Zapier’s Bold Bet: Every New Hire Must Be AI-Transformational, With CPO Brandon Sammut

In this episode of HR Heretics, Nolan and Kelli get a behind-the-scenes look at Zapier's AI strategy with CPO Brandon Sammut. He demos some seriously impressive AI tools his team built—interview prep agents, automated workflows, performance tracking—and explains why they require AI skills from every new hire at their 730-person company. Make sure you also watch the video version on Substack and YouTube for the demo done by Brandon on Zapier Agent use cases.*Email us your questions or topics for Kelli & Nolan: [email protected] coaching and advising inquire at https://kellidragovich.com/HR Heretics is a podcast from Turpentine.Support HR Heretics Sponsors:Planful empowers teams just like yours to unlock the secrets of successful workforce planning. Use data-driven insights to develop accurate forecasts, close hiring gaps, and adjust talent acquisition plans collaboratively based on costs today and into the future. ✍️ Go to https://planful.com/heretics to see how you can transform your HR strategy.Metaview is the AI assistant for interviewing. Metaview completely removes the need for recruiters and hiring managers to take notes during interviews—because their AI is designed to take world-class interview notes for you. Team builders at companies like Brex, Hellofresh, and Quora say Metaview has changed the game—see the magic for yourself: https://www.metaview.ai/hereticsKEEP UP WITH BRANDON, NOLAN + KELLI ON LINKEDINBrandon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-sammut-8147b76Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/—RELATED LINKS:Zapier: https://zapier.com/—TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Intro(01:30) The Four-Level AI Fluency Rubric(07:00) Pure Automation Examples (Non-AI)(13:10) Sponsors: Planful | Metaview(16:00) Bar Raiser Interview Prep Agent Setup(20:20) Live Agent Trigger Demonstration(21:10) Bar Raiser Interview Results & Discussion(26:15) Performance Review Evidence Collection Setup(34:10) Slack Emoji Workflow Demonstration(35:30) Market-Based Adoption Philosophy(36:00) One-on-One Meeting Coach Overview(43:30) One-on-One Coaching Feedback Example(44:00) Trust, Transparency & Implementation Strategy(48:20) Wrap This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hrheretics.substack.com