EP 72 – What Recruiters Need to Get Right in 2026 w/ Dougie Loan
In this episode of The 1 Percent Better Recruitment Podcast, I’m joined by Dougie Loan, CRO at SourceWhale, to unpack what recruiters actually need to get right as we head into 2026, and why automation alone isn’t the answer. Dougie has spent his career at the intersection of recruitment, sales, and technology, working closely with agencies of all sizes to improve productivity, performance, and revenue. In this conversation, we go beyond the hype around AI and RecTech to talk honestly about process, selling time, decision-making, and why recruitment will always remain a people-first, sales-led business. This episode is grounded in real-world experience, not tech buzzwords or “buy more tools” thinking. If you’re a recruiter, leader, or founder trying to figure out how to use AI properly without losing the human edge, this one will give you clarity. We cover: ✅ What recruiters actually need to get right in 2026 ✅ Why automation on its own won’t drive recruitment success ✅ Process vs tech, and where most agencies get this wrong ✅ Why recruitment is still a sales game at its core ✅ The difference between being busy and being effective ✅ How recruiters should really be using AI and automation ✅ Where automation helps internally, and where it harms externally ✅ Why AI won’t replace recruiters, but will expose weak fundamentals ✅ Productivity, admin overload, and winning back selling time ✅ Choosing where you sit, high-touch vs high-volume models ✅ Authenticity, relationships, and the human edge in recruitment ✅ What the future recruiter’s role will actually look like ✅ Dougie’s 1 Percent Better tip for recruiters and founders ⏱ Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro, purpose of the podcast and Dougie’s background 03:00 – Dougie’s journey into recruitment tech and sales 08:00 – Recruitment tech before and after COVID 14:00 – Why tech fails when process is broken 21:00 – Recruitment as a sales-led business 29:00 – Automation vs productivity, where recruiters go wrong 38:00 – Internal vs external automation and AI risks 47:00 – Choosing your model, high-touch vs high-volume 55:00 – The future of recruitment roles and AI agents 01:03:00 – What recruiters need to get right in 2026 01:10:00 – Dougie’s 1 Percent Better tip 🔗 Connect with Dougie Loan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougieloan/ 🔗 Connect with Charles Kyriakou LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskyriakou1/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@charles.kyriakou Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/46LjJfw LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7244346543967731712/ 🔗 Find out more about SourceWhale 🐋 Mention 1 Percent Better Recruitment Podcast or my name, Charles Kyriakou, when you sign up by clicking the link below, or head to: https://sourcewhale.com/demo 👇 If this episode resonated, like, comment, subscribe, and share it with a recruiter who needs to hear this.
