Colm O’Cuinneain, General Manager of EMEA at Greenhouse Software: “You don’t have to have the answers, you have to find the answers”

Who better to talk about the role of tech in our changing workspaces than someone working in a company that does exactly that? Enter Colm O’Cuinneain, the General Manager of EMEA at Greenhouse Software — and Greenhouse is “the hiring operating system for people-first companies”.

That perhaps needs some explanation. In Colm’s words, it helps “to promote more fair and equitable hiring practices while making more data-driven decisions for continuous improvement”. And fairness is something you will hear later in this interview, as Colm explains how the company uses AI to guide (but not make) decisions.

Colm’s role is focused on growing the company’s presence in EMEA and Ireland and he has the experience to do exactly that. He’s worked in the tech space for over two decades, with leading tech companies including LinkedIn, Oracle and HP.

Read on to discover how he has seen technology already change the role of HR, the best piece of advice he’s ever received (we could all learn from it) and three challenges he says all HR professionals must tackle head on.

Related reading: Hiring for success: the case for skills and attitude

Tell us about your role at Greenhouse Software

I lead Greenhouse’s global expansion from our EMEA headquarters. It’s been an exciting journey spreading the word about how Greenhouse’s software can help companies build inclusive, people-first cultures.

I joined Greenhouse after holding leadership positions at LinkedIn and Oracle, bringing over 20 years of tech industry experience and a decade focused on HR tech.

Throughout my career, my focus has not just been building high-growth businesses — I’ve also prioritised the career development of the people I work with, because I find it rewarding to positively impact individuals’ career journeys.

At Greenhouse, we’re committed to helping every employee thrive. Our software empowers companies to make work meaningful, so we aim to lead by example!

I’m excited to see what the future holds as we continue to expand. But for now, we have our sights set on helping more companies succeed through our people-first approach.

What made you pursue a career in HR? And what advice do you have for anyone considering a career in HR?

My passion is working with people and helping them reach their full potential, creating a positive work culture alongside a supportive and inclusive work environment. I am also passionate about hiring and finding great talent — because if you are great at hiring, and if you can bring the best people into your company, then you can pretty much accomplish everything else.

A career in HR can be incredibly rewarding if you have a genuine interest in working with people and a passion for contributing to an organisation’s success. To excel in the HR field, you need a combination of strong communication skills, business acumen, and an unwavering commitment to ethical business practices.

Soft skills such as communication skills are particularly important, along with emotional intelligence, because a big part of HR’s role is about building trust between an organisation and its workforce. Because of this, you will be trusted with confidential information, so it’s incredibly important that you’re skilled at fostering relationships with others and building trust among your team.

If you are considering a career in HR but don’t currently work in an HR-related role, there are still a number of ways to gain relevant experience in your current role. I’d recommend volunteering to support the next change management project — perhaps you volunteer to help with a rebrand or the launch of a new product.

You could also upskill outside of work by enrolling in HR-related courses, workshops, or other programs like the CIPD qualification.

The interesting thing about HR is that there are so many aspects to it — you could be the HR technologist, or in HR operations, or perhaps in a more traditional HR business partner role. Before deciding which route is right for you, evaluate your current skills and strengths to see how they align with certain HR roles.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received and how has it shaped your career?

Early in my career, I was in a role where I was the perceived “expert” when it came to building out a channel sales organisation for the business.

At the time, I was coming up with an approach to our go-to-market strategy in isolation from many of the stakeholders in the business without truly collaborating with the other business partners and stakeholders.

The approach was not working, and I was given incredibly important advice from my boss at the time, which was: “You don’t have to have the answers, you have to find the answers”.  

In your opinion, what has been the most significant technological advancement impacting HR?

AI is really changing the game for recruiting and HR in some big ways.

First off, it enables recruiters to quickly and easily generate job posts, emails, and other content. It saves them a huge amount of time and allows them to focus on more strategic work rather than busy admin tasks.

Our EMEA HR Manager AI & Bias Pulse Report surveyed 1,700 HR Managers across the UK, Germany and Ireland. It found that 89% are already using AI tools and 65% see efficiency as the greatest benefit of AI in hiring. With their plates already full, recruiters are leveraging AI to expedite content creation and messaging, allowing more time for big-picture recruitment strategy.

Secondly, AI helps in categorising and parsing resumes and applications in a more accurate, fairway by identifying relevant skills and abilities regardless of how they’re worded. This allows recruiters to pull from a broader pool of qualified candidates.

It’s also great at summarising data and interviews quickly, giving recruiters faster insights. At the same time, it can automate complex scheduling and forecasting tasks that used to eat up time. This frees up recruiters for a more high-level hiring strategy.

Now, AI isn’t perfect — it should assist with, not replace, recruiters. There is presently no evidence that AI can holistically evaluate candidates and make hiring decisions without human oversight that takes into account ethics, norms and potential bias risks. Our philosophy is that human judgment should remain integral to candidate evaluations, rather than fully delegating decisions to AI. We believe retaining human agency in hiring aligns both with prudent risk management given AI’s present limitations as well as ethical business practices.

But by and large, AI is making recruiting way more efficient, expanding candidate pools and reducing bias. As long as it’s implemented ethically, AI has the potential to truly transform HR functions.

Related reading: HR thought leaders highlight risks of AI in the workplace

What are the top three challenges HR professionals face today?

One major challenge for HR departments is creating a transparent, positive, and communicative hiring process that resonates with candidates amid a tight job market.

With discrimination, vague job descriptions and lack of pay transparency being top red flags for applicants, HR must focus on fairness, clarity and openness around compensation to attract talent.

Additionally, with one in three candidates willing to “ghost” employers after negative experiences, HR needs to examine their interview and offer practices to ensure they don’t lose top talent due to poor communication or tight timelines.

Refining the hiring process to value candidates is key for HR teams to successfully recruit and retain skills without losing applicants to disengagement or competition.

Reducing bias is a major challenge for HR teams nowadays. With diversity and equity as priorities, HR departments are tasked with the challenge of creating an unbiased hiring process. 

When it comes to inclusion, the little things count — things like correctly pronouncing an applicant’s name, using symbolic scorecards instead of numerical scorecards, or anonymising take-home tests, which have been shown to increase pass-through rates for underrepresented groups.

Another challenge HR professionals are grappling with today is convincing candidates to move during a more volatile economic environment. It requires clearly articulating your value proposition and aligning it with the team’s mission and career growth potential.

Recruiters can’t do it alone — hiring managers must sell the role directly to talent. Sharing content, speaking engagements and offering call involvement show a company’s authentic excitement. You want candidates to feel you care through regular feedback, fast process timelines, and professionalism. Conveying meaningful work, growth and a welcoming culture makes candidates more likely to take the leap and relocate, despite economic uncertainty. Leaning into the process builds your employer’s brand and attracts top talent.

Delivering a positive candidate experience can make or break hiring success. While modern recruiting technology allows for a streamlined application process and mobile-friendly communication, delivering a consistently positive experience remains difficult.

Candidates expect regular updates and a nurturing relationship throughout the hiring journey. However, recruiters juggle countless applications and tight hiring timelines across multiple roles. It’s challenging to provide personalised outreach at scale.

Though necessary for attracting top talent, recruiters are hard-pressed to craft meaningful interactions amidst the hiring scramble. With the candidate experience becoming a competitive edge, recruiters must leverage tools that foster engagement while managing overloaded workloads. A positive hiring process requires a thoughtful balance of efficiency and care.