Did you know that at Sage, just three people power a recruiter enablement team that supports 30 recruiters around the world? So how do they manage to help a global crew hire top talent across countries without dropping the ball?
In this episode of "Recruiting is No Joke," host Joel Lalgee sits down with Molly Sly, leader of the Talent Acquisition Enablement team at Sage, to explore the vital but often overlooked role of recruiter enablement. Molly explains that enablement focuses on empowering recruiters by removing barriers providing the right processes, tools, and training so they can focus on engaging talent instead of administrative tasks.
With over 20 years in recruiting, Molly shares how her team supports a global group of recruiters by creating regional playbooks, optimizing AI tools like Copilot for efficiency, and maintaining a central resource hub. She discusses the challenges of adapting to different hiring regulations and candidate expectations across countries, and emphasizes the importance of continuous training for both recruiters and hiring managers.
Molly also offers advice for those looking to enter enablement or implement it on their own teams, stressing curiosity, a desire to improve processes, and a focus on the “human” side of recruiting especially as AI automates more routine tasks. Tune in for actionable insights on building a supportive, efficient, and globally-aware recruitment function.
In this episode:
[00:00] Podcast introduction
[00:36] Guest introduction: Molly Sly
[03:07] What is recruiter enablement?
[05:58] The origin of the enablement team at Sage
[08:20] Recruiter enablement vs. rec ops
[08:54] AI tools and job description optimization
[11:00] Global recruiting challenges
[13:33] Building and maintaining regional playbooks
[15:24] Playbook creation process
[17:48] Continuous improvement and communication
[20:14] Hybrid vs. remote work trends
[22:17] Global candidate preferences and employer branding
[26:30] Recruiter retention at Sage
[28:06] Advice for aspiring enablement professionals
[29:56] Resources and networking for enablement
[30:28] Implementing enablement without a team
[33:04] Change management and adoption challenges
[36:35] The human element in recruiting and AI
[38:34] Upcoming conferences and speaking engagements
[39:30] How to connect with Molly
About Molly Sly
Molly Sly is a veteran recruiter and leader in Talent Acquisition Enablement at Sage, where she and her team support global recruiting operations across 13+ countries. With over 20 years in recruitment, she’s passionate about building systems, playbooks, and training that make recruiters more effective and engaged. Molly is also a frequent conference speaker on enablement strategy and the future of recruiting operations.
About Joel Lalgee
Joel Lalgee is an internationally known recruitment leader and coach who has helped thousands of recruiters build their brands online. In 2015, Joel started recruiting for a small start-up agency in Milwaukee. He quickly found his passion for recruitment. In 2019, he discovered content marketing, publishing his first posts on Linkedin. Since then, he has grown to over 400k followers, and his content has been seen over 1 billion times. In 2023, he started a business specializing in coaching recruiters, marketing consulting, and influencer partnerships.
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