Katie Helbling / May 22, 2025

There’s a whisper in the hiring hallways, a tale told over coffee and candidate calls—a modern workplace ghost story. No, not the kind with flickering lights or haunted cubicles in the SCIF, but the kind where a promising candidate submits their résumé, aces an interview, and then… silence. Vanished. Unacknowledged. Ghosted.

Recruiters, let’s be honest—we’ve all been accused. But here’s the truth: we’re not ghosts. And we don’t mean to become them.

What’s the true reality behind this disappearing act? In the clearance space, everything is more complicated. You’re not just checking for skills; you’re navigating a labyrinth of checking on clearances for the contract, polygraphs, reinvestigations, and labora catefory requirements that can change faster than a defense contractor’s budget. One minute the role is greenlit. The next, it’s under review or pending funding. That “go” signal you gave your candidate last week? It just turned into a “stand by.”

And somewhere in the midst of rescheduling a full-scope poly and chasing signatures for a letter of intent for a proposal effort, you forget to send a simple note: “Hey, just a heads-up—we’re still waiting on government approval.”

The Invisible Load

Recruiting cleared talent isn’t like sourcing for general IT roles in silicon valley. You’re dealing with limited candidate pools, compartmentalized job descriptions, and clients who are tighter-lipped than a launch pad technician. It’s not uncommon to juggle:

• 30+ open roles across multiple contract vehicles

• 5 different Program Managers asking for “urgent” hires

• Candidates with TS/SCI, but no CI poly—or the wrong one

• Ghosts of requisitions past (“We may re-open this one next quarter”)

In that environment, it’s not that you forget the candidate. It’s that the candidate becomes one of a hundred to-do’s on a very long list—and the system doesn’t always remind you they’re still waiting in the wings.

ClearED Candidates: High Stakes, High Standards

When you’re dealing with people who hold our nation’s secrets, you’re also dealing with people who expect professionalism, discretion, and—yes—respect. A ghosted candidate will definitely move on. A ghosted cleared professional might blacklist you altogether.

And they talk.

In tight-knit communities like intel, defense, or cybersecurity, word travels fast. A recruiter who ghosts can quickly earn a reputation that lingers far longer than the job req ever did.

So, what can we do? Here’s where a little recruiter realism and a lot of human empathy go a long way:

• Automate when you can, personalize when it counts. If a candidate isn’t moving forward, tell them. If you’re waiting on a clearance to be adjuidcated, say so. Transparency builds trust—even when the news isn’t good.

• Create a cleared-candidate cadence. Weekly or biweekly check-ins, even if just to say, “Still pending, but you haven’t been forgotten,” can make all the difference.

• Advocate for the candidate internally. Push for status clarity from PMs. Don’t let red tape turn you into a communication casualty.

• Build a “warm bench” strategy. That TS/SCI + poly candidate may not be right for today’s role—but they might be perfect for the one opening in Q3. Stay connected.

We’re Not Ghosts—We’re Human

Recruiters in the cleared space wear more hats than we’re given credit for: compliance wrangler, security interpreter, candidate therapist, and sometimes, fire extinguisher. Yes, we drop the ball. No, it’s not okay—but it’s rarely malicious. It’s just messy.

Let’s acknowledge the imperfections, commit to doing better, and remember: communication is currency. Especially when you’re asking someone to trust you with their career—and holding their clearance.

So the next time you feel like vanishing into a pile of “interview scheduled” flags and “client follow-up needed” notes, take a breath, send that check-in email, and remind the candidate they’re not alone.

Because in recruiting, no one really wants to be a ghost.

By: Emilie Shumway

AURORA, Colo. — Yelp made waves in 2022 when it became one of the early adopters of shifting to permanently remote work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision, which came about in large part due to employee feedback, is just one of the ways Yelp has put listening to workers at the center of its people strategy, Chief People Officer Carmen Amara and Senior Director of People Business Operations Brad Auernig told a Workhuman audience Tuesday.

