The Good, the Bad and the AI....

The role of the recruiter is changing whether you are an in-house TA specialist or an external recruitment partner like me.

Whilst businesses have been using tools and platforms to extend reach to access the best talent for some time (by this I mean job boards, Linked In, integrated website ATS systems) – the arrival of AI is a whole different ball game.

Whilst at first, I was anxious about how it would change the need for the services of our small 2-person recruitment business which is founded on the values and principles of exceptional human service - we’ve worked hard to understand how AI can help us to be more efficient.? Removing administrative tasks and allowing us to focus on the people-first elements of our jobs that we so enjoy.

To embrace AI is to understand AI and for me it's all about finding a balance - then you’ll get much more out of the tools you choose to adopt and feather them into your hiring mechanism retaining the best bits of human control to communicate and connect great people - whilst optimising the administrative elements through automation.

The clear wins of using AI in recruitment…

It will remove a lot of the admin junk from your desk Whether it’s drafting a job spec or scheduling candidate interviews, robotic assistance tools can revolutionise how even the smallest recruitment business can improve its efficiency and binning a bundle of lower value, administrative tasks that make a good use of one’s time.? Its freed us up to spend much more time talking to our candidates and clients, enjoying the human elements of our work much more than the onerous admin heavy duties.? That’s been a real game changer for us.

It removes unconscious bias Whilst this isn’t something we do at Trapeze, when you set a robot the task of doing applicant screening for you, it only looks for a minimum qualification or a technical skill, so there is none of the human prejudices that might creep in.? It strips out the bias that is often applied (unwittingly) into reviewing candidate profiles around education, nationalities and people’s names.? Instead, a pure technical capability and skills assessment is paired with the criteria the role requires in a completely objective way.?

Can reduce recruitment process time One of the biggest challenges our talent community face now is the length that direct recruitment processes are taking.? Adoption of the right AI tool for the scale of your operation can certainly streamline and shorten a hiring process which will lead to a better candidate experience and a happy new joiner once appointed. ??We all know that an overly lengthy recruitment process where an extra stage gets added in at short notice, risks losing candidate engagement and increased frustration for all and that’s bad for your business brand and reputation in the market.

The downsides of AI usage …

It’s not that cheap + it’s not for everyone However large or small your recruitment team, operation or business is – the financial commitment to use AI comes at a cost.? Not just financial cost but the cost of time to research, test and trial the right platform, then the onboarding of the system, the training of your people - which inevitably takes them away from the "day job".? As a micro recruitment business, we’ve had to weigh up all the costs to ensure a commitment to AI is sensible.? AI has been proven to marry and work well with hiring operations involved in high volume, repetitive same role criteria talent acquisition.? Our sources and client partners confirm that it’s less beneficial for those who are hiring very different and more complex role types with specialist criteria across multi geographies.? The big question mark for us is how well artificial intelligence-based automation can really support high end executive search work – the jury is out on that for now !

Nothing can replace the human element The relationships we’ve worked hard to nurture and develop over our years in HR and recruitment are at the core of how we work.? No automated instrument can replace the nature of a personal human conversation, the knowledge one gets from that interaction around a person’s values, their sense of humour, their personality traits or style points – I could go on…. A recruiter’s role is critical and at it’s most valuable in one’s ability to judge and assess culture fit and potential chemistry match.? AI can’t do that – yet.... In a challenging market, where the landscape and horizon for growth seems confusing and uncertain, this is our chance to shine and show our best work as recruiters.

It misses top talent The business who relies too heavily on automated ideas will miss the golden jewel of talent whose paper CV isn’t obvious to the eye or doesn’t contain enough of the keywords searched for = computer says "NO". AI tools will be suspicious of the career break gap whilst that individual had a baby, cared for an elderly relative or worked in a Covid emergency hospital as a volunteer. Become too mechanised in your approach and you’ll miss the leaders of the future for your business.? In a landscape rich with talent, the human recruiter offers a qualified and experienced lens into the market, operating with transparency, good judgement, respect and creativity.

Just my opinion, but hope you've found it helpful !