BambooHR Connect 2025: Practical AI For HR, Global Hiring, And Real-World Wins
BambooHR used its Connect 2025 event to present a wide slate of updates aimed at faster decisions, simpler workflows, and global scale. The theme was simple: give HR leaders speed, clarity, and adaptability without adding complexity.
More than 30 updates landed across AI, global employment, compliance, compensation, talent, benefits, and analytics. Here's what matters and how to put it to work.
What's New In BambooHR
- AI-driven answers and insights: "Ask BambooHR" delivers instant HR answers, trend insights, content search, and AI-generated feedback summaries so managers spend less time sifting and more time acting.
- Global hiring with EOR: Hire, manage, and pay international employees directly in BambooHR through an Employer of Record powered by Remote.
- Compliance tools: Tap compliance intelligence via VirgilHR plus HR consulting services to tune policies and reduce risk.
- Compensation data: Expanded market data adds salary insights for six new countries to support fair, data-backed offers.
- Smarter talent tools: Candidate self-scheduling, LinkedIn paid job ads, and cascading goals tie hiring and performance to measurable outcomes.
- Benefits administration: BambooHR BenAdmin adds many new carrier connections to simplify enrollment and changes.
- Benchmarks and dashboards: Compare against peers, visualize trends, and make decisions with context instead of guesses.
Why This Matters For HR
These updates cut admin drag and surface insights where decisions happen: in recruiting, pay, performance, and benefits. AI reduces time-to-answer, while EOR support means you can hire where the talent lives without adding headcount to payroll teams.
The upside is clear: fewer manual steps, faster manager enablement, better compliance posture, and cleaner reporting. The work now is adoption-policies, training, and change management.
Quick-Start Checklist For Your Team
- Data readiness: Clean org structures, job families, locations, and manager maps so AI and dashboards return accurate results.
- Pilot "Ask BambooHR": Start with 1-2 use cases (policy FAQs, performance feedback summaries). Measure time saved and answer quality.
- AI policy: Document acceptable use, oversight, and data handling. Train managers on when to trust, check, or escalate.
- Global hiring guardrails: Define where you can hire via EOR, approval flows, and total cost modeling (salary, taxes, benefits).
- Compensation practice: Align market data to job architecture. Set rules for ranges, offers, and equity across countries.
- Talent workflow: Turn on self-scheduling, standardize interview loops, and link cascading goals to business metrics.
- Benefits mapping: Confirm carrier connections and test life-event changes before open enrollment.
- Executive reporting: Build a weekly dashboard with 5 metrics: hiring velocity, quality of hire, attrition, comp position vs. market, and engagement signals.
Celebrating HR's Unsung Heroes: 2025 HR Experience Maker Award Winners
Connect 2025 closed by honoring six peer-nominated HR professionals who deliver results with care and creativity. Each winner received a $2,000 vacation stipend, reflecting BambooHR's Paid Paid vacation benefit.
Problem Solving
Kim Annetts, HR & Quality Manager at Mills CNC - Led a work-hours redesign that improved engagement, productivity, and balance across teams. Kim is the organizational go-to for practical solutions that stick.
Tara Kosky, HR & Quality Assistant at Mills CNC - Recognized for consistent, people-first execution that turns complex issues into clear, workable steps.
Heart & Soul
Krystal Eason, Director of People Operations at Saxbys - Built trust and communication during growth, preparing the company to scale with intention and care.
Jessica Rengers, People Operations Generalist at Saxbys - Known for steady leadership across the employee lifecycle and a calm, service-minded approach.
Employee Experience
Afiqah Mustafa, Manager, People Analytics and Rewards at QS Quacquarelli Symonds - Streamlined processes, automated workflows, and built solutions that make work smoother for global teams.
Alisha Bartl, Chief People Officer at QS Quacquarelli Symonds - Drives adoption of new systems and practices that lift day-to-day experience for every employee.
Business Growth
Travis McCracken, Human Resources Manager at Global Laser Enrichment - Scaled from 15 to 100+ employees in three years with security-cleared roles, pairing speed with strict compliance.
Elizabeth Anderson, Executive Assistant at Global Laser Enrichment - Helped build processes that supported fast, compliant hiring and a durable HR foundation.
Strategic Leadership
Caroline Marcus, Manager, HR at Anaqua - Trusted partner across payroll, benefits, promotions, and reviews, bringing clarity and fairness to critical decisions.
Lindsay Fegan, Senior Director, HR at Anaqua - Recognized for guiding the business with strong compliance and people-first thinking.
Career Advocate
Destiny Schindler, Human Resources & Facilities Manager at Elemental Enzymes - Secured grants for certifications and training that open real career paths for employees.
Katie Thompson, COO at Elemental Enzymes - Highlights Destiny's proactive approach and impact on a culture of learning.
Bottom Line For HR Leaders
AI in HR should remove friction, not add oversight. Start small, ship fast, and measure time saved, decision speed, and experience scores. The teams that invest in skills and governance will get the most from tools like BambooHR this year.
If you're building AI skills across HR roles, explore curated training by job function here: AI courses by job.
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