May 16, 2024
Head of Flexhuis, Justin Somerville-Cotton, provides his valuable insights and reflections on Artificial Intelligence, its influence on the recruitment landscape, and the potential risks to be mindful of.
There’s no doubt, that 2023 was all about AI. While not new, the launch of ChatGPT and other widely available tools created something of a race in how businesses could quickly take advantage, changing the way they work, streamlining processes, and helping us all to work smarter. Recruitment is no exception, with a rapid rise in adoption, those involved in talent acquisition are starting to see the potential of AI to improve their recruitment processes. In discussion, I noted, “Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping recruitment strategies. From smart screening to predictive analytics and if harnessed correctly, it will be a game changer for many organisations”.
However, while AI looks to revolutionize the way we recruit talent, it comes with a plethora of challenges and risks. In this article, I’ll cover how AI is currently being utilized, the challenges that are emerging, what we need to be cautious about, and how we strike a balance between AI and human interaction.
AI’s Role in Recruitment Processes
AI is at the top of many companies’ agendas, but the term comes with its own ambiguity, often getting mixed up with process automation. When it comes to recruiting, businesses are looking for more than just automation, as they look to leverage AI tools to save time, improve the quality and speed of candidate selection, and make data-driven decisions.
Creating an efficient recruitment process is of utmost importance for any hiring business, after all, time is money. Yet, the bugbear that occurs during most recruitment processes is the administration tasks that come with it from scheduling interviews to screening resumes. Although imperative to the job, these lengthy tasks can often lead to a loss in productivity. AI tools are beginning to be used to reduce the amount of time teams spend on administrative tasks, helping to source greater quality candidates, and freeing up time for teams to focus on delivering results for the business.
With a range of AI-powered tools being able to support in narrowing processes, facilitating basic functional activities, offering guidance around inquiries, and supporting some areas of matching, AI is already making positive changes to the way we recruit in the relatively short time it’s been widely accessible. Nevertheless, with it being in its infancy it lacks the level of ‘intelligence’ needed to completely overhaul the recruitment process and for now, is simply a tool to aid in increasing and streamlining productivity.
Potential Risks of AI Adoption
With any introduction of new technology comes potential risks and oversight. AI is no different, with its unparalleled potential it presents multiple challenges, some of which may not have revealed themselves yet.
AI currently relies on complex and hard-to-understand algorithms, which can have the possibility to lead to a lack of transparency. A lack of transparency can often lead to poor decision-making, and in the recruitment world, that can mean candidates not receiving the attention they deserve in the process. If AI is to become ingrained in the recruitment process, the way it comes to conclusions must be transparent to ensure accountability and allow candidates the opportunity to address any inaccuracies or potential bias.
Recruitment is intrinsically linked with human behavior and connections. While AI can make light work of administrative tasks, its current capabilities struggle to comprehend nuanced human traits although behavioral and predictive analytics have come a long way. Therefore, I believe it will be some time before we can rely solely on AI to evaluate a candidate’s overall suitability or we risk missing valuable information such as a candidate’s cultural fit, future potential, and particular capabilities, which may lead to top talent being overlooked.
Introducing tools that perhaps on the surface are making our lives easier, need to be scrutinized for their own inefficiencies and we should be careful not to follow a path of least resistance when it comes to identifying talent for our businesses.
Does AI eliminate biases?
There has always been an issue of unconscious bias during the selection process, which can sometimes lead to decisions that may not align with the strategic or cultural goals of your business. With the potential of making a poor hiring decision, it’s no wonder we are seeing AI used in an effort to counteract biases by helping us to focus on factors like experience and qualifications.
However, by focusing on these areas, AI can form further biases, the very thing businesses are trying to eliminate. Because AI learns from historical data which may contain biases, and by overlooking factors like gender and ethnicity, AI can amplify existing biases, leading to the exclusion of qualified candidates from underrepresented groups.
AI is a tool to be used to assist in the recruitment process, but currently, I don’t see it having the ability to eliminate all bias. Indeed a lot of the tools we come across are quite one-dimensional. Although some of these might begin to learn what good looks like, they are only really replicating a successful candidate and not really championing diversity. This all needs human direction.
Striking a balance
While AI holds immense promise in reshaping recruitment strategies, a cautious approach is paramount. At Flexhuis we recognize both the risks and the benefits of technology, delicately balancing between leveraging AI for efficiency and preserving the irreplaceable elements of human judgment and connection in the recruitment process.
We focus on improving the process, speeding the access to talent, focussing on individuals who want to engage with our client’s brands, and offering a comprehensive assessment of skills for the job at hand. Technology is there to support all these aspects but people will remain the ultimate decision maker in my view for many years to come.
You can find more insights like these in the 25th-anniversary edition of the Nash Squared, Digital Leadership Report. Download your report here.