The New Rules of Talent: How AI Is Changing Hiring and Retention

Can AI really help you find and keep great people? More importantly, can it make hiring and retention personal, not just more efficient?

At the SOHR Summit 2025, industry experts gathered to uncover the answers to these questions. The panel, “The New Rules of Talent: Using AI to Evolve Hiring and Keep Great People,” explored how AI is creating smarter, faster, and more human-centered hiring experiences.

Moderated by Sir Winston Malapad, Acquisition and HR Director for Process Excellence Reporting and Data Analytics at Foundever, the panel featured respected, forward-thinking leaders: 

• Fleire Castro – Founder at DashoContent
• Vane Macatangay – Group Deputy Chief People Officer & PH Country HR Head at Tonik
• Angela Merici Fleta – HR Consultant at Citadel Pacific and Head of HR and Operations at Roth&Co

The panelists explained how AI in HR is making hiring faster, more accurate, and more human-centered.

Enhancing, Not Replacing Human Judgment

AI should be used to enhance, not replace, human recruiters.

Ms. Macatangay highlighted how Tonic Bank created a custom GPT-powered hire bot that reflects the company’s values. She explained that it speaks like a real person and that it’s warm, kind, and confident, with a tone that reflects their digital-first culture.

The bot doesn’t just screen candidates based on skills. It also checks for culture alignment and values fit, helping recruiters focus on what humans do best: connection, chemistry, and judgment.

Faster Hiring Without Sacrificing Fit

Ms. Fleta shared a case from a previous consulting role, where she helped a tech company scale from just four tech hires to over 100 per month. By integrating AI into their hiring systems, the company increased recruitment efficiency threefold.

An AI tool she implemented could sort through over 1,000 CVs and shortlist candidates with the right technical skills, like Node.js experience, within seconds. This drastically reduced manual review time and freed up recruiters to focus on interviews and candidate engagement.

For Ms. Castro, the key is a hybrid model. Her company, DashoContent, now scores freelancer applications using AI. The system reviews writing samples, summarizes qualifications, and even checks for alignment with a client’s brand voice.

But humans still make the final call.

Even if AI says someone’s a fit on paper, only a person can tell if they match our culture. It’s a reminder that while AI can help narrow down choices, people still need to make decisions.

Despite growing interest in AI, many teams still rely heavily on manual tools like Excel. 

Ms. Fleta has worked with organizations in the middle of transitioning to AI-powered Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). She emphasized that AI isn’t a plug-and-play solution. You need clear workflows, buy-in from leadership, and enough clean data to make it work.

In one case, a machine learning engineer helped build a custom tool that could pull specific skills from thousands of resumes. “That project alone saved 50% of the time spent on screening,” she said.

Ms. Macatangay brought up an often-overlooked hurdle: fear of being replaced.

At Tonic, they tackled this by having their CEO lead AI upskilling efforts himself. He organized team-specific training sessions and created a safe space to explore tools without pressure. A dedicated Teams group was even set up to share AI tips and success stories.

What does this imply? People need reassurance, not just tools. Building trust is a critical part of making AI work.

Start Small, Then Optimize

The panelists suggested starting with a small team of AI-curious employees to test workflows. According to Ms. Castro, once adoption begins, you can move to optimize. But it all starts with one key question: Do you have repeatable processes that AI can improve?

She also pointed out that many employees overthink AI. They’re unsure how to prompt, what to share, or if it’s even safe. That’s why education and clear guidance from the management are essential.

The panelists highlighted how AI tools helped them improve their recruitment process. 

• • Quality of Hire: Ms. Macatangay shared a consulting success where an AI tool increased candidate matching accuracy from 40% to 96%. The tool assessed not just qualifications, but alignment with job roles and team needs. That’s why she reminded HR leaders to not just buy tools but match them to their pain point.
  • Time to Fill: Tonic’s hire bot is already improving recruiter efficiency, and they expect up to a 25% reduction in time-to-fill. Ms. Macatangay also introduced tools like Otter AI and Microsoft Copilot to take interview notes, letting recruiters focus on building rapport instead of typing.
• Employer Branding: Ms. Castro’s clients use AI to produce consistent content across platforms, from blogs to LinkedIn posts, to strengthen employer branding. Why? Because candidates now do deep research before applying. She explained that if you’re not telling your story online, they won’t know who you are.

The session closed with a powerful reminder: AI won’t replace you. But someone using AI might. HR professionals need to upskill, experiment, and embrace change, but without losing sight of what matters most. AI can read a resume, but it’s HR that sees the human behind it.

So, if your team wants to improve the quality of hire, speed up hiring, and make people stay, AI can help. Just make sure to keep the heart of HR intact.

Missed the live event? Watch the recording here!

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