The KeyHire Small Business Podcast

1 in 4 Hires Works Out. Here's How AI Makes That Worse and How to Fix It

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2518091/fan_mail/new] Most small business owners who hire on their own get it right just 25 to 33% of the time, and AI recruiting tools are making that number worse, not better. In this solo episode, Corey Harlock cuts through the noise on AI in hiring: what these tools can actually do, where they'll overwhelm you if you're not ready, and the three mistakes that guarantee you'll keep hiring the best of the worst. KEY TAKEAWAYS AI can recruit, but it cannot hire — tools that source and schedule candidates 24/7 are genuinely useful, but they can't read the room, assess culture fit, or replace the human judgment that separates a good hire from an expensive mistake Whoever gets there first with the best offer wins every time — the best candidates move fast, and AI-generated floods of applicants give slow-moving owners the illusion of progress while their top prospects take jobs elsewhere You can't delegate role definition to AI — before AI can write a useful job description, you need to clearly define the role yourself; skip that step and you'll get a generic description that attracts the wrong people and wastes everyone's time AI is making your resume screening harder, not easier — candidates are now using AI to rewrite their resumes around your job description, flipping your qualified pool from a top 20% to a crowded, hard-to-screen top 80 to 90% Never put your C players in an interview — underperformers will either scare off your best candidates or deliberately sabotage the hire to protect their own position; only your strongest people should ever be in that room LINKS & RESOURCES Download your free Small Business Hiring Playbook: https://connect.keyhire.solutions/small-busine…playbook Connect with Corey Harlock on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyharlock/ Learn more about KeyHire Solutions: https://www.keyhire.solutions Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-k…d1643962763 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1FT9oqXSek3jMfiKrZPLQs EPISODE CHAPTERS * 0:00 – Introduction: "AI will take over recruiting 100%" and why it won't  * 3:00 – What AI recruiting tools can actually do and who they're built for  * 10:00 – The 3 challenges every small business owner faces in hiring: time, training, and prioritization  * 18:00 – Where AI helps and where it cannot replace you  * 28:00 – The 3 biggest mistakes owners make when using AI to hire  * 38:00 – How to use AI correctly for job descriptions, interview questions, and building for scale  * 45:00 – The resume arms race: when candidates use AI to game your screening process Built for small and medium-sized business owners, the KeyHire Podcast has earned a loyal audience of leaders who act on what they hear. We limit our sponsors intentionally with one voice, one message, and full impact, so your brand never gets lost in the noise. If you want direct access to the owners making the hiring decisions, this is your seat at the table. Learn More at Keyhire.Solutions Hiring the wrong person is one of the most expensive mistakes a business owner can make, and the KeyHire Hiring Playbook was designed to make sure it never happens to you. Packed with proven strategies trusted by SMB owners across the country, this free guide gives you a repeatable process for getting every hire right. Grab your free copy at keyhire.solutions/playbook and take the guesswork out of growing your team. Built for small and medium-sized business owners, the KeyHire Podcast has earned a loyal audience of leaders who act on what they hear. We limit our sponsors intentionally with one voice, one message, and full impact, so your brand never gets lost in the noise. If you want direct access to the owners making the hiring decisions, this is your seat at the table. Learn More at Keyhire.Solutions Hiring the wrong person is one of the most expensive mistakes a business owner can make, and the KeyHire Hiring Playbook was designed to make sure it never happens to you. Packed with proven strategies trusted by SMB owners across the country, this free guide gives you a repeatable process for getting every hire right. Grab your free copy at keyhire.solutions/playbook [https://keyhire.solutions/playbook ]and take the guesswork out of growing your team.

