Many of us garnered some understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) long before it became part of our reality both at work and at home. Sci-fi movies have fostered a guarded excitement about AI for many years, but as science fiction has become more science fact over the years, there has been a measured concern about the impact of AI on our daily lives, especially in the recruiting space. Can AI can give authentic, realistic responses and engage with candidates as effectively as recruiters and other HR professionals?
When used properly, most people cannot tell the difference between a response from a recruiter versus a chatbot. This doesn’t mean, however, that a the chatbot will replace you; it does mean that AI can make your job and the jobs of everyone in the HR industry easier by making basic processes more efficient.
AI is may function differently than a human mind, but it is designed to interact on a human level. There are limits to the current analytical proficiency of an AI-powered system, but it is still far more powerful – and can convey its findings more quickly – than the best recruiters on your team. The ability of AI to process and interpret large amounts of data is unparalleled. By letting AI take over some of the more transactional interactions, it allows recruiters to improve overall performance and focus on the more meaningful aspects of recruiting and managing talent.
Artificial screening can work in tandem with the efforts of recruiters and talent acquisition specialists to realize profoundly expedited, accurate results that reveal candidates who match precise criteria. AI has the potential to drastically change the landscape of HR, resulting in better analysis of candidates on skill, personality, and company culture fit. The bottom line is that AI enables a more innovative approach to recruitment that, when properly integrated into your current process, will strengthen your recruiting efforts.
Resistance Is Futile
With the huge volume of front-end effort required to obtain the right talent and funnel that talent through the application process, technology can be a critical tool for assisting recruiters. And while algorithms have been programmed to understand the human element, they are not without their flaws, making the partnership between people and technology essential.
The integration of technology is a huge venture that often requires additional investments down the road to stay up-to-date, and it often meets with extreme resistance, as it can often cause a total disruption. But when it comes to successful recruitment, technology is the path to progress. We’re beyond the days of faxing résumés with cover letters, and it’s hard to believe it was ever the way we had to find talent. Now, the whole world of talent can be at your fingertips with the right tools, including an ATS system that does the heavy lifting.
Once having made the decision to embrace technology and AI in the recruitment process, the challenge is in choosing the right ATS system for your needs, and implementing it in such a way that your recruiters feel empowered by your ATS system, not restricted by it.
Resistance to technology is not only futile but damages your ability to compete for the best talent. If too much of a recruiter’s time is spent on processes that could easily be automated, it’s easy to start seeing the ROI of the technology investment. But when you add in the additional benefits of having recruiters who can spend more time ensuring that candidates are the right cultural fit and engaging with candidates in a way that makes them more loyal, then ROI can be realized in additional ways, such as reducing turnover costs and improving innovation and productivity.
Shifting into a higher gear with recruitment efforts can be intimidating in the short-term as everyone adjusts to a new system, but with every step forward, your organization will be more robust, more advanced, and better equipped to face the challenges ahead.
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