Is Using AI for Recruiting Beneficial for Your Company?

Artificial Intelligence has changed the game. Though it isn’t new, the many applications developed to improve productivity and automate tasks have reshaped the outlook for many industries, such as legal, finance, and manufacturing. AI has also made its way in recruitment as candidates and hiring managers have found different uses of AI in HR. 

In order to save time, boost efficiency, and improve their hires, companies are leaning toward adopting AI tools for recruiting, but does this mean it will replace the human side of the hiring process? How much will parties have to adapt to this new technological approach to recruitment? Well, keep reading to find the answer to these and other questions. 

How is AI influencing HR?

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping many aspects of the job market. As time goes by, hiring managers are more likely to experiment with AI tools to save time and innovate their HR processes and employees’ lifecycles.

Although there are still HR professionals who are cautious about adopting AI for their operations, 37% of HR leaders have already decided to implement AI technologies, but the lack of integration into their existing system is impeding them from fulfilling their plans. 

Artificial Intelligence has gained a lot of ground as one of the most relevant workplace and hiring trends. By automating and improving some of its phases, AI has also proven to be a powerful ally in HR for time and cost savings.

• Attracting and recruiting candidates

• Employee engagement 

• Streamline the hiring process

• Project and task management

• Employee performance

How is AI being used in recruiting?

Diving into the influence of AI in recruitment, Artificial Intelligence has impacted how recruiters and hiring managers attract top talent, screen resumes, and evaluate job applications. Though there is a never-ending debate about the relevance of the human touch in recruitment, it’s essential to bear in mind that AI in recruiting means only to provide support. 

Even though AI applications in recruitment and other industries have greatly improved in the last couple of years, most of them are still under development, so you can’t entirely trust AI technologies to do all the work. 

Find the balance between the tasks you rely on Artificial Intelligence by using it as a tool mainly for assessments, data-driven decisions, and optimizing processes. Here are some of the aspects that can benefit from using AI for recruiting.

Sourcing and screening candidates

Drawing in high-quality candidates is one of the most common recruitment challenges for HR professionals. AI can simplify these tasks thanks to algorithms and machine learning that allow the automation of job boards, databases, and social media searches, as well as the connection with candidates in real-time with chatbots. 

On top of that, when it comes to vetting and qualifying candidates, AI for recruiting can also optimize candidate screening times by identifying the most qualified applicants faster. AI screening systems allow to extract important items from job applications and evaluate CVs and skills on resumes, narrowing down your candidate pool and easing the selection process.

Tasks automation

Overall, one of the primary uses of artificial intelligence is workplace automation; many roles across different industries have benefited from AI's future of automating simple tasks. The recruitment industry is no exception. 

AI for recruiting allows hiring managers and recruiters to automate tasks such as scheduling job interviews, writing and sending emails, and even crafting job descriptions. Nevertheless, in the case of AI-generated content, it’s essential to have a set of eyes review the materials to ensure they comply with your objectives and ideas. 

Personalizing the candidate's experience

One of the most common complaints of job seekers is the lack of empathy and meaningful connections throughout the hiring process. Generative AI allows employers to enhance the candidate experience by delivering tailored responses, content, and job recommendations based on their profile and preferences. 

Why is AI important in recruitment?

So, is AI's assistance in these recruitment aspects worth it to adopt artificial intelligence in your processes? Truth be told, it’s all up to you and your company. As mentioned above, even employers who are convinced of using AI for recruiting can fail to integrate it. But if you do count on the system to make AI integration viable, then you sure need to bank on your decision on the benefits it will to your company.

From a broad perspective, the main benefit of AI in recruitment is boosted productivity and time-freeing automation, allowing HR executives to focus on the bigger picture and more strategic goals. Find below other key benefits of using AI-driven technology for recruiting. 

• Maximizes recruitment resources

• Reduces unconscious bias

• Favors skill-based hiring

• Improves hires quality

Challenges of AI in recruitment

So far, so attractive, right? While using AI for recruiting seems glamorous and useful at first, it comes with obstacles and downsides that can make it less appealing or even unsuited for your company. Remember, it’s still a technology under development, so before taking a final word, make sure to check the challenges of using AI for recruiting. 

Filter out qualified candidates

As contradictory as it may seem, relying 100% on AI to screen candidates can rule out candidates that meet your criteria. A huge part of what makes gpac search consultants good recruiters is reading between the lines of resumes and applications, and unfortunately, AI lacks that quality as it tends to be more rigid about evaluating requirements. 

Solving this issue requires recruiters to own the process and ensure AI works aligned with their objectives. By doing so, you’ll prevent a scenario where AI down-rank a candidate due to a missing degree when it isn’t essential for the role. Nevertheless, it’s up to you to evaluate if working under a 50/50 dynamic is really useful for a company. 

Transparency and privacy concerns

Another downside of AI tools is their compliance with privacy and transparency regulations. Although it’s mandatory to inform about their use and ask for authorization, it’s still a big challenge to guarantee candidate’s data will be safe, especially when a third-party platform will be using it throughout the hiring process. 

Lack of human touch

The human touch plays a huge part throughout the hiring process, especially when it comes to updating an application status or walking a candidate through rejection. On top of this, you should also consider how AI in recruiting will affect the HR executives whose tasks will be substituted with Artificial Intelligence and your company’s perception. 

With job seekers also using AI in their job search, all parties are at risk of losing the sense of how individuals actually perform in the workplace. As an employer, you should weigh in on whether the boosted efficiency AI will give to your recruitment efforts is worth losing the human touch.

Adapting your budget

Incorporating AI into your recruiting processes will require you to adjust your recruitment budget to make a considerable investment of time and resources. Aside from investing in the AI platform or technology, you will need to bring in an AI specialist to set everything up or ask one of your current employees to invest time in training to incorporate AI into your processes.

As you can imagine, if you belong to a small company, hire irregularly, or have complex roles to fill, the investment won’t be as profitable as you expect. 

Will AI change the role of a recruiter? 

With the rise of Artificial Intelligence in many industries, many professions have developed fear or anxiety towards AI due to the belief that it will ultimately take over their jobs. This may seem like a treat for recruiters, too, but as mentioned above, even with all the benefits AI offers for recruiting, AI will remain a supporting tool as recruiters will still be owners of their processes and tasks.

For both companies and candidates, recruiters will remain a powerful ally to streamline the hiring process and keep recruitment with a human-centered approach. On top of that, top-tier recruiters, such as gpac’s Alpha Pac search consultants, can provide advice about how to improve an application or insight on trends, tools, certifications, and high-demand profiles in your industry. 

From a recruiter’s standpoint, AI for recruiting saves time from repetitive or logistical tasks, but most importantly, it provides a new way of gaining insights and data not only from candidates but also about their craft and performance. The wiggle room gained from using AI in recruiting will allow candidates to focus on the following critical aspects of their work: 

• Increase proactiveness with clients and candidates.

• Try new strategic hiring practices to optimize time and effort.

• Invest more time in relationship-building.

• Work closely with hiring managers.

If you are still doubtful about the need or effectiveness AI will have in your recruitment strategies, you can get advice for your decision-making or have a smoother transition by working with a recruiter.