Wolfgang Puck

Melissa Pollack

Human Hiring Champion

My approach to recruitment is rooted in more than 20 years of experience in restaurant operations before transitioning into talent acquisition. That operational background has fundamentally shaped how I view recruiting because I have lived the realities of hiring from the other side.

I understand what it feels like to have an open position that is affecting the operation, to hire someone who looks great on paper but isn't the right fit, and to see the difference a truly exceptional leader can make to a team. I also understand that every hire has an operational and financial impact, not just an HR impact. That experience taught me that recruiting cannot operate in a silo. The best recruitment leaders understand the business, the culture, the people, and the realities of the operation. I approach every search by asking not only, "Can this person do the job?" but also, "Will this person make the team better? Will they elevate the culture? Will they be successful in this particular environment?"

Moving from operations into recruitment has also given me a unique appreciation for the partnership between hiring managers and talent acquisition. I know what I needed from recruiters when I was an operator, and I try to bring that same level of partnership to the leaders I support today.

Creating a Fast, Fair, and Human Hiring Process

Having been an operator, I understand the urgency behind an open position. When a team is short-staffed, there is real pressure to fill the role quickly, but speed should never come at the expense of making a good hiring decision or providing a positive candidate experience. Candidates evaluate an organization throughout the process, and every interaction communicates something about the culture. How quickly we respond, how prepared we are, whether we respect their time, and how transparent we are all shape how they perceive the company. My approach is to create a process that is both efficient and human, moving with the needs of the business while making sure candidates feel informed, respected, and genuinely considered. Ultimately, even if someone isn’t selected, they should leave with a positive impression of the organization.

That experience matters because attracting talent is only the beginning. One of the most important lessons my operations career taught me is that people are the business. In restaurants, we can have an incredible concept, beautiful facilities, and great food, but without the right people, none of it works. Retention starts long before someone considers leaving. People want to know that their work matters, that they are valued, and that there is an opportunity for growth.

“Technology can make recruiting more efficient, but it cannot replace judgment, relationships, and emotional intelligence.”

I believe strongly in developing people from within and creating visible career paths. Recruitment and retention should not be treated as separate functions. If we are consistently hiring great people but losing them just as quickly, we need to look at the environment we are creating. The strongest organizations are intentional about attracting talent and giving that talent reasons to stay.

Sharpening Workforce Strategy for Business Growth

Technology and AI will continue to change how we recruit, and I see that as a tremendous opportunity. AI can help recruiters work more efficiently, identify talent, analyze data, and spend less time on administrative tasks. But technology will not replace the human side of recruiting. If anything, it will make human skills more valuable. Relationship-building, judgment, emotional intelligence, understanding culture, and assessing potential cannot be reduced to an algorithm.

As organizations adapt, I also expect greater focus on skills-based hiring, internal mobility, employee development, and workforce planning. The question should not simply be, “Who do we need to hire today?” It should be, “What capabilities will our business need tomorrow, and how do we begin developing or attracting those capabilities now?” Answering that question requires recruitment leaders to understand the business itself. They need to look beyond recruiting metrics, applicant pipelines, and talent trends to understand how the organization makes money, what challenges the operation faces, what leaders are accountable for, and what drives business success.

My transition from operations into recruitment reinforced how valuable that perspective can be. I can sit across from an operational leader and understand the pressure they are under because I have been there, while also bringing the talent perspective and challenging them to think differently about what they need in a candidate. Being a strategic partner does not mean simply delivering what the business asks for. Sometimes it means asking a harder question or encouraging a leader to consider a candidate or approach they had not considered. Above all, recruitment leaders should not lose the human element. There are people behind every resume, interview, promotion, and hiring decision.

The strongest recruitment leaders understand that the job is not simply to put people into positions, but to help organizations build teams where people can succeed, grow, and want to stay.