Mr. Lalit Singh is the Co-Founder & CTO at Meraqui. He is an engineer, he did his masters from NITIE Mumbai with IT major. Worked with tech giants like i2 Technologies, ITC Infotech, Unilever IT. He was onsite with Samsung Electronics in Seol, South Korea for some time too. Then he joined Unilever as Regional IT Project Manager where I led one of the largest migration projects, called U2K2 for Asia Pacific, Australia, Middle East and Turkey (AP-AMET) regions. This was one of the largest projects in the history of Unilever to migrate innumerable legacy systems worldwide – some of them indigenously developed – to One SAP Unified platform. He operated out of the IT regional hubs Singapore and Bangalore, to lead projects in 24 countries falling udder AP-AMET region.
The last decade has been largely dictated by widespread and robust technological advancements in all fields of life. Every industry, whether big or small, has undergone some kind of technical infusion to keep pace with this quickly digitizing world. In this scenario, the human resource and recruitment landscape has not been left untouched by the digital touch either, as Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence have emerged as the trending norms of the day.
Some ways in which the presence and usage of Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence-based programs have worked to alleviate the efficiency and status of recruitment in recent times are discussed as follows-
AI quickens talent sourcing
The use of AI makes the process of talent sourcing much more efficient than what is humanly possible. Firstly, AI enables a far-fetched reach that dramatically enhances the quantity, quality, and diversity of the talent pool. Additionally, by shortlisting the candidates based on specific filters of qualifications, AI does within minutes what would take hours to perform manually. Further, a lot of jobs require technical knowledge and jargon to appeal to relevant candidates. However, not all HRs are aware of the technical language of all fields. This is another area where artificial intelligence can come in handy. AI-backed sourcing allows scope for search by purpose and meaning as opposed to a generic word-matching algorithm which lets the job description be in exact alignment with the industry language and terms.
AI adds efficiency to screening processes
The screening process is one of the most crucial points in a recruitment cycle, and it is thus essential that it is carried out in the most precise and efficient manner. The introduction of AI in this process can prove to be extremely beneficial. This is because machine learning can easily and efficiently sort through data of past and present and organize it in the best possible manner. This allows the authorities to be able to access relevant data related to a particular post and its applicants well-organized, all in one place.
The software can develop patterns from the past and use them to carry out operations in the present. It can also draw comparisons with third-party data and statistics, thereby providing the whole picture under one umbrella. It also effectively assesses not only a candidate’s qualifications and experience but also their skills, and simultaneously measures their relevance with respect to the requirements of the job position, hence picking only the candidates that are best suited for the job.
Not only the employers, but the employees too benefit from this. This is because several times, employees are attracted to the company name and reputation more than the job post. In this scenario, AI can assist them in finding the post that is most appropriate for them.
AI ensures equality in recruitment
Since AI is machine-based, all decisions are taken with utmost fairness. There is little room for any bias or discrimination to hinder the recruitment of the most deserving candidate. This allows companies to hire and benefit from a wide set of diverse workers who bring in their fresh perspectives and values to the work environment and add to its success. Having a diverse workforce also ensures greater profitability as stated by a recent McKinsey report that states organizations with more inclusive staff and work environment are 43% likely to earn more profit. An inclusive and equitable work culture also adds to a company’s public image and reputation which drastically affects its position in society.
AI enables whole-around judgment in virtual interviews
As established, technology is definitely more precise and consistent than humans. AI can be used to judge an employee in a virtual interview on subtleties that a human eye can miss. These may include tonality, body language, and attention levels, all of which may get generally overlooked but speak lengths about a candidate’s personality and interest in the job he’s applying for. It can also allow interviewers to access easily the relevant candidate data which can prove to be helpful while evaluating them in an interview. It can also help establish correlations between different data and claims, as provided by the candidate, thereby making applicant assessment easier for recruiters.
AI saves costs
Naturally, inducing AI into work operations costs far less than recruiting and sustaining human resources to do the same work. Additionally, since technology is far more unerring and quicker than humans, it saves a lot of money that goes into mistakes, losses, and delays. Apart from the monetary costs, AI also saves on time and effort resources, which consists of the implicit costs of an organization and carry enough weightage to translate into substantial savings in the long run.
Summing Up
Recent times have seen robust evolution in the way industries work, thanks to the rapid technical infestation that has been dictating the globe. The field of HR and recruitment too has benefitted immensely from the introduction of technology like AI and data analytics in its processes. Some of the benefits as experienced by the recruiters owing to this software were discussed in the scope of this article.