Don’t Fear the Robots: 4 Questions to Reduce Fear of AI in Hiring

Application volume is up while recruiting teams have been scaled back.? Job seekers are frustrated as application black holes and ghosting are common.? Applicant feedback is mostly non-existent, even after multiple rounds of interviews. And companies still report they make bad hiring decisions about 50% of the time.?

Recruiting operations that were effective two years ago don’t work today.? While there are new, innovative tools that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of hiring processes, you may be apprehensive about choosing a solution that takes on decision making.? Combining the desire to “keep the human” in the hiring process with technology makes adoption of these systems even harder.?

If you are considering an AI screening tool or assessment, here are four questions that can help alleviate your fear of incorporating decision making technology into your recruiting operation.?

Do I understand what the technology is doing?

You don’t have to know how the technology works, but you should be clear about what is being measured.? The decisions made should be transparent and understandable to the user.? No black boxes -? everything should be reviewable and defensible.? Once implemented, you should trust but verify.??

Look for products that have been validated.? To validate a system, external experts apply tests to determine that it is doing what the designers say it is doing.? The best solutions can show you their technical manual and help you understand how the system makes decisions.??

Do I have confidence in the decisions being made?

Talent acquisition has one goal - hiring the best person for the job.? Any tool should directly support that goal.? Do the factors measured effectively predict on-the-job performance?? Can you validate effectiveness and make adjustments, if needed?? Can you incorporate insight gained into your interview process?? The solution should not make the final decision, but should supplement and complement other steps in your process?

You should also be confident that the tool reduces bias.? We recognize that all human decision makers are influenced by unconscious bias, but the right solution can reduce bias in your hiring decisions.? Was a conscious effort made by the designers to eliminate common biases in their decisions?

You should be confident enough in the tool’s decision making that you can advocate for it to executive leadership and ensure candidates of its validity.

Is it improving my efficiency while maintaining accuracy?

This one seems obvious, but you may be surprised.? Find a system that helps you do your job faster while maintaining focus on the most important selection factors.? Make sure the solution lightens your team’s load.? Well designed solutions help you by collecting and analyzing relevant data at a scale that no human can.??

Many overwhelmed recruiters stop application review at a set number of viable candidates.? Automated solutions can consider the entire talent pool, getting you to the best candidates faster.? Technology-assisted decision-making adds efficiency throughout your process by highlighting higher quality candidates, resulting in fewer interviews and lower candidate drop off.

Does it add value for the candidate, too?

Help your organization strengthen its image by showing respect for applicants - their experience can affect your reputation.? Select a system that is good for you and for candidates - one that automatically delivers feedback to all candidates without adding to a recruiter’s workload.? Giving a candidate something in return for their work builds a positive reputation, even for those who did not get a job offer.??

Technology will continue to create solutions to support recruiting success.? Use these four questions to help you select? the best technology solution for your organization; one that you can implement with confidence, and that inspires confidence in both candidates and company leaders.?

Ryan Stewart has spent the past 15 years at the intersection of recruiting operations, tech product development, and selection methodology.? He is the Product Manager for Affintus (pre-hire assessment)) and Growth Partner for Talentpair (AI sourcing platform).