Movember's talent team built an AI agent into their recruitment process, and the reason had nothing to do with efficiency. Edan Haddock, Head of Talent and People Experience at Movember and a 2026 HR Influence Awards Top 12 winner, introduced the agent (named Joel) because 90% of applicants were never getting the chance to tell Movember why they applied in the first place.
In this article:
- Movember embedded an AI agent named Joel into its talent function so candidates can share their personal connection to the cause in a 30-minute conversational interview
- 300 people typically apply for a single role at Movember, but only 10 would previously get a human conversation, leaving most unable to share stories that are deeply personal to them
- Edan Haddock argues that creativity, not technical skill, is the capability HR professionals need most as analytical work becomes automated
- Movember's talent team uses AI-powered people analytics to build risk profiles and talent maps, then applies creative storytelling to communicate those insights to leadership
- A values-first hiring approach (over personality or culture-fit) produces more diverse, higher-performing teams
People don't apply to Movember for a pay rise. They apply because they lost a friend to suicide, or they've been through testicular cancer. The cause is deeply personal to them.
When Haddock joined Movember, he noticed the standard recruitment funnel was filtering out those stories before anyone heard them. Around 300 people would apply for a given role. Ten might get a phone call. The rest received a generic rejection without ever sharing why they were there.
"90 percent don't get to share their story that is so important to them with us," Haddock says in our interview.
His team couldn't solve this with headcount. Movember operates across six countries and six time zones. So Haddock built Joel, an AI agent that conducts 30-minute, two-way conversations with applicants. Not a rigid question list. An actual conversation where candidates talk about their connection to men's health and what drew them to the organisation.
The result: instead of a blanket rejection, the team can acknowledge what someone shared. For people pouring out deeply personal stories about loss and health, that acknowledgment matters.
When organisations are thinking about hiring tools, Haddock's approach is a reminder that the goal isn't just speed. It's making sure the people who care most don't fall through the cracks.
Not everyone at Movember was convinced. When Haddock introduced Joel, one of the founders pushed back directly.
"He said, 'Edan, what on earth are you doing? We're humanistic. Why are you bringing in a robot to talk to our candidates?'" Haddock recalls.
The objection made sense. Movember's entire mission is about human connection. Bringing in AI looked like it contradicted that. But when Haddock explained the purpose (giving every applicant a chance to be heard, rather than only the top 10), the founder's response was immediate: "If we can talk to everyone, talk to everyone."
Haddock admits he fumbled the initial communication. He assumed the purpose was obvious. It wasn't. The lesson, he says, was about storytelling. If you're introducing AI into a people function, you need to articulate the human reason behind it before anyone will support it.
Before Movember, before recruitment, before any of it, Haddock was a florist. Self-employed until he was 30. He'd never worked in an office.
That background turns out to be surprisingly relevant. Haddock believes creativity is the capability HR professionals need most right now, and it's the one least likely to be automated.
He gives a specific example. His team recently completed a large people analytics project using AI to process the data. What would have taken weeks was done quickly. But the analysis wasn't the point.
"We've got this wonderful technology that can analyse our people data," he says. "Then Kiyo and I could really focus on how do we bring this to life and how do we creatively tell these stories to the people that matter."
His argument is clear: the analytical work is being automated. The creative interpretation of what the data means, and how to communicate it to leadership, is where HR professionals earn their place.
Movember's talent team has rebuilt how they think about people data. They've simplified the traditional nine-box performance-potential grid into two six-box models, then overlaid them to create a risk score showing which employees need attention and why.
"You start with talent at the centre and then you overlay engagement, tenure, risk signals like absenteeism data," Haddock explains. "Then it leans into how do we design positions that are meaningful to both Movember and to our people."
Within five years, Haddock believes talent data will be self-serve for leaders. The technology will pull information together automatically. What it won't do is tell the story.
"We're human people, we're in the industry of human beings. We like to tell a story. We like human connection. The technology can't tell that authentic humanistic story."
For HR teams looking to move beyond spreadsheets, tools like Compono Engage can surface real-time culture and engagement data. But as Haddock would argue, the tool is only as good as the person interpreting what it reveals. (PS. Compono Engage comes with the insights explained 😉)
For building teams, Haddock takes a values-first approach rather than hiring for personality or culture fit. Movember's values (fun, courageously kind, change agent, better together, accountable, and remarkable) are what his team draws out in conversation with candidates.
He's direct about why: "We are drawn to people that are like us and we pick up on cues of people like us. We form a natural connection with people that are like us."
Moving past that bias and focusing on values, he says, is how you build a team where the contribution is greater than the sum of its parts. "The contribution is so much greater than if you've got a team of five Edans."
This post covers the highlights. The full feature article goes deeper into Haddock's career journey from florist to global talent leader, his philosophy on community as culture, and the advice he'd give his younger self.
Read the full feature article on HR Influence Awards
Watch the full conversation on YouTube
If Haddock's approach to hearing every candidate's story resonates, Compono Hire gives mid-market teams the tools to understand who people really are before they walk through the door.
See how Compono Hire works – no commitment, just a look at what's possible when hiring goes beyond the CV.
Movember uses an AI agent named Joel that conducts 30-minute conversational interviews with applicants. Joel allows candidates to share their personal connection to men's health and Movember's mission, ensuring every applicant is heard rather than just the small percentage who reach a human screening call.
A values-first hiring approach assesses candidates against organisational values rather than personality traits or perceived culture fit. At Movember, this means evaluating alignment with values like "courageously kind" and "better together" during conversations, rather than relying on personality assessments or gut-feel judgments about whether someone will "fit in."
The HR Influence Awards recognise the most influential people and culture leaders across Australia and New Zealand. The 2026 Top 12 winners were selected based on their voice, impact, community contribution, innovation, and influence across the profession. Edan Haddock was selected for his work at Movember, his Total Talent community and podcast, and his practical innovation with AI in the talent function.
Edan Haddock is Head of Talent and People Experience at Movember, Melbourne. He is a 2026 HR Influence Awards Top 12 ANZ winner, founder of the Total Talent community and Total Talent podcast. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
The HR Influence Awards are presented by Compono.