Thomas Byun, Global Director of Talent Acquisition at Hatch, may not have originally planned on a career in talent acquisition but, over the last 25 years, he has turned a serendipitous start into a purposeful and passionate mission – to make recruitment a strategic driver of an organization’s growth story. What sets him apart from other leaders in recruitment are his four guiding principles: transparency, resilience, accountability, and respect. They define the way he leads his team – which is by example – builds trust with stakeholders, and deals with every challenge the dynamic field of recruitment throws his way.
“Transparency and respect are especially important to me as a leader because people will not follow someone who is disingenuous,” he says. “I believe that trust forms the foundation of all relationships, personal and professional.” Thomas is passionately committed to the pursuit of a better world through positive change.
Entering Recruitment Arena by Chance
Most people don’t go to university with aspirations of someday becoming a recruiting leader, let alone a recruiter, according to Thomas. He believes that one usually falls into this career by happenstance. “That’s exactly how my career started after graduating with a political science degree,” Thomas says. What began as a casual two-week summer job entering data into a recruitment applicant tracking system became his gateway to a 25-year career.
Although he never thought of pursuing recruitment as a career, Thomas always had a genuine interest in meeting and helping others. And, after college, he realized that recruitment offered a perfect opportunity to do that without major barriers to entry. In the initial phase of his career, Thomas was fortunate to work with well-established global brands. Luckily, he also had caring mentors who taught him how to navigate the complexities of corporate life while staying true to his values and ethics.
“My experience started at the local level where my recruitment efforts focused mostly on the Toronto market,” Thomas says. “It then expanded to a national Canadian level when I began to take on leadership responsibilities, which ultimately vaulted me to a series of leadership roles with a global mandate.”
Thomas joined Hatch as Global Director of Talent Acquisition in May of 2021. Previously, he worked at OMERS as Global Head of Talent Acquisition and as Director of Talent Acquisition at CIBC. For over 15 years, he served in various talent acquisition roles at EY.
Key Accomplishments
Thomas has won a number of accolades in his long, remarkable career. However, what fills him with pride is seeing the growth of his team members. “I am most proud of seeing team members whom I have mentored and coached become talent acquisition leaders for their own organizations,” he says.
For him, nothing brings a bigger smile to his face than seeing a notification that one of his former recruiters is now the head of recruiting for a company. He also takes pride in the fact that he left all of his previous talent acquisition functions in better states than he inherited them.
“One of my mentors used to tell me that one must always leave a campsite in a better state than you found it,” Thomas says. “I have worked to apply that intention to my career.”
Success Is Contributing to Company’s Success
Thomas’ definition of success is not focused on personal recognition or monetary gain. For him, success in his role is quite simple: “Is Talent Acquisition contributing to the success of the company’s business goals and objectives or is it hindering it?”
He points out that companies cannot succeed unless they have people to drive growth. Increasingly, more and more companies are recognizing this, and as a result, paying attention to the strategic importance of the recruiting function. At Hatch, for example, Thomas regularly meets his CEO and executive board to support their genuine interest in what the talent acquisition function is doing to meet the company’s global hiring demand. In addition, these meetings also reaffirm that the recruiting team has their full support for executing their mandate.
According to Thomas, from a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) standpoint, while they track many, the most important KPI is rooted in the value that talent acquisition brings to the organization. It is: “Is the cost of maintaining and investing in this function higher than the benefit it brings?” Thomas points out, “Thankfully, the answer to that question year-over-year is a resounding ‘NO’.”
Challenges Encountered in Recruitment
Thomas notes that the biggest challenges they face in recruitment are shared across the industry. These include a shrinking specialized global workforce, increased competition for talent, and a post-pandemic culture of entitlement. Another challenge is understanding AI’s role in the future of recruitment. “We have taken many strides to ensure we incorporate a holistic approach to global recruitment to combat most of the challenges.” Thomas points out.
Online social networking now enables recruiters to recruit for any position anywhere in the world without needing to be physically present in every market. However, according to Thomas, the local knowledge of culture and professional norms cannot be overlooked. “So, we have strategically placed our recruiters around the world to ensure the optimal regional and global coverage,” he says.
Hatch has a special brand of a collaborative flat structure in the engineering consulting world, and Thomas and his team are quick to celebrate and amplify that advantage in all of their recruitment marketing platforms. But they also localize that message so that everyone can envision themselves working for Hatch, regardless of geography.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted workplaces across the world. Thomas points out that it necessitated a number of workplace conveniences, creating a paradigm shift in the workforce that still poses challenges for some companies. They are struggling to undo to this day. “Post-pandemic, many candidates we interact with feel entitled to these conveniences and discussions generally take more time to navigate,” Thomas says. He and his team have tried to overcome this challenge by tackling it head-on through transparency and by explaining the inspiring work and rich culture Hatch offers.
Accurately Measuring Recruiter Performance
It is a challenge for talent acquisition leaders to accurately measuring a recruiter’s performance and output. Thomas explains that as there are numerous variables, it becomes difficult to compare one recruiter’s workload to another, and establishing a consistent formula is not easy to do. However, he has developed an approach that works well for him and his stakeholders.