Employee engagement has shifted in what’s being called the “big stay” — a time that began around 2023, when employees decided to stay put in their roles, prizing stability over the draw of a new position. Yelp is experiencing this phenomenon along with other workplaces; its average tenure expanded from 2.8 years in 2022 to 3.9 years today, Amara said.

“But just because retention is high, that doesn’t mean that employee expectations are not evolving,” Amara said. Potential challenges of the “big stay” include maintaining workers’ motivation, avoiding career stagnation and preventing burnout, she said.

Amara and Auernig outlined a few strategies Yelp is using to keep workers engaged.

1. It employs a dynamic listening style — and takes action.
Listening to employee feedback creates “a foundation necessary for employees to thrive,” Auernig said, pointing to several approaches the company takes to listening: consistently through an annual survey, regularly at large events, and as-needed through focus groups and smaller surveys or events.

What about survey fatigue? “The truth is employees get worn out in providing feedback when they don’t see change,” Auernig said. “It’s about turning insights into action quickly and effectively.”

Yelp asks leaders to take feedback and do “1-2-3.” First, pick one issue. Next, devise two solutions. Then, commit to three follow-ups. “Don’t just listen,” Auernig said. “Do something with what you hear.”

2. It focuses on growth beyond promotions.
When employees stay longer in the organization and their roles, “they need to feel like they’re continuing to move forward,” Amara said, noting that investment in growth and development is essential — not optional.

How can HR foster this feeling? Yelp offers cross-functional projects, for one, Amara said. Employers can also offer mentorship and job shadowing, promote continuing education and certifications, and encourage workers to use AI tools to create a personalized development plan.

“It’s really imperative that we do not wait for promotions to celebrate growth,” Amara said. “We absolutely need to recognize skill-building, stretch assignments and progress along the way.”

3. It emphasizes purpose.
Finally, employees need to understand how the organization they work for makes a difference every day for those it serves. Yelp consistently reinforces the “why” of the company, Auernig said, and helps employees connect how their work contributes to the broader project.

“When people feel connected to the purpose of the company, they will thrive,” Auernig said. “They will bring their best selves to work.”

By: Jen A. Miller

While most job seekers are using artificial intelligence tools for basic help, like assistance writing a cover letter, some may be using the technology to forge documents and create fake resumes, said RJ Frasca, vice president of channels and partnerships at Shield Screening.

One way companies are combating dangerous applications is by fighting fire with fire and using AI in screening platforms to sort out who might be using the technology for less scrupulous reasons. As job candidates are “using more AI to get through filters, [hiring managers] are using more AI to fight those filters,” he said.

Here’s what hiring managers need to know.

The AI-enabled candidate problem

AI, especially for younger candidates who may be taught how to use generative AI in high school and college, has become part of the job-seeking process. That use is typically harmless, said Joe Jones, director of research and insights for the International Association of Privacy Professionals, a nonprofit that defines, promotes and improves privacy and AI-related professions.

“They’re trawling various databases and networks to see what’s available,” said Jones. Others are using it “in a way to generate content to support their application,” like responding to questions, uploading resumes and creating a cover letter template.

Generative AI starts to become a problem when it’s used not as a tool, but the “be all and end all” of the job hunting process, he said, with candidates solely relying on AI to fully write cover letters and resumes that are not personalized, or providing responses to questions that don’t actually answer what is being asked.

Deepfake technology, which also relies on AI, has only gotten more convincing. According to a report from finance software provider Medius, just over half (53%) of businesses in the U.S. and U.K. have been targets of a financial scam powered by deepfake technology, with 43% falling victim to such attacks.

HR professionals might not think this is their problem, but hiring is a potential entry point for criminals, as they can put themselves onto hiring platforms and steal company software, install malware, or worse.

At the end of 2024, for example, threat intelligence and incident response firm Mandiant warned that North Korea-backed remote IT workers had infiltrated “dozens” of Fortune 100 companies through deepfaked video interviews and stolen personally identifiable information.

Fighting fire with fire

But AI can help recruiters defend themselves against bad actors, too. Candidate uses AI to make a fake diploma? “There’s a flip side of that, where AI is being used to dig deeper and verify” whatever documents or information candidates are presenting, said Frasca.

