How to use AI in recruitment

AI can be used to free up time for recruiters by taking on more repetitive tasks, leaving them more available to deal with critical HR matters or those which require a human face. It also means that HR professionals have more time to focus on other important matters like interviewing candidates and the onboarding process.

In our guide on how to responsibly use AI-powered HR tools, we also suggest screening third-party vendors to ensure that bias is mitigated, they are compliant with any current regulations, and how they’ve audited the system. Another potential issue with using AI for repetitive tasks such as CV screening is that it can perpetuate and amplify biases, which can waste your valuable time and money. However, the right AI tools can help to reduce human hiring bias by screening candidates purely on the basis of skill and competencies. 

Closing emerging tech skills gaps

Another point of concern for employers is identifying and closing any emerging skills gaps. As industries adapt to new technology and paradigm shifts, candidates and employees alike may not have the skills necessary to confidently take on new responsibilities. In this next section, we will look at the impact of the UK’s skills shortage, as well as the importance of responding to this in a way that puts UK businesses and employees at an advantage.

The UK’s growing skills shortage

The Department for Education’s (DfE) Employer Skills Survey 2022 highlighted that nearly a third of all vacancies were skills shortage vacancies (which cannot be filled because the employer cannot find the skills they need), more than twice the corresponding number in 2017. This could be in part due to a lack of training on the part of both businesses and the UK government. Some common skills gaps may be in areas such as:

• Cybersecurity
• AI technology
• Data analytics
• Engineering.

Responding to the skills shortage

It may therefore be increasingly useful for UK businesses to step up to the challenge and upskill employees so that they can progress in their field, as well as keep their skills relevant to their role. It may also help UK businesses to stay competitive on an international level. By investing financially, they can keep talent in their own employee pool – instead of sinking time and money into sourcing external candidates.

Another strategy, could involve providing graduate schemes or paid internships which offer promising hires the ability to train in highly in demand skills which are otherwise lacking from the candidate talent pool. This can help businesses strive to be cutting-edge in their field by developing employees with skills which are otherwise very hard to source on the labour market, and may eventually require a talent acquisition specialist to source.

Quality of hire

Employers are also facing the challenge of finding quality hires. This might be due to changes within their industry, the introduction of AI to workflows, or the issue of AI-generated job applications. With remote job applications being open to the whole world, this can attract a greater number of applications, making the filtering process more challenging. Read on to understand how employers can widen their talent pool to include more quality candidates.

Using skills-based hiring approaches vs degree based hiring

There is a strong case for skills-based hiring approaches. Rather than prioritising candidates who have degrees and a prestigious educational background, skills-based hiring focusessed on whether candidates simply have the right skills for the job.

As roles change alongside business transformation and technological shifts, what candidates learn during their degree may become redundant. Hiring candidates with the right skills for their responsibilities may be safer. For example, employers might look for candidates who are familiar with AI technology or cybersecurity if the role is now calling for those skills. 

Internal referral programmes

Internal referral programmes help keep talent in the business and may also help to prevent turnover. Additionally, managers are more likely to know who the top employees are in their team. They might also have key insights such as what makes them promotable and why they might excel in a particular role.

Assess what skills that top employees have

Another way that employers can potentially improve the quality of your hire is to work out what hard and soft skills their business’s most high performing employees have, then look for those qualities in new candidates. They can also look at what makes these employees such a good cultural fit, especially if they have been with the company for several years and have been promoted through the ranks.

However, it may not be best just to go on cultural fit alone, but look at what’s known as cultural ‘add’ as well. Cultural add includes what a candidate could even improve about the culture of a team.

As AI continues to take over more repetitive responsibilities, what makes a quality candidate is also changing. Top skills to hire for might be ‘human skills’ including emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, leadership skills and relationship building skills. 

Write job descriptions with inclusive, unbiased language

By making job descriptions more accessible or enticing to a wide range of quality candidates, they are more likely to reach the right match. When writing a job description, consider the following:

• Using wording that doesn’t emphasise explicitly or implicitly the gender of the preferred candidate;
• Removing any reference to ‘digital natives’ as this can discourage talented candidates of all ages;
• Using wording that doesn’t have a racial bias;
• Being clear about how your policies are beneficial to a wide range of applicants and take into consideration a diverse set of individual needs.

Flexible work

Despite many businesses encouraging a return to the office, flexible working remains a popular benefit among candidates and employees. Because of its consistent popularity, offering this option may increase the competitiveness of a job opening. 

Remote working can still be used to widen the talent pool, as it opens up the talent pool to the global rather than local market. This is because employees can technically work from anywhere. As working from home also removes the need for commuting every day, this can also open up a role to candidates with a disability. Flexible hours can also be of great benefit to parents who choose to work from home. 

Identifying Gen Z talent

As Gen Z has joined the workforce, employers are having to find new ways to appeal to this demographic. On the whole, there are some employment trends which define Gen Z apart from the Millennials that came before them.

Like Millennials, Gen Z employees are generally focused on wellbeing, but more so on the long term; they might already be looking at pension plans and health insurance. Gen Z are often digitally savvy and may have an intuitive grasp of technology, especially social media. We found in our article on which employee benefits matter among different generations, Gen Z candidates might have the following priorities:

• Casual dress code;
• Work-life balance ;
• Flexible hours;
• Pension plan;
• Health insurance.

Considering the fact that Gen Z have a range of new skills and competencies, it can be incredibly useful to tap into this particular age group. However, not all Gen Z candidates have the same aims, drives and personalities. Therefore, it may be best to consider applicants on a case-by-case basis, learning about their personality and their professional goals without stereotyping them.

Agility

Recruiters can also benefit from becoming agile. One of the benefits of recruiter agility is that it can help businesses to stay adaptable even when there are changes to the labour market which are out of their control. Some of the key attributes of agile recruiting include:

• Creating efficient feedback loops;
• Keeping up-to-date with trends in recruitment;
• Making actionable decisions using data;
• Deciding which key metrics to use to assess recruitment performance;
• Streamlining processes and resource allocation;
• Embracing new recruitment technology where it is appropriate;
• Creating a clear talent lifecycle;
• Identifying key internal talent.

While talent sourcing remains a challenge for recruiters, there are some simple solutions to keep hiring processes fresh and efficient. One of the most pressing issues for businesses in the long-term is identifying and preventing emerging skills gaps, especially if they are working in industries which are quickly changing. Finally, consider internal referral programmes to keep talented employees in the business and improve retention.