“It’s imperative not only to have a quick view of my team’s productivity but also to amplify their hard work that often goes unseen,” Thomas says. At Hatch, an engineering firm, facts and data drive every conversation, including in the recruitment function. Thus, Thomas looks for productivity measures he can use to guide his conversations with business leaders. He explains that his approach involves collecting all the countable key performance indicators (KPIs) of productivity, such as total hires, time-to-fill, offer accepted/rejected, and sourcing activity using online networking tools. He also collects KPIs of productivity that are not easy to count, such as net-promotor score, and assigns fair weight to the complexity of searches.
In the end, Thomas is able to create a reliable formula that gives him a percentage, which accurately shows how productive a recruiter is while also telling him if there are potential areas for development. “I’m proud to say that I use this approach to this day, which has made performance reviews, discussions around capacity, and headcount planning much easier,” he says.
Responsibilities of Global Director
Hatch is a global engineering, project management, and professional services firm. It relies upon its 10,000 staff with experience in over 150 countries to challenge the status quo and create positive change for clients, employees, and the communities it serves. As the Global Director of Talent Acquisition, Thomas ensures that Hatch’s global talent acquisition function not only meets but exceeds business demands.
He manages a global team of over 35 recruiters across the company’s major locations and amplifies the Hatch employer brand across all markets in the world. Thomas’ core responsibilities also include overseeing and improving all recruitment operations and processes, implementing recruitment governance globally, and creating a consistent recruitment process for all regions. Additionally, he is the senior point of contact for all recruitment matters and is responsible for maintaining stakeholder confidence in the talent acquisition function, particularly the CEO and executive board. Thomas is also responsible for championing a recruitment-focused mindset throughout the organization.
Given his responsibilities, Thomas does not enjoy the luxury of a “typical” day. “I wish there was a ‘typical’ day in my life,” he says. The closest to one he can describe is that: 25% of his day involves checking in on the recruitment health of each Hatch region – North America, South America, Europe, Africa/India/Middle East, and Australia/Asia, another 25% of his day is dedicated to the well-being of his team of recruiters, either through one-on-one meetings or team sessions.
According to Thomas, the remaining 50% of his day is focused on executing his mandate as Global Director of Talent Acquisition, which may involve stakeholder communications and relations, developing or delivering strategic projects or processes, or tending to daily operational maintenance items – whether ongoing or ad hoc.
Balancing Personal and Professional Life
Hatch has offices on six continents, which means it is always primetime somewhere in the world for Thomas. “From early morning calls with Africa, Europe, and the Middle East to evening calls with Australia, it’s certainly an exciting life,” he says. He, however, does not allow his demanding work schedule to disrupt his personal life. He makes time in his work schedule for personal matters.
As a father to two young children, Thomas also intentionally puts boundaries around his work schedule, ensuring he is available for them at the times of the day that matter most to them: when they wake up in the morning, come home from school, eat dinner, and go to bed. “I’m very fortunate to work for a company that enables me to be as present for my family as I am for my company,” Thomas says.
Staying Aligned with Hatch’s Goals and Values
All the recruiters of Hatch are not present in the same region and time zone. They are based in different regions across the world. Despite this, Thomas ensures they are aligned with Hatch’s goals and values. “Communication, communication, and communication is the key to staying connected with a global workforce,” he says.
He speaks with his global team of recruiters several times a week to ensure they all have input into recruitment operations and processes. He also uses quarterly town halls to solicit open and honest feedback. And Thomas believes that deploying recruiters on global projects instills a sense of global belonging among recruiters around the world.
The Future of Talent Acquisition
The future is Gen-Z. According to Thomas, it has become essential for talent acquisition professionals to know this new generation. “They’re coming and we better be ready for them,” he adds. Under Thomas’ leadership, the campus team at Hatch is making good strides in understanding Gen-Z’s nuances and educating their business about them.
Thomas points out that campus recruitment is currently one of their top strategic focuses. “We have been on a progressive journey over the past couple of years, aligning our global processes and strategy to position Hatch as the best employer for young engineers, providing meaningful starts to their careers,” he adds.
Today, AI is transforming every area of business. While Thomas doesn’t believe AI will replace recruiters, he sees it as creating capacity and increasing productivity. In 2025, he and his team intend to focus on identifying areas where they can start this journey to elevate the role talent acquisition plays with the business and allow them to be advisors as well as tacticians.
Talent acquisition professionals are also becoming important for corporate development. Thomas notes that they are increasingly being brought to the leadership table when discussing mergers and acquisitions. They help by providing critical insights into workforces and potential issues that might exist in a new market or region.
Advice for Aspiring Leaders in the Talent Acquisition Industry
Thomas advises aspiring leaders to take ownership and accountability for their roles and lead by example. He also encourages them to tackle problems head-on instead of avoiding and hoping they will go away – “they don’t.”
He asks aspiring leaders to treat their team with respect and courtesy, exactly how they would want to be treated. He adds, “Know that they value your one-on-ones and performance reviews and put in the effort to make your feedback meaningful.” Thomas also stresses the importance of data.
“Recruitment data is driving so many conversations,” he points out, “so my emphatic advice is to ensure you have reliable data, and if you don’t, spare no effort in getting it.”