AI can also be used to verify a candidates’ identity, by doing a live screen of their face and comparing it to a government ID database, he added.

On video calls, AI can be used to detect when the person you’re talking to isn’t really there, or an altered version of someone else. AI can spot patterns “that are more prevalent in deepfakes than in human cases,” said Jones, like eye contact and voice intonations. “There’s all sorts of analysis on the presentation of a person” that can be detected.

But companies shouldn’t just add an AI program or deepfake detector to their platforms, set it and forget it. “The technology’s capabilities need quite a bit of human oversight,” said Frasca, especially if companies are using it for more than just detecting potential fraud, but to sort through candidates and applications.

HR departments using AI also need to make sure that “bias doesn’t creep in when the AI is being used,” said Jones. An AI could make inferences in gender, race or other protected characteristics. It could, for example, scan a resume and assume the applicant is a woman, and make inferences about the candidate from that determination. “Bias can creep in — or more than creep,” he said.

Notably, job seekers are also wary of employers that rely on AI tools for the hiring process; around 3 in 5 job hunters surveyed by Express Employment Professionals and Harris Poll said they would consider not applying to companies that rely on generative AI.

And while legislation around AI is still in its infancy, existing laws on things like privacy, copyright and IP are being applied to it, which HR managers should be mindful of. “In the context of AI, privacy laws, quality laws, and nondiscrimination laws still apply,” Jones said.

By: Kathryn Moody

When the federal government began its mass effort to return all employees to the office, it immediately garnered headlines for its chaos — not because of protest or pushback, but because of offices without Wi-Fi, lights or toilet paper.

That botched return highlighted a problem that may feel familiar to HR pros managing their own companies’ potential readjustments to office life: figuring out (or perhaps remembering) how to make office use effective, efficient and even a draw for workers.

“The office is built for humans,” Andrew Farah, CEO at Density, a tech firm focused on measuring office occupancy, told HR Dive. “We have very little idea how humans use offices.”

Employees, understandably, have nonnegotiables when it comes to work space, Janet Pogue McLaurin, global director of workplace research at Gensler, an architecture and design company, said. Sometimes, even those are not being met.

“A workplace that doesn’t work isn’t a work place,” she emphasized in an interview with HR Dive.

So what makes office space into a workplace?

Get the basics down.

When mandating a return to office, it may help to think small at first. How small?

Don’t forget badge access, for example, Farah said, so people can get into the office with ease. Make sure the office internet is ready for the bandwidth that will be required if more people will be sharing the same space, too.

“You have to conduct a workplace readiness audit,” Michelle Mikesell, chief people officer of G&A Partners, an HR services provider, told HR Dive. That includes providing workers with everything they might need, such as ensuring each workspace has docking stations, enough monitors, and adequate desk space.

Regular office attendees can be assigned a space. For everyone else, leaders must ensure there is hoteling or hotseat space, Mikesell said.

Farah also emphasized the importance of this. “Either make sure everyone has an assignment, or make sure your designated share space remains that way,” he said. Otherwise, people may feel like “‘I’m forced to be here, and there’s nowhere to sit,’” he added.

Many young workers and new graduates may be coming into an office environment for the very first time, Farah said, so they might not have an idea how to get their badge, computer or internet access. Have processes to enable all of these things, he added.

Space is at a premium. Use it wisely.

Actually useful physical space is also a basic requirement, but it is one that can trip employers up depending on how employees are encouraged to use that space.

“Beware the trap of having many [employees] come back but not enough,” Farah said. In other words, don’t be a remote company using the office for remote-only work; this leads to workers camping in rooms for meeting calls, he said. “Beware the conclusion that you have run out of space when you haven’t.”

The team at Gensler sought to understand the difference between offices that had been remodeled since the pandemic and those that had not undergone any changes, and they “saw some clear differences,” Pogue McLaurin said.

One of the largest issues they found was simple: The space sometimes doesn’t fit the work people are doing.

“People really want to come to the office to get their work done,” Pogue McLaurin said. “We’ve been asking for four years what the purpose of the office is,” and that is what employees tell them, she continued.

