Has recruitment become more efficient but less human?
Andy Burnham recently questioned the use of AI screening and online interviews, particularly when recruiting young people.
It isn’t as simple as technology being good or bad. We remember when LinkedIn first arrived and people said it would be the death of recruitment.
LinkedIn became a valuable tool that complemented good recruitment rather than replacing it. AI should be viewed in much the same way.
There is absolutely a place for it.
AI can help employers manage large numbers of applications, identify relevant experience and make recruitment more efficient.
But it can’t always pick up the nuances. Sometimes it takes years of real-life recruitment experience to recognise potential that doesn’t immediately jump off the page, a less polished CV, an unusual career journey or qualities that don’t sit within a list of keywords.
The same applies to online interviews. They can speed things up, make diaries easier to coordinate and allow several line managers to take part. For remote roles or difficult locations, they can be invaluable.
But convenient for the employer doesn’t always mean fairer for the candidate.
Some people, particularly younger applicants, can struggle to show their personality through a screen. A good interviewer sitting face-to-face can put someone at ease, ask the right follow-up question and uncover something that might otherwise have been missed.
Technology can make recruitment quicker. It still takes human judgement to understand the person behind the application.
And yes, AI helped us create this image but it still needed a bit of human direction !!!
Are we using technology to improve recruitment or sometimes simply because it’s easier?
