TA on the Front Lines: Panda, 7-Eleven, Champions Group & CoverGenius - LIVE from RecFest 2025
Four leaders. One festival. Zero fluff. Recorded live at RecFest 2025 in Nashville, Adam Posner (#thePOZcast) sits down with: Joey Lee (Head of TA, Panda Restaurant Group) on scaling 3,000+ store roles and “boots-on-the-ground” recruiting Rachel Allen (Head of TA, 7-Eleven) on automating 95% of store hiring with AI while keeping interviews human Brandon Davis (Head of TA, Champions Group) on trades recruiting, sourcing discipline, and quality of submission Greg Russell (VP TA, CoverGenius) on mindset, feedback at scale, and “signal over noise” hiring Expect pragmatic tactics, spicy hot takes, and real stories from leaders actually doing the work. Juicebox helps teams win the talent war—the leading AI recruiting platform that understands who you're looking for. Today, Juicebox powers hiring for 3,000+ customers, including Ramp, Perplexity, and Quora. Level up your team with Search, CRM, and Agents. → Try for free today — www.juicebox.ai What You’ll Learn: - How high-volume brands (Panda, 7-Eleven) actually scale hourly hiring - Why quality of submission may beat quality of hire as a TA metric - Where AI belongs (and doesn’t) in frontline recruiting workflows - How to coach recruiters on feedback, mindset, and “signal over noise” - Tactics for trades recruiting: schools, military, word-of-mouth, and sourcing discipline
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Chapters / Timestamps
Joey Lee — Panda Restaurant Group
00:40 – Joey Lee joins: falling into TA & purpose of helping people
02:36 – Scale at Panda: ~3,000 store openings; ~100 corporate roles
03:20 – Org design: corporate TA vs. field recruiters
03:55 – Budget realities & operator-funded recruiting
04:25 – Boots-on-the-ground sourcing: competitors, BOGO cards, observing service
04:56 – Hiring recruiters: “Tell me your story” & entrepreneurial mindset
05:45 – From transactional to transformational recruiters (driver’s seat)
06:40 – Culture & authenticity: show up as your true self
07:20 – Purpose-driven, people-first candidate experience (white-glove basics)
08:35 – Tech & AI: transactional roles will be automated; elevate or be replaced
09:41 – Digital recruiter clones? Promise and fears
10:15 – Hot Takes: Open-to-Work ✅ | Sourcing vs. Closing (closing) | Referrals ~60% | Hot dog = sandwich | Favorite Panda order
Rachel Allen — 7-Eleven
12:06 – Rachel Allen returns: AI hype, compliance “gray zone,” and lessons learned
13:25 – Don’t start with an “AI strategy”; start with a business problem
14:40 – Store hiring: 95% automated; leaders own outcomes; AI as enabler
15:40 – Keep the interview human; automate scheduling & access
16:30 – 24/7 candidates: assistants engage at 3am (Paradox “Rita”)
17:30 – Workforce planning: total work vs. workforce; assistants as a channel
18:40 – Data signals: speed, quality of submissions, retention, QoH
19:41 – Internal mobility: removed manager-permission barrier to apply
20:44 – Turnover trending down amid broader initiatives
21:20 – Hot Takes: Always-be-closing from first touch; favorite interview Q: “Greatest misconception about you?”
22:29 – Being human as the differentiator; team shoutouts & North Star
24:22 – Where to find Rachel / 7-Eleven Careers
Brandon Davis — Champions Group (Skilled Trades)
24:40 – What Champions Group does; 2,500 employees, 19 brands
25:30 – TA structure: divisions; early-career training programs (300 hires)
26:10 – Sourcing where trades talent actually is: schools, military, word-of-mouth
27:40 – Tech adoption: reduce fear by showing efficiency gains
28:15 – Practical AI for recruiters: notes, summaries, reverse-engineering avatars
29:10 – Brandon’s path into TA (ops → marketing → HR → TA leader)
30:32 – From “more candidates” to “better candidates” in two years
31:15 – Quality of submission > quality of hire (and where TA ownership ends)
32:57 – What makes a great recruiter: personality, storytelling, fast hook
34:35 – What keeps him up at night: channel ROI & data-driven decisions
35:19 – Hot Takes: Open-to-Work ✅ | Closing > Sourcing | Least-favorite Q: “What motivates you?” | Hot dog = sandwich | Where to find Brandon
Greg Russell — CoverGenius
36:20 – Greg Russell joins: coaching recruiters, storytelling & mindset
37:41 – Burnout & rejection: give feedback at scale; never ghost after contact
39:45 – ATS automation basics: close the loop, even with templates
41:20 – Offer feedback with boundaries; avoid the endless loop
42:28 – “Signal”: richer debriefs, calibration, transcripts > vague notes
44:20 – Tech stack: ATS with built-in note-taker (transcripts/video in profile)
45:40 – Debriefs aren’t a democracy: hiring manager owns the decision
47:11 – The AI bloom: noisy market now, consolidation later — lean in
49:00 – What Greg hires for: storytelling + growth mindset + tech curiosity
51:20 – Pay transparency song-and-dance & expectation management
52:10 – Best career advice: treat people like adults; trust cultures win
53:29 – Outro & where to find Greg
