Strategic Hiring with Ariana Moon: Talent Planning at Greenhouse

In this episode of Hiring Excellence, Johnny Campbell is joined by Ariana Moon, VP of Talent Planning and Acquisition at Greenhouse. They explore how a shift from reactive hiring to strategic workforce planning is transforming TA teams. Ariana outlines Greenhouse’s approach to aligning headcount with business goals, embedding operational excellence, adopting AI tools, and verifying candidate authenticity in a rapidly evolving hiring landscape.

Timestamps:

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Key Takeaways

1. Rethinking Talent Acquisition Through Planning

Ariana’s unique title, VP of Talent Planning and Acquisition, reflects a strategic shift at Greenhouse to integrate workforce planning directly into the hiring process. Inspired by the structure of FP&A teams in finance, Ariana’s team treats headcount like any other critical resource. The goal is not only to fill roles but to do so in a way that directly supports company objectives.

This forward-looking approach pushes TA to think beyond reactive hiring. Ariana works closely with Greenhouse’s finance leadership to prioritize which roles get filled and when. This has led to an intentional focus on outcomes, pacing, and long-term business alignment,especially important in volatile economic environments.

2. Dynamic Resource Planning Over Default Backfills

Gone are the days of reflexively backfilling roles as soon as someone exits. Greenhouse has introduced friction into the approval process, prompting hiring managers to evaluate whether a backfill is truly necessary or if that budget could be better allocated elsewhere.

This method, called “dynamic resource planning,” encourages executives to consider current business needs and future goals rather than historical team structures. The result is more deliberate hiring and improved budget utilization, especially critical in functions not directly tied to revenue.

3. Operational Excellence Begins with Tech Efficiency

Ariana emphasizes the value of process maturity and the strategic use of trusted tools. For example, her team rolled out BrightHire, an interview intelligence platform that uses AI to summarize interviews, saving time while improving candidate engagement. The tool alone reduced average feedback time per scorecard from 30 to under 10 minutes.

But efficiency is not the end goal. Ariana cautions that tools must also support effective outcomes. Blasting 200 automated outreach messages may be efficient, but without personalization, it likely won’t be effective. The best TA tech empowers teams to scale smartly while staying aligned with their hiring goals.

4. Building a Strategic, Change-Ready Recruiting Team

The shift toward strategic hiring requires a mindset shift within TA teams. Ariana breaks her team into core recruiters and a dedicated talent planning group responsible for enablement, reporting, and forecasting. Together, they ensure the team is not only hitting hiring goals but evolving how work gets done.

Recruiters are being encouraged to move beyond transaction-heavy tasks. With automation taking over repetitive work, Ariana wants her recruiters to lean into talent mapping, labor market analysis, and becoming deeper strategic partners to their hiring managers.

5. Balancing Internal Advocacy and Innovation at Greenhouse

As the in-house TA team at a company that builds recruiting software, Ariana’s group has a dual responsibility: deliver great hires and act as power users of Greenhouse’s evolving features. That includes rapid adoption of AI capabilities for anonymized screening, candidate verification, and more.

While not every feature is designed for a company the size of Greenhouse, Ariana sees value in carefully selecting what aligns with her team’s goals. She carves out dedicated capacity to enable tech rollouts, ensuring recruiters stay ahead of product updates without compromising hiring delivery.

6. Candidate Verification is Becoming a Critical Priority

Ariana predicts a rise in candidate verification tools as AI use increases across both applicants and employers. Candidates may use generative AI to complete take-home assignments or even simulate video interviews, making it harder for recruiters to assess authenticity and skill.

Greenhouse is exploring strategies like in-person interviews for leadership roles, improved take-home test design, and candidate-facing AI policies. Ariana sees this as a necessary shift back to human connection and trust-building in a market flooded with noise and automation.

Conclusion

Ariana Moon’s insights reflect a maturing vision of what talent acquisition can be when aligned with business goals and empowered by the right technology. Greenhouse’s approach blends strategic foresight, operational rigor, and a deep understanding of the challenges facing modern recruiters.

As AI and automation reshape the hiring landscape, Ariana reminds us that the future of TA isn’t just faster, it’s smarter, more intentional, and rooted in clarity, trust, and value-driven outcomes.

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