Tech disruption in the staffing industry has been the proverbial “boy who cried wolf.” But this time it seems real. AI presents greater strategic opportunities and threats for staffing than anything I have seen in my 31 years in the industry. What’s more, it requires different capabilities within the executive suite.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not simply advocating for the aggressive adoption of new shiny tools. In fact, I would argue that too much technology poses its own problems, including disruption, poor integration and poor adoption driving up costs for very little return.

Instead, CEOs must make their technology a part of executive leadership, elevating the discussion from “How can a tool increase productivity?” to asking more strategic questions, such as “How can technology impact our client relationships, key roles and company structure?”

Executives must also develop intentional strategies on when — and how — tech can best align with the company’s overall growth strategy.

There are some CEOs for whom this comes naturally. They see the long-term opportunities and threats technology represents and understand how it works. They also know how it can integrate into existing operations, balancing its implementation with change management.

In working with these CEOs, it’s clear to me that their grasp on technology represents a competitive advantage that will likely grow over time. This advantage could feasibly grow to the point where every executive team must have a robust technology roadmap to remain relevant or risk getting outmaneuvered by more tech-savvy competitors. Below are some ways to get started.

Practical Steps for the CEO

• Education. Multiple resources provide insight into AI as a strategic business tool as well as staffing-specific use cases. Some include case studies and articles by SIA, Bullhorn, SHRM and LinkedIn. There’s also in-depth executive training through MIT’s Sloan 6-week course on AI’s implication on business strategy.
• Partnerships. Attending industry conferences, hiring a part-time consultant and educating yourself on the tech roadmap of your ATS or other software vendors can provide valuable insight on what use cases are taking hold in the market and need your attention.
• Delegation. Assign a tech-savvy manager as a tech champion to oversee implementation, reporting directly to the CEO.
• Experimentation. Start with low-risk pilots to test impact before scaling.

If creating a more tech-focused leadership team seems too disruptive to you, consider how Jack Welch transformed the executive suite with how he reimagined HR.

The former CEO of General Electric upended the role of HR in his organization. It had once been considered primarily an administrative and legal compliance department. Welch repositioned HR as a strategic partner focusing on enhancing internal talent as a strategic differentiator and brought HR into the executive suite. This shift was considered revolutionary at the time. Now it’s a no-brainer.

Just as HR had to be reimagined and invited into the C-suite, I believe this is true for technology. In mid-sized staffing businesses, the CEO needs to make room for championing technology’s role in driving growth and resilience. This doesn’t necessarily mean hiring a cost-prohibitive full-time CIO.

Instead, leaders must invest time and resources in developing a coherent technology strategy, crafting a clear vision of how technology will interact and support all stakeholders including clients, contractors and internal employees. This is a complicated issue since pursuing efficiency often significantly changes how we connect with our stakeholders. If poorly envisioned, merely becoming more efficient can have unintended consequences on our most important relationships, quickly erasing the benefits technology can bring.

Without strategic vision, we’ll get lost in the technological changes coming in the next 12 to 18 months. The proliferation of AI functionality can impact stakeholders in unpredictable and destructive ways. Intentional leadership is required to achieve the right balance, beginning with the executive suite.

This may seem like a lot of work, but ignoring the disruption of technology is not an option. Eventually, there is a wolf — and we know how that story ends.

This article appeared in the Staffing Industry Review July/August 2025 issue.  Click here to see the article on SIA’s website.