Online Reputation Management for Small Business: Google Reviews, Fake Attacks & How to Fight Back (with Dan Klein)

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2518091/fan_mail/new] A single bad review can cost you 60% of your potential customers  — and 94% of consumers say they've avoided a business because of  what they found online. In this episode, Corey sits down with Dan Klein of Joseph Studios to unpack what online reputation actually means, how to protect it before something goes wrong, and what to do when it does. Including the wild true story of 880 fake one-star reviews posted in four hours by a Facebook group of witches. KEY TAKEAWAYS * Your reputation starts before the sale — online reputation isn't just about reviews, it's about setting clear expectations at every touchpoint so customers know exactly what they're getting into * Fake review attacks are real, and they're organized — Dan shares how a client was hit with 880 coordinated one-star reviews overnight and exactly how they got every single one removed * AI is resurfacing your oldest bad reviews — answer engine optimization (AEO) is pulling low ratings from years ago to the top of your business summary, and most owners have no idea it's happening * Your Glassdoor strategy could be secretly recruiting your own employees away, and the hidden risk of asking your team for reviews that most business owners have never considered * Train your customers, not just your staff — the businesses with the strongest reputations don't just deliver great service, they teach clients how to be great clients from day one LINKS & RESOURCES Learn more about Dan Klein: https://www.josephstudios.net Download your free Small Business Hiring Playbook: https://connect.keyhire.solutions/small-business-hiring-playbook Connect with Corey Harlock on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyharlock/ Learn more about KeyHire Solutions: https://www.keyhire.solutions Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-keyhire-small-business-podcast/id1643962763 Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1FT9oqXSek3jMfiKrZPLQs EPISODE CHAPTERS 0:00  – Introduction & the stats that define your online reputation 3:30  – What "online reputation" actually means for your business 17:00 – The witch attack: 880 fake one-star reviews posted in four hours 24:00 – How AI is surfacing your oldest bad reviews right now 37:00 – The Glassdoor warning every employer needs to hear 43:00 – 3 best practices to protect your reputation starting today Built for small and medium-sized business owners, the KeyHire Podcast has earned a loyal audience of leaders who act on what they hear. We limit our sponsors intentionally with one voice, one message, and full impact, so your brand never gets lost in the noise. If you want direct access to the owners making the hiring decisions, this is your seat at the table. Learn More at Keyhire.Solutions Hiring the wrong person is one of the most expensive mistakes a business owner can make, and the KeyHire Hiring Playbook was designed to make sure it never happens to you. Packed with proven strategies trusted by SMB owners across the country, this free guide gives you a repeatable process for getting every hire right. Grab your free copy at keyhire.solutions/playbook [https://keyhire.solutions/playbook ]and take the guesswork out of growing your team.

The Middle Management Crisis: How Untrained Managers Are Quietly Killing Employee Engagement (with Emma Rose Connolly)

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2518091/fan_mail/new] 44% of all managers have never received a single day of leadership training — yet they're responsible for up to 70% of the variance in employee engagement. In this episode, Corey sits down with Emma Rose Connolly of Conversant to unpack why promoting your top performer into management without support is one of the most expensive mistakes a small business can make, and what you can actually do about it. If you've ever lost a great employee and wondered why, this one's for you. Key Takeaways * The "best doer" trap is real — promoting your top performer without leadership training doesn't just hurt them, it puts every person they manage at risk of disengaging or leaving * Middle managers are your biggest retention lever — research shows they account for up to 70% of the variance in employee engagement, more than compensation or culture initiatives * Don't kick the can — the "Point Easy" framework shows why addressing a performance issue early takes a fraction of the time and cost of waiting until it becomes a crisis * 44% of managers have never had leadership training — that stat isn't just shocking, it's an opportunity; the businesses that invest here gain a compounding advantage * Curiosity is a leadership skill — the simplest thing a manager can do to re-engage a team member is ask a genuine question and actually listen to the answer Links & Resources: * Learn more about Emma: https://www.conversant.com/  * Learn more about Conversant's Emerging Leaders Program: https://www.conversant.com/emerging-leader-program-enrollment/  * Download your free version of the Key of the Small Business Hiring Playbook: https://connect.keyhire.solutions/small-business-hiring-playbook * Connect with Corey Harlock on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyharlock/  * Learn more about KeyHire Solutions: https://www.keyhire.solutions * Subscribe on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-keyhire-small-business-podcast/id1643962763 * Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1FT9oqXSek3jMfiKrZPLQs Episode Chapters/Timestamps: * 0:00 – Introduction & why middle management is your biggest hidden risk * 6:47 – The "best doer to manager" trap and what it costs your team * 14:41 – Connected vs. superior leadership (and why the difference matters) * 24:49 – The Point Easy framework: address issues before they become crises * 32:49 – The stat that should shock every business owner: 44% of managers, zero training * 39:22 – How to "rehire" your best employees before they decide to leave Built for small and medium-sized business owners, the KeyHire Podcast has earned a loyal audience of leaders who act on what they hear. We limit our sponsors intentionally with one voice, one message, and full impact, so your brand never gets lost in the noise. If you want direct access to the owners making the hiring decisions, this is your seat at the table. Learn More at Keyhire.Solutions Hiring the wrong person is one of the most expensive mistakes a business owner can make, and the KeyHire Hiring Playbook was designed to make sure it never happens to you. Packed with proven strategies trusted by SMB owners across the country, this free guide gives you a repeatable process for getting every hire right. Grab your free copy at keyhire.solutions/playbook [https://keyhire.solutions/playbook ]and take the guesswork out of growing your team.

