leveraging ai and ml in recruiting for a digital future

Recruiting HIPOs who align with organizational goals and values, and are a right fit for the role is one of the biggest priorities of modern businesses and also a huge challenge. The cost of recruiting and on-boarding a new hire can go up to $240,000 and this cost can grow exponentially in case of a bad hire, in addition to the cost of rehiring. As the stakes of making the right hiring decisions increase, futuristic organizations are now turning to new-age solutions to fool-proof their recruitment process. The advent of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence(AI) and Machine Learning(ML), and the massive amount of data available with companies are all making it easier for recruiters to make more objective and accurate hiring decisions that can be easily verified.

Here are four ways in which recruiters are leveraging AI and ML to recruit more effectively in the digital age.

1. source and map talent more efficiently

52% of talent acquisition leaders say the hardest part of recruitment is screening candidates from a large pool of applicants. Traditionally, hiring managers would invite applications based on standard job descriptions and sift through piles of resumes, and conduct tedious assessments to find the right candidates. Now, AI and ML are changing the face of recruitment process at all these levels. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) can be used to trace an employer’s past hiring decisions and identify similar patterns in resumes with the help of pattern recognition technology and shortlist the ones that fit best with the role. AI is also impacting how organizations attract talent and resume submissions. Textio, a language assistance provider, is helping global employer brands design more targeted and precise job adverts to attract the most suitable talent.

2. speed up the screening process

In the on-going race for top talent, finding the right candidate depends on a recruiter’s ability to intelligently automate lengthy and time-consuming recruitment tasks. Thankfully, AI has enabled recruiters to get rid of tedious and non-quantifiable manual processes by bringing in virtual assistance. Recruiters are now able to automate these tasks using AI-embedded chatbots. Chatbots such as Helena can help speed up the screening process for organizations by interacting with candidates, collecting relevant information, scheduling the interviews and even conducting an initial level of screening before setting up a full-fledged interview.

3. eliminate bias and assess with objectivity

Even when job roles are expanding to diversify skill sets and work experience within functional teams, traditional recruitment processes based on standardized resumes and interview questions continue to hinder objectivity in the hiring process. It is impossible to avoid human bias when individuals make recruitment decisions. Hence, companies are adopting AI and ML tools to manage the large volumes of resumes and candidates and eliminate the possibility of any bias in the process. Machine-filtered data and predictive tools are helping recruiters to not only source but also screen candidates for more objective decisions. However, companies need to ensure that AI-based assessments are also properly designed and tested to be free of any potential algorithm bias. Canada’s largest bookstore chain – Indigo (reportedly employing over 6,500 workers) experienced a three times growth in the number of qualified talent matches as a result of an efficiently optimized talent pool.

4. enhance candidate experience

New-age employers understand the importance of creating a strong employer brand for attracting the best talent in the industry. They use their recruitment and on-boarding process to create a positive impression on candidates, as they know how crucial it can be for not just hiring but retaining A-list candidates. Global cosmetic brand, L’Oréal incorporated AI in its recruitment process and leveraged technology to create interesting candidate experiences and make a deeper connection with its candidates. AI and ML led hiring helped L’Oréal remove non-value adding tasks and instead focus on more relevant assessments. The brand adopted a chatbot named Mya which interacted with the job applicants and addressed their queries on company culture, policy and benefits and similar questions.

Based on the 2017 Glassdoor report, 66% of millennials will be contemplating leaving their present jobs by 2020. If this were to come true, it will only add to the workload and challenges recruiters face. However, despite the challenges, with the increasing use of big data analytics, AI, ML and internet of things (IoT), the global human resource management market is still expected to grow and reach USD 30.01 billion by 2025. Increased cloud deployment across industries is expected to accelerate the demand for HRM software solutions. So, as organizations adopt new technologies, the role of recruiters also has to evolve. One the one hand, they have to understand and apply the new technologies to improve the talent development process, while on the other hand they have to integrate new hires for a successful, long run with the organization. Both of which have a tremendous impact on any business in the digital age.