Films like iRobot and The Terminator didn’t do artificial intelligence any favours in building the public’s trust, and there may still be a few arguments surrounding artificial intelligence and the possible erasure of the humanity in recruitment. However, one thing that everybody seems to unanimously agree on is artificial intelligence’s ability to increase efficiency and productivity whilst reducing operational costs in the workplace, so let’s focus on that instead. Artificial intelligence (AI), being a fairly novel adaption in recruitment spheres, can make it difficult to know where to begin with how to get the best out of it. Although AI has many uses and capabilities, being able to apply the correct ones effectively within your recruitment agency is where the challenge comes in. So what can AI really do?
1. Speed up the screening process
The recruitment business being as busy and saturated as it is, sees an almost unfathomable amount of data on any given day. Therefore, the more data that your business encounters about candidates or clients, the more useful AI ability to analyse big data and quickly identify options becomes. 60 percent of job seekers report that they have quit an application due to its length or complexity. AI allows recruiters to cut down the steps from posting a job to filling a position, whilst also making each step easier to digest by manipulating things like language. In leaving these things up to AI you rid yourself of the more arduous manual tasks on a traditional recruiter’s plate. Plus, shorter application processes make everyone happy.
2. Locate the best candidate
In addition to speeding up candidate placement by using software to automate responses or generate key documents, your CRM, when embedded with AI, helps to tackle the analysis of data and to make smart deductions. With AI, recruiters can conduct automated background checks and identity checks, helping to place candidates more efficiently and more accurately, whilst also making character judgments to ensure that candidates fit not only the role but the culture. 63% of recruiters identified their biggest problem as not being able to find enough suitable candidates to fill open positions and as Forbes argues, AI is behind recruiters and hiring managers being able to target more qualified candidates than ever before.
3. Recruit passive candidates
The recruitment process as a whole consists of lots of communications, like job ads and CVs, being thrown into the technological abyss of the internet and hoping to find a human match, but AI helps to direct recruiters to not only suitable candidates, but responsive ones. Instead of throwing out generic job ads that won’t grab attention from many seekers let alone passive candidates, AI will allow recruiters to post improved targeted job ads that are likely to be seen by the right person at the right time based on their search history. Following on from this, AI is able to also reach out to prospective candidates in a personalised way to kick off the interview process ensuring that your recruiters can then take the reins in providing the candidate with a positive experience of your company.
Whilst many recruiters are still afraid of the idea of AI, according the most recent PwC CEO Survey, 85% of CEOs agree that AI will significantly change the way that they do business in the next five years. In fact, nearly two-thirds of global CEOs see AI as bigger than the internet. Technology uses automation to take the more administrative tasks off the table, allowing recruiters to push their focus towards building greater relationships and experiences for their customers. Thus, increasing the value of human work. AI ultimately works to enhance these processes by providing recruiters with a more complete understanding of not only their candidates, but their clients and employees as well, and that’s something we could all use in recruitment.