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Published on Hirewell Talent Insights | The Balancing Act Podcast
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How do you lead with conviction while navigating the unpredictability of life as a working parent? In this heartwarming and deeply insightful episode of The Balancing Act, Sarah Sheridan, Director of Sales and Executive Recruiting at Hirewell, sits down with longtime friend and HR executive Suzanne Jakstavich to explore leadership, resilience, and redefining what “balance” really means.
From Finance to HR: A Purpose-Driven Career Pivot
Suzanne shares her non-traditional journey into HR, rooted in the life lessons she absorbed from her parents—her father, a Chicago firefighter, and her mother, an administrative assistant in a large manufacturing center. These early experiences sparked her curiosity around workplace trust, leadership under pressure, and the importance of supporting people in meaningful ways.
“How do people perform under pressure on the job? How do you work together? How do you trust people? These questions are at the heart of HR.”
Parenting and Professional Growth Intertwined
Suzanne opens up about raising her 15-year-old son Connor, who is on the autism spectrum and lives with complex medical conditions. She discusses how parenting has shaped her worldview, honed her leadership instincts, and deepened her empathy.
“This boy has been my greatest teacher. Parenting him has made me a better leader, a better human.”
Her reflections emphasize how the emotional labor of caregiving translates into workplace skills like patience, active listening, and advocating for others.
Leadership Lessons from the Social Squad
One of the episode’s most powerful moments comes when Suzanne shares a story about observing her son at a weekend social group for kids on the spectrum. Instead of stepping in when Connor struggled to join a game, she was encouraged to step back—and let him grow.
“That moment reframed leadership for me. Sometimes the best support you can offer is restraint.”
This anecdote highlights the importance of trusting your team and giving them space to solve problems on their own terms—a lesson all leaders can apply.
Walking the Talk on Flexibility
Known for her candid leadership style, Suzanne doesn’t just talk about work-life flexibility—she models it. Even her email footer reminds recipients that her work hours may not match theirs, encouraging asynchronous collaboration.
“Flexibility isn’t a perk. It’s how I show up fully for my family and my job.”
She shares how her leadership journey, parenthood, and the pandemic all contributed to a deeper understanding of the need for empathy-driven policies that respect people’s whole selves, not just their output.
Ditching the Work-Life “Balance” Myth
Suzanne and Sarah discuss the limitations of the term “work-life balance” and the hidden pressure it places on working parents to “have it all.”
“Life happens in rhythms, not in balance. Flexibility means shifting your energy based on what matters most at that moment.”
She encourages leaders to rethink traditional structures and to champion work-life integration that supports both business needs and personal fulfillment.
Supporting Caregivers in the Workforce
The episode closes with a call for companies to move beyond perks and into structural support for working parents and caregivers. This includes flexible hours, thoughtful meeting scheduling, and a shift in leadership culture that normalizes humanity in the workplace.
“The messiness of life doesn’t make you less capable. It makes you more compassionate, more grounded—and in my experience, a better leader.”
Key Takeaways:
- Empathy is a leadership strength, especially when informed by personal life experiences.
- Flexibility isn’t optional—it’s foundational to supporting high-performing, whole humans.
- Trust your team and create space for their growth, even if the process is messy.
- Normalize humanity at work—whether that means leaving for a pediatrician appointment or being candid about hard days.
Listen to the full episode of The Balancing Act for more insights into leadership, parenting, and how real life shapes great HR strategy.
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Plenty has been written about AI over the past two years. For much of that time, AI has been more hype than reality. I THINK 2026 is when that starts to change.
Here’s the first in a three part series of where we see AI going in the recruiting world.
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For the last few years, most companies treated AI like a recruiting assistant. It helped draft job descriptions, summarize resumes, and speed up outreach. Useful, sure. But it didn’t fundamentally change how hiring worked. And oftentimes, things needed to be double checked before hitting send.
I think that’s going to change.
In 2026, we’re seeing the rise of agentic HR. These are systems that don’t just support recruiters. They can execute work autonomously inside defined guardrails.
That shift is forcing talent leaders to rethink what recruiting teams are actually responsible for and what still requires a human.
From Copilot AI to Agentic Recruiting Systems
Traditional recruiting AI waited for humans to click “next.”
Agentic systems don’t.
They can interpret real-time funnel data, align to hiring goals, and take multi-step action. That includes adjusting sourcing spend, coordinating interview schedules, and triggering workflow changes without manual oversight.
This isn’t automation layered onto old processes. It’s the early version of a self-driving recruiting function.
The Metric That Matters More Than Time-to-Fill
Time-to-fill and cost-per-hire still matter. They just don’t fully capture what’s changing.
A concept showing up more in 2026 is Return on Autonomy. It measures the value created when humans and autonomous systems are paired intentionally.
In plain terms, the question is simple.
Are we using technology to eliminate busywork, or are we just doing the same work faster?
Because speed doesn’t help if it leads to worse decisions, a weaker candidate experience, or more noise in the funnel.
Why This Changes the Role of TA Leadership
As agentic systems absorb transactional work like screening, scheduling, and coordination, the role of recruiting leadership shifts.
The best TA leaders are spending less time managing process and more time doing what actually drives hiring outcomes. That includes aligning hiring to business priorities, building trust with candidates, and improving decision quality.
The real opportunity of 2026 isn’t more AI. It’s that recruiters finally get to focus on the work that requires being human.
The Mistake Companies Are Making Right Now
Here’s the trap.
Companies adopt advanced recruiting technology but keep the same habits. Long approval chains. Inconsistent communication. Unclear evaluation criteria.
When that happens, speed increases, but trust collapses.
Candidates don’t experience innovation. They experience silence, confusion, and a process that feels even more impersonal than before.
In 2026, the human experience of hiring is becoming a differentiator again because so many companies are getting it wrong.
What Talent Leaders Should Be Thinking About Now
You don’t need a total rebuild tomorrow. But you do need clarity.
The companies winning in 2026 are asking the right questions.
What parts of our hiring process truly require human judgment?
Where are we slowing things down out of habit?
Are recruiters trained for strategic work, or just process management?
Do our systems increase transparency, or just efficiency?
These aren’t technology questions. They’re leadership questions.
What’s Next
Agentic HR is changing how recruiting works. It’s also creating a new challenge.
As employers deploy autonomous systems, candidates are doing the same. The result is an emerging AI-on-AI hiring arms race that’s flooding pipelines with highly optimized but low-trust applications.
Next in this series: The AI-on-AI Hiring Arms Race and How to Protect Hiring Quality Without Breaking Trust
A lot of companies are going to try to AI their way into faster hiring this year and still end up with worse results. If you want to build a recruiting model that actually works in 2026, one that balances speed, quality, and credibility, we can help. Reach out if you want a second set of eyes on your hiring approach.
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