Artificial intelligence: candidate assessment processes of the future

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already in place to a degree within the HR industry, which means that we don’t necessarily have to wait until the distant future for this exponential piece of technology. It can have an impact on the hiring process right now.

Generalist recruitment: how AI will help

As all human resources professionals should know, in addition to all of the applications received from the numerous job boards a job advert may be posted on, there is also the choice of so many CV libraries. These are sometimes all rolled up in a total market search package too. Combining this with your own database, you can be faced with a large selection of professionals from which you must choose the best candidates. So imagine:
  1. Having a system that eliminates irrelevant CVs straight away and then engages directly with the best-fit candidates by setting up calls for you, using your diary to determine when you are free. Then only those candidates that are interested in the opportunity are sent forward.
     
  2. A system that does all of the above but also arranges for those candidates that are the best fit to send in video applications for you to review before calling.
     
  3. A system that does all of the above, but for those video applications, uses algorithms to measure the candidates’ body language for signs of dishonesty or inaccurate answers to questions, before setting up interviews with the best of the bunch.
     
  4. A system that learns from these experiences so that data on the characteristics which are most commonly seen in the majority of successful candidates are adapted and implemented in its search criteria accordingly. This will go a long way in saving a recruiter and a company a lot of time by focusing on those candidates that are the best fit, not only for the role but for the organisation also. 

Specialist areas of recruitment: how AI will help

Another area of recruitment that could equally benefit from the implementation of AI is in areas where candidates are not in abundance; specialist areas where particular skill sets are in high demand but there is also a great deal of competition for candidates. 
There is real work happening now that uses existing technology to analyse trends in recruitment that are specific to a company or business area. This technology then identifies areas where hiring times are too lengthy and compares it with the costs of not hiring the position.
 
This analysis can lead to a number of efficiencies:
  1. Real-time reporting that learns what these trends are and reports on the need to focus or divert resources to certain roles as soon as they are available, all based on past experiences.
     
  2. A system that learns where these difficult areas of recruitment are and continually scans for those “specialist” candidates that will be needed at some point. Additionally, this theoretical system will learn to highlight and continually engage with those specialist candidates that were not successful at that time to keep them engaged with the company. This would make them easily accessible and warm to the prospect of employment opportunities when needed. As recruiters typically only look for candidates with particular skill sets when they are needed, this system would eradicate the stop-start nature of recruitment in specialist areas that often fail to yield the desired results and ensures opportunities to hire such skilled professionals are not missed. 

Candidate management and customer service: how AI will help

AI is sure to help reconnect candidates that have disengaged from a process or a company due to lack of contact, which can be a disaster when it comes time to speak to the candidate. A system that can identify these candidates before it is too late and engage with them will save huge amounts of time and possibly avoid PR mishaps.
What would be even better, is a system that can engage with candidates at regular intervals through verbal dialogue. With the development of chatbots, which are fast developing along the lines of Amazon’s Alexa, this is a very real prospect. These systems will use the replies or answers to questions in the dialogue and quickly learn to pick up on changes in a candidate’s situation. They’ll be able to alert hiring managers and recruiters looking at different locations or different requirements. 
For the future, this will allow human recruiters and hiring managers to spend more time on the harder-to-fill roles, and enable them to concentrate on placing the best candidates into their roles.
In my view, this is simply doing what recruiters do now but it is doing it in better and bigger volumes.
Luc Salmon, Operating Director
Michael Page Human Resources
T: +44 20 7269 2123