Adam Robinson co-founded Hireology in 2012 to centralize hiring via a platform that allows businesses with multiple locations to attract, hire, and manage their best teams. With more than 20 years of experience, Robinson is a noted recruiting industry expert and speaker. He is the author of The Best Team Wins: Build Your Business Through Predictive Hiring, host of The Best Team Wins podcast, and a columnist for Inc.
Robinson has been named a finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, added to the Chicago Tribune’s Blue Sky Network of Chicago’s top innovators, listed in the Chicago Tech50 by Crain’s Chicago Business, and named a “Top 25 HR Industry Game Changer Under 40” in 2015 by Workforce magazine. Under his leadership, Hireology was listed No. 94 on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies in 2016 and listed No. 332 in 2017. Hireology has been recognized nationally as a “Top 50 Best Workplace” by Inc. magazine and a “Top Company Culture” by Entrepreneur magazine. Following his passion for entrepreneurship, Robinson has donated his time to assist the development and launch of programs that teach core business skills to early-stage entrepreneurs around the world through multiple leadership roles at Entrepreneurs Organization.
Robinson speaks with Kara Filer, SVP of strategic partnerships and business development for the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), on the driving force behind Hireology, how the industry is evolving, and other topics.
Can you give a bit of background on your company?
For the last 20 years, I’ve been involved in human resources and have seen firsthand just how disconnected the hiring and employee management processes can be. As technology has become more advanced over this time, there have been plenty of solutions presented to the market to manage recruiting, hiring, and employees themselves—but this data is often housed in platforms that don’t “talk” to each other and only make these processes even harder to navigate. In 2012, I sought to change that when I founded Hireology. Our all-in-one platform has everything decentralized businesses need to oversee and optimize the entire employee lifecycle, from attracting applicants to onboarding. In the last decade, we’ve scaled our operations to help as many businesses build their best teams as possible. It’s been a tremendous honor on our part to be trusted to solve hiring challenges as they arise—and to have expanded our reach into the hospitality sector.
What innovations have changed the way Hireology approaches its hospitality clients over the past few years?
During the pandemic (and even as we recover), there’s been a marked trend for less interaction between guests and staff—which is great in some cases. Sure, checking in via a kiosk can be exactly what an exhausted traveler wants, but there are roles in hotels that simply can’t be performed by a computer. That’s why the people you do hire need to be the very best. Our platform is intuitively designed to streamline and structure hiring processes so that your HR people can focus on connecting with and hiring the right talent. One of the most valuable tools in the fight against today’s hiring challenges are our HR analytics insights, which allow our customers to easily monitor and optimize their hiring dollars in the most efficient way possible. No more wondering which candidate pool provides the best ROI; all users have to do is look at their analytics and adjust their recruitment efforts accordingly.
How did you first hear about AHLA, and what made you want to get involved with the organization?
When Hireology was entering the hospitality industry with our all-in-one hiring platform, becoming a member of AHLA was an easy decision. As the largest hospitality association in the United States, this well-respected organization has an impressive group of leaders doing whatever it takes to ensure success for the American hospitality industry—and that’s an endeavor I want to support. AHLA has made a name for itself as the top resource for industry happenings by constantly monitoring government agendas, proposals, laws, and representation with the intent of securing what’s most beneficial for the industry. Inside the organization, the targeted approach they take to ensure industry success can be felt at every event, educational opportunity, sponsorship opportunity, and awarded scholarship. What really swayed me, however, was that AHLA recognizes the immense labor challenge that the hospitality industry faces and is on a mission to provide the best resources to address the issue, as well as partnering with top solution providers to help their associates.
How do you see the hotel industry evolving over the next five years?
Unlike most industries, people will always be central to the hotel business—even as the sector continues to adopt new technology and automations. But right now, hiring and HR are still managed with outdated and disparate tools, making it difficult for hotels to hire and retain the right people for critical guest-facing positions. In the future, I predict that modern technology and process integrations will make all of these processes much easier for everyone involved. And hotels will be able to get the right people in the right seats, keeping guests happy and loyal long-term.
What do you like most about being in the hotel industry?
No two days are the same at a hotel or resort, so it takes a unique type of person to not only provide the best guest experience possible, but to enjoy doing it at the same time. As Hireology has continued to serve more customers in the hotel industry, our team loves helping locations successfully find and hire the right person for the right seat at their establishments after such a troubled time for industry. Creating that “wow” moment for our hospitality customers is what we’re here for, all in the spirit of helping them create the same feeling of joy in the guests they host.
