Is technology replacing humans in recruitment?

I’ve attended several seminars and events in recent months and there is so much technology out there to make life easier in the recruitment process and I get the sense that it’s just going to keep coming. In some industries its believed that technology will fully replace humans but is recruitment one of them?

In the last week I’ve seen some demos highlighting some very innovative ways you can complete psychometric testing, better searching for candidates or interviewing people remotely. Whilst these look great I guess some things you can’t get without meeting in person or visiting the location, such as a sense of culture or environment. Somethings you may want to see for yourself to help visualise if you can see yourself working there or for that person. Likewise from an employer perspective if you are making a decision to hire someone to join your company, you are likely to want to meet them and interact with them personally to best gauge their compatibility.

First impressions are important much like your gut instincts. If you are considering joining a company for a role that appeals to you, you are probably looking at this as the potential start of a long term relationship but what is your first impression if it’s done in a very impersonal way. Just because it’s efficient or convenient doesn’t mean the candidates will like it and if they don’t, then it’s not a great start and may turn off some potentially strong candidates.

I do believe though that tech can help in ways such as, staying in touch with candidates, keeping details current, improving the process of matching people to job descriptions, which can save time and ensure a better candidate experience.

However you need to ensure it’s the right solution and thoroughly test it from both yours and the candidates side. I’ve seen first-hand that some tools are not personalised or tailored. This resulted in me receiving details of roles which have no relevance to what I’m interested in. Either their information isn’t up to date or the tool being used is looking at the wrong things. Does this create a professional impression of that company or agency? I think not! even if they eventually send me a role that maybe suitable it’s probably more by luck than judgement.

So whilst there is a huge amount of technology and tools available, the general opinion seems to be that the tools are there to make parts of the process more efficient. However people still want to speak to people, especially for the big life decisions and deciding to move job is one of those big life decisions.

Bring on the innovation to make everyone’s life easier but make sure the tool is suitable for both the company and the candidate and of course some things still need that human element and I believe recruitment is one them!