ABB's Blueprint for AI Agent Rollouts in Recruiting

ABB builds and powers the infrastructure the world depends on, from electrification to automation. Keeping that running means staying ahead of complexity, and for Head of Global Talent Attraction Jane Mehringer, that same standard has to apply to hiring. 

At IAMPHENOM 2026, she walked through how ABB built its AI agent rollout strategy — from securing executive alignment to launching a Voice Agent pilot in India and planning the next phase of agentic hiring.

Explore the highlights below!

What Was Making Candidate Pre-Screening Unsustainable?

The combination of application volume and decentralized structure created pressure on ABB's recruiters from two directions. In India, thousands of candidates were applying to each role, and pre-screening calls confirming basic qualifications, relocation intent, and degree requirements consumed hours that couldn't scale with volume. Most of those calls were also happening outside normal business hours — the majority before 9am and after 5pm, exactly when recruiters weren't working.

"We knew that the important piece was to still have the human in the loop," Mehringer said, "but we also knew we wanted to get that quality candidate to the business quickly."

ABB's decentralized structure added another layer of complexity. With operations across 100 countries and multiple business units, each with its own perspective on what makes its hiring unique, getting alignment on a new global tool isn't straightforward. Recruiting, HR, the business, and legal and compliance all needed to be on the same page before anything could move. That meant bringing those stakeholders in early, not as a late-stage review.

How Does Phenom's Voice Agent Handle Candidate Screening?

To tackle the early funnel problem, ABB piloted Phenom Voice Screening Agent in India. Since it was the market with the highest application volume, it had the strongest proof-of-concept potential.

Designed to handle the full pre-screening workflow without recruiter involvement, the Voice Agent calls candidates directly or offers a web-based alternative for those who prefer it. Before any screening begins, candidates receive explicit consent language explaining that they’re speaking with a virtual agent and are asked whether recording is permitted. This is a critical step for global compliance, especially in regions like Germany, where consent and recording transparency are required.

"We wanted to be really thoughtful about how we introduced AI," Mehringer noted. "Especially because of the nature of what happens with AI at this point — people want to use it, but they don't want it to take their jobs."

The questionnaire the agent uses is built from a combination of knockout questions (e.g. work permit, required experience, relocation) and open-ended questions that let candidates provide more context. Generative AI in the background can draft suggested questions directly from the job description so recruiters aren’t building from scratch.

After the screening, the system processes the transcript and generates a recommended rating (e.g. 3 out of 5) along with the specific reasoning and rubrics showing what a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 would look like for that role. The recruiter can review the recording, read the transcript, and override the rating. 

Hiring automations can then move candidates forward or park them based on recruiter decisions. The agent can also call candidates simultaneously, significantly accelerating early-stage screening at scale, and will attempt callbacks if a candidate doesn’t answer or requests a specific callback time. Configurable options include the agent’s voice, gender, and regional accent.

How Did ABB's Voice Agent Perform in the Field?

Before results could mean anything, ABB had to define what success actually looked like. Mehringer's team tracked five areas from the start: candidate engagement rate, voice screening completion rate, time to first interaction, recruiter time savings, and quality and usability feedback from recruiters and hiring managers. That last one mattered as much as the numbers since adoption only works if the people using the tool trust what it's telling them.

The pilot results validated both the technology and the business case.

• 55% of applicants converted to voice agent phone calls

• 95% of candidates who accepted a call completed the full screening

• 100% transcription and processing accuracy

• 70 recruiter hours saved

"We actually converted 55% of applicants to phone calls with the voice agent, and out of that, 95% completed it with 100% accuracy, saving our recruiters 70 hours," Mehringer said. She addressed the 55% conversion number directly. In a high-volume environment where thousands apply to each role, self-selection at the pre-screen stage is expected and often useful. Candidates who opt out of the screening may not have had a genuine interest to begin with. What matters is the quality and completion rate among those who do engage and the accuracy of the output. With 95% completion and 100% accuracy, recruiters could focus on the top of the qualified pool instead of wading through the full stack.

Related Resource: Unlock Voice AI Screening & Interview Intelligence

Where Is ABB Taking Its AI Agent Strategy Next?

With the Voice Agent pilot proving its value, ABB's roadmap follows a deliberate sequence: validate the results, expand to additional high-volume markets, then build momentum toward Phenom Intake Agent and Phenom Sourcing Agent. The goal is to replace fragmented hiring manager back-and-forth and manual candidate searches with guided, agent-driven workflows to scale hiring without sacrificing quality, focus, or the reliability ABB is built on.

For organizations still figuring out where to begin, Mehringer left the room with a clear takeaway.

"Don't wait for the perfect moment because it’s not coming. And don't treat AI like another software rollout either. Treat it like a business change. Pilot for outcomes, define success upfront, and bring stakeholders in early. Scale only once trust is earned."

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