What spaces are people avoiding? What spaces are being used sideways to their actual intention? Employers can repurpose space accordingly, she explained.

Front-line managers and execs both need to be on board — and coming in.

As far as enabling a successful RTO, “the most important team is the exec team,” Farah said. They will likely be responsible for delegating RTO issues to the proper teams and also set the tone for everyone else.

Unfortunately, execs may act in ways that make it seem they won’t adhere to the rules they set. Many CFOs and other top executives, for example, make deals upon hiring that make it so they aren’t required to relocate, CFO Dive recently reported.

“You can’t say, ‘Do as I say, not as I do,’” Farah said. “You cannot do that and mandate a return.”

On the opposite end, front-line managers need to be empowered to help their direct reports while in the office, Mikesell said. When a worker needs help, “the first person someone is going to go to is their direct manager,” she noted. “Have manager training and support, and have those resources available.”

Her team also provides re-onboarding for those who have been remote for a long time, which includes teaching people how to access the tools they may need on-site and equipping managers to answer those questions, she added.

Policy matters.

Once a physical space is ready and leaders are fully briefed, HR can lead the charge on establishing office policy that includes aspects like expected core hours and commute considerations.

Density, for example, uses a “common hours” policy. Everyone is expected to be available in the office between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Initially, such a restriction may turn people off, “but practically, they really like it,” Farah said. Workers know they can schedule an in-person meeting with someone at a certain time, even if it constrains flexibility.

But even with such restrictions, a shared structure can help managers set clear boundaries — and let people be adults, he added. If someone needs to leave early for family reasons, for example, then teams can still work within the constraints to enable that.

Everything must be tied back to an organization’s goals for RTO, Mikesell reminded. “If you want to be more successful, you have to be purposeful about the time spent in the office,” she said. Are people expected to hold meetings and brainstorm together in the office? Then align those expectations with the policy and set clear guidelines, she added.

The policy can be simple and practical, Farah said — but don’t mandate RTO without one. Many companies are still “waiting to figure it out,” he continued. “Then it just turns into rumors.”

Make it worth their while.

Pogue McLaurin suggested that staff should be encouraged not to plan “excessive Zoom calls,” but instead create space for conversations to take place — because that is the main reason people want to be in the office in the first place, Gensler research found.

When the team asked what were the most important ways of working in an office, they were surprised by what they found, Pogue McLaurin said. “Scheduled team meetings came to the top,” she explained. But the next three were all forms of conversation — including impromptu chats between co-workers meeting face-to-face.

To better facilitate that, Gensler schedules all meetings to start with natural buffer time — for example, to start five minutes after the hour and end five minutes until the hour — to create those “moments that matter.”

Above all, make a return to office “worth their while,” Mikesell said.

“What are you doing that [requires] asking them to come back into the office?” she continued. “Be purposeful.”

And be aware that any shift in expectations around office presence may create strife.

“Companies don’t like to say this,” Farah explained, but conflict around RTO is likely inevitable. “Companies should say to their teams: For about 80% of things, the stuff that we are deciding to do is good for both [of us]. For about 20%, our interests diverge.”

That includes a mandated return to the office. What is good for a team might be at odds with the personal freedom that remote and distributed work once provided, he said.

“Our job is to do what is in the best interest of the team, not just the individuals,” Farah said. “You just want to be intellectually honest that this is one of those things.”

 

In the next five years, businesses will leverage AI to drive transformation or risk being left behind. The accelerating shift toward AI-powered services is happening now. The question for leaders is not whether AI will reshape business but whether they will lead the change or fade into irrelevance.

The Evolution Of Labor: From Historical Systems To AI

Throughout history, evolving labor structures have shaped economic progress. From the labor systems of ancient civilizations and the Roman Empire to medieval serfdom, from the challenging conditions factory workers faced during the Industrial Revolution to the global outsourcing trends of the 20th century, businesses have continually adapted to maximize efficiency and productivity.

Today, AI represents the next major shift in this progression. Companies that adopt AI-driven automation will position themselves for success, while those relying solely on traditional labor-intensive models may struggle to remain competitive.

