The Staffing Playbook Podcast, Powered by YES The State of Staffing 2026 — Live Roundtable
15 snips
Jan 23, 2026 
Mark Winter, founder of Windsource Group and staffing strategist, and Tom Erb, president of Talent Resources and AI-forward operator, debate where staffing stands in 2026. They discuss why customer focus beats growth-at-all-costs. They cut through AI hype versus reality. They argue specialization, execution, and fixing operations are the levers that will separate winners from the rest.
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Industry At A Crossroads
- The staffing industry already changed and 2026 will separate firms that level up from those that fall behind.
- Buyers are colder, churn is higher, and margins are under pressure so fundamentals matter more than hype.
Past Boom Was An Anomaly
- The 2022–2023 boom was an unprecedented gift, not a sustainable baseline.
- Firms that built operations around that surge are now exposed when normal demand returns.
From Commodity To Strategic Partner
- COVID exposed staffing as a commodity and shifted buyer expectations.
- Clients now want strategic partners, not just order takers, so customer focus is essential in 2026.
