Amy Crook

Amy Crook

Founder | Principal Consultant | Fractional CHRO, Strativis

Amy Crook didn’t plan a career in HR — in fact, she didn’t even know what recruiting was when she first encountered it.

Fresh out of school and unsure of her next step, Crook did what many early-career professionals once did: she walked into a staffing agency, résumé in hand. During an in-person meeting with the manager of a boutique firm, she was asked a simple question — had she ever considered recruiting?

“I didn’t even know what that meant,” Crook recalls.

At just 21, she accepted a trainee recruiter role — and immediately took off. She made her first placement within three weeks, was promoted to recruiter after three months, senior recruiter by month nine, and branch manager within a year.

“I took to recruiting really quickly,” she says. “I loved it.”

Over the next five years, Crook built her foundation in agency staffing before transitioning into account management, where her focus shifted toward advising HR teams on talent strategy and best practices. That move set the stage for her entry into corporate talent leadership.

From Talent Execution to Strategic People Leadership

Crook’s corporate journey began in individual contributor recruiting roles before progressing into global leadership positions at TransUnion and later Glassdoor. It was at Glassdoor where her scope expanded beyond talent acquisition into broader people and organizational challenges.

As the job market evolved — shaped by AI, constrained headcount, and accelerating change — Crook felt a responsibility to stay deeply informed. Rather than relying on surface-level understanding, she enrolled in an MIT business school program focused on AI implementation for business.

That decision proved pivotal.

The education enabled her not only to strengthen the talent tech stack at Glassdoor, but also to help guide the broader organization’s AI strategy. Crook became part of the PMO for Glassdoor’s AI implementations while also leading experimental programs — bridging technical capability with real-world people processes.

“Talent is always going to be my baby,” she says. “But my work expanded into solving people problems at a much broader level.”

When Glassdoor later integrated more tightly with its sister company, Indeed, organizational overlap led to layoffs. Crook, her leader, and her team were impacted.

What followed was a moment of reflection — and reinvention.

Building Strativis, Her Way

After the layoff, Crook asked herself what she truly wanted next.

“I love helping businesses be successful,” she explains. “Everything I’ve done in my career has been about moving quickly, simplifying complexity, and executing well under pressure.”

She also realized something else: for years, she hadn’t even identified as an HR leader.

“To me, HR meant long timelines, blockers, and bureaucracy,” she says. “And that’s just not who I am.”

Crook believes HR and People leaders should operate in lockstep with the business — enabling growth, accelerating execution, and helping leaders hit revenue, product, and organizational goals. Whether it’s global workforce planning, budget guidance, team restructuring, or skill-based location strategy, urgency matters.

So she built something new.

In a single day, Crook named the company, bought the domain, built the website, registered the LLC, and launched Strativis.

“That’s just how I work,” she says. “I like to get things done.”

Six months in, Strativis has grown quickly. Leveraging a strong network of former colleagues and leaders, Crook assembled a four-person team and launched both a people advisory and staffing arm — bringing the same execution-focused energy she’s carried throughout her career.

What Energizes Her Now

Today, Crook is most energized by solving hard problems.

“I love complexity,” she says. “If something’s been broken for months, I want to understand it, build a plan, execute, and see change.”

She’s confident that progress doesn’t have to be slow.

“Give me 30 minutes,” Crook adds. “There’s always a way forward.”

That mindset underpins her work with clients — sparring through challenges, cutting through noise, and helping leaders regain traction when systems feel stuck.

A Candid View on the State of Recruiting

When it comes to the recruiting landscape, Crook is direct.

“Unfortunately, I think it’s shifted backwards,” she says.

In her view, many organizations rushed to adopt new recruiting technologies promising efficiency — often driven by budget constraints and headcount reduction goals — without fully understanding the processes they were trying to improve.

The result?

Application volumes at all-time highs, recruiters stretched thin, candidates ghosted, and technology breaking under the weight of outdated workflows.

“New tools are being jammed into old processes,” Crook explains. “And it’s not working.”

She’s careful to note that the issue isn’t malice — it’s misalignment. Decisions are frequently made by procurement teams or senior leaders who haven’t lived inside recruiting workflows and don’t fully grasp where friction occurs.

At Strativis, Crook applies a different standard. Having implemented tech stacks herself — and deeply understanding both AI capabilities and recruiting realities — she designs systems intentionally, protecting human interaction while reimagining processes end-to-end.

“You have to be thoughtful about the human moments,” she says. “And you have to redesign the process — not just automate the old one.”

Advice for People Leaders in 2026

As organizations navigate another year of uncertainty and change, Crook’s advice is grounded and simple.

“If it feels broken, listen to yourself,” she says.

She urges leaders not to push forward with processes they know aren’t working — even when time, money, or pride has already been invested.

“Trust your gut. Do right by people.”

HR, she acknowledges, is complex. Leaders must balance protecting the company with enabling performance, supporting executives, and building cultures that scale. But clarity and integrity still matter.

“If you pay attention, don’t keep going down roads you know are wrong, and always do right by people,” Crook says, “you’ll be successful.”

For her, leadership has never been about titles or tradition — it’s about momentum, impact, and helping organizations move forward with intention.