Evolving From Support To Strategy

The rise of AI is undeniable. A March 2025 McKinsey report found that 71% of surveyed organizations regularly used GenAI in at least one business function. Yet AI adoption remains uneven across industries. A February 2024 MIT Sloan article noted that only 12% of surveyed companies in the manufacturing, information services and healthcare sectors had successfully implemented AI, while sectors like construction and retail lagged at just 4%.

While many organizations still treat AI as a tool to improve operational efficiency, it’s clear that AI is far more than that—it’s a core component of a winning business strategy.

The Pitfall Of Basic AI Adoption: Installing AI Is Not the Same As Transformation

Many companies believe that simply deploying ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot or another AI tool means they have achieved AI transformation. The initial implementation of basic AI is just the beginning. The value lies in developing custom AI solutions designed specifically for a business’s needs. Companies may face challenges in making full use of the potential of AI if they do not develop a strategy that encompasses more than the use of generic AI tools.

A prime example of an advanced AI-driven system is the enterprise knowledge assistant (EKA) guide, which shows a clear path for organizations to optimize their AI adoption beyond simple integration. However, while this step is the simplest second action after installing AI tools, it is often overlooked.

The Five Levels Of AI Maturity

Imagine you’re walking through the different stages of AI maturity in a business. It all starts with simple automation and moves toward complete autonomy.

• Level 1: AI is reactive—it just follows set rules. Think of things like spam filters or old-school chess-playing programs like Deep Blue. It doesn’t learn or adapt; it’s simply responding to predetermined commands.

• Level 2: AI begins to learn and adapt. It improves over time, like recommendation systems on Netflix or Spotify or even self-driving car algorithms. Here, AI gets smarter and assists with tasks but still requires human oversight and fine-tuning.

• Level 3: AI understands context and can solve problems autonomously. Examples include advanced virtual assistants or AI-powered legal or medical advisors.

• Level 4: AI becomes self-aware, capable of making independent decisions, planning and adapting to new situations without human intervention.

• Level 5: We reach organizational AI, where AI operates entire systems, managing large-scale networks of processes. At this level, AI can run a corporation or even oversee global systems, making high-level decisions with minimal human oversight.

Best Starting Projects With Significant Impact

In my experience, one of the most effective ways to leverage AI is by targeting practical use cases that can make an immediate impact. For example, think about a CNC machine stopping unexpectedly during a shift. It used to be a huge productivity loss, but an AI-powered intelligent troubleshooting assistant can analyze machine data, identify issues and guide technicians to fix the problem within 35 minutes. This drastically reduces downtime.

I’ve seen AI-powered sales assistants analyze customer needs, quickly match them with the right products and provide rapid responses. By using natural language processing, these assistants can understand complex procurement requests and speed up the entire sales cycle. This results in improved conversion rates, better forecasting and more effective upselling and cross-selling.

Another valuable area is EKAs. They centralize institutional knowledge and make it accessible, saving time that would otherwise be spent searching through endless emails and documents.

AI Implementation Best Practices

1. Set clear objectives. Ensure AI aligns with your strategy—improve workflows, quality or client relations.

2. Ensure data quality. Success depends on clean, organized and up-to-date data.

3. Invest in training. Equip your team with the skills to leverage AI effectively.

4. Start small. Test with pilot projects before scaling.

5. Measure and refine. Regularly monitor performance and adjust as needed.

6. Prioritize integration. Choose AI tools that seamlessly integrate with existing systems.

The Verdict: Will You Forge The Future Or Fade Away?

The next five years will define the winners and losers of the AI revolution. Businesses must choose: Will they integrate AI at the core of their operations and become pioneers of the next industrial transformation, or will they remain stagnant, struggling to maintain outdated models until they become irrelevant?

AI-driven business transformation is not a trend—it’s an inevitability. The companies that recognize this and act decisively will not only survive but redefine the future of business itself.

The question remains: Will you fade away, or will you forge the future?

 

ByBoris Kontsevoi, Forbes Councils Member.

for Forbes Technology Council

Apr 24, 2025, 07:45am EDT