Winning the War for Talent: It All Depends on AI

While some recruiters and HR pros are concerned that artificial intelligence (AI) is replacing them, those enjoying the most success are those working alongside AI. In fact, companies using AI-driven recruiting technology have been able to cut the cost per screen by as much as 75 percent while reducing turnover by 35 percent.

The average recruiter spends 13 hours every week sourcing candidates for a single role. Perhaps this helps to explain why 72 percent of recruiters believe automated sourcing would make them more productive.

AI is revolutionizing the fields of HR, talent management, and talent acquisition by automating repetitive tasks and allowing talent pros to focus on what really matters: the people. As contradictory as it may seem, AI is bringing the “human” back to “human resources.”

In order to win the war for talent, it is critical that recruiters and HR pros take a collaborative approach to AI. Otherwise, they risk losing top candidates to their competitors.

AI Can Find, Screen, and Communicate With Candidates

The traditional hiring process is simply not effective or efficient when it comes to attracting, screening, and communicating with candidates. With recruiters dedicating so much of their time to the simple act of sourcing, they have little time left over to really engage with candidates. As a result, communication between candidates and the company is often poor, and the hiring process can take an unnecessarily long time.

AI-supported chatbots can help solve this problem. Equipped with natural language processing, they work around the clock to communicate with qualified candidates through email, chat, or SMS. When interested candidates reach out to the company, the chatbots can act as the first point of contact. They can answer questions, offer application instructions, and even perform screening conversations and background checks to ensure the candidate is a fit. That way, recruiters, HR pros, and hiring managers only have to worry about keeping the best-fit candidates engaged.

AI Eliminates Bias

Fifty-seven percent of recruiters view implicit bias as a significant problem, and for good reason: These biases make it much harder for companies to hire the best talent. Hiring managers are more likely to hire applicants with whom they have much in common, including shared interests, hobbies, and demographic backgrounds. While these factors imply nothing about a candidate’s ability to perform a job, they can unduly influence the hiring process, leading to discrimination and bad hires.

What makes implicit bias so dangerous is that we’re often entirely unaware of it. Even when employers actively try to be inclusive, these biases can still be present. For example, many organizations unwittingly use more masculinely coded language in their job ads, and these language choices can subtly influence women candidates away from applying.

AI tools can help remove the implicit biases that plague recruiting. AI sourcing solutions use algorithms to identify possible candidates based on how well they meet the job criteria — not based on irrelevant social cues like style of dress. This opens the door to many qualified candidates who may have been screened out due to implicit biases in the past.

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Today, HR and recruiting professionals are asked to do more with less at an impossibly fast pace. To meet the demands of both the talent market and their own organizations, talent teams will have to incorporate AI into their sourcing processes.

The war for talent is well underway. As we move into 2019, is important that talent teams stay up to date on the latest technology. Those teams that do not leverage AI to its fullest extent will be quickly surpassed by those that do.

Komal Dangi is CEO of Synkriom, Inc., a global IT staffing company that produces VeriKlick.