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Engaging Through Storytelling: The New Currency for Talent Leaders

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Engaging Through Storytelling: The New Currency for Talent Leaders

The AI era has arrived and it’s liberating talent professionals from basic processes. Now, the challenge is to communicate the human skills that prove their strategic impact.

“We worked with a business leader recently who spoke about all these amazing people initiatives they were working on and the problems they would solve. The company had an excellent talent acquisition expert deeply familiar with all these priorities, but she wasn’t in the meeting. We asked, ‘What if we invited her to this strategic conversation?’” 

Mic drop.

Alison McCutcheon Barcz, Executive Partner at leadership consultancy Glowe Connective, shared this story during JobSync’s live recruitment roundtable, Future Proofing Our Profession: How to Build the Talent Teams & Leaders of Tomorrow. The idea of having talent acquisition (TA) at the people-strategy table was “mind blowing” to this particular leader—but they are far from alone in this view.

“Sometimes, you can’t even get a manager to meet for the intake alignment meeting, the crucial first step to agree on role requirements. Without it, the process breaks down,” says Katrina Collier, a recruiting veteran with over 20 years’ experience and the author of The Robot-Proof Recruiter and Reboot Hiring. She laments that “respect has gone” for talent acquisition. 

“We used to be respected as the people who hire the people who decide the company’s fate. Now, with AI, the attitude is ‘do more with less.’ We can’t even get to the starting point—that first conversation where we ask, ‘How can we help you look ahead? Can we join the process earlier? Can we share the data we have? We know the market, will you listen to us?’”  

Before we chalk this up to a C-suite problem, a state-of-the-economy problem, or a technology-changing-everything problem, let’s pause. Our experts argue the real challenge is that TA isn’t speaking up for itself, and must sharpen its voice to claim its rightful seat at the table.

Why is TA So Bad at Self-promotion?

Scroll through LinkedIn, and you’ll find company after company celebrating the salesperson who landed a major client, the accountant who saved thousands, or the engineer behind an innovative new product.

But who brought those high performers on board in the first place? Talent acquisition, of course. Yet it’s rare to see a company publicly recognize TA’s impact. As Collier points out, “TA doesn’t speak up and say, Oh, I hired this person. Hello!”

Why does TA struggle with self-promotion, even when it’s essential for career success? Let’s start with an uncomfortable truth: 70% of TA and HR professionals are women, and research consistently shows that women, in general, find self-promotion more challenging than men. Social penalties for “blowing your own trumpet” are higher for women, leading many to downplay their accomplishments.

But across the board, TA spotlights the achievements of others, making it difficult for their own value to be seen. After all, their primary role is to champion the candidates they hire and the teams they build. “People who excel at TA almost by default have a high-empathy gene,” says Alex Murphy, CEO at JobSync. “Empathetic people don’t take glory for what they’re doing; they celebrate the success of the people they’re hiring. As a result, they rarely highlight the value they create.”

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You Can’t Lead If You Don’t Speak Up

Self-promotion isn’t just a “nice-to-have” in talent acquisition; it’s essential to the success and influence of the role. As Barcz explains, “TA hates being brought in at the end of the game, when managers are saying, ‘we’ve got to find this person yesterday.’ At that point, they’re thinking, if you just had a conversation with me when you first began to focus on this, we could have proactively sourced for you.”

Barcz says that TA leaders need business leaders to think from a future-oriented state, for example, anticipating upcoming projects and workforce needs well before roles become urgent. Too often, they don’t. “They are myopically focused on what’s right in front of them—what’s my strategic initiative? What’s my plan that I have to execute and be bonused against? As TA leaders, we need to be the future thinkers for them, because we know the market better than anybody. We know the talent that’s out there, we know what’s happening, we’re having conversations outside of the organization. Leveraging that expertise and those relationships, and serving as a guide for your internal leaders, can make you a valuable, sought-after partner. That’s what you want to be as a TA professional.”

This will hit home for many in the field. Because how can you be seen as a valuable partner if you are always underselling your own impact?

Storytelling is a Secret Weapon in Talent Acquisition

Back in 2021, Gartner predicted that “by 2025, data storytelling will be the most widespread way of consuming analytics.” The advice was aimed at CFOs, but it’s just as relevant for talent acquisition.

Gartner’s message then, as now, is that data alone doesn’t convince leadership to back your talent initiatives. You have to use data to tell a compelling story—what Barcz calls “practiced, intentional storytelling.” Storytelling adds context, shows you understand your audience, and provides a narrative that answers the “why” behind the numbers. It removes any doubt by connecting data to real business impact and making your case potent to decision-makers.

Telling a practiced, intentional story requires a mix of soft skills—empathy, strategic thinking, and effective communication. “TA professionals are often excellent at storytelling externally, because they’re emotionally attuned and can read the room. Now, it’s about developing your own story and narrative to share internally. If there was one skill that I would recommend for anyone preparing for the future, especially in TA, it’s practiced, intentional storytelling,” Barcz says. 

