The Role of AI and Automation in Recruitment

With the cost-of-living crisis and inflation, more people are getting into work and finding better-paying jobs. To meet demand and keep pace with the modern world, AI and automation have become more prevalent in UK recruitment.

Employers, job seekers, and recruitment agencies such as us here at PP Associates are all eager for a recruitment process that is more efficient and provides a better experience. AI and automation are powerful tools to utilise – so it is important to know how they can be utilised, the pros and cons and what the future holds.

What is the Impact of AI and Automation in Recruitment?

 AI and automation can impact many aspects of the recruitment process. Here are some ways that new recruitment technology is being used.

AI-Powered Candidate Screening

Screening is an important part of recruitment that can be time-consuming as you manually attempt to identify a shortlist of candidates among a larger pool of applicants. AI technology can trawl through CVs for the correct information and rank them based on skills, experience, and relevance. AI and automation can also go through things such as previous employer data sources and public social media profiles to get as much information as possible. This particular use of AI in recruitment can ensure candidates are suited to the culture and standards of a company.

Chatbots and Virtual Interviews

 Chatbots in recruitment are becoming more commonplace. One of the major recruitment challenges is keeping all candidates in the loop. With chatbots, candidates can receive updates on their applications and receive real-time responses to questions. 

Video interviewing is also a great way to assess a candidate’s skills and personality. Virtual interviews offer a streamlined process, with AI able to analyse the interview content, facial expressions and body language. 

AI in Candidate Matching

 AI-driven candidate matching can help companies find relevant job seekers more quickly and efficiently. With the use of algorithms and automation, job boards, internal talent pools, and social media can be crawled through to find the best candidates for a particular role. It goes beyond simple keyword searches and can more accurately match candidates with job roles.

Pre-Employment Assessment

 Before an interview, a skills assessment can be used to measure the knowledge and abilities of prospective employees. AI technology can help design tests suitable for the job requirements. Data generated from the assessments can be analysed, and a report can be automatically created – providing feedback and recommendations.

Applicant Tracking

Applicant Tracking Systems are one of the most commonly used tools of automation recruitment. If you are advertising a lot of job openings, then AI can help you stay organised during the recruitment process. All information can be held in a database so no one slips through the cracks, and it can be easy to see the status of all the candidates. 

The Benefits of AI in Recruitment

AI and automation in recruitment are becoming more widely used due to the many benefits they offer.

Saves Time 

The recruitment process can sometimes drag on. There’s no denying it. So, whilst finding the right candidate is the most important thing, that perfect person can be lost due to the speed of another company. AI and automation hiring can help speed up the process by taking over the tedious menial tasks of recruitment without sacrificing the quality and thoroughness of the process.

More Efficient Process

If the recruitment process is baggy in places, then candidates may go elsewhere or get lost in the mire. AI in recruitment provides the opportunity for companies to have a streamlined process that takes less effort for employers and candidates. Everyone wins.

Attract Better Quality Candidates

AI can help you reach the right people at the right moment. AI technology can create job descriptions that best accurately explain what you are looking for, and tools exist to help target individuals based on the parameters you set up. AI can also help with promotion, putting content on sites such as LinkedIn.

Improved Candidate Experience

A more efficient process in which the candidate is updated regularly means a better experience for them. Every candidate can’t be given direct attention constantly, but technology like chatbots helps people get answers to questions and feel a continual part of the process. AI and automation can help candidates feel like they are jumping through fewer hoops.

The Negatives of Using AI and Automation in Recruiting

 So far, AI in recruitment sounds like a no-brainer approach. Nothing is perfect, though, and there are issues with using a fairly new technology in a sensitive process.

Implementation Cost

Turning to HR automation and using AI in recruitment is not a simple thing. It is a total shift in how a company approaches a major portion of their business, and the cost reflects this. Training, AI software and hardware are all things that need to be paid for and correctly implemented into the business. Smaller businesses may struggle to justify such an investment if they are not hiring on a large scale or if HR tasks don’t impede too much on their workers’ time.

Lack of Human Touch

Efficiency and timesaving can only get you so far. At the end of the day, hiring someone is a human process, and some candidates may be put off by the impersonal approach. Creating relationships is integral to recruitment, and AI can get in the way of this. AI is better used as a tool to streamline the recruitment process, not take over every aspect altogether.

AI Bias

The use of AI can create unintentional biases. It can get rid of unwanted human bias, but if algorithms are not properly designed with un-diverse data sets, then inclusion and diversity efforts could be negatively impacted.

Ethical and Privacy Concerns

There is still a lot of apprehensiveness about AI and automation hiring, which can collect a lot of personal data about candidates. Companies need to adhere to data privacy regulations and should be mindful of being transparent about how AI is being used and ensuring informed consent for candidates.

How Will AI and Automation Be Used in the Future of Recruitment?

The role of AI and automation in recruitment will only expand in the years ahead and stay in keeping with job market trends.

More integration with other parts of HR, such as training, is inevitable to create a more cohesive and enhanced experience for candidates and new hires. Better predictive analysis will become available so that companies can make even more solid hiring decisions.

More use of AI will bring with it regulation that should mean it is employed ethically, with more emphasis being put on data privacy and security.

Whilst AI may take away jobs, it opens the way for humans to focus on the most human aspect of recruitment – relationship building. Automated tasks free up time and create new avenues for people in the company to spend more time on, like branding and marketing.

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AI and automation becoming key parts of the UK job market is not a sign of some dystopian future. With proper consideration and implementation, it can improve the recruitment process for employers and candidates. 

If you are an employer or job seeker keen to know more about our approach to recruitment, then contact PP Associates today. You can call us at 0151 427 4200 to find out more.