Had an AI interview with Mr Watson today?

In the HR sector, where AI is still in the ‘arrival phase’, the development is continuing to pick up speed. One thing that’s clear is that artificial intelligence will change the rules of the game – but it’s still unclear to what extent.

It is becoming increasingly difficult in the recruitment industry to find exceptional candidates with the necessary key qualifications. This is where AI-based tools that support the so-called ‘candidate attraction process’ come into play. These tools scan the data pools of social media channels for potential candidates with the aim of making them aware of companies or to assist HR personnel in identifying them.

With the help of this kind of preselection, the next steps in the recruitment process can then be initiated.

Where to next? Does Mr Watson have to wait?

In applicant management and administration – as well as in the sounding out of suitable candidates – digitisation can be quite useful and, at the same time, project the professionality of the searching company’s working processes to the outside world.

AI-based processes make a great deal of sense in recruiting when there are a large number of candidates that need to be filtered intelligently. Whether it’s a realignment of entire departments or sought-after trainee positions in attractive global corporations. Using AI tools, the preliminary work can be carried out much more efficiently during the candidate search and identification phase. This – and this is a win-win for all parties involved – not only accelerates the appointment process, but also shortens the duration of the application procedure for the candidates.

Personality is in demand

No matter which industry segment you are currently looking at, new jobs are being advertised everywhere and completely new job profiles are being posted on Internet platforms. However, in the candidate market, there is already a saturation of online job offers. Many candidates no longer want to be simply flooded with job offers. They much prefer personal contact or a direct approach than a permanent flood of e-mails with proposals. Confronted by the abundance of possible ‘dream jobs’, they are often spoilt for choice and can’t choose from the multitude of opportunities. Ultimately, this is rather stressful and they simply feel overwhelmed.

For them, personal contact represents respect, personal attention and individuality. Even digital natives, who have grown up with electronic communication, attach greater importance to interpersonal exchange.

People’s needs often exceed the limits of the technical possibilities – not everything that already works (from a purely technical point of view) corresponds to what people actually want, and for that reason is often not welcome or even accepted. The company has the choice of finding the right balance between AI-supported acceleration of the process and the use of personally conducted, empathetic conversations that cannot be replaced by computer-based instruments.

Summary

Sophisticated algorithms can support recruiting. However, when it comes to making contact and conducting personal discussions, Mr Watson should be a little more restrained. As far as this is concerned, it is important to use a personal approach to show respect and appreciation for the candidate and to emphasize the individuality of the company.

Author

Martin Krill has been working for Hager Unternehmensberatung for nearly 20 years and was appointed Managing Director in 2004. He fills senior sales and management positions in the technology industry and in other selected industries.