What a Power Outage Taught me about Hiring Strategy

What do an ancient washing machine/dryer, glitter on a ceiling, and a human-centric hiring strategy have in common? Stick with me…

A couple of weeks ago, we lost power. So my adult kids, one dog, and I checked into my dad’s for the night.

• My daughter claimed my old bedroom.

• My son took the spare bedroom with the fold-out couch.

• The dog and I? Camped out on the living room sofa – like my childhood sleepovers.

My daughter brought laundry. Dad’s washer/dryer – easily 30+ and 40 years old.

Meanwhile, back at Casa Lancaster, my 8-year-old Whirlpool?

• Out of commission for 3 months.

• Two repairman no-shows.

• Parts delays.

• Laundry and family room torn apart from the fallout.

(I would have just replaced them, but the hubs had… other ideas. We’re still married, miraculously.)

As I lay there contemplating why we can’t make appliances that last anymore, I found myself admiring the original vaulted ceiling in the living/dining room:

• Hand-crafted plaster circles

• Glitter sprinkled right onto the paint sporadically. Yes, you read that right – glitter on the ceiling. 

I love those ceilings.

It got me thinking about lost crafts, skills, and trades. If that ceiling needed repair, who would we even call? How many people still know how to recreate it with care and precision?

Which led me to think about modern Talent Acquisition/Recruiting – a field now so reliant on bots and tech that we’ve forgotten it’s still an art. I get it: companies have poured money into ATS systems, automated interview tools, online assessments, and more to “streamline” and “increase fairness” in hiring.

What if I told you that’s having the exact opposite effect your company was hoping for?

❌ Hiring isn’t more efficient – it is lazier.

❌ We’ve replaced experienced TA/recruiters with data chasers (often bad data)

❌ Candidate experience is at an all-time low.

❌ Time-to-fill has increased, not improved.

Just let all that sink in. Don’t get me wrong – I love and use AI /technology to improve my own game and productivity. But I’m wise enough to know its limits. Overreliance on tech has made hiring processes:

• Complicated and cumbersome for job seekers to navigate and complete.

• Burdened with unnecessary steps.

• Bloated with consensus-by-committee, slowing decisions.

• A ghosting free-for-all in both directions.

Why is my dad’s ancient machine working?

• Because companies once took pride in producing high-quality goods and services, and employees had loyalty and tenure. Customers trusted and returned to them

Why has my dad’s eclectic and glittery ceiling lasted 57 years?

• Because the craftspeople who created it took pride in building something beautiful that would endure.

Why are so many hiring processes broken?

• Because too many organizations have removed the human from Human Resources and the talent from Talent Acquisition. Skills like intuition, empathy, and discernment cannot be automated.

The lesson – sometimes we need to go back to fundamental values, human interaction, pride in a job well done, and quality that lasts.

Let’s talk about how we get there! Allegro’s mission is to help talent and organizations find a natural harmony and rhythm through the hiring process to ensure continuously successful matches. We are highly selective in the top-notch talent we represent, working with individuals who will bring a value-add approach and realized achievements to leaders who are empowering, visionary, and approachable communicators.

P.S. If I ever move into that house, the sponge-painted walls and carpet are gone. Some lessons are worth leaving in the past.