Mastering Staffing Technology Ecosystems

Leanne Courtney·January 28, 2026

Stop calling it a tech stack.

A stack implies things piled on top of each other. Linear. Disconnected. That's not how technology actually works in a staffing business.

I think of it as a digital ecosystem. A web where things connect and talk to each other. Where every tool has threads linking it back to your core systems.

I sat down with Christian Coley on SourceFlow's From The Source podcast to talk about how I manage 23 different business applications, what I look for when evaluating new tools, and why sincerity might be the most underrated skill in our industry.

From Ice Cream to Digital Ecosystems

My path to technology wasn't exactly traditional.

My first job was at an ice cream shop when I was 14, making those clown ice creams with banana noses and chocolate chip eyes. After that, I worked through university at a pastry shop in Melbourne, then managed a store that did over $1.5 million. I worked at a five-star hotel, then the Ritz London, then a high-end steakhouse.

When I moved to Montreal in 2018, I started doing translation work (I speak French from living in France as a teenager). That led to a role at a staffing agency where I was formatting CVs and revising content.

I got bored after three months.

I hounded my VP to do something else. I knew I was more analytical than what I was doing. So I pushed my way into becoming their Bullhorn admin. Then I met my current company at Bullhorn Engage, and now I look after about 23 different business applications.

Quite a journey.

Why Service Industry Experience Matters in Tech

Christian noticed a pattern: a lot of successful women in staffing tech have service industry backgrounds. Carolyn Durant started in a candy shop. I came from hospitality.

Here's why it translates: a lot of my job is helping people and solving problems. If you have a customer-obsessed background, it makes you better at your role. I think sometimes tech people get too focused on the facts and miss the human empathy piece.

That empathy is what drives adoption. When you're implementing new technology, you need people to feel heard. You need them to feel like their problem matters and that you're going to solve it.

In hospitality, when a guest wants something now, you can't shrug it off. You have to make them feel like you care about what they're going through. That carries over directly into technology work.

The Ecosystem Model

What I like about thinking of technology as an ecosystem instead of a stack is that it's not linear. It's a web.

Sometimes we get too stuck trying to identify exactly what the problem is. What I focus on instead is: What's the overall outcome I want to achieve? And then: What do I need tech to handle versus what do I need humans to handle?

Here's how I break it down.

Start with your core systems. In staffing, you typically have three or four mission-critical pieces:

Your ATS/CRM (whether they're separate or combined)
Your back office
Your onboarding system
Your financing/payment system

Everything else connects into those.

Map where each tool fits. Not every tool needs to talk to all four core systems. Automated messaging doesn't need to connect to back office. But a timekeeping tool might need to connect to all of them. My job is figuring out: Where does this fit? Does it serve multiple purposes, or does it just serve one function and connect into the ATS?

Ensure the threads connect. If you don't have systems that talk to each other, you're destined for failure. If the person using the tools has to go into one system, come out, go into another system, do something, then go back to the first system to complete the action... that's a problem.

The user's life should get easier, not more complicated.

What I Look For When Evaluating New Tools

I get approached by vendors constantly. I do a lot of demos. Here's what I've learned to look for.

Fight the shiny new syndrome. It's easy to see something and think, "Wow, this is so cool. This looks modern." But you have to stay analytical. Ask yourself: What do I already have? Is this replacing something I already have while also adding a feature I'm missing? Or is this just the product of the season, and I should wait to see it develop?

Ask to see their roadmap. I want to know they're still investing in developing the product. Not just stagnating and saying, "We have a great product, maybe we'll do some UI improvements once in a while." I want to understand what they're building.

Look for partnership, not just a sale. One thing that's super important: do your customers have a voice in what gets built? Vendors are never going to be in the position of logging tickets and using the product day after day. They can't understand it the same way users do. If I feel that partnership mentality in a call, I'm much more willing to adopt that technology than something that feels like a corporate black hole where product requests go to die.

Check the integration story. Can it connect with your core mission-critical systems? If it can't, you're looking at custom API development. That's fine, but understand what you're signing up for: significant financial input, ongoing maintenance, and resources to keep it running. It's not a one-and-done deal.

Modernity matters. Your product needs to look good. Adoption is driven by "wow, this looks fresh." Colors. Bold text. Images. Clean design. A lot of products I see look like they were built in 2001. That might have worked then, but it's very hard to get adoption now. We're all used to our iPhones. If your software looks like those big boxy Macs we used in school, good luck getting people to use it.

