The rise of artificial intelligence in HR
Artificial intelligence, better known as AI, is already revolutionising the HR sector. AI tools analyse vast amounts of data much faster than humans do, making them useful for everything from payroll processing to compliance activities.
Artificial intelligence is especially helpful for HR professionals involved in talent acquisition, as it eliminates some of the most time-consuming aspects of screening applicants, matching them with job openings and completing interviews.
Top uses of AI in talent acquisition
Talent acquisition tools are versatile, so you can use them whether you work for a small business or a corporation with thousands of employees. Once you have found the right tools, here are seven ways to use AI for talent acquisition.
1. Making job descriptions more accurate
A good job description lists the essential functions of the role and helps potential applicants understand your company’s culture. It also serves as the basis for job interviews and performance reviews, so it needs to be as accurate as possible.
AI tools are capable of analysing thousands of job descriptions and identifying the skills, certifications and educational credentials needed for each role. Therefore, using these tools can help you create accurate job descriptions that make your company more appealing to high-quality applicants.
As an added benefit, AI tools can help you avoid losing out on a strong recruit because your job description listed potentially irrelevant duties or credentials.
2. Screening applicants
Applicant screening is important, as it helps you determine who should move to the next stage of the recruitment process. A good screening process also makes it easier to identify applicants who may be better suited to other opportunities within your organisation.
However, manually screening applications can take time away from other critical tasks. You have to open each application, review the content and make quick decisions about whether to interview the applicant or send them a rejection letter. If you try to save time by skimming applications instead of reviewing them thoroughly, you may miss out on a high-quality recruit.
Thanks to AI in talent acquisition, it’s easier than ever to screen hundreds or even thousands of applications in a short time. AI tools are capable of comparing each application you receive with the job description to ensure that an applicant meets the minimum requirements. You can then take time to schedule interviews with quality candidates.
3. Matching applicants to job openings
When several applicants have similar qualifications, it can be difficult for an HR professional to decide which ones to interview. Additionally, unconscious bias may influence a recruiter’s decisions. Unconscious bias refers to the attitudes and beliefs you may hold about other people.
For example, if you have a lot in common with an applicant, you may move them to the next stage of the recruitment process even if there are candidates with more experience or more relevant qualifications.
Artificial intelligence can help you avoid some of the unconscious bias displayed by humans. AI tools are also capable of creating applicant profiles, which may help you improve the overall quality of your workforce.
4. Scheduling interviews
For some HR professionals, scheduling interviews is one of the most time-consuming aspects of talent acquisition. You extend an invitation, the applicant shares their availability and it turns out that you have no suitable slots available. Digital calendars help, but they’re not foolproof. For example, you may lose out on a promising candidate or end up double-booked due to a technical error.
It’s even more difficult when you use panel interviews as part of your recruitment process, as you must work around the schedules of multiple interviewers. AI makes this process easier by pulling data from several calendars and using it to determine when to schedule each interview. You can even set up an AI tool to work with different interview formats, such as phone, short screening interviews or longer technical ones.
5. Improving the candidate experience
When you do everything manually, it’s difficult to give every candidate a positive experience. For example, you may have to rely on standard responses for rejection letters and interview invites. The lack of personalisation can reflect poorly on your company, which may make it more difficult to attract high-quality applicants in the future.
Artificial intelligence improves the candidate experience in several ways. For example, you can use chatbots to interact with candidates, ensuring each person receives timely responses to questions about interviewing, taking pre-employment assessments and completing other recruitment-related tasks.
Chatbots send personalised messages, making your organisation sound more approachable. As a result, using AI in talent acquisition may help improve your company’s reputation.
6. Streamlining the interview process
Once you schedule an interview, you need time to prepare for it. Then, you must meet with the candidate, which may take anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours, depending on the type of interview. When you multiply this time commitment by three or four candidates for every opening, it’s easy to see why many HR professionals struggle to fit everything in.
When you conduct interviews, it’s also important to be consistent. If you ask each candidate a completely different set of questions, you won’t be able to compare them on an equal basis. Talent acquisition AI tools play an important role in streamlining the interview process, which may help you avoid becoming overwhelmed or making hasty decisions just to save time.
For example, AI tools can help you come up with appropriate interview questions for each role. You can even use sentiment analysis, speech recognition and other AI processes to analyse each interview and determine which candidate best demonstrated their knowledge and skills. AI is also useful for administering pre-employment assessments and ranking candidates according to performance.
7. Enhancing the onboarding process
Once you find the right recruit, you need to welcome them to your company and ensure they have the information required to succeed. A good onboarding process helps new employees adapt to your company’s culture and understand what they need to do in their first few weeks. Despite the importance of onboarding, some companies rush through the process because their HR departments are already stretched thin.
When you use AI for talent acquisition, you gain access to tools that can take the guesswork out of making new employees feel welcome. For example, some tools allow you to provide access to policy manuals and other important documents on a new recruit’s first day.
AI tools also make it possible to personalise the onboarding experience based on a new employee’s skills, credentials and work experience. Personalisation may increase motivation and help your new recruit remain engaged with the opportunities ahead as they settle into your company.
