Why our product is people
A conversation with Beth Garvey, founder of Beth Garvey Strategic Partners and former CEO and board chair of BGSF.
Spotlight is our series on the people shaping the future of hiring and talent. We ask them how they work, what they believe, and where AI actually helps.
This time we spoke with Beth Garvey, who spent over twenty-five years leading BGSF as CEO and board chair.
She transformed it from a fragmented multi-brand staffing company into a unified organization with an enterprise-wide strategy, cohesive culture, and industry-leading solutions across IT, finance, and software development. Before BGSF she spent fifteen years as CEO of InStaff, where she led a revenue and EBITDA turnaround and developed scalable onsite staffing solutions. She founded Beth Garvey Strategic Partners in 2026 to work with boards and executive leaders on growth, acquisitions, governance, and strategic planning, bringing perspective from both the boardroom and the operational front lines.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in hiring or talent?
Never lose sight of why you're in this industry. Our product is people, unpredictable, messy, and amazing. Candidates change their minds, clients shift priorities, and the perfect match suddenly isn't. But most of us stay for the amazing moments, when you find the candidate who truly fits or a discovery question sparks an "ah-ha" moment for a client. This work is about people's lives. One opportunity can improve someone's financial stability or completely change their career trajectory. One great hire can transform a team, strengthen a culture, and unlock unexpected growth. Even on the messy days, you still had the opportunity to make a difference.
What's the most rewarding part of the work you do today?
Thinking big picture. Early on, you're in the weeds, filling roles, sourcing candidates, building systems. That experience sharpens your instincts and teaches you how hiring really works. Now, the most rewarding part is looking beyond the immediate need, how organizations build stronger teams and how talent strategy supports long-term growth. Helping leaders see possibilities they haven't considered is incredibly fulfilling.
What's one thing you hope never changes about how we hire people?
The people. Technology can't replace human insight, the instinct built from thousands of conversations, recognizing potential, and picking up on nuances no résumé captures, the passion someone shows discussing a project, how they describe overcoming a challenge. Technology should enhance hiring, not replace the human connection that makes it meaningful.
What skill has mattered more than you expected?
Being authentic. Techniques matter, interview strategies, negotiation tactics, but authenticity matters more. It builds trust, and trust is the foundation of everything we do. When you show up honest and transparent, people open up and share what really matters to them. In an industry built on relationships, being real is your most powerful advantage. That's where the magic happens.