This VP of Product Plans to Overhaul Recruiting Automation. Here’s How.

Scroll through Maureen Polte’s work experiences on her LinkedIn page, and there are two trends that stand out: roles at a multitude of software companies, and the title “VP of product development or VP of product management.”

That’s why it’s unsurprising to see Polte in her latest role at Yello as, you guessed it, VP of product. But despite the repeat in title, Polte has a brand new challenge at her fingertips: Disrupting the early talent sourcing and recruiting process.

“I’ve been in the software industry for my entire career mainly because I love constant change,” Polte said, who added that the fast-paced culture of the tech sector enables her to learn quickly and from some of the brightest.

At Yello, which is reinventing recruiting operations through its cloud-based campus recruiting technology that allows businesses to manage the full campus hiring process, from sourcing and career events to engagement, applications and interview scheduling, Polte is leading the product team and helping to define a roadmap that improves the efficiency and effectiveness of their customer’s recruiting teams.

Built In Chicago caught up with her to learn more about her previous work experiences, how they’ve prepared her for her current role, and what her vision is for Yello’s products moving forward.

How have your past work experiences prepared you for this one?

I’ve held executive positions in engineering, product management and product marketing, so I know what it’s like to define, develop and bring to market really complex solutions.

I’ve also worked in a variety of industries, supported global teams and developed and launched the gamut of products from large, enterprise applications to desktop software. Most recently, I managed a very broad set of intelligent automation solutions — machine learning, natural language processing and AI for document intelligence with RPA and a low-code platform for task and process automation. These are very timely and applicable concepts and technologies for Yello, as talent acquisition teams need to improve their recruiting efficiency through automation and provide an end-to-end, engaging digital experience for their staff and candidates.  

What attracted you to Yello?

Our focus on early talent is personal for me. My children are college-age and early career, so I get a good 360-degree view of the opportunity space, from the candidate to the employer to early career business staff who are engaged in the process. All of this enables me to have user empathy and the drive to modernize this process so recruiting teams can focus on people instead of paperwork and administration.

Our focus on early talent is personal for me. My children are college-age and early career, so I get a good 360-degree view of the opportunity space...’’

I’m also a mission-driven leader, so I was looking for a company with a strong mission and positive culture. Yello has this great balance of customer, market and people focus. That mission carries to our customers. We are right there in the forefront of the diversity, equity and inclusion transformation of the largest global companies. To learn with them and support their initiatives gives my work purpose.

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What is Yello’s product strategy, and what is your vision for Yello’s products moving forward?

Our product strategy is aimed at automating early talent recruiting and simplifying complex recruiting processes for efficient and successful hiring. 

We see the Yello Enterprise platform as the hub of early talent. Our strategy is to bring all relevant data in one place and orchestrate the end-to-end recruiting process. We’ll use that data and process insight to enhance the experience and guide recruiters and staff through the process, focusing on their most important actions. Along with that, we’ll expand our integration framework for quicker time to value when integrating with the full HR tech stack.  

What project are you working on right now?

I’m currently looking at multiple approaches to apply AI and conversational, natural language processing technologies to enhance recruiting processes. For me, the most exciting part of this project is the unique application of these technologies to early talent use cases.