What AI Gets Completely Wrong About Hiring

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2518091/fan_mail/new] If AI is the answer to every hiring challenge, why are so many business owners still making expensive hiring mistakes? On this episode of The KeyHire Small Business Podcast, Corey Harlock breaks down the real role AI can and cannot play in your recruiting process, and why replacing human connection with automation could cost you the candidates you most want to hire.  Corey opens with a candid look at the current landscape. AI-powered sourcing tools, automated outreach agents, and resume screening software are everywhere, and the promise is compelling. But as he explains, speed and volume are not the same as quality. Candidates are using AI to generate polished resumes loaded with the right keywords, and if your ATS is screening those resumes with its own AI, you may be running an automated process that filters out red flags on paper while missing the person behind it entirely.  The sourcing problem runs even deeper. AI outreach agents can cast a wide net, but when candidates start receiving unsolicited messages to their personal emails and phone numbers, the response is not excitement. It is suspicion. Corey points out that the best candidates are already fielding multiple opportunities, and spam-style outreach does not cut through. It gets ignored, flagged, or filtered by the very AI tools candidates are starting to use on their own side of the process.  That said, Corey is not anti-AI. He walks through several places where it genuinely helps. Using AI to build a thorough job profile, define the skills needed for future growth rather than current business levels, and structure a job description around what the candidate gets rather than what the company wants, these are real advantages. He even suggests a specific prompting approach that addresses two of the most common hiring mistakes at once: failing to define the role clearly, and hiring for where the business is today instead of where it needs to go.  Where Corey draws a firm line is in the interview and offer stages. Assessments and AI-scored questionnaires feel like efficiency, but they function as exit ramps for the strongest candidates who have other options and no patience for unnecessary hurdles. Every step you add to your hiring process is a reason for the right person to walk away. The phone screen, the video interview, the on-site conversation, these are not places to automate. They are where trust is built and where the information that actually matters gets surfaced.  The offer conversation gets the same treatment. Corey shares his own practice of calling candidates, walking through the offer live, and inviting follow-up questions before the overthinking starts. His point is clear: candidates are already using AI to evaluate your offer, pull apart your compensation package, and benchmark it against market data. If you have not had the human conversation first, you are leaving them alone with a tool that may push them in the wrong direction.  If you are a small business owner trying to figure out where AI fits in your hiring process without losing the human element that actually closes great candidates, this episode is a  practical and honest guide. Listen in to learn how to use AI as a tool that supports your hiring discipline rather than one that quietly replaces it. Connect with the Experts Connect with Corey Harlock on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyharlock/  Learn more about KeyHire Solutions: https://www.keyhire.solutions Built for small and medium-sized business owners, the KeyHire Podcast has earned a loyal audience of leaders who act on what they hear. We limit our sponsors intentionally with one voice, one message, and full impact, so your brand never gets lost in the noise. If you want direct access to the owners making the hiring decisions, this is your seat at the table. Learn More at Keyhire.Solutions

