AI In Recruitment: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has permeated virtually every industry, transforming operations and interactions. The tech recruitment sector is no exception, and AI’s influence shapes the hiring processes in revolutionary ways. From leveraging AI-powered chatbots for preliminary candidate screenings to deploying machine learning algorithms for efficient resume parsing, AI leaves an indelible mark on tech hiring practices.

Yet, amidst these promising advancements, we must acknowledge the other side of the coin: AI’s potential malpractices, including the likelihood of cheating on assessments, issues around data privacy, and the risk of bias against minority groups.

The dark side of AI in tech recruitment

The introduction of AI in recruitment, while presenting significant opportunities, also brings with it certain drawbacks and vulnerabilities. Sophisticated technologies could enable candidates to cheat on assessments, misrepresent abilities and potential hiring mistakes. This could lead to hiring candidates with falsifying skills or qualifications, which can cause a series of negative effects like:

• Reduced work quality: The work output might be sub-par if a candidate doesn’t genuinely possess the abilities they claimed to have.
• Team disruptions: Other team members may have to pick up the slack, leading to resentment and decreased morale.
• Rehiring costs: You might have to let go of such hires, resulting in additional costs for replacement.

Data privacy is another critical concern

Your company could be left exposed to significant risks if your AI recruiting software is not robust enough to protect sensitive employee information. The implications for an organization with insufficient data security could be severe such as:

• Reputational damage: Breaches of sensitive employee data can damage your company’s reputation, making it harder to attract clients and talented employees in the future.
• Legal consequences: Depending on the jurisdiction, you could face legal penalties, including hefty fines, for failing to protect sensitive data adequately.
• Loss of trust: A data breach could undermine employee trust in your organization, leading to decreased morale and productivity.
• Financial costs: Besides potential legal penalties, companies could also face direct financial losses from a data breach, including the costs of investigation, recovery, and measures to prevent future breaches.
• Operational disruption: Depending on the extent of the breach, normal business operations could be disrupted, causing additional financial losses and damage to the organization’s reputation.

Let’s talk about the potential for bias in AI recruiting software

Perhaps the most critical issue of all is the potential for unconscious bias. The potential for bias in AI recruiting software stems from the fact that these systems learn from the data they are trained on. If the training data contains biases – for example, if it reflects a history of preferentially hiring individuals of a certain age, gender, or ethnicity – the AI system can learn and replicate these biases.

Even with unbiased data, if the AI’s algorithms are not designed to account for bias, they can inadvertently create it. For instance, a hiring algorithm that prioritizes candidates with more years of experience may inadvertently discriminate against younger candidates or those who have taken career breaks, such as for child-rearing or health reasons.

This replication and possible amplification of human prejudices can result in discriminatory hiring practices. If your organization’s AI-enabled hiring system is found to be biased, you could face legal action, fines, and penalties. Diversity is proven to enhance creativity, problem-solving, and decision-making. In contrast, bias in hiring can lead to a homogenous workforce, so its absence would likely result in a less innovative and less competitive organization.

Also read: What We Learnt From Target’s Diversity And Inclusion Strategy

When used correctly, AI in recruitment can take your hiring to the next level

How do you evaluate the appropriateness of using AI in hiring for your organization? Here are some strategies for navigating the AI revolution in HR. These steps include building support for AI adoption, identifying HR functions that can be integrated with AI, avoiding potential pitfalls of AI use in HR, collaborating with IT leaders, and so on.

Despite certain challenges, AI can significantly enhance tech recruitment processes when used effectively. AI-based recruitment tools can automate many manual recruiting tasks, such as resume screening and interview scheduling, freeing up time for recruiters to focus on more complex tasks. Furthermore, AI can improve the candidate’s experience by providing quick responses and personalized communications. The outcome is a more efficient, candidate-friendly process, which could lead to higher-quality hires.

Let’s look at several transformational possibilities chatbots can bring to human capital management for candidates and hiring teams. This includes automation and simplifying various tasks across domains such as recruiting, onboarding, core HR, absence management, benefits, performance management, and employee self-service resulting in the following:

For recruiters:

• Improved efficiency and productivity: Chatbots can handle routine tasks like responding to common inquiries or arranging interviews. Thereby, providing you with more time to concentrate on tasks of strategic importance.
• Enhanced candidate experience: With their ability to provide immediate responses, chatbots can make the application process more engaging and user-friendly.
• Data and insights: Chatbots can collect and analyze data from your interactions with candidates. And provide valuable insights into candidate preferences and behavior.
• Improved compliance: By consistently following predefined rules and guidelines, chatbots can help ensure that hiring processes are fair and compliant with relevant laws and regulations.
• Cost saving: By automating routine tasks for recruiters, chatbots can help reduce the labor costs associated with hiring.

Also read: 5 Steps To Create A Remote-First Candidate Experience In Recruitment

For candidates:

Additionally, candidates can leverage these AI-powered chatbots in a dialog flow manner to carry out various tasks. These tasks include the following:

• Personalized greetings: By using a candidate’s name and other personal information, chatbots can create a friendly, personalized experience.
• Job search: They can help candidates search for jobs based on specific criteria.
• Create a candidate profile: These AI-powered chatbots can guide candidates through the process of creating a profile. Thus, making it easier for them to apply for jobs.
• Upload resume: Chatbots can instruct candidates on uploading their resume, eliminating potential confusion.
• Apply for a job: They can streamline the application process, making it easier and faster for candidates to apply for jobs.
• Check application status: Chatbots can provide real-time updates on a candidate’s application status.
• Schedule interviews: They can match candidate and interviewer availability to schedule interviews, simplifying the process.

