The 2-Month ROI: Why Adecco is "Screening In" (and opening the Recruiting AI Black Box)
Traditional AI has become a rejection engine in recruiting. Here is how the world’s leading TA teams are flipping the script to prioritize revenue and candidate experience.
For years, the promise of AI in recruiting has felt like a “black box.”
Resumes go in, a filtered list comes out, and no one, not the candidate, and often not even the recruiter, really knows why. We’ve been conditioned to view AI as a “rejection engine,” a tool designed to find reasons to say “no” faster.
But a recent WorkTech webinar featuring leadership from VONQ, SoftwareOne, and Adecco revealed a shift that runs counter to almost every current market assumption. They’re using AI to move faster while striving to be more human and, crucially, more profitable.
The Proof: A 60-Day Payback Period
Simon Van Hijfte (Adecco) explains the metric that matters most: Revenue. While many HR tech implementations take years to show a return, Adecco found that by focusing on “starters” (actual hires) and moving to a performance-based model, the tool paid for itself in just two months.
What is most striking about Simon’s insight is that, beyond the speed of the ROI, the Candidate NPS (Net Promoter Score) improved. Contrary to the fear that AI makes the process “colder,” candidates actually reported a better experience. Why? Because the “Always-On” nature of Agentic AI provides what humans can’t: instant feedback and the ability to interview on the candidate’s own terms and timeline.
Beyond the Black Box: Three Core Shifts
If you missed the live session, the on-demand recording is now available. We dive deep into three radical departures from the recruitment status quo:
From “Matching” to “Dossiers”: Moving away from opaque percentage scores to “Explainable Scoring.” Recruiters now see 15–20 different vectors (from certifications to commute preferences) that explain exactly why a candidate is being recommended.
The “Screening In” Philosophy: How Agentic AI captures high-value talent that traditional keyword filters overlook, including non-native speakers and non-standard CV formats.
The CPA+ Model: Why the industry is moving away from paying for “clicks” (noise) and toward paying for “starters” (outcomes).
(It’s free and provides instant access to the full discussion with VONQ, SoftwareOne, and Adecco.)