About Joey Higgins
Senior recruiting judgment for consequential hires.
Joey works where business strategy meets talent: sharpening the role, finding people a posting will not reach and helping leaders make the decision with better market evidence.
Meet the founder
Joey Higgins
Joey founded Decoding HR in 2020 after more than a decade across recruiting and human resources. He translates an executive priority into a clearer search, brings the market into the conversation and stays close enough to challenge assumptions before they become expensive mistakes.
Clients work directly with Joey from intake through close, without a sales-to-delivery handoff. That continuity creates better context for employers, a more credible conversation for candidates and clearer accountability when the search gets difficult.
As a SHRM Senior Certified Professional, Joey brings HR judgment into recruiting conversations and recruiting reality into people decisions.
How Joey works
Business context first. Search activity second.
Define the decision
Clarify what the hire must change, which outcomes matter and where the brief may be limiting the market.
Find the people worth knowing
Combine direct outreach, referrals, research and AI-assisted market mapping to reach beyond active applicants.
Stay accountable through the close
Keep the employer and candidate informed, surface risk early and protect momentum through acceptance.
Human judgment, stronger tools
AI expands the reach of the work. It does not own the decision.
Technology helps organize research, compare market evidence and keep follow-through from slipping. Joey remains responsible for the brief, the conversations, the recommendation and the outcome.
A direct working relationship
The person learning the business is the person leading the work. Employers get a candid market view; candidates get context from someone who understands the assignment.
Based in Des Moines
Iowa roots. Experience across state lines.
Joey has served clients in multiple states and searches wherever the role requires. The geography changes; the standard of judgment and accountability does not.
Bring the position that cannot stay open, or cannot be filled casually.
Tell Joey what the hire must accomplish and what has made the search difficult.