86 [EB Series] Activating Hiring Managers to Transform Recruitment | Martin Warren (ex-Grab)

In this episode of the VMJPod's Employer Brand Series — recorded live in Singapore — hosts David Macciocca and Emma Lang sit down with Martin Warren, former Head of Talent Sourcing at Grab, to unpack how activating hiring managers can dramatically transform your recruitment and sourcing results.Drawing on 25+ years in recruitment and seven years building and running the sourcing function at one of Southeast Asia's most iconic tech companies, Martin shares how his team achieved reply rates of up to 80% by flipping the script on traditional outreach — putting hiring managers front and centre rather than relying solely on recruiters. He also explores how to build a scalable sourcing engine, engage passive talent, and create the internal buy-in needed to make it all stick.For recruiters, employer brand practitioners, and talent acquisition leaders looking for practical ways to unlock new sourcing channels and get more from their hiring managers, this episode is full of real-world lessons from a high-growth, high-speed environment.Key Topics:02:00 – Martin's background and building the sourcing function at Grab05:30 – Why speed was the driving force behind Grab's sourcing strategy08:00 – Sending outreach from hiring managers: how it works and why it delivers12:00 – Going from 25% to 80% reply rates — the numbers behind the approach15:30 – Making passive candidates feel special and seen20:00 – Building a business case and getting hiring manager buy-in26:00 – Coaching hiring managers to sell the role and handle candidate questions31:00 – How employer brand content supports passive talent pipelines36:00 – The talent advisory mindset: screening in, not out40:00 – Targeting A and B-grade talent with consistent, authentic messaging42:30 – Where to start if you don't have a dedicated sourcing teamIf you want to learn more about activating your employer brand strategy and EVP then you can check out podcast.videomyjob.com for a library of industry perspectives and how-to's.Now, if you’re ready to level up your activation strategy then you need an employee story video platform and that’s what we do! Go to videomyjob.com/demo to book a walkthrough with one of our video specialists.Lastly, we’d love for you to help us spread the word about the VMJPod to attract new experts and practitioners to share their activation strategies, so please take a screenshot and post it on LinkedIn, don’t forget to tag us at VideoMy, we are so grateful when you do that!