Workday Rising EMEA brought more than 5,000 finance, HR and IT leaders to Barcelona to explore how AI is reshaping how organizations work and hire. The main stage announcements set a clear direction for the market, but some of the most meaningful insights came from conversations across the show floor and at the Radancy booth.
Across three days, one theme surfaced consistently. Talent teams are moving past AI experimentation and toward practical application. They are looking for solutions that remove friction, improve speed and integrate cleanly into their existing Workday environment.
That shift closely reflects the broader direction of talent acquisition today. Organizations want technology that simplifies hiring, reduces costs and finds quality talent faster.
From AI Exploration to Operational Impact
While Workday’s product announcements generated significant interest, conversations across the event quickly turned to day-to-day hiring realities. Leaders spoke openly about the pressure to do more with fewer resources, manage high-volume roles and keep candidates engaged without adding complexity to their tech stack.
Many teams have already tested AI in isolated ways. The focus has now shifted to where automation can drive meaningful change across the hiring journey. Reducing manual effort, improving early-stage hiring and strengthening coordination between teams emerged as common priorities throughout the event.
Those priorities were echoed in conversations at the Radancy booth. Customers and prospects expressed growing interest in connected, platform-based approaches to hiring rather than adding point solutions. Discussions consistently centered on how different parts of the hiring process fit together and how automation can support that end-to-end journey in a practical way.
Radancy’s Screening & Scheduling came up frequently as an example of how automation can simplify historically manual stages of hiring. The interest was less about individual features and more about the outcomes teams are seeking: fewer handoffs, less recruiter friction and a more consistent experience for candidates.
Customer Spotlight: Sanofi
On stage, Sanofi shared its transformation journey, with Andrew Phillips, Employer Brand Manager – Careers Website & Digital Channels, outlining how the organization is rethinking talent acquisition through a more connected, data-driven approach. Working with Radancy, Sanofi focused on strengthening how they attract and engage talent while fully protecting their Workday investment. By reimagining their career site experience and improving visibility across recruitment marketing and candidate data, they were able to support employer brand goals, enhance candidate experience and better measure impact.
The story resonated with attendees because it reflected challenges many organizations are facing today: standing out in a competitive market, proving value through data and building a talent journey designed for long-term success rather than short-term fixes.
A Moment of Alignment Heading Into 2026
Beyond sessions and announcements, Workday Rising EMEA highlighted a shared understanding of where talent acquisition is headed. Conversations with customers, partners and peers reflected growing pressure on teams to move faster, operate more efficiently and deliver stronger candidate experiences with limited resources.
As one of the final major industry events of the year, the conference felt like a point of alignment around fewer tools and stronger integration that support both efficiency and experience across the hiring life cycle.
The Radancy Talent Acquisition Cloud is designed to support that next phase by unifying data, workflows and experiences in one platform, helping organizations simplify hiring and prepare for what comes next.
If you’re exploring how to reduce manual work and operationalize AI, book a demo to see how Radancy brings data, automation and candidate experience together on a single platform powered by Agentic AI.
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