Zapier automates reference checks and leverages AI insights to boost hiring quality with HiPeople
Founded in 2011, Zapier is the world’s most connected AI orchestration platform. By connecting over 8,000 of the most popular work apps, Zapier empowers its users to make the most of the tools they already use—and to focus on what matters most. With 750+ teammates across 40+ countries, the company operates as a fully remote distributed organization built on automation, collaboration, and trust.
Challenge
As Zapier continued to grow with a fully remote culture and a globally distributed team, Eboné Charles, Zapier’s Talent Strategy & Operations Specialist, sought a structured, scalable, and compliant method to capture high-quality reference insights and to compare candidates fairly. She also needed a solution that integrated seamlessly with Ashby, Zapier’s ATS, to eliminate data silos and preserve a smooth candidate and recruiter experience. In short, the talent team required a platform that maintained depth and fairness, without sacrificing human quality.
Solution
Under Eboné’s leadership, Zapier selected HiPeople’s AI Reference Checks module to bring structure, consistency, and intelligence to the reference-checking process. HiPeople integrated directly with Ashby and once triggered, references completed a concise, standardized questionnaire, while HiPeople’s AI extracted key insights into competencies, cultural fit, and potential risks.
Recruiters and hiring managers accessed visual dashboards showing reference-check scores and patterns, empowering quicker and more informed decisions.
Built with fairness at its core, HiPeople’s AI includes continuous bias monitoring and auditability, ensuring unbiased evaluations across all candidates. The structured data improved comparability, reinforced compliance, and drastically reduced manual effort.
The operations team was able to scale the process globally while preserving quality, consistency, and a seamless candidate experience aligned with Zapier’s brand.
Impact
With HiPeople’s AI Reference Checks, Zapier has streamlined its candidate evaluation process by sending reference requests to nearly 1,500 candidates, ensuring that prospective hires meet Zapier’s high standards before joining the team. With an impressive 99% candidate completion rate and 93% of referees submitting feedback, the talent team has received comprehensive reference reports quickly and consistently.
As a result, Zapier has saved more than 1,000 hours of manual effort, time that can be redirected toward strategic hiring initiatives and deeper candidate engagement. Thanks to Eboné’s leadership and HiPeople’s compliant AI technology, Zapier now runs reference checks at scale: efficiently, consistently, and without bias.