Eightfold Lessons Learned

Deploying Eightfold platform in a large organisation reveals valuable insights.

Drawing from industry research and the experiences of AstraZeneca, Eaton, HSBC, and Vodafone, here are the 10 Eightfold lessons learned and success factors for deployment:

1. Align Technology with Strategy and Culture

Align AI implementation directly to strategic talent objectives. Define how Eightfold supports business goals—such as closing skill gaps, improving diversity, and boosting internal mobility.

AstraZeneca established guiding principles for AI use to ensure alignment with fairness and ethics. This approach builds leadership support and user trust from the outset.

2. Secure Broad Stakeholder Buy-In

Treat the project as a cross-functional initiative, not just HRIT. Engage recruiters, hiring managers, IT, compliance, and employees early through demos, pilots, and feedback sessions.

HSBC’s team fostered collaboration across HR and IT to design effective solutions. Executive steering committees help maintain leadership engagement and timely decisions.

3. Invest in Data Preparation and Integration

Clean and audit job codes, skills taxonomies, and historical candidate data before feeding it into Eightfold. Plan for complex integration with existing systems. One project faced delays migrating 3.4 million candidate records, requiring a carefully planned data transfer strategy.

HSBC ensured their Eightfold specialist worked closely with the vendor to resolve technical issues. Strong data management and integration enable a successful launch.

4. Phased Rollout Mitigates Risk

Avoid a global “big bang” launch. Use pilots and phased rollouts to reduce risk.

Eaton’s 7-month project included a 2.5-month parallel run with their old system to catch issues early. Vodafone began with external recruiting and gradually added internal talent marketplace features. Define phase criteria—by geography, business unit, or functionality—to secure early wins.

5. Robust Change Management is Non-Negotiable

Don’t assume users will adopt the platform automatically. Assign a dedicated change manager or team. Use leadership advocacy, frequent communication, user involvement, training, and success celebrations.

Vodafone showed recruiters how the platform saved time and improved candidate satisfaction. Address fears transparently—clarify that the platform augments, not replaces, jobs. When users see how it simplifies and enhances their work, adoption increases.

6. Focus on User Experience (UX) for Adoption

Ensure a positive experience for recruiters and candidates. If the interface feels clunky or results seem irrelevant, users will revert to old habits. Collect post-launch feedback and refine configurations. Many organisations pair Eightfold with improved career sites.

Vodafone simplified the candidate journey, making the new process easier than the old one. Include UX testing in Eightfold UAT and post-live surveys to guide improvements.

7. Measure Impact and Iterate

Track metrics that align with original goals—time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, quality of hire, diversity, internal fill rates, candidate satisfaction, recruiter productivity. Use Eightfold’s dashboards to compare before and after.

Vodafone doubled learning hours and expanded internal opportunity access. Share wins to reinforce ROI. Use data to identify and address gaps through training, system tuning, or process changes. Treat improvement as an ongoing journey.

8. Account for Change Fatigue and Support Needs

Avoid overwhelming staff with too much change at once. Stagger changes and monitor fatigue. Assign a long-term product owner—typically in TA Ops or HRIT—to manage the platform, resolve issues, and liaise with the vendor.

HSBC’s job listing reflected this need for ongoing support and in-house expertise.

9. Anticipate Challenges and Mitigate Proactively

Common challenges include:

User scepticism of AI decisions: Educate users on how Eightfold works and share success stories.

Data privacy concerns: Collaborate with legal and compliance, as AstraZeneca did, and consider anonymizing profiles to reduce bias.

Localization: Adapt the platform to local requirements—languages, data residency, works councils—and involve local HR reps.

Legacy system decommissioning: Plan how to retire old systems, archive data, and provide read-only access if needed.

10. Leverage Expert Guidance and Peer Insights

Learn from others. Use Gartner and Forrester frameworks.

Engage with peers who have deployed similar tech and hear lessons learned.

At Eightfold’s Cultivate conference, leaders from HSBC and AstraZeneca emphasized trust and alignment with human values. Participate in communities and review case studies to avoid pitfalls and adopt proven tactics.

In conclusion, deploying Eightfold in a large enterprise offers high rewards. Reviewing Eightfold lessons learned will help organisations plan ahead.

By following the structured approach and applying these lessons, senior recruitment leaders can ensure a smooth deployment and unlock Eightfold’s full value. The journey is complex but manageable—and leads to a more agile, intelligence-driven talent function ready for the future.