Hoops HR

08/12/2026

One thing Hoops has always prided itself on: giving away our actual processes to help growing companies win.

This week's no different. We're handing you our full, proven 4-step succession planning process, the same one our President and COO Mike Dixon spent years refining before bringing it to Hoops.

If you've read anything on this topic before, we'd bet this is one of the more practical breakdowns you'll come across.

Read it, put it to work, and let us know what you think:

👉 https://hubs.la/Q04sJDGZ0

08/10/2026

"I don't have time for succession planning."

Yet we'd argue it's one of the single greatest long-term value creators a business can invest in.

It's not meant to be a plan for every role (that gets unreasonable fast). But it shouldn't be skipped for your most critical ones, usually only 10-15% of your headcount.

This week's blog gets into what it actually costs you to skip this step:
👉 https://hubs.la/Q04sk0Fm0

Watch the full episode 👇
🎙️ https://hubs.la/Q04sk6Yk0
👤 Connect with Greg: https://hubs.la/Q04sk2H70
📺 YouTube:

08/05/2026

Quick gut check: if your VP of Sales quit tomorrow, do you actually know who steps in?

Most companies don't. 56% have no succession plan at all, according to SHRM, and DDI's latest research found only 49% of critical leadership roles could be filled internally today if they opened up right now.

Coin flip odds. And "we'll figure it out" isn't a plan.

We broke down what succession planning actually is, why it's not the big scary enterprise-HR exercise it sounds like, and how to start with nothing more than a whiteboard and an honest few hours.

👉 https://hubs.la/Q04rWzS70

08/04/2026

At Hoops, recruiting used to be our bread and butter... So when 2025's economic uncertainty hit and clients everywhere started freezing hiring budgets, that should have been a serious problem for a company built on recruiting.

It wasn't, and here's the lesson we learned the hard way: the economy isn't always going to be growing, so you have to find a way to be successful in it anyway.

Mike Dixon shared on the Growth Shift Podcast, "We can always create value for customers." We leaned into fractional HR, consulting advisory, and low-cost recruiting instead of just riding out the freeze.

As a leader, the same logic applies to your company. Just because hiring stops doesn't mean you stop investing in your biggest asset: your people.

Your managers still need coaching. Your A-players, the ones actually driving results, still need a reason to stay. Quiet quitting and disengagement are at an all-time high right now, and losing someone is a lot more expensive than most people think...

Think of a hiring freeze as the lull before the next wave. Use it to get ready, not to stand still.

We put together 6 productive ways to use this time:
👉 https://hubs.la/Q04rh5py0

Watch the full podcast episode 👇
🎙️ https://hubs.la/Q04rh8kr0
👤 Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn: /jennifer-stile-809a2079
📺 YouTube:

07/30/2026

A lot of leaders treat a hiring freeze like an all-or-nothing switch: either you're actively hiring, or you're doing nothing at all on the people side of the business.

Problem is, that's backwards logic.

Even when things are "frozen" outside, businesses still operate through the winter. Seasonal businesses know this instinctively, they use their slow season to get in shape before the next wave of work hits.

Your people strategy works the same way. It's seasonal, not just on or off. Downtime for hiring is uptime for everything else.

A frozen hiring budget doesn't mean your best people stop deciding whether to stay, your managers stop needing to develop, your HR processes stop needing attention, or your employer brand stops forming an impression.

We put together six free, practical ways to actually use this time:
👉

A hiring freeze doesn't mean your people strategy has to stop too. Six free, practical ways to invest in your team while hiring is paused.

07/28/2026

"Open to work" used to mean you were casually looking, and that was private, just between you and a recruiter. These days it feels like you waded out of shallow water into something a lot deeper...

Mike Dixon talked through the reality of what we're seeing on the Growth Shift Podcast. Layoffs aren't necessarily up across the board (the government's own numbers on layoff rates have actually held pretty flat this year), but they're way more visible right now, especially in tech, where some genuinely large cuts have made headlines.

Someone posts about getting let go, and it's everywhere within minutes, and people start seeing it as a warning sign for the whole market, even in industries where nothing's really changed (or even growing!).

We all like to think we're logical, but we're actually quite emotional beings. That's expected, and honestly a great thing about being human. But it means when we see that kind of news, we react to it, whether or not it actually applies to us.

This week's blog gets into some of the fear factors at play right now, the trends we're seeing, and what employers can do, not just to create more comfort for candidates, but to actually go find the good ones through passive sourcing instead of waiting on them to feel safe enough to apply.

Read the latest blog here:

👉 https://hubs.ly/Q04qYrTT0

Watch the full podcast episode 👇
🎙️ https://hubs.ly/Q04qYrJt0
👤 Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn: /jennifer-stile-809a2079
📺 YouTube:

07/24/2026

Applications per job posting have more than doubled since 2021. So why does hiring still feel impossible?? 😅

Because more applications isn't the same thing as more real candidates.

While more jobs are out there, the hire rate is only 3.3% and the quit rate is 1.9%. So while there are more applications (hello the rise of AI resumes, etc.), there are less real, qualified candidates.

And those solid candidates who are actually open to a new gig? Well, they're increasingly going to the big, recognizable names first.

Small employers saw their share of applications drop from 21% to 15% over the last five years (while large employers grew theirs!).

Read more (and what to do about it) in our latest blog:
👉

The applicants are up, but the candidates aren't. Here's why hiring still feels impossible, and what growing companies can actually do about it.

07/23/2026

If your current recruiting strategy is just "post and pray," you are missing 75% of the talent market.

Top performers rarely browse job boards (they have to be found).

We put together a quick, actionable Passive Sourcing Cheatsheet to help you pivot from reactive hiring to intentional growth.

We review:
📈 The 4 pillars of a winning proactive strategy
🛑 The hidden mistakes holding your job descriptions back
📣 The #1 organic channel leaders use to multiply their reach

Stop waiting for the right candidates to apply and start finding them!

👉 Download the free cheatsheet here: https://hubs.la/Q04qyxl00

07/21/2026

Are you doing $20/hour work that's preventing you from making $200/hour decisions?

Mike Dixon shares how we see this all the time...

Business owners and senior leaders personally sourcing candidates on LinkedIn, reviewing hundreds of resumes, scheduling interviews back and forth. Yikes.

We get it. There's a lot of loss aversion that comes with hiring, and nobody wants to make the wrong call.

But if the people who should be making $200/hour decisions are stuck doing $20/hour recruiting work, something's off.

Recruiting professionals working alongside AI should be handling that work. Your people should be handling the strategic work you're actually good at (since I'm sure you weren't signing up to be a recruiter!).

Read more in our latest blog:

👉 https://hubs.la/Q04pYdT-0

🎥 Watch the full episode of The Automated Advantage w/ Greg Clarke:
https://hubs.la/Q04pYlPj0

07/16/2026

Greg Clarke's son was in high school when he interviewed for a job at In-N-Out.

He was one of the only candidates who showed up in a suit and tie.

Everyone else came casual...

And guess what? They hired him on the spot.

"Effort takes no talent," Mike said on The Automated Advantage podcast. "It takes zero talent to be on time. It takes zero talent to be properly dressed."

And in a world where AI can generate a flawless resume and rehearsed interview answers in seconds, that's actually more true than ever. The things AI can't fake are becoming the most important signals in recruiting.

In this week's blog, we get into what AI changed about recruiting, why in-person interviews are making a comeback, and where recruiters and hiring leaders should actually be spending their time right now.

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What AI changed about recruiting isn't just about speed (or cost savings). It's about what became more valuable as a result. Here's where human recruiters and hiring leaders should actually be spending their time.