Phenom has unveiled the winners of its 2025 Talent Experience Awards, recognizing organizations, teams, and individuals at the forefront of HR innovation. These winners leverage AI, automation, and intelligent hiring solutions to attract, develop, and retain employees while maintaining a human-centric approach.
The awards were presented at IAMPHENOM 2025, the premier HR conference held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia from March 11–13. Honorees spanned industries including healthcare, retail, technology, financial services, manufacturing, and education, demonstrating the universal impact of AI-driven talent solutions.
2025 Phenom Talent Experience Award Winners
Outstanding Organizational Achievements
Top Talent Experience: Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
- Modernized career site with personalized job recommendations
- 36,000+ employees actively using the platform, fostering internal mobility
- Centralized 29,000 learning resources and facilitated 1,000+ mentorships
Talent Acquisition Team of the Year: Baylor Scott & White Health
- 15% increase in job applications with a revamped career site
- AI-driven hiring reduced interview volume by 52%
- Offer times cut by more than half and saved 1,040 recruiter hours
Talent Management Team of the Year: Truist
- Launched the Career Discovery Hub to promote internal mobility
- Engaged 70% of employees, activating 19,000 unique skills
- Achieved 35% of hires from within
Employer Brand of the Year: HelloFresh
- 174% increase in career site traffic with two global branding campaigns
- 40% rise in external applications
- Internal mobility success stories led to 33% of applicants coming from within
Best Use of AI & Automation: Thermo Fisher Scientific
- AI-driven automated interview scheduling saved 9,000+ hours
- AI-restructured screening cut hiring time from 16 days to 7 minutes
- 23% increase in monthly hires using automation-powered candidate engagement
Best Early Talent Recruiting: Kohl’s, Inc.
- 2,000+ interviews conducted across multiple hiring events
- Interview invitations sent within 24 hours of event registration
- Reduced support inquiries by 40% while maintaining personalized communication
Top Emerging HR Innovator: Dallas College
- Career site engagement doubled industry benchmarks
- 50% reduction in hiring time for staff and administrators
- 32% more leads generated compared to industry averages
Individual Achievements in HR Leadership
Talent Acquisition Leader of the Year: Matthias Leitz, Mastercard
- Scaled Mastercard’s talent community from 50K to 1.6M profiles
- AI-powered automation cut scheduling time by 87%
- 35% of all external hires now come from Mastercard’s talent pipeline
Talent Management Leader of the Year: Tim Lippincott, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield
- Built AI-driven talent profiles with 80,000+ skills
- 34% of employees engaged in new internal mobility programs
- Launched a company-wide mentorship platform for career growth
Talent Marketer of the Year: Grant Smith, TD SYNNEX
- 68% increase in career site traffic with an optimized web experience
- 60% email open rates (3x industry average) with data-driven campaigns
- Career site redesign cut bounce rates and exit rates significantly
Top HR Partnerships & Innovations
Best Technology Partner: SAP SuccessFactors
- Helped 700% more enterprises adopt AI-powered hiring solutions
- Achieved zero customer churn in 2024
Best Advisory Partner: Deloitte Consulting LLP
- Led 15+ strategic initiatives with Phenom to improve workforce agility
- Established a new global standard for AI-driven talent acquisition
Best Innovation Partner: AWS
- Helped Phenom meet 1,100+ compliance requirements
- Scaled AI-powered talent experience solutions for global enterprises
Phenom’s Vision for the Future of Talent Experience
As AI and automation redefine HR, Phenom continues to drive transformation in talent acquisition and workforce development. Joe Morrone, Vice President of Labor Relations & Business Development at MagnaCare, highlights the evolving role of AI in HR:
“The role of HR has always been about people, but in 2025, that means embracing AI and automation to create opportunities. The organizations recognized today are leading this transformation by shaping the future of work while preserving the human element in hiring and retention.”
The 2025 Talent Experience Awards celebrate the leaders, teams, and organizations that are setting new standards in HR innovation—demonstrating how AI, automation, and human-driven strategies can work together to attract, engage, and retain top talent.
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