The Ops Experts Club Podcast: Episode 101

How to Keep Ops from Getting Stale (and Recruit Better Teams)
Hosts: The Collab Team (Aaron, Taryn, Savannah)
Date: February 19, 2026

Episode Overview

The episode dives into how operations (Ops) teams can avoid stagnation and maintain engagement within rapidly scaling businesses. Aaron and Taryn of The Collab Team discuss strategies for keeping Ops vibrant, the nuances of effective recruiting (with an emphasis on overseas hiring), and the importance of aligning roles to team members’ strengths. The episode blends candid stories from their own trenches supporting 7- and 8-figure businesses with concrete tactical advice for entrepreneurs and operations professionals alike.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Operations: Fighting Stagnation and Keeping Engagement

[00:24–04:22]

• Ops Doesn’t Have To Be Boring:

  • Aaron frames the common misconception: “I, OPS is not boring... We're giving you answers and solutions to how to make life better for yourself. I think when it gets boring is two different things.” (00:24)
  • Two main reasons for boredom:
    • Endless repetition without breaking the cycle (“ramming your head against the same wall” / “Groundhog Day”)
    • Over-systematization: “if you systemize things to death… it's not exciting anymore.”

• Solutions To Staleness:

  • Seek new challenges and “mountains to conquer.”
  • Delegate routine tasks; focus on higher-level problem-solving and areas that activate excitement and creativity.
  • Encourage the redistribution of responsibilities within the team to maintain engagement and growth.

• Notable Quote:
  “There are things for all of us that make work work. …as long as that's not the majority of what you're doing and there is still that fresh excitement, I think, that fuels people…” – Aaron (04:11)

2. Team Structure, Delegation, and the Sisyphus Analogy

[02:32–04:22]

• Leadership Dynamics:
  • Taryn describes his role as “top of the food chain” at Collab, handling multiple client accounts and delegating to secondaries.
• The Sisyphus Metaphor:
  Taryn shares, “I’ll just always feel like Sisyphus pushing that rock up the hill… when I'm rolling it back up the hill, it's a new client, it's a new pain point. Actually, it's not a new pain point. It's the same pain point with a new face and different tech stack.” (03:59)
• Continuous Learning:
  • Ops remains engaging when there are new problems to solve, new industries to learn, and fresh challenges each cycle.

3. Recruiting: Philosophy and Hands-On Process

[04:22–12:09]

• Collab’s Recruiting Approach:
  • They embed recruiting as part of their retained services, not as a percentage-based fee.
  • Hands-on, human-driven process:
    • Review every application manually (not AI/algorithm-only screening).
    • Narrow down with targeted questions to test real interest and fit.
    • Multi-phase interviews, starting with one-on-ones, to assess skills and culture match.
    • Use of personality and cognitive assessments (e.g., Kolbe) at the final stage.
• On Treating Candidates with Respect:
  • “Honor the applicants, go through their stuff, make sure it lines up… honor them by responding back to them.” – Aaron (08:50)
  • Mass interviews are rare; the focus is on 1:1 engagement for a personalized candidate experience.
• Customizing to Client Needs:
  • Some recruiting projects are extremely niche (e.g., only considering candidates who have sold high-ticket online education products).
  • Entry-level roles allow for a broader sweep.

4. Overseas & Virtual Assistant (VA) Hiring: Opportunities and Pitfalls

[12:09–21:10]

• Why Companies Outsource Roles:
  • Often a desire for cost savings: “They want to get somebody cheap. That's what that means.” – Taryn (12:09)
  • The pandemic and the rise of remote work have expanded global hiring opportunities.
• Best Practices & Cautions:
  • Task-based work: VAs from the Philippines excel when work is clearly defined via SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures).
  • Communication Challenges: Avoid assigning ambiguous, open-ended work to offshore VAs unless you’re confident in their contextual understanding.
    • “When you just lump together this mass of confusion… and you just huck a ball of crap out of 'em, like they're not going to do well with that.” – Aaron (13:34)
  • Role Fit:
    • Entry-level, repetitive, or data-driven tasks are well-suited for overseas VAs (e.g., customer support, data compilation, report building).
    • Ultra-niche or expertise-intensive roles (e.g., ad buying, financial control) generally need more domain knowledge or local vetting for trust/safety reasons.
    • Higher-risk positions may warrant hiring domestically for legal and logistical reasons.
• Time Zones and Cultural Fit:
  • Philippines: Reliable for defined tasks but beware of major time zone differences.
  • Latin America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil): Increasingly attractive due to similar time zones and stronger English skills.
• Client Example:
  • Dr. Dharius Daniels’ organization structures VAs “underneath another leader within the organization…that's actually the front facing part,” reserving US-based staff for external, high-touch communications.

5. Org Chart Optimization & The Customer Experience

[21:10–23:43]

• Strategic Placement:

  • Map roles to the right regions and skill sets.
  • Consider cultural and language nuances, especially in customer-facing positions.

• Plug-In Principle:

  • “Where are you plugging in the best players to do the best role?…Don't put impossible situations on people… Likely it's going to damage your brand performance in the marketplace.”

• Continuous Self-Evaluation:

  • Always reassess:
    • What are you hiring for?
    • Who is the best fit (local vs. overseas)?
    • What level of client interaction is required?

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Boredom in Ops:
  • "It can't just be like a closed loop of just visionary just shouting into a microphone and everybody's like, oh, my gosh, turn down the volume. Or their ears just get, like, muted to it." – Aaron (00:39)
• Real Ops Life:
  • “I'll just always feel like Sisyphus pushing that rock up the hill… It's all fun and games.” – Taryn (03:59)
• Respect for Candidates:
  • “There's nothing more disheartening for kids than to put out a bunch of applications and never hear back from anybody on anything.” – Aaron (08:50)
• On Overseas Hiring:
  • “Anything that's… ultra niche down on a role. That's what I would consider an expert. And if that's the case, just realize even if you're paying overseas, you're probably going to pay a pretty good premium.” – Aaron (17:48)
• On Misuse of VAs:
  • “If you just huck a ball of crap out of 'em, like they're not going to do well with that, that they're not going to succeed well at that.” – Aaron (13:34)
• Customer Communication:
  • “Written communication versus spoken is a great point.” – Aaron (21:10)

Important Timestamps

• 00:24 – Ops is Not Boring: Breaking the Monotony
• 03:59 – Sisyphus Analogy: Taryn on Challenges and Repetition
• 04:22 – The Value and Process of Recruiting
• 08:50 – Honoring Candidates and Personalized Recruiting
• 12:09 – What Do People Mean When They Want a VA?
• 13:34 – The Pitfalls of Poorly-Defined Overseas Tasks
• 16:11 – Best Types of Tasks for VAs
• 17:48 – The Real Cost and Risk of Overseas Experts
• 20:14 – Nearshore (LATAM) Talent and Communication Benefits
• 21:10 – Client Example: Dr. Darius Daniels' Org Structure for VAs

Closing Thoughts

This episode provides a transparent examination of how to keep operations teams motivated over the long haul. The key takeaways: constantly invite fresh challenges, delegate for growth, do recruiting with respect and intention, and be highly strategic about how you hire and deploy your team—particularly across borders. The conversation is practical, laced with honest anecdotes and actionable advice, making it valuable to operations leads, entrepreneurs, and anyone aiming to build resilient, dynamic business teams.