How Steer scaled recruiting capacity with BrightHire Screen

The Challenge: Scaling early-stage interviews with a team of one

Steer’s hiring needs were growing, but the recruiting team was lean. With Arianna as the sole recruiter, bandwidth became the limiting factor. Steer needed a way to scale early-stage screening without adding headcount, while still protecting the candidate experience.

Steer was already using BrightHire to bring structure and consistency to live interviews across the hiring process, but the biggest bottleneck showed up at the very top of the funnel.

Many candidates looked strong on paper, but Steer still needed live conversations to evaluate communication and soft skills before moving candidates forward. That meant a high volume of first-round interviews, all managed by one recruiter.

“Our hiring volume was scaling faster than a single recruiter could manage through traditional screens alone.”
— Arianna Davis, Lead Recruiter, Steer

The Solution: Expand recruiting bandwidth with BrightHire Screen

With structured interviewing already in place later in the hiring process, Steer looked for a way to bring that same consistency to the first conversation.

They rolled out BrightHire Screen for Customer Success and Onboarding roles, where communication is central to success and early-stage interview volume is consistently high.

Without requiring Arianna to be live in every conversation, Screen allowed Steer to run more first-round interviews, while still capturing the signals the team needed to decide who should move forward.

The result was a practical shift in how Steer handled early interviews. Instead of being limited by recruiter capacity, the team could move faster at the top of the funnel and keep the process consistent across candidates.

“We wanted to find a tool that could help us scale first-round interviews while also giving candidates with non-traditional backgrounds a fair chance to show their transferable and soft skills.”
— Arianna Davis, Lead Recruiter, Steer

What made Screen the right fit: A more natural experience, plus flexibility for candidates

Steer evaluated multiple AI interview tools before choosing BrightHire Screen, and the deciding factor came down to candidate experience.

For roles where communication is central to success, the conversation needed to feel natural. BrightHire’s AI interviewer flowed more smoothly than other tools Steer tested, which made it easier for candidates to stay engaged.

Steer also brought a trusted hiring manager into the evaluation process, and she independently confirmed that BrightHire felt more natural than the alternatives.

In addition, Screen gave candidates more flexibility. Instead of waiting for recruiter availability during business hours, candidates could complete interviews on their own time, including nights, weekends, and across time zones.

“We had one of our top hiring managers test it as well, and she confirmed BrightHire felt more natural than the other tools we evaluated.”
— Arianna Davis, Lead Recruiter, Steer

The Implementation: Thoughtful, clear, and human

Steer approached the rollout of Screen thoughtfully, with candidate experience guiding every decision.

1) Setting expectations upfront

When candidates were invited to complete a Screen interview, they didn’t just receive an automated message. Arianna created an additional email trigger through the ATS, written in her own voice, to explain what to expect and why the team was using an AI interviewer.

The goal was simple: acknowledge that the experience might feel new and give candidates context before they started the interview.

2) Customizing the interview experience

Steer also customized the interview experience inside Screen. Arianna updated the introduction and closing language to reflect Steer’s tone, so the experience felt more personal and less like a generic automation.

Default questions were also reviewed and adjusted where needed, mostly to make the wording feel more natural and aligned with how she would run a live recruiter screen.

3) Keeping a human option available

Steer also accommodated candidates who requested an alternative. If a candidate raised a concern or requested an accommodation, Arianna offered to run a traditional recruiter screen instead.

That flexibility ensured candidates never felt forced into an experience they weren’t comfortable with, while still allowing Steer to save meaningful time across high-volume roles.

“I try to take care of my candidates. I take a lot of pride in that… so I set up an email written in my own voice, touching on how it can feel uncomfortable, but why we’re doing it.”
— Arianna Davis, Lead Recruiter, Steer

The Impact: Faster screening and higher pass-through

BrightHire Screen delivered immediate, measurable results in just two months:

• 110 interviews completed across customer success and onboarding roles
• 80% pass-through rate at the hiring manager stage (45% higher than interviews not conducted on Screen)
• 35+ hours saved
• 4.3/5 candidate experience rating with Screen interviews
  • “Great experience overall! I appreciated the clear instructions and the smooth interface. I can see why this is a fair and efficient way to run a first interview.”
  • “This was new for me. It was a little unfamiliar at first, but quickly became conversational and casual.”
  • “I wasn’t sure what to expect in an AI-driven interview, but all in all it was good. We covered a lot of ground and I felt it was definitely worthwhile. I appreciated that it was on my own time.”
  • “This was my first AI interview, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but it was just like a phone call.”
• 7 hires made using BrightHire Screen