Artificial Intelligence (AI) has entered nearly every corner of our digital lives. If you scroll through Facebook or Instagram, search for things on Google, get help from Siri or Alexa, navigate with Google Maps, do your banking online, shop on Amazon, or watch Netflix, AI is already part of your daily life.
Unlike the digital experiences above, the recruitment industry is traditionally an inherently human endeavor – it’s always been about people finding jobs for people. While this fundamental principle hasn’t changed, AI has supercharged the entire end-to-end hiring and staffing lifecycle from recruitment to workforce management, business process automation, payroll processing, and more. And the result is changing the staffing industry landscape.
Here are just some ways AI is making the recruiting process and staffing management faster, more efficient, and more effective than ever.
Better candidate sourcing
AI can analyze thousands of resumes to rank qualified candidates according to their suitability for the job. It can also factor in data from social media, professional networks, and personality profiles. Using machine learning algorithms to identify patterns in candidate data, such as skills, experience, education, and even personality, recruiters can predict which job seekers are most likely to be a good fit for a particular role.
This AI-powered sourcing eliminates much of the manual busy-work for recruiters. This leaves their time free to build human connections with candidates and employers that result in more successful placements.
Automated matchmaking
AI-based tools can analyze job descriptions and candidate profiles to identify candidates for a particular job. This technology can take into account a wide range of information, including skills, candidate experience, education, and even personality traits. This saves recruiters time and improves the quality of the potential candidates they present to companies.
As a result, companies get the right talent who is a better fit for the job, and job candidates get positions that are better for them. This has real implications for employee satisfaction that can be measured in reduced absenteeism and turnover rates – satisfied employees show up for shifts.
Schedule management
AI greatly streamlines the oft-times challenging task of filling a workplace roster. According to Sumit Sahdev, CEO of digital staffing agency Jombone, this feature alone is a game-changer.
“AI technology not only tells you who’s qualified for a job, but it’ll also tell you who’s most likely to take it”, says Sahdev. “Using machine learning, our applicant tracking systems can build a roster that actually predicts who will be available for any given shift and who will be eager to do a given job.”
Fraud prevention
Just like it’s used in online banking, AI is making payroll processing and fraud prevention efficient, error-free, and safe. Artificial intelligence verifies a transaction to determine if it’s a “normal” one, then either validate or declines the transaction.
AI can also assess payroll data for inconsistencies to eliminate the potential for human error before it occurs. In turn, a smoother payroll process results in a satisfied workforce that shows reduced levels of turnover and absenteeism.
Furthermore, AI increases workplace security by powering biometric facial recognition and preventing identity fraud with digital ID verification. This ensures that recruiters know who they are hiring and that only these candidates can access your workplace.
Reducing bias
Whether conscious or unconscious, everyone has biases. Even recruiters. Despite our better intentions, biases can creep into the talent acquisition process without our even noticing.
AI tools can help eliminate human bias in the hiring process by reducing human involvement in the screening and selection process. AI has no inherent biases other than what it is programmed to have. This means that AI-powered tools can identify and select the best candidates based solely on their skills and qualifications without being influenced by factors such as gender, race, or age.
Predictive analytics
AI can not only help find the right talent, but it can also help find it at the right time. AI tools can analyze vast amounts of data from multiple sources, including job boards, social media, and professional networks, to identify trends and patterns in the job market. This can help recruiters predict changes in demand for certain skills and adjust their recruitment process accordingly.
As a result, staffing agencies like Jombone can be prepared to meet periods of peak demand and be responsive to the needs of employers with little or no lead time required. “If you need a roster of 100 employees next week, our system has likely already anticipated that need”, Sahdev says.
Helping humans to help humans
While some people may view AI as a threat to their jobs, the reality is that AI will enable recruiters to become more efficient and effective in their roles, ultimately benefiting both employers and candidates to get more people more jobs.
Sahdev believes any threat to jobs will be counterbalanced by opportunity: “AI is inevitably going to displace some jobs, but it will create others.”
AI is already transforming the staffing process by automating many repetitive tasks recruiting teams to perform. This enables recruiters to focus their human intelligence on higher-value activities such as building relationships with clients and suitable candidates.
After all, staffing is still about just that: people getting people jobs.
