Under the Hood of Global Recruiting: Melissa Thompson on Fixing Talent Acquisition

What happens when global hiring meets Detroit horsepower? Melissa Thompson from Ford Motor Company breaks down the state of talent acquisition like a seasoned pit crew chief. From AI disruptions to recruiter burnout, she throws down insight after insight on where recruiting is heading—and what’s already broken. In this episode we get under the hood with Melissa Thompson, Global TA lead at Ford. We talk recruitment tech, the real story behind quality-of-hire metrics, and why recruiters need more than just another shiny platform to succeed. She drops wisdom on the future of AI in TA and why hiring manager relationships might matter more than your ATS setup. Key Takeaways: Melissa Thompson leads talent acquisition at Ford with a focus on more than just filling seats AI is part of the recruiting toolkit but it’s not the full solution Recruiters are exhausted because the systems they work in are broken Quality of hire metrics rarely capture the full value of TA work Real change in recruiting starts by listening to the people doing the job Ford isn’t just adding tech—it’s rethinking how recruiting should work Technology can elevate recruiters but it won’t replace them Strong partnerships between TA teams and hiring managers are non-negotiable Tools like ATS and CRM only matter if they’re used with intention Global recruiting faces different problems but the core challenges remain Learning and evolving are the only way forward for modern recruiters Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction and Excitement for Upcoming Events 03:08 – Global Talent Acquisition at Ford 05:58 – Recruitment Process Improvements 08:53 – Leveraging Technology in Recruitment 12:09 – AI in Recruitment and Its Impact 15:01 – Quality of Slate Metrics and Conclusion This limited series was recorded live at the ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit from the Chatterworks booth on the expo floor. We sat down with 20 Recruiting and TA leaders from around the world to hear what today’s best recruiters are doing to stay sharp, stay relevant, and stay ahead. Powered by Chatterworks, the platform that helps recruiters transform the way they connect with top talent. Learn more about Chatterworks here: https://chatterworks.com/ Connect with the guest: Melissa Thompson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcthompson1/ Connect with Us: William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ Connect with us on social: Site: http://www.wrkdefined.com TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wrkdefined LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wrkdefined Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WRKdefined/ Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/WRKdefined Substack: https://wrkdefined.substack.com/