EP 72 – What Recruiters Need to Get Right in 2026 w/ Dougie Loan

What if the biggest mistake recruiters are making as we head into 2026 isn’t the market, AI, or competition… but believing automation alone will drive success?

In this episode, I’m joined by Dougie Loan, CRO at SourceWhale, to break down what recruiters, leaders, and founders actually need to get right as technology, automation, and AI continue to reshape the industry. Dougie has spent his career working at the intersection of recruitment, sales, and tech, partnering with agencies of all sizes to improve productivity, performance, and profitability.

We dive into why recruitment will always remain a sales-led, people-first business, where automation genuinely adds value, where it causes damage, and why broken processes can’t be fixed by better tools. This conversation cuts through the hype to focus on clarity, decision-making, selling time, and the fundamentals that separate effective recruiters from busy ones.

If you’re a recruiter, leader, or founder who wants to use AI properly, protect the human edge, and build a sustainable career or business heading into the next few years, this episode is essential listening.

We cover:
✅ What recruiters actually need to get right in 2026
✅ Why automation on its own won’t drive recruitment success
✅ Process vs tech, and where most agencies get this wrong
✅ Why recruitment is still a sales game at its core
✅ The difference between being busy and being effective
✅ How recruiters should really be using AI and automation
✅ Where automation helps internally, and where it harms externally
✅ Why AI won’t replace recruiters, but will expose weak fundamentals
✅ Productivity, admin overload, and winning back selling time
✅ Choosing where you sit, high-touch vs high-volume models
✅ Authenticity, relationships, and the human edge in recruitment
✅ What the future recruiter’s role will actually look like
✅ Dougie’s 1 Percent Better tip for recruiters and founders

⏱ Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro, purpose of the podcast and Dougie’s background
03:00 – Dougie’s journey into recruitment tech and sales
08:00 – Recruitment tech before and after COVID
14:00 – Why tech fails when process is broken
21:00 – Recruitment as a sales-led business
29:00 – Automation vs productivity, where recruiters go wrong
38:00 – Internal vs external automation and AI risks
47:00 – Choosing your model, high-touch vs high-volume
55:00 – The future of recruitment roles and AI agents
01:03:00 – What recruiters need to get right in 2026
01:10:00 – Dougie’s 1 Percent Better tip

🔗 Connect with Dougie Loan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougieloan/

🔗 Connect with Charles Kyriakou
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleskyriakou1/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@charles.kyriakou
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/46LjJfw
LinkedIn Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7244346543967731712/

🐋 Find out more about SourceWhale
Mention 1 Percent Better Recruitment Podcast or my name, Charles Kyriakou, when you sign up by clicking the link below, or head to:
https://sourcewhale.com/demo