Here’s How Artificial Intelligence Will Change the Way You Recruit
March 2, 2018 – How often have you said to yourself, “There just aren’t enough hours in the day?” In an industry that moves as fast as talent recruitment, lack of time is a serious problem.
Recruiters are spread so thin that 75 percent of applicants never receive a response after submitting a resume.
The bigger problem for recruiters is that these candidates can eventually become clients – but if they’re ignored and treated poorly at this stage, that’s unlikely. Increasingly, artificial intelligence is becoming the solution to this and other problems that traditionally have bogged down recruiters.
“Imagine you hire someone to help you with the most cumbersome part of the recruitment process: matching candidates to jobs,” said Nachi Junankar, founder and CEO of Avrio AI, an artificial intelligence talent platform based in Boston. “Instead of spending hours of your day scanning resumes and comparing them to job descriptions, candidates are screened and ranked for you. Now, you can focus on connecting with the best applicants more quickly, making more successful placements, and ensuring a positive experience for each individual candidate.”
AI As a Solution
While this scenario may seem too good to be true, technology has advanced enough to make it a reality. Artificial intelligence has already become extremely useful for businesses looking to do more with less. “AI helps your organization scale by automating low-value tasks, allowing people to execute the tasks that truly affect the bottom line,” said Mr. Junankar. “It’s no longer just a buzzword; it’s an opportunity for businesses to minimize the amount of time spent on rote tasks so they can focus on more meaningful work.”
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Adoption of AI is at an early stage, so it’s no wonder that many are skeptical of its potential. But the truth is that there is only so much a consultant can do. Certain tasks or processes can be automated, said Aviro, but AI is no substitute for recruiters, an inherently human profession.
Automate the Grind
“Most talent acquisition employees spend roughly 45 percent of their time resume matching, getting buried in resumes and job descriptions,” said Mr. Junankar. “That time is better spent building relationships with clients or candidates and gaining a thorough understanding of exactly what they are seeking.”
Time is of the essence when it comes to recruiting. If one spends too much time on the resume matching process, candidates who are identified as great fits for certain roles will be off the market by the time the recruiter contacts them, said Aviro. For smaller companies and staffing firms, it’s expensive to hire enough recruiters to reach the best talent and stay ahead of the game. “But leveraging AI gives you crucial time in your day back,” said Mr. Junankar. “Keeping up with the competition is easier when artificial intelligence takes over tedious processes, enabling you to make those vital connections with candidates.”
AI Ushers in a New Day for Companies and Recruiters
Artificial intelligence is transforming the face of workforces around the world. For executive recruiters and HR departments, it has meant a growing number of new roles to fill and untapped talent to discover. Gartner, the information technology research firm, says AI will cause millions of jobs to fall by the wayside.
Of course, recruiting is about more than filling seats and making placements. The candidate experience is a top priority, and it improves immeasurably when you no longer own cumbersome and mundane tasks, said Aviro. Understanding a candidate’s skills and background on paper is one thing, but meeting candidates in person and having a genuine conversation is the best way to make recommendations that guarantee a successful placement.
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Additionally, the more time one has to focus on candidates and clients, the more proactive a recruiter can be. “You can reach out to candidates before they contact you, asking for an update,” said Mr. Junankar.
The best recruiters make their candidates feel like their job search isn’t an afterthought, said Aviro. When AI handles the tedious tasks and identifies the best people, recruiters have more time to nurture their candidates, making them feel valued, which can turn them into advocates for recruiters and their firms.
The Bottom Line
“Artificial intelligence is presenting recruiters with an opportunity to revolutionize the way we hire,” said Mr. Junankar. “Automating processes boosts efficiency, allowing your organization scale without incurring extra expenses and keep up with the competition. Most importantly, adopting AI gets you back to the reason you became a recruiter: finding candidates not only a job, but a fulfilling career.”
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Avrio is building an AI platform that uses machine intelligence to bring people and companies together. It’s AI talent platform reduces hiring workload by 35 percent. Mr. Junankar is passionate about building long-lasting companies that create amazing technologies that change the world. He recently sat down with Hunt Scanlon to discuss the impact AI will have on how we will soon search for talent. Let’s take a look into the future of hiring.
Nachi, explain how AI can help recruiters?
AI is able to eliminate repetitive tasks that slow down business operations. Speeding up business processes enables recruiters to make placements faster than ever seen before. Along with speed, AI provides cognitive insight into a candidate’s ability to perform a job at a high level. This will ensure that recruiters are matching the right candidate to the right job, every time. In addition to analyzing and matching, AI will be able to increase candidate engagement, allowing recruiters to spend more time nurturing potential candidates. Specifically, Avrio AI automates 45 percent of repetitive recruiting tasks, allowing recruiters to spend more time on developing strong relationships with candidates. Overall, AI is going to allow recruiters to become more strategic and effective.
Some feel threatened by technology taking over jobs — so how can these people embrace technology and see security in the future?
It is only natural that people are threatened by new technology, this is nothing new. However, in order to stay competitive they are going to have to embrace it. Technology is not going to wait for people to feel comfortable. It is coming whether people like it or not. What separates the people who thrive and the people who get pushed out is their willingness to adopt early. There is going to be a big shift in the labor market. On a positive note, these emerging technologies are only going to make people’s working lives better. The challenge is learning how people and technology can work side by side and I think here at Avrio AI we have found that symbiosis.
“Technology may not replace job roles entirely, but it is going to change how people work, their cognitive load and tasks that they work on.”
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Do you foresee technology replacing various roles with companies or more specifically HR and recruiting?
Technology may not replace the job roles entirely, but it is going to change how people work, their cognitive load and tasks that they work on. If a recruiter has 50 cognitive tasks they do in an average day and AI can now complete half of those tasks, the recruiter is going to have to find another 25 tasks to work on. This allows recruiters along with other workers to think more strategically and find the tasks that technology cannot replace such as building and fostering relationships with a candidate.
How big is AI?
As a definition, AI is something that seems it might need human intelligence but is done with a computer. AI is going to become the standard across all business functions. Its ability to optimize business operations will increase the speed at which business is done and the ability for companies to scale and therefore compete. Enhancing the decision making process is clearly a huge benefit. Ultimately, AI is going to solve problems that we don’t even know we have yet, freeing up time for people to focus on more strategic tasks. Overall, the best way to put it is, let tech do what tech does best and let people do what they do best.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
