. We’re the specialists you bring in when it’s time to make something happen.
But that only works if you bring us in early. If I hear “the req will be open tomorrow” and no one looped us in earlier, that’s a miss. Decisions made without input from TA put everyone at risk of falling short, especially in a tight market. It has to be a continuous dialogue.
Right now, we’re seeing a lot of “hold and wait” behavior. Even for senior roles, candidates are cautious. They’re not actively looking, and when approached, many just aren’t willing to take the risk of moving. Immigration considerations, and economic uncertainty are big drivers.
We’re also dealing with skills inflation. Job descriptions that now demand advanced analytical or data capabilities weren’t part of roles two years ago. But we’re still recruiting with an experience-first mindset, which causes friction and lengthens search cycles.
Get close to your senior leaders – not just to talk about requisitions, but to understand their bigger goals. If you know what’s coming in six or twelve months, you can shape your team and strategy accordingly.
And lean into metrics. Know your data, be ready to explain the business impact, and communicate outcomes. TA is one of the few parts of HR with a clear scoreboard. That means you’re always on stage, but when you hit the high note, everyone notices.