I call it "sexy tech." I can't drive adoption if the tool looks outdated.

Negotiate the terms. Smaller investments can be a good way to test things out. If you want to sign for a year and it's not a $100,000 commitment, the risk is low. You're testing a hypothesis.

Be open with the vendor: "This is where I'm at. This is what I'm trying to achieve. I can't commit long term right now, but I want to test your product. Would you be open to a trial?" Do the trial. Still not sure? Ask for a year. If you're open like that, most vendors will be open too.

Don't forget language. This is the Achilles heel of a lot of vendors. As a Canadian organization, we need many of our tools to be available in French because Quebec is a large market. A lot of vendors build for the US or UK and don't have that flexibility.

Same applies to Spanish in the US. Even if you don't have Spanish needs today, maybe in six months you're recruiting for roles in Texas. You want the tool to adapt. Ask those questions from the start.

The Human Element

Here's what I keep coming back to: sincerity.

I think we've lost sincerity in how we communicate. Being transparent and saying, "Look, I don't know how to solve this, but I'm going to try and find a solution." That's what connects people.

I'm pretty down to earth. I can tell when someone's dodging a question or trying to smooth things over. Being sincere and open, admitting you don't have the perfect answer, that helps you connect.

I get approached by vendors all the time. I can see immediately when it's an automated email versus when a real person wrote something. Sincerity is the difference.

After COVID, after AI, people are looking for human connection. You can stand out by being yourself. Not trying to craft the perfect message or the perfect solution or the perfect answer. Just being real and saying, "I don't know all the answers."

Advice for Tech Vendors

Christian asked me to give some advice to people selling staffing technology. Here's what I'd say:

Don't over-discover. Sometimes salespeople get really into deep discovery and ask me a million questions. But that's what I'm there for. I want to understand what your product can do. Sometimes I don't have a specific problem. Sometimes you have cool tech and I want to see if it can streamline our operations. Show me what it does. Let me evaluate.

Cut through the fluff. I call it "marshmallowism." All the soft, vague language that doesn't actually tell me anything. Just get to the point: What can your tech do? What can't it do? What are you planning to improve? Are you willing to partner?

Ask those direct questions. Answer them directly.

Show up on time. I remember a job interview early in my time in Canada where the interviewers were 15 minutes late, then asked questions that had nothing to do with the job, then offered me the position. I didn't take it. Values matter.

If you're running late, send a message. It sounds basic, but you'd be amazed. Even vendors I meet with today tell me I'm the only person who lets them know if I'm running late. Go back to basics. Be human.

Key Takeaways

Think ecosystem, not stack. Your technology should be a web where tools connect to your core systems. If users have to jump between disconnected tools, you're creating friction, not efficiency.
Fight shiny object syndrome. Ask what you already have. Ask where this fits. Ask if it replaces something or just adds to the pile.
Evaluate for partnership. Look at their roadmap. Ask if customers have a voice. Check the integration story. Don't sign long term until you've tested the hypothesis.
Be sincere. The best way to connect, whether you're solving problems or evaluating vendors, is to be yourself. Admit what you don't know. Don't try to be perfect.

Let's Figure This Out Together

Managing 23 tools taught me what works and what becomes expensive shelfware. If you're building out your digital ecosystem and want a second opinion, I'm happy to talk.

Book a free 30-minute call with me. We'll go through your current setup, what you're evaluating, and whether it actually fits. No pitch, no pressure. Just clarity.

Book Your Free Consultation →

This post is based on my appearance on SourceFlow's "From The Source" podcast. Watch the full episode here.

About the Author

I'm Leanne Courtney, founder of Achieve. At the time of this podcast, I was the Business Applications Manager at Procom, responisble 23 different tools across recruiting, middle office, and sales enablement.

How did I get there? Well I pushed my way from CV formatting into Bullhorn administration, then into managing full digital ecosystems. Before staffing, I spent years in hospitality: hotels, restaurants, the Ritz London. That customer-obsessed background shapes how I approach technology adoption today.

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, I've Lived in France, London, Montreal. Now based in Toronto, working with clients across North America, Europe, the UK, and Australia/New Zealand.

Connect: LinkedIn | achievewith.tech