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Transforming recruitment through the power of AI

Diogo Pereira

We’re always searching for ways to improve the recruitment process for both our clients and candidates. One of those ways is with Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is changing the world around us, from how we move around to how we connect with one another, from keeping us safe and secure to improving customer service. The question is: can AI help to create a more efficient, joined up experience for candidates? Or will it do more damage than good?

Collecting better data

Artificial intelligence gives you the opportunity to unify recruitment data so that you can base hiring decisions on more detailed and accurate information. You can then use the data collected from various different sources to build a more accurate picture of the workforce of the future, which in turn means you can concentrate your efforts on the right roles. While this all sounds positive, there are a few challenges to overcome. You’ll need to consider the implications of collecting huge amounts of personal data for AI to process and make hiring decisions on. This affects both data privacy and more recent GDPR legislation. It also takes an enormous amount of time and data to be able to train AI and then there’s the issue of ongoing maintenance. AI requires regular reviews and new data to be input to remain accurate and effective.

Providing a better experience

There are a number of AI initiatives currently available which are helping to transform the recruitment process. Start-ups like Textio are using AI to analyse job ads and then augment the writing process so that you can create better job ads. In other areas, you have platforms to connect up communications, deliver personalised messages and measure the ROI. The problem comes with having too much choice as no single solution covers every area. There are lots of different products on the market right now, but there isn’t a joined up approach, which means that data is being used in different ways across different platforms. We also need to recognise that with a variety of different recruitment challenges, many businesses will be looking for an adaptive, tailored approach rather than one-size-fits-all.

Increasing team efficiency

The impact of AI will be felt most clearly within the recruitment teams. AI is able to automate administrative tasks like CV processing and scheduling interviews, and reduce the burden on recruitment teams. This frees up teams to focus on areas where social skills, empathy and negotiation techniques are needed.

Of course, AI isn’t above discrimination. Because AI learns from the data that we input into the system, it’s possible that the data it uses to make decisions is already biased. For example, if the data about a workforce showed 90% were male and you asked the AI to find candidates similar to your current workforce, you could end up discriminating against women. Likewise, you can’t assume that all candidates will be able to show their best skills and strengths digitally. You’ll need to look for ways to adapt the use of AI to encourage inclusivity and diversity in your candidate pools.

There are a number of challenges and areas to consider when thinking about using AI to create a better candidate experience. It’s clear that it can make the recruitment process simpler and more efficient for recruitment teams, but it’s important to understand the pitfalls that come with this. Overall, it’s a technology which is constantly evolving and we’ll continue to explore how we can use AI to develop and enhance the recruitment process in the future.

Read our related blog: What employees want from an automated workplace

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