Visier, a company with an Applied Business Analytics Solution, conducted a study in 2016 about hiring practices for businesses. Though this study was centred on businesses in the United States the results resonate to business environments around the world.

The survey of senior hiring managers concluded, “results shows that the majority of managers believe recruiting programs need to be more data-driven to improve long-term business impact.” The study went on to state that managers were wondering how to streamline their talent acquisition process and ensure that the people they hire and invest in will prosper over time.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fast becoming a tool that people who are hiring are supplementing their existing methods with. Anil Kumar, Co-founder of Planetworx Technologies Pvt. Ltd. notes, “AI is really a question of when and not if, in aiding human activity that involves huge amount of data and information like recruiting. AI can definitely help in not only collating the vast amount of digital footprints by candidates and building a persona, but also by keeping track of the multiple interactions that happen during the selection process and align the same to expectations without human bias.”

AI can track applicants’ behaviours and patterns in a manner that is less intrusive than human research. So if a person is looking for job openings for a certain position in a certain geography, AI can pick up on that and begin a targeted recruitment if the candidate seems suitable.

This will save time for HR departments who don’t have to do multiple interviews and follow-ups. AI can build a sophisticated profile for a potential hire which they can peruse when the need arises.

AI and Recruitment 

Andre Lobo, CEO of WorkPro Technologies says this about AI improving recruitment going into the future,"There are already applications of AI concepts in recruitment. The question is how advanced can AI get in interpreting information to predict future outcomes. Currently, there are instances of it used in chatbots to ask simple questions of candidates during a recruitment screening process or to gauge employee sentiment through voice-based questionnaires. Pattern recognition technology is used in some form in resume parsing and resume search. It also has applications in providing basic-level training and on-boarding to new recruits as well."

With the process more streamlined, timelines from engagement to hiring or even rejection would be shorter. For an SME, it is important for a potential aspirant at the workplace to have a positive impression of the protocols and methods of the office-place. AI will help in doing this. The filtering that comes with a profile developed with AI can significantly reduce time taken for recruiters to make a decision. Andre Lobo muses, “The question is - can it become so intelligent take the place of humans and evaluating data and predicting outcomes. If so, how will humans respond to it?”

Artificial Intelligence for recruitment in India?

Speaking about the possibility of when AI would enter the Indian market, Anil Kumar had this to say, “India is a natural market to leverage AI given its huge resource pool and technology base. As long as there is a definition of tasks and oversight by humans who will have the final say, I believe most of the fears surrounding AI are unfounded.”

Andre Lobo sees it playing a great role as well. “It will affect every industry and every market in every country. The key to its success will be how open people are to exploring and incorporating AI into their organisations. Will people become easily frustrated when AI does not offer them satisfactory outcomes every time? It will eventually pervade every function and organisation, the extent to which it does and how quickly it happens are the questions.”

It’s still early days for AI in hiring. But as time goes by, its use will become more and more prevalent. As our experts see it, AI for hiring will be added to the long list of technological advancements that add value to the economy and society.