The People Gap Killing Your Growth (with Ryan Estis)

Text us your comments or topic ideas for future shows. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2518091/fan_mail/new] If managing people feels more complicated than running the actual business, this episode is for you. On this episode of The KeyHire Small Business Podcast, Corey Harlock sits down with keynote speaker and author Ryan Estis to talk through what human-centered leadership actually looks like in 2026, and why the old model of managing performance is no longer enough.  Ryan brings twenty years of experience working with commercial and leadership teams, along with a newly published book co-authored with his brother Chad Estis, executive vice president of business operations for the Dallas Cowboys. Together, they developed a leadership philosophy built around a simple but powerful idea: companies grow when people do. That single principle anchors the entire conversation and reframes how small business owners should think about their teams, their culture, and their own role as leaders.  One of the biggest themes in this episode is the tension between doing and leading. Corey and Ryan both acknowledge that most small business owners start their companies because of a passion, a skill, or an idea, not because they love managing people. But as the business grows, the leadership demands grow with it. Ryan explains that the startup entrepreneur who wears every hat eventually has to evolve into a world-class leader, and that transition requires an entirely different set of competencies. Without intentional development, a capability gap opens up that no amount of hustle can close.  Ryan introduces several ideas that will resonate with any business owner trying to get more from their team. He talks about the concept of talent velocity, the idea that the skills required to compete are outpacing what is being developed inside most organizations. He also shares Gallup research showing that a single coaching conversation per week with each direct report is the biggest lever available for improving performance. Not a formal review, not a structured meeting, just a consistent, informal check-in that builds trust, expands psychological safety, and makes people feel seen, heard, and valued.  The go for coffee principle, contributed by Chad Estis, offers one of the most practical takeaways in the episode. The idea is simple: leaders should schedule informal micro-moments of meaningful connection with people at every level of the organization. No hierarchy, no politics, just access. Corey connects this to a hockey coaching analogy about moving quarters from one pocket to another to track personal interactions with players throughout practice. Ryan runs with it, pointing out that this kind of intentional connection is exactly what separates cultures of high performance from cultures of quiet disengagement.  The conversation also digs into talent retention, transparency, and what Ryan calls the employment value proposition. His promise to every person on his team is to leave them better than he found them. Corey builds on that by sharing how openly developing people, even for roles outside your company, can paradoxically increase loyalty and tenure.  If you lead a team, manage people, or are trying to figure out how to get more from your business without burning everyone out, this episode delivers real, actionable ideas on human-centered leadership, building trust, developing people, and growing a business that does not rely entirely on you. Connect with the Experts Learn more about Ryan: https://ryanestis.com/ [https://ryanestis.com/] Get Prepare for Impact: https://ryanestis.com/prepare-for-impact [https://ryanestis.com/prepare-for-impact] Connect with Corey Harlock on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyharlock/  Learn more about KeyHire Solutions: https://www.keyhire.solutions Built for small and medium-sized business owners, the KeyHire Podcast has earned a loyal audience of leaders who act on what they hear. We limit our sponsors intentionally with one voice, one message, and full impact, so your brand never gets lost in the noise. If you want direct access to the owners making the hiring decisions, this is your seat at the table. Learn More at Keyhire.Solutions Hiring the wrong person is one of the most expensive mistakes a business owner can make, and the KeyHire Hiring Playbook was designed to make sure it never happens to you. Packed with proven strategies trusted by SMB owners across the country, this free guide gives you a repeatable process for getting every hire right. Grab your free copy at keyhire.solutions/playbook [https://keyhire.solutions/playbook ]and take the guesswork out of growing your team.