Artificial Intelligence in the Hiring Process
Artificial Intelligence in the Hiring Process
Artificial Intelligence in the Hiring Process is currently gaining a lot of popularity among the companies. This software is used to reduce and streamline the repetitive and high-volume tasks such as going through CVs to shortlist the applicants etc. Now, is Artificial Intelligence having an upper hand in the Recruitment Industry? To answer this question we should take a look at the following aspects of Artificial Intelligence and its actual role in the implementation in the recruitment procedures.
1. Easiness in early stages of the hiring process ;
According to a major of HR experts, the AI-Powered chatbots are an excellent option for the initial screening of the candidates. These chatbots are equipped with software to communicate with the candidates and assess them based on the questions determined by the company. Then AI can search to find the best fitting candidates for the interview. As accepted by many HRs the most time-consuming process is screening the first tire candidates for the interview. This whole scenario is extremely challenging, where there would be a thousand applications for a single position and only a few would be actually qualified for the job. Therefore, AI supports and helps HR to find that few qualified and saves a lot of time and energy, thereby making HR job efficient.
2. Induce Improvised candidate selection:
In an employee selection job, the reason for using AI is not only to reduce the burden of HR Managers but also to make sure of proper employee selection. The AI while sifting through thousands of applications make extensive research based on data which is immensely time-consuming for a human. It will not only limit to an applicant’s application but also screen through the potential employee’s social media profiles and other recruitment platforms. By this way, the software can get data from the internet to make a decision by connecting the dots between all the data obtained. Thereby giving the best choice of candidates for the interview.
3. High Requirement of Data :
Knowledge is the core of AI. Without data, the software would be like a car with no fuel. When it comes to recruitment every company would require all the information about the candidate’s education history, skills, previous employment etc. While these data can be documented and fed into a computer system, some other information like the communication level, soft skills, work flexibility options etc. can be understood only when a recruiter interacts with the candidate.
According to the latest hiring trends in the Indian industry, 2019, Focus and Emotional Quotient are given the top priority in the employee selection process. The principle behind this is that ‘higher the EQ, higher the efficiency of a candidate will be’. This ideology is resonating very well amongst the recruiters. And it is pertinent that there is no way that software can analyze a person’s EQ without human interference.
4. No room for Feedback or Improvements:
The first step of Artificial Intelligence in the Hiring Process is the screening task. This would definitely reduce the efforts of hiring personals. But would it give a chance for the candidates to improve? Or will they ever receive any feedback, if they are not selected by the “Machine”?
According to 21-year-old Cardiff University graduate, Peter Lane in his interview to BBC explained how these cutting-edge technologies are hindering his growth and it has become ery difficult to even find an interview with Companies. He says, that only 10% of all the interviews he attended, gave detailed feedback on his performance. The AI here is not only slowing the career growth but also hindering the candidate’s chance to improve his performance, in the next interview.
5. Prejudice of the AI
Well, if you input the right data into a computer, it will give reliable output without any miscalculations. This is what every one of us think about when it comes to this man-made marvel. But is it really true that AI is unbiased in the hiring process?
Let us take a scenario, Consider that a company uses AI for screening and shortlisting candidates for a position. In order to filter the potential employees, they would have to input AI with some parameters accordingly. This well-programmed software isn’t it by itself being biased when by theory it is actually programmed by the recruiter? Unlike humans, who have the tendency to go outside the frame of thought to consider the other factors, the robots are oblivious to see the other parameters not predetermined by the recruiter. This proves that while robots can, however, remove the minor incompetence, it can never replace a human interviewer. Even if there are constant data updates done to the software, it can still not be on par with a human mind. To reach that cut-off point, we have a long way to go on the technology development road.
6. The Inability to be humane:
Every company, which hires candidates, would want their potential employees to be a fit into the company’s cultural ethics and social guidelines. These values (of the applicants) can be analyzed only if the interview is made with human intervention. By communicating directly with the candidates, the employer can assess the answers of the candidate and decide whether the person is culturally and socially compatible with the company.
To conclude, Artificial Intelligence in the Hiring Process can be an added tool. It can minimize the human effort but it can never replace the HR in the recruitment process. No doubt, technology is constantly evolving, and the AI too can evolve but the answer to the question “Can AI replace Humans?” is yet to be proved to the world.