Bringing "The Helpful Place" to Life in TA with Ace Hardware’s Steph Nikitas (LIVE @ RecFest US 2026)
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/qYG1mvP6c_c
Live from RecFest USA 2026 in Nashville, host Adam Posner sits down with Stef Nikitas, Leader of Talent Acquisition at Ace Hardware. Stef shares her journey from joining Ace as a part-time sourcer to scaling a lean, high-performing team of nearly 30 TA professionals across corporate, distribution, international, and customer service divisions.
She unpacks how Ace Hardware’s iconic core value—being "the helpful place"—is directly integrated into their recruitment process through curiosity, strong competency models, and human-first candidate touchpoints. Stef discusses the evolution of their hiring process, including the creation of their standardized "Req to Check" framework ("The Ace Wave of Hiring").
Stef offers candid insights on leveraging conversational AI and automation for scheduling, sourcing, and recruitment marketing, while maintaining clear guardrails to protect company culture. Finally, Stef offers recruiters actionable advice on overcoming unconscious bias, delivering compassionate rejections, and keeping candidates motivated in today’s job market.
Stef Nikitas is Director of Talent Acquisition at Ace Hardware Corporation, where she leads enterprise talent acquisition strategy, employer brand, recruiting technology, AI adoption, and workforce transformation initiatives. With more than 20 years of experience, she helps organizations move beyond transactional recruiting to build scalable talent strategies that drive business performance. Stef is a recognized speaker on talent transformation, structured hiring, recruitment marketing, and the future of work.
Connect with Stef: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/snikitas/
Ace’s careers page: careers.acehardware.com
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Key Takeaways
- Culture Drives the TA Model: Ace Hardware’s store philosophy—starting customer interactions with "What can I help you find today?"—translates to the recruitment process by placing curiosity, helpfulness, and core values at the center of candidate interactions.
- Standardization Scaled Success: The TA team developed "The Ace Wave of Hiring," a standardized "Req to Check" framework that aligns recruitment evaluation directly with on-the-job performance metrics and core competencies.
- Strategic Use of AI: Ace Hardware uses AI tools (such as Paradox/Grace) for scheduling, communication, image generation, and hyper-specific interview guides, but avoids full automation in interviews to keep human connection front and center.
- Overcoming Automation Friction: Shifting to simplified application processes (like Workday/Indeed Easy Apply) significantly increased top-of-funnel applicants, requiring careful adjustments with conversational AI to balance candidate ease with candidate quality.
- Unconscious Bias Awareness: True bias reduction in recruiting stems from self-awareness, continuous team training, and evaluating talent strictly based on skills, experience, and core values rather than names or backgrounds.
- Compassionate Candidate Experience: Delivering rejections with empathy and clear feedback turns a difficult moment into a constructive experience for job seekers, reinforcing brand loyalty even when candidates aren't hired.
Chapters
- 00:00 – Introduction & The Ace Hardware "Helpful Place" Brand
- 01:03 – Extrapolating Core Store Values to the Talent Acquisition Process
- 03:26 – Steph Nikitas’ Journey & Overview of Ace's TA Structure
- 04:18 – Storytelling and Impact: What Draws Candidates to Ace Hardware
- 05:27 – Building TA from the Ground Up & "The Ace Wave of Hiring"
- 07:05 – Top-of-Funnel Friction, Easy Apply, and Implementing Paradox (Grace)
- 09:14 – Navigating AI for Interview Scheduling & Human Control
- 10:58 – The Role of AI vs. Automation in Preserving Human-Centric Culture
- 12:29 – Practical AI Use Cases: Recruitment Marketing, Sourcing & Interview Guides
- 14:21 – Defining the Modern Recruiter: Storytelling, Judgment & Unconscious Bias
- 17:17 – Team Spotlight: Celebrating the Deployment of the Ace Wave Project
- 18:25 – Managing Candidate Rejections with Compassion and Empathy
- 19:47 – Golden Advice for Job Seekers & Where to Connect