I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but time is up… We all need to come up with a timescale of when you’re going to let AI into your business. Now, we’ve already done this and we’re hot to trot. But you’re going to need to trust us – AI is the way forwards, and whether you’re using it or not… others will be.
To reject the AI concept is pretty much like still owning a Betamax player. Yes, you can watch the same videos you always watched, but you’re not going to find any new videos unless someone you already know is willing to copy their blue-ray onto a clean Betamax cartridge… not likely. You’re dead in the water. To embrace the AI idea is like when Sinatra recorded “In the Wee Small Hours” on a 12-inch LP and moving ahead of the curve to a format people expected would be popular. You’ve got to move with the times.
So… There are 5 key issues you might face if you’re going to dig your heels in at this point. And they’re highlighted here:
1. You won’t trust chatbots
Chat-bots are codes of AI which are designed to mimic human interaction via chat systems (like WhatsApp, text-messaging, or Facebook Messenger). They’re going to be a key way that recruiters in the future get in touch with candidates and take the preliminary details down, such as phone numbers, addresses, e-mails and other demographic information. Chatbots will also be a method of obtaining a candidate’s CV. The chatbot will ask the candidate to send a CV over to an address, the chat-bot will then pass the CV to a CV parsing program, the CV will be uploaded to the CRM, categorised and filed, and from there, a real-life, human recruiter can search for that CV, intelligently, and the CRM system will be able to draw on the semantic fields used in the CV to . They can do this 24/7, without obstruction or consultation.
Chat-bots can also work through social media sites such as LinkedIn. You can have company-chatbots to talk to candidates seeking followers, or even just approaching them about their roles, taking polls or asking for details about their approaches to interesting aspects of work. For instance, would you be offended if you got asked by a chatbot “which is most important to you when hiring, time-to-hire, or quality of hire?” Chatbots are going to be great. And when it comes to chatbots, Mya is a new interface chatbot and is already looking pretty impressive. Also, Volume.ai has a website concierge, Luci, talking you through access to the Volume.ai website. Chatbots are already here and they’re smarter than you think. It’s well-worth taking a look at them and getting to know how realistic they are to interact with.
2. You’ll hire old-school recruiters
The old recruitment methods are dead. The 1980’s style bullying of customers into taking people on is finished. There is now too much choice, and too many people have too many options for the old, conventional strategies to work. You now need to add value; you need to be quick, and you need to be cost-effective.
People are still paying 25% fees, yes, they are, but more often than not, companies are opting into internal teams who can be similarly costly and, in some ways, less effective than well-organised, efficient agency recruiters. By staying at the cutting edge of AI and machine learning technologies, whilst also keeping automation at the forefront of our developmental minds, we’re able to offer a fast, effective service which gets you the best people in the shortest possible time. The old-school will still be conducting telephone interviews whilst we’ve shortlisted 10 candidates who are matches on skills, experience, behavioural style, personality profile and company culture. And you’ll be guaranteed both speed and quality of hires.
3. You can’t let go of the CV
The CV could well die out. More people are becoming adept at programming, it’s now even entering some syllabuses of primary education. LinkedIn’s recent purchase make it a prime candidate for taking over and digitising the whole CV concept. With LinkedIn becoming smarter and more AI-focussed each year, with more and more users being trained in more and more aspects of the platform, we’re seeing a truly amazing ecosystem of professionals coming together, and having access to more roles, with more information about companies provided by Glassdoor.
In tandem, the two make a very powerful environment for decision-making in recruitment, HR and people-data moreover. If you’re still formatting CVs manually, are you even in the 21st century?
4. You’re not a natural presenter
Interviewing is proving to remain, despite its ineffectiveness at providing reasonable correlation with job success. A number of factors are now involved in the hiring process, and bias has been shown to be the number-1 drawback of interviewing candidates. With automated Interviewing, you’ll be expected as the recruiter to do the interview, for an AI and a hiring manager both to watch back. The AI will make suggestions about body language and tone of voice, pitch, facial expression, use of language, range of vocabulary and give actionable insights into the person’s character and potential. If you can’t present a person to a hiring manager or make every candidate comfortable enough to be honest about their selves, then you’re going to struggle in the new world. Pinewood studios do a great course in how to present – I’d recommend a look now! If you’re an agency recruiter, you’re also probably going to want to do some presenting on Facebook, and your careers page, and probably LinkedIn.
You’re going to want to present vacancies you’re going to want to advertise candidates, and you’re going to want to talk about new companies you’re working with. In the not too distant future, you might also have to be an estate agent. You may have to show candidates round the office in an AR/VR environment… Oh yes, that’s right, people are taking 360o videos of themselves walking through their offices and talking candidates through it to give prospective new hires a glimpse into what the work atmosphere is like. So not only will you be able to give your candidates some information on what the team is like, or what the hiring manager is aiming for, but you’ll also be able to show them the actual desk they’ll be working at. If you’re not a natural presenter – this is going to make your life that much more difficult.
5. You’re too Slow to Adopt it
Ultimately, pace is the primary factor here. If you’re not already thinking about it, that’s fine – give us a call, we can be your talent acquisition AI partners. We can talk with you about how we’re adopting the new changes, so you don’t have to. We can work alongside you to make sure you’re fully aware of the changes which are going to be made, and we’ll support you every step of the way.
The AI exchange is happening, more companies are adopting strains of AI which will revolutionise their HR departments, their targets, their revenue, and ultimately their stake in the game. If you’re ready for the changes, then great – we’ll see you on the other side. If you’re concerned that you may need a little pick me up, get in touch today and we’ll talk you through the changes you can make now to bring your business, and your TA function up to speed. Happy AI Day!
By Ashleigh Wells
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