Real Story: How Crimson Global Academy Hired 17 Educators in One Week

Meet the CEO Who Redefined Education Hiring

When I sat down with Penelope Barton, CEO of Crimson Global Academy, I expected to hear another typical recruitment success story. What I got instead was a masterclass in how human-centric AI can transform impossible challenges into breakthrough moments.

The Challenge: 150 Hires Before September

"I'm aware that for this kind of growth, this was going to be a very difficult challenge to solve," Penelope explains. CGA needed to hire 150 educators—not just any educators, but world-class teachers who could maintain their rigorous academic standards while serving students internationally.

For most education companies, this would be impossible. Teaching roles require extensive vetting, cultural alignment assessments, and comprehensive background checks. The industry average for education hiring? 87 days per role.

The Human Reality: Recruiters Buried in Admin

Like most growing companies, Crimson uses an ATS (TeamTailor) to manage applications. But Penelope identified the core problem:

"ATS systems aren't built for matching, they're built for managing transactions. Our team spend 80% of their time manually searching through databases instead of actually building relationships with candidates."

The frustrating reality hit home: thousands of candidate details stored over years, with no intelligent way to access them. Perfect candidates existed in their database and in the market, but traditional sourcing meant slow timeframes.

The Week That Changed Everything

What happened next wasn't about working longer hours or compromising quality. It was about amplifying human expertise with intelligent support.

"Basically what I've enjoyed about Empathix is that it takes out all the parts of recruitment that we hate, and turns it into an experience that has actually delivered great candidates," Penelope shares.

The Human Touch at Scale

"The part that really surprised me was the exceptional response rate from candidates. I've never seen anything like it in education recruiting."

The outreach wasn't generic mass messaging. These were personalized conversations about teaching philosophy and career goals—the kind of meaningful dialogue that builds great hires.

Quality Meets Speed

"By mid week, the hiring managers were being presented candidates who were genuinely excited about every interview. The quality was there, but so was the speed. Seven days later, we had 17 new team members."

The Results: Redefining What's Possible

The numbers tell one story—17 exceptional educators hired in one week. But Penelope is more excited about what they represent:

"We hired 17 exceptional educators who are already making an impact with our students. But more importantly, we proved that you can maintain incredibly high standards while moving at startup speed."

The Human Impact

For Penelope, the breakthrough goes beyond operational efficiency:

"There's nothing better than offering a job to a candidate who's perfect for the role. That moment when you're changing someone's life while building your company's future—that's what recruitment should always feel like."

Lessons for Other Education Leaders

"Too many recruiters spend their time on spreadsheets instead of strategy, on admin work instead of relationship building. When you remove those barriers, incredible things happen."

The transformation at CGA proves something powerful:

"When you give great recruiters the right tools, they become unstoppable. That's the kind of transformation every education leader should want for their team."

Looking Forward: Building Proactive Relationships

The success has fundamentally changed CGA's approach to talent acquisition:

"We're no longer reactive in our recruitment process. We're building proactive relationships with educators who are passionate about joining our mission."

This shift from reactive to proactive represents the future of human-centric hiring—where technology handles the busy work so humans can focus on building the relationships that drive exceptional hires.

What This Means for Your Team

If a 1.2-person recruitment team can hire 17 exceptional educators in one week while maintaining rigorous standards, what's possible for your organization?

The answer isn't longer hours or lower standards. It's empowering your human experts with intelligent tools that amplify their capabilities rather than replace their judgment.

Key Takeaways

• Human-AI Partnership: Technology should amplify human expertise, not replace it
• Relationship Focus: The best hires come from meaningful conversations, not generic outreach
• Proactive Approach: Shift from reactive hiring to building ongoing talent relationships
• Quality at Speed: Rigorous standards and fast hiring aren't mutually exclusive