The First 90 Days Determine HR AI Tool Adoption Success

Bravo, HR leaders! Your newest AI tool is finally up and running and integrated with the rest of the tech stack. Now that go-live is here, it’s easy street from here on out, right? Not exactly.

Those precious first 90 days after flipping the “on” switch are critical to long-term success. Throwing the tool over the transom and expecting recruiters and sourcers to just run with it isn’t the answer. Learning and adopting new HR technology requires plenty of communication, consistent use, and a solid strategic plan.

Those were the lessons learned by Dallas-based hospital operator Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH), whose HR leaders shared helpful advice at the annual Phenom Customer Obsession Day.

“The first 90 days are the most important” after acquiring a new hiring tool, said BSWH’s Whitney Wallace, Talent Acquisition Marketing and Sourcing Manager. “It's where we set the standard of what's to come, what recruiters can expect, and even what candidates are coming to expect,” she said. Wallace’s colleague, Stacy Wells, Talent Acquisition Program Advisor, joined her for the discussion.

Watch the full conversation here, or read on for the highlights!

Shorter applications, higher quality candidates

With over 57,000 team members, BSWH hires continuously to keep up with patient demands.

BSWH posted an early win soon after its new Applied AI career site launched when the time it took to complete a job application plunged from nearly 30 minutes to less than nine minutes.

“That’s huge” in two respects, Wallace said. People are more likely to finish applications because they don’t take as long, and recruiters are getting more qualified applicants. "We're solving for not only recruiter pain points, but I believe also we're solving for candidate pain points," she added.

Go beyond “here, use this” for better adoption

But how do you convince teammates to abandon their faithful yet often inefficient manual processes? Proof helps. And so does proper training. 

When recruiters get higher quality candidates with less friction in the application process, it builds HR's credibility. “Teams begin to lean into the system even more,” said Wallace. “They're more ready to take on the challenge of learning a new tool in order to see the efficiencies that come with it.”

BSWH took a blended learning approach to train recruiters on their new solutions by combining on-demand learning with live training sessions for a well-rounded experience, added Wells. For example, the HR team designed a structured learning plan to guide users through various modules, which built a solid foundation of knowledge that directly aligns with their role in talent acquisition. The live sessions complemented self-paced learning by addressing questions, filling in knowledge gaps and providing real-time support.

“Having those different voices and approaches and those perspectives really made that experience more engaging and relatable for our recruiting teams,” Wells said.

A culture of openness to feedback

HR leaders at BSWH are eager to act as beta testers to explore new tools early on. In fact, they are quite transparent with recruiters by letting them know up front that some features may still be in development.

“This honesty really fosters a sense of ownership, especially among our innovators and early adopters, by giving them that direct role in shaping the product,” Wells pointed out. When that feedback is reflected in the final enhancements, it not only builds trust and excitement but helps bring even the more hesitant members along that journey, she added.

Measuring success

Some of BSWH’s most notable outcomes include:

• Clear efficiency gains. Automated interview scheduling created time savings, eliminating back-and-forth and getting interviews locked in much quicker. This not only enhanced the candidate experience but gave recruiters and hiring managers more confidence that the solution would accelerate and align with business goals.

• Improved interview-to-hire ratio. Before automating high-volume hiring workflows, there was an average of seven candidates interviewing for one position. Now, it’s a much leaner 3:1 ratio. “We were no longer over-interviewing and could move more qualified candidates forward more efficiently,” said Wells.

• The tools actually being used. Part of BSWH’s internal marketing process to gain adoption is focusing on the people who are saving large swaths of time in their day by taking advantage of the tools. The team gathers all the time saved from automations and shares it. “We say ‘hey, you could have an hour and a half back in your day with scheduling if you use this tool,’” said Wallace. The team even launched usage contests as a way to keep engagement high while reinforcing best practices through friendly competition.

For optimization efforts and continuous learning, Wallace and Wells recommend HR leaders have weekly calls with their vendors to focus on things that need to be fixed or talk about new features that are coming out. Conducting co-led training sessions is extremely valuable.

“It's not just myself or someone from our programs team showing you how to use this tool, but you are gaining insights and best practices from your colleagues, somebody who is also leaning into this day to day for their recruitment processes," Wells explained. "This has really helped build trust and credibility even more with our broader teams."

Learn more about Phenom Global Customer Care and the personalized support packages available to meet your needs.