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Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is being deployed in HR and Talent Acquisition Technology at a rapid pace. A survey from Talent Tech Labs found that 73 percent of new Talent Acquisition Technology vendors are using some form of A.I. in their platform. To fully understand the impact Artificial Intelligence has on your organisation’s candidates, employees and entire Talent Acquisition team -from recruiters to hiring managers – we must identify how A.I. is being leveraged in the HR and Talent Acquisition functions today and how it will impact specific constituents in your workforce.
The term “artificial intelligence” is actually an overarching category with several more targeted terms falling under that heading:
These are not the only types of A.I., but they are the most common within the lexicon of the TA industry. These categories aren’t mutually exclusive either, as A.I.-enabled technology is quite likely to combine a number of these elements.
There’s a lot of noise out there about A.I., especially when it comes to “taking over our jobs”, but this is far from the truth. While some studies show that executives expect A.I. to replace portions of their workforce in the next few years, other studies find that executives expect to grow their headcount. This implies that A.I. isn’t going to replace jobs, it’s more likely going to help certain employees perform their jobs better. It also means that specific responsibilities will change. What was once a recruiter’s job to schedule interviews can now be handled by intelligent software through automation.
Ultimately, A.I. is the next level up from automation, and it isn’t here to replace people altogether, but rather to help them spend their time focusing on things only humans can. Administrative responsibilities will simply become obsolete over the long haul, but the deeper strategy required can only be developed through humans. A Tech Executive from BetterWorks says it best:
“While some big businesses might assume A.I. is their ticket to paying less in labour costs, if we go this route we’re selling our workforces short. The human brain possesses something computers still don’t: mindfulness. The more we leverage measurement, insight, data, and machines that prompt new ways of thinking, the more humans can do what they do best — think and apply thoughtfulness to their jobs.”
One of the biggest game changers for your organisation is A.I.’s ability to forecast what your business may encounter in the future. Your existing technology may use predictive analytics to help your employees make more strategic decisions, but with A.I., the technology learns from the decisions you act on.
[Tweet “One of the biggest thing #AI brings to your business is quick, long term #business forecasts”]
A few years ago, big data was all anyone could talk about. Companies began to apply predictive analytics to existing systems, like an Applicant Tracking System, to give a recruiter or hiring manager intel on how favourably a potential candidate might compare to other candidates and top performing employees. A.I., on the other hand, learns from each decision the recruiter makes, so it can become smarter and even more helpful to the organisation over time.
To put it as simply as possible: If Company A and Company B purchase the same non-A.I. software – they’ll get the same performance and outcomes. If Company A and Company B purchase the same A.I. software – they’ll get two unique systems that adapt to their organisation’s inputs and responses.
In the past, much of the data that HR and Talent Acquisition professionals collected was unstructured and difficult to understand. Next, with the entrance of Big Data, HR technologies promised to organise and make sense of this data, but humans were still left with the task of digesting and acting on that data. Now we are in the age of A.I. where technology is able to make sense of and act on that data.
[Tweet “Use this #AI tech adoption period to beta test tools you think will suit you”]
Talent Acquisition professionals: Your job cannot be replicated at this point, so instead of fighting automation that can make your job 1,000 times easier, try a system for your most difficult to match jobs. In essence, beta test these technologies. Chances are, you’ll see a significant matching and screening burden taken off your shoulders, and for costs that are far less detrimental to your recruiting budget than you might expect.
Bottom line? It’s tough to be an industry leading organisation without one very crucial thing. Your people. A.I. impacting recruiting is and should be looked at, as a key piece of helping your people do their jobs better.
Cover image: Shutterstock
Jonathan Kestenbaum will be hosting one of keynote sessions of the 12th Australasian Talent Conference, where he’ll be your tour guide through the complex A.I. ecosystem. Find out more.
