Customer Stories
TalkDesk

Talkdesk closes in on 90% automation goal with GoodTime

40%

faster turnaround
time in 1 year

300%

increase in
scheduling volume

5 hour

reduction in
time-to-schedule

Industry

Software / Customer experience automation

Location

Palo Alto, California

Company Size

1,000–2,000+

ATS

How it started: Scaling AI-powered operations

At Talkdesk, progress is all about hiring smart today while setting the stage for an AI-powered tomorrow.

Talkdesk orchestrates the Customer Experience Automation (CXA) that enterprises need to move toward hybrid human- and AI-powered operations. Navigating the changing balance between people and technology has reshaped how companies hire, scale, and compete for talent.

“We’re transitioning to an AI-first workforce,” said Shauna Geraghty, SVP of People at Talkdesk. “That means thinking about what we can automate from the very beginning so our teams can focus on more valuable work.”

With offices across North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, Talkdesk set two goals for global hiring:

automate at least 40% of all manual hiring tasks
automate 90% of interview scheduling

Nailing these goals would expand recruiter capacity, give candidates a better experience, and accelerate hiring, all without lowering the bar.

Manual friction was a barrier to scale

Global coordination used to be a thorn in the side of the talent acquisition team. Arranging interviews and forming interview panels meant connecting with people across multiple time zones and roles. The entire process was a manual grind from top to bottom, even with a dedicated team.

“It would take days to schedule complex interviews across geographies,” Shauna explained. “There was a lot of back and forth just to align availability.”

Recruiters got sucked into logistics, while coordinators drowned in a backlog of scheduling tickets. Hiring managers also spent more time troubleshooting instead of interviewing. In the end, the lag trickled down to the candidates.

“Candidates dealt with multiple emails and delays that could stretch out for days,” added Donna Barker, Director of Global Talent Acquisition and Talent Operations at Talkdesk. “Internally, we were juggling systems, tickets, and manual inputs just to get interviews on the calendar.”

The process was functional, but it was a barrier to scale and a painful mismatch for an AI-first company.

Orchestrating an AI-first hiring engine

Talkdesk needed a system that could wrangle global complexity, support their AI-first game plan, and minimize manual effort. “We were focused on a solution that was built for complexity, orchestration versus automation, and candidate experience at the forefront,” Donna explained. “We also thought about who will innovate the fastest and who we can have a long-term partnership with.”

Talkdesk tried several platforms, but they only solved a single component of the scheduling effort. GoodTime was the only solution on the market that allowed Talkdesk to automate scheduling from start to finish. The end-to-end capabilities meant Talkdesk could not only revamp their scheduling workflow, but rebuild their talent acquisition strategy around intelligent orchestration and automation. GoodTime also checked the boxes for security, reliability, and scalability, making it an easy choice.

The Talkdesk team deployed GoodTime’s AI agent to:

Autonomously match candidates with interviewer availability across regions
Execute complex interview scheduling and rescheduling without manual intervention
Balance interviewer workloads while eliminating bottlenecks
Manage communications between candidates, recruiters, and hiring teams

Recruiters no longer need to leave their ATS to set up interviews. Essential information flows straight into GoodTime, and Cori, their GoodTime AI agent, coordinates the schedule as soon as a candidate picks a slot.

“What used to take days now happens as soon as the candidate picks a slot,” Shauna said.

Rescheduling was another major source of friction. With GoodTime, each candidate can adjust their schedules on their own without sending multiple emails, calendar updates, or Slack messages.

“It’s not just faster,” Donna shared. “It removes the cognitive burden entirely.”

From reactive coordination to strategic partners

Talkdesk talent acquisition teams used to spend a lot of time reacting—troubleshooting delays, answering scheduling questions, and solving problems. By automating the administrative heavy lifting, Talkdesk unleashed their team to focus on work with real-world outcomes.

“Now, we can spend time where it really matters: calibrating on what we’re looking for, thinking strategically about how someone will add value, and partnering with the business,” Shauna said.

GoodTime also offers a comprehensive analytics layer that gives teams real-time visibility into interviewer capacity, scheduling performance, recruiter output, and more. With that, Talkdesk teams can make decisions based on data instead of gut instinct.

“We lead with data. We can identify roadblocks early and bring solutions before they become problems,” Donna said. “We’re not just moving faster—we’re making smarter decisions at every step.”

The impact isn’t limited to one team, either. Hiring managers aren’t bogged down by scheduling conflicts or “availability tag” anymore. They show up to interviews prepared and focused on the candidate, not the calendar.

Moving fast (without breaking things)

Hiring is a huge part of brand identity for an AI-first company like Talkdesk. Where their old experience was clunky and out of sync with their values, GoodTime puts their AI-first identity front and center. Candidates are a part of a modern process as soon as they apply, and it sets the tone for the entire journey.

“That first experience showcases what it’s like to work here,” Shauna said. “They can see the automation live, and it elevates the entire experience.”

Since implementing GoodTime, Talkdesk has achieved:

A 17-hour average scheduling turnaround—47% faster than previous benchmarks
5 hours reduction in time-to-schedule
A 300% increase in scheduling volume

Even though hiring volume has skyrocketed, Donna confirms the surge came with “zero drop in the candidate experience.” Candidates can track progress instead of waiting days for confirmation. They can schedule interviews at times that are convenient for them and adjust as necessary. These adjustments usher candidates smoothly through the hiring process, without any frustration.

“Speed at scale is critical, but not at the expense of what actually matters,” Donna emphasized. “With GoodTime, we can do both.”

A global partnership built to innovate

Talkdesk wanted to find a partner that could support their scale and solve long-standing scheduling problems. In GoodTime, they found everything they needed, and gained space to innovate in a way that fits their style.

“If we didn’t have GoodTime, we’d be set back,” Shauna said. “Not just in efficiency, but in our ability to make a strategic impact.”

With GoodTime handling the complexity, Talkdesk talent acquisition teams have more bandwidth, better visibility, and more influence across the business. In achieving their automation goals, they are filling roles faster so the right people can drive the business forward.

“There’s a big difference between seeing a demo and seeing it actually work at scale,” Donna said. “GoodTime delivered.”

Where we landed

40%

faster turnaround
time in 1 year

300%

increase in
scheduling volume

5 hour

reduction in
time-to-schedule

AI for more human hiring.

Join hundreds of world-leading companies that have automated 90% of interview management tasks with human-centric AI.