For hiring managers:

These can also be utilized by your tech hiring teams for various purposes, such as:

• Create requisition: Chatbots can guide hiring managers through the process of creating a job requisition.
• Create offers: They can assist in generating job offers, ensuring all necessary information is included.
• Access requisition and offers: Using chatbots can provide hiring managers with easy access to job requisitions and offers.
• Check on onboarding tasks: Chatbots can help track onboarding tasks, ensuring nothing is missed.

Other AI recruiting technologies can also enhance the hiring process for candidates and hiring teams in the following ways:

For candidates:

1. Tailor-made resumes and cover letters using generative AI: Generative AI can help candidates create custom resumes and cover letters, increasing their chances of standing out.
2. Simplifying the application process: AI-powered recruiting tools can simplify the application process, allowing candidates to apply for jobs with just a few clicks.
3. Provide similar job recommendations: AI can analyze candidates’ skills, experiences, and preferences to recommend similar jobs they might be interested in.

For recruiters:

• Find the best candidate: AI algorithms can analyze large amounts of data to help you identify the candidates most likely to succeed in a given role.
• Extract key skills from candidate job applications: Save a significant amount of time and effort by using AI-based recruiting software to quickly analyze job applications to identify key skills, thereby, speeding up the screening process.
• Take feedback from rejected candidates & share similar job recommendations: AI can collect feedback from rejected candidates for you to improve future hiring processes and recommend other suitable roles to the candidate.

These enhancements not only streamline the hiring process but also improve the quality of hires, reduce hiring biases, and improve the experience for everyone involved. The use of AI in hiring can indeed take it to the next level.

Where is AI in recruitment headed?

AI can dramatically reshape the recruitment landscape with the following key advancements:

1. Blockchain-based background verification:

Blockchain technology, renowned for its secure, transparent, and immutable nature, can revolutionize background checks. This process which can take anywhere from between a day to several weeks today for a single recruiter to do can be completed within a few clicks resulting in:

• Streamlined screening process: Blockchain can store, manage, and share candidates’ credentials and work histories. Thereby speeding up the verification and screening process. This approach eliminates the need for manual background checks. And leads to freeing up a good amount of time for you to focus on more important tasks.
• Enhanced trust and transparency: With blockchain, candidates, and employers can trust the validity of the information shared due to the nature of the technology. The cryptographic protection of blockchain ensures the data is tamper-proof, and decentralization provides transparency.
• Improved data accuracy and reliability: Since the blockchain ledger is immutable, it enhances the accuracy and reliability of the data stored. This can minimize the risks associated with false information on candidates’ resumes.
• Faster onboarding: A swift and reliable verification process means candidates can be onboarded more quickly. Thereby, improving the candidate experience and reducing the time-to-hire.
• Expanded talent pool: With blockchain, it’s easier and quicker to verify the credentials of candidates globally, thereby widening the potential talent pool.

2. Immersive experiences using virtual reality (VR):

VR can provide immersive experiences that enhance various aspects of the tech recruitment process:

• Interactive job previews: VR can allow potential candidates to virtually “experience” a day i.e., life at your company. This provides a more accurate and engaging job preview than traditional job descriptions.
• Virtual interviews and assessments: You can use VR to conduct virtual interviews or assessments. You can also evaluate candidates in a more interactive and immersive setting. This can be particularly useful for roles that require specific spatial or technical skills.
• Virtual onboarding programs: New hires can take a virtual tour of the office, meet their colleagues, and get acquainted with their tasks, all before their first day. This can significantly enhance the onboarding experience and help new hires feel more prepared.
• Immersive learning experiences: VR can provide realistic, immersive learning experiences for job-specific training or to enhance soft skills. These could be used during the recruitment process or for ongoing employee development.

Also read: 6 Strategies To Enhance Candidate Engagement In Tech Hiring (+ 3 Unique Examples)

AI + Recruiters: It’s all about the balance!

To summarize, AI in recruitment is a double-edged sword, carrying both promise and potential problems. The key lies in how recruiters use this technology, leveraging its benefits while vigilantly managing its risks. AI isn’t likely to replace recruiters or HR teams in the near future. Instead, you should leverage this tool to positively impact the entire hiring lifecycle.

With the right balance and careful management, AI can streamline hiring processes. It can create better candidate experiences, and ultimately lead to better recruitment decisions. Recruiters should continually experiment with and explore generative AI. To devise creative solutions, resulting in more successful hiring and the perfect fit for every open role.

Siddharth Sharma is an accomplished expert with over a decade of experience in on-premises and cloud-based HR solutions, currently holding the position of Vice President of HR Digital Solutions at JPMorgan Chase. Siddharth has extensive knowledge of various HR enterprise applications. He has been instrumental in the HCM digital transformation for multiple organizations, effectively defining, optimizing, and executing numerous HCM processes such as Recruitment, Onboarding, Core HR, Talent Management, Absence Management, Benefits, Payroll, and more.