AI that works: Talent Summit Insights from TA leaders

SJ Niderost

Content Marketing Manager

Posted on

June 25, 2025

Articles

BP-AI that works Talent Summit Insights from TA leaders

At this year's Talent Summit, Kyle Lagunas, Founder at Kyle & Co joined Dustin Cann, Sr. Director, Strategy & Operations at Cisco, Nicole Hirsch, Director of TA at Lattice, and Susan Jackson, Executive Director of Global Talent Ops at Estée Lauder to discuss a critical question: What's delivering results with AI in recruiting?

Beneath the excitement and bold promises, these seasoned talent acquisition leaders cut through the noise to share how AI works in their organizations today. Their discussion revealed the practical wins and persistent challenges of implementing AI in talent acquisition.

What cuts through AI hype

When asked about distinguishing hype from practical utility, the panelists emphasized the importance of focusing on real business problems rather than exciting possibilities.

"The thing that I don't pay attention to are things that don't attach to real legitimate business problems," explained Dustin. "Any AI solution that's proposed to us that is trying to invent a problem, I just don't [consider]. The thing that really cuts through the hype is practical applications."

This reflects a broader shift in how organizations evaluate AI tools. Rather than chasing the latest innovations, successful TA teams identify existing pain points and find AI solutions that address them directly.

The numbers behind interview intelligence

Nicole Hirsch from Lattice shared compelling data about one of their most successful AI implementations: interview intelligence software. The numbers paint a clear picture of the practical impact.

"In the last twelve months, we have conducted 7,000 interviews. That's across recruiter interviews, hiring manager interviews, and on-site interviews."If you think about 7,000 interviews over the course of one calendar year, let's say that [scorecard completion time] is now being cut down to five minutes because BrightHire is taking all the notes for you... That's twelve hundred hours of savings in a year. That is not insubstantial."- Nicole Hirsch, Director of TA at Lattice

This example illustrates a key principle: the most effective AI applications enhance existing processes rather than replacing them entirely. Interview intelligence doesn't eliminate the need for human judgment in hiring decisions – it makes administrative aspects more efficient.

The ROI reality check

All three panelists emphasized the critical importance of measuring return on investment, but they acknowledged that different metrics matter at various stages of implementation.

Susan Jackson from Estée Lauder, whose team recently launched new technology in December, focused on foundational metrics.

"We're focused on two key metrics. One is hiring velocity and the other is just overall productivity. When we're looking at hiring velocity, we're looking at traditional metrics like time to fill, but we're also looking at specific areas within that such as hiring manager time."- Susan Jackson, Executive Director of Global Talent Ops at Estée Lauder

Meanwhile, Nicole's team at Lattice has been able to dive deeper into quality metrics, using their interview intelligence platform to analyze the correlation between interview assessments and 90-day performance reviews. This helps them continuously improve their interviewing process while demonstrating the strategic value of talent acquisition.

The unexpected challenges

One of the panel’s most valuable insights was about unexpected barriers to AI adoption. Dustin Cann noted that internal buy-in wasn't as tricky as anticipated.

"I thought we were gonna get more pushback than we are. We're actually getting more partnership than I'm used to seeing when we try to implement new things in the TA space because we're speaking their language. Making sure that we've got the right data in the right place, and we know how to trust it 100% of the time" has become a critical focus, especially as regulations around automated employment decision tools continue to evolve." - Dustin Cann, Sr. Director, Strategy & Operations at Cisco

Nicole echoed this concern: "We're taking a pretty cautious approach. There have been things that we've unfortunately had to say no or not right now to, and that's something for TA practitioners and TA leaders to consider – really lean on your compliance partners and your legal team."

Change management remains king

Susan Jackson's experience at Estée Lauder highlighted an often-overlooked aspect of AI implementation: change management.

"What was the most challenging for us was the change management. Change management drives user adoption and aligns the people, the process, the technology."- Susan Jackson, Executive Director of Global Talent Ops at Estée Lauder

This reinforces that successful AI adoption isn't just about the technology. It's about bringing people along on the journey and helping them understand how these tools will enhance their work, rather than replace it.

The future of recruiting competencies

When asked how AI is changing the recruiter role, the panelists agreed that core skills remain important while new competencies emerge.

However, Nicole highlighted the growing importance of "AI fluency" – the ability to think creatively about how AI tools can enhance recruiting workflows. Her team has developed custom AI solutions, including a Slack bot that helps recruiters quickly access geographic pay tier information during candidate calls.

"Now I've got my recruiters who are thinking about candidate experience and how to identify a hundred candidates for this role they're working on. How can I be more efficient in my interview process? How can I use our bot to help me write customized outreach for every single one of my prospects?" - Nicole Hirsch, Director of TA at Lattice

Efficiency as excellence

The most encouraging theme throughout the discussion was how AI enables teams to return to fundamental recruiting excellence. Kyle noted that he feels AI is creating space and capability for recruiters to revisit some of the things they’ve just not had time to do.

"We're trying to create more space for recruiters to think and to do the hard things and to sell and to close deals. You can use these tools to prepare yourself quicker and better to be that advisor."- Dustin Cann, Sr. Director, Strategy & Operations at Cisco

Key takeaways for TA leaders

The panel's insights offer several actionable principles for organizations considering AI adoption:

Start with existing problems, not exciting possibilities. The most successful AI implementations address clear, measurable pain points in current processes.
Measure what matters, but give programs time to mature. Initially, focus on foundational metrics, then expand to more sophisticated quality measures as data accumulates.
Invest heavily in change management. Technology adoption requires bringing people along and helping them understand how AI enhances their work.
Prioritize compliance and data governance early. As regulations evolve, having robust data practices becomes increasingly critical.
Embed AI in existing workflows. The most successful tools integrate into where people work rather than requiring new systems or processes.
Maintain focus on human value-added activities. Use AI to eliminate administrative work so recruiters can focus on relationship building, stakeholder influence, and strategic advisory work.

As organizations continue to navigate this AI transformation, the experiences shared by these leaders offer a roadmap for moving beyond the hype toward practical, impactful implementations that truly enhance recruiting effectiveness.