With the importance of storytelling clear, let’s explore practical steps talent professionals can take to master this essential skill.

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Start with impactful data

Picture that meeting Collier described at the beginning, where a manager resists meeting with TA for the intake. Leading with data can change the dynamic. “You could say, ‘Justin used to feel like that, and he would spend 1,000 hours interviewing all the wrong people. So we spent more time at the beginning of the process, and now he’s only spending 100 hours.’ It can be as simple as dropping a small data point in the conversation,” Collier says—as long as the data is relevant. Data with a touch of emotion, or even pain, is far more convincing than raw numbers.

One thing TA professionals and business leaders share is a drive for efficiency. Barcz recommends framing data in terms of time or money saved—or, if leaders are resistant, highlighting the efficiency lost when TA isn’t involved early. “Here’s why, by doing X, Y or Z, we’re going to reduce efficiency, or we’re going to introduce risk defects,” she explains. Avoiding pain, such as wasted time, lost productivity, or increased risk, can be just as powerful a motivator as the promise of greater efficiency or savings.

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Always begin with “why?”

Sometimes, you need to sit with your data and ask if it’s telling the story the business needs to hear. Barcz’s favorite question is, “What problem are you trying to solve?” She explains, “Be really aware of your organizational goals, stretch targets, and what you are trying to achieve. Only then can you think about what story you can tell, and how best to advocate for your solution.”

This story-first approach prevents overwhelming your audience with data that lacks actionable insight. Start by asking questions to understand the business priority and perspective before diving into the numbers. This will help you to organize your thoughts in advance, ensuring you stay focused and communicate clearly.

Murphy recommends interrogating the “why” and digging deeper than the headlines. He references Jamie Dimon’s well-publicized stance on remote work at JPMorgan, specifically Dimon’s belief that work-from-home has been overextended and employees should come back to the office. “I looked at the data and JPMorgan Chase has the best per-employee revenue and profitability it’s ever had. So I’m not sure what the objective is for returning to the office—is it to have less revenue per employee? I suspect it’s to keep up with other people saying returning to office is what you’re supposed to do. That’s not a winning strategy. So start with the real reason why you are doing the things you are trying to do. Every story needs to begin there.”

Know your audience

Know your audience is classic advice for a reason. Before having the conversation, Barcz says, “You have to consider the context and say, ‘Okay, I’m dealing with a 100% numbers-based person who doesn’t see value in TA or what I’m doing… How do I get that person to lean in?’”

She recommends learning as much as you can about the individual before you talk to them. Clues are everywhere—“You can see it in how people write, how they structure their LinkedIn profile. Really listen to your managers and mirror their language,” Collier says. Someone who communicates formally and logically will respond to facts and data, while someone who is more conversational or emotionally expressive may be more engaged by stories and personal examples. 

For example, a logic-first business leader may not care about the cultural aspects of employer branding. They will care when they understand that poor employer branding translates to future hiring and retention challenges, and not having the right people in the right positions puts the leader’s reputation on the line. “It’s about translating our jargon into something the business leader understands, that impacts the bottom line and their projects and their reputation,” Collier says.

Barcz uses personality assessment tools like the Enneagram to really know her audience and understand what motivates people. “It helps us coach at a variety of levels on communication styles, so we can help people connect and become more emotionally attuned,” she says.

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Be ready to pivot—and share your wins

When TA asks for budget, tools, or resources, the answer won’t always be ‘yes.’ More often than not, the first response will be ‘no.’ But that should never be the end of the conversation. Barcz advises, “If you get a no, pull back and ask, ‘What can I learn from this? What information did I get that can help me build a better solution and go back?’” And go back you must—armed not just with new insights, but with clear examples of your impact.

Collier points out that too few recruiters can readily share stories of hires who made a real difference to their organizations. When writing her books, she asked several recruiters to tell her about the people they’d hired who made a significant impact. Shockingly, only one could answer, and only with a single example. “You should know five at any given time that you can rattle off when you’re asking for budget!” she says. Impact-making hires are the conclusion of your story and absolutely part of your case whenever you need to influence stakeholders.

Which circles neatly back to the challenge of self-promotion. 

In an era defined by AI and relentless efficiency, TA professionals must reject being “silent operators” and start championing their value. That value isn’t proven by ticking boxes, filling requisitions, or relying solely on conventional metrics, especially as AI transforms how we source, screen, and hire. As we move further into the technology era, the value of TA will be measured in human terms—in influence, strategic insight, and the ability to shape outcomes through relationships and narrative. “All of it, it’s marketing, right? It’s sharing an idea. It’s communicating the idea. It’s getting someone interested, connected, and wanting to lean in,” Barcz says.

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