AI to Inject Rigor, Value and Agility into the Talent Game

Artificial intelligence and generative AI will bring transformational resources to recruiting. Drew Seaman, managing director at Hunt Scanlon Ventures, examines how AI will influence the talent game as investment in the space heats up.

July 12, 2024 – More than 75 percent of CEOs predict that AI will change their businesses in the next 36 months. That means the very structure of organizations and their future talent demands are in for one massive jolt.

It also begs the larger question: What changes are in store for recruiters and talent acquisition leaders as AI becomes fully embedded in talent searches?

Drew Seaman, a managing director with Hunt Scanlon Ventures, took that puzzling query to Katrina Cheverton, chief executive of Savannah Group, an executive search and leadership consulting firm based in London.

AI Changing the Talent Equation

Ms. Cheverton and her partners have been early adopters of AI. Several years ago, they got to work on building an AI-supported talent sourcing and analytics platform dubbed MapX.

Given the high level of data that talent experts need to source through, finding a way to improve process efficiency allows for more high value work to be accomplished. “We saw that executive talent acquisition outcomes could be improved through applying data-backed understanding of candidate pools and trends,” said Ms. Cheverton.

Related: Artificial Intelligence Requires a New Kind Of Leadership

The idea behind the custom-built technology, said Ms. Cheverton, “was to supercharge the speed and effectiveness of the talent acquisition process.” Built by leadership experts, data scientists and engineers, the plan is for MapX tools to enable the identification of high quality, hard-to-find candidate populations at the press of a button, or two.

Needle In a Haystack

Ms. Cheverton calls MapX “revolutionary” as it aims to uncover ‘needle in a haystack’ leaders who are significantly more qualified and more diverse. MapX uses natural language processing and machine learning to categorize information and understand seniority, function, and diversity.


The People Side to AI in the Workplace

AI, including generative AI, will automate tasks humans perform today, giving us the capacity to focus on strategic and creative tasks which only humans can do—those that require intuition, experience, empathy and the other attributes which will continue to elude the “smartest” AI is indeed reshaping how businesses operate, but people will remain at the core of the organization—and managing them will still be more important than managing technology, according to a recent report from Korn Ferry.

AI in the workplace is experiencing rapid growth due to the meteoric rise of Generative AI, the Korn Ferry report explains. With the widespread availability of availability of easy-to-use tools, abundant data and sophisticated algorithms, computers are doing more extensive work in real-time, enabling people to spend their time on higher-level activities. “The combination of these factors means that at the heart of almost every modern enterprise going forward, there will be an AI factory, a construct of networks and algorithms which will power much of the work that we do,” said Vinay Menon, Korn Ferry senior client partner and global lead, AI practice.


“Executive search, like other professional services categories, has been done generally the same way for over 60 years,” said Mr. Seaman. By leveraging the newest technology, he noted, human capital leaders can look at talent from a new angle.

“AI presents a huge opportunity for the executive search and broader talent consulting sectors to provide more rigor, value and agility in how we address leadership and skills gaps,” Ms. Cheverton agreed.

Enabling High Value Expertise

“While generative AI continues to receive buzz throughout the human capital industry, it is crucial to remember that it is not a human replacement tool,” said Mr. Seaman, but rather a means of freeing experts from the time-intensive work of processing data.

“Ultimately, AI will leave more time for executive search consultants and researchers to spend on the high-value work of engaging with and evaluating candidates,” said Alex Martin, a Savannah Group managing partner who spearheads talent intelligence for the firm.


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Through successful use, AI will allow for a better ability to find and land the perfect talent in the ongoing war on talent. “Correctly applied, organizations will be the big beneficiaries of AI’s predictive talent analytics capabilities,” he said.

“By analyzing historical data and trends, talent leaders will be better able to anticipate future hiring needs and proactively source candidates with the right skills and expertise,” said Mr. Martin. “This strategic approach not only streamlines future search processes but also ensures that organizations are well-positioned to meet evolving business demands,” he noted.

Reprinted from with permission from ExitUp!

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Co-CEO, Drew Seaman, Managing Director – Hunt Scanlon Ventures

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