Tori Smith: Designing the Candidate Experience to Drive Retention

Tori Smith is the founder of The Welcome Standard, a concierge service that helps relocated talent feel at home in Tampa Bay. Her mission is simple but powerful: improve retention by making the onboarding experience seamless, personalized, and human. In a recent Idea Citizen Mentorsphere conversation, she shared her journey from recruiter to founder, and how shes turning reputation into revenue.

From Football Recruiting to Founder

Toris background includes high-stakes recruiting for Ohio States football program and navigating medical residency relocations. She realized that the same high-touch support she offered informally could become a scalable business. Her service is not recruitingits the bridge between hiring and belonging.

The 44-Day Window

According to BambooHR, new hires decide within 44 days whether they'll stay long-term. Tori built her post-hire concierge service around this insight, helping new employees settle in, connect locally, and feel supported during a stressful transition. "Its almost like an insurance policy on a high-value hire," she explained.

Quantifying the Value of Retention

Makena Finger Zannini, founder of The Boutique COO, challenged Tori to quantify her impact. The cost of hiring a physician can exceed $300,000and losing one doubles that. Tori's service helps protect that investment. She's now exploring ways to turn her anecdotal success into data-backed case studies that demonstrate ROI.

Simplifying the Offering

Initially, Tori offered too many services. After rebranding from Recruitfully to The Welcome Standard, she narrowed her focus to two core packages: pre-hire and post-hire support. Shes considering reframing it as a single "candidate experience" offering to make her value proposition even clearer.

Founder-Led Visibility

Tori is active on LinkedIn, where her ideal clients live. Shes learning to simplify her messaging, shorten her outreach, and use tools like Calendly to drive conversations. Her goal for 2026: land three corporate clients on retainer to support seasonal hiring cycles.

Final Thought: Make It Easy to Say Yes

Tori's journey is a masterclass in refining a niche service. Her advice to other founders:

• Clarify your offering so its easy to understand

• Quantify your impact to justify the investment

• Be visible where your buyers are already looking

Retention starts with belonging. And belonging starts with a thoughtful experience.

Explore The Welcome Standard