AI-based automation is having a positive influence on talent acquisition, according to a survey from the Harvard Business Review and Paradox.
Nearly all of the survey respondents whose companies are using automation, 97%, said AI has helped them hire people more effectively, led to quicker interview scheduling and reduced candidate drop-off. Overall, 91% of key decision makers believe optimizing hiring processes with automation and AI is necessary for long-term business success.
“Leaders have recognized the competitive nature of attracting and hiring the best talent,” said Brian Delle Donne, president of Talent Tech Labs, in a statement provided by HBR and Paradox. “By taking a closer look at their priorities, their processes and their technologies, this focused attention is making a difference in their hiring outcomes.”
The survey also found:
- 92% of respondents said their organization needs to invest more into talent acquisition to remain competitive.
- 46% of respondents cited screening and assessments as the capability they most want to improve in the hiring process, followed by applicant communications at 39%.
- Just 4% of respondents said that their organization is currently “very effective” at hiring the talent it needs.
Buzz Begets Business
The survey’s findings aren’t particularly surprising, at least in terms of AI’s penetration into talent acquisition. Since the beginning of 2023, driven in large part by the attention heaped on ChatGPT, Google Bard and other generative AI tools, tales of improved performance and enhanced productivity have spread throughout the business world, from marketing to recruiting, retail to logistics, healthcare to manufacturing.
A number of HR and TA technology vendors had AI-based solutions in the works before the current rush, but began rolling them out earlier this year as buzz drove market demand. “That kind of motivated us to release this sooner than we typically would’ve because the market told us the time is now,” said Shannon Pritchett, HireEZ’s head of marketing communication, as the company prepared to incorporate GPT features into its platform.
This early in a technology’s lifecycle, of course, challenges remain. For example, “I think the unintended consequences of [AI] are that we start to automate the relationship and put this middleware between us as people, and that it starts to take over the employment relationships between people,” commented beqom Chief Customer Officer Aisling Teillard.
Technology providers must ensure that their AI tools are developed ethically and responsibly, said Aaron Green, chief marketing and solutions officer at SAP SuccessFactors. “And by that I mean looking at things like eliminating bias that’s built into the prompt engineering for AI, really making sure that there are clear boundary conditions around the way in which AI operates and where it does need to stop, and that there are the right controls in place for us to be able to interact with and continually refine and reshape the way that AI works.”
Image: iStock
