What used to be the plot of a futuristic movie or sci-fi novel has now become everyday news.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) is nipping at the heels of many professions, offering a faster, more reliable, objective, and nearly perfect methodology for doing the work that human brains have been doing.  No longer is it simply about automation, AI is now being thought of as a “must have” to gain and keep a competitive edge in businesses of all kinds.

According to a Gallup Poll conducted in January of 2018, the public largely believes the impact of AI will be positive, it also anticipates that the technology will have some significant downsides. Chief among these is job loss, with 73% of Americans saying the adoption of AI will result in a loss of more jobs than it creates.

The advancement of AI into the field of Talent Acquisition (TA) is inevitable and getting more sophisticated. But this dynamic shouldn’t cripple our adoption of artificial intelligence.  In fact, based on a recent survey conducted by LinkedIn, there are clearly areas where AI excels and advances the TA discipline. There are also areas where it hasn’t shown itself to be an adequate replacement for the “human touch” on hiring. In fact, AI is believed to be a strong ally in the work of sourcing, screening, and nurturing candidates but isn’t seen as effective with candidate engagement.

To put a finer point on it, AI simply cannot build relationships with candidates, see candidate potential beyond their qualifications, judge areas of culture fit, gauging candidate interpersonal skills or convince candidates to accept a job offer. But it can help create efficiencies where appropriate.

Below are some of those functions and the percentages of HR departments that automate according to a recent CareerBuilder survey:

• Payroll - 50% fully automate; 42% partially automate
• Background Checks/Drug Testing – 39% fully automate; 35% partially automate
• Applicant Tracking – 38% fully automate; 35% partially automate
• Benefits Administration – 34% fully automate; 49% partially automate
• Job Posting Distribution – 30% fully automate; 36% partially automate
• Compliance – 25% fully automate; 45% partially automate
• Performance Management – 24% fully automate; 38% partially automate
• Sourcing Job Candidates – 20% fully automate; 47% partially automate
• Onboarding – 15% fully automate; 56% partially automate
  
  

The best preparation for those of us in the TA profession is to never cease in our commitment to remain relevant. This includes embracing AI for the value it brings (embrace the way AI can reduce the mundane elements of recruiting we don’t enjoy anyway) and staying relevant to the businesses that we serve.

As always, if you are in need of staffing support in the form of direct placement or supplemental staff, the TA team at ASE would be delighted to partner with you.

Sources:  news.gallup.com. business.linkedin.com. EPTW 5/24/17