And it could be costing you time and money....
I have seen several posts recently that made me stop and think:
companies are often thinking about using AI to save time across the board without considering the candidate’s point of view or the psychological perspective.
And If you don't do this, you will make things harder and waste far more time than you did even before AI existed.
The Problem trying to be solved:
In certain areas, due to the ease of applying and the current market, job adverts can get hundreds of applicants - That is not a secret.
Some companies see this as a gold mine, but in all honesty, it often makes things harder. You are not looking for hundreds of people: you are looking for one.
The common thought process goes:
"I have hundreds of applicants, how can I automate this with AI to get the right ones sitting in front of me at an interview?"
And the honest answer is that you can’t, not without being involved - thinking this way can be dangerous.
I am not saying you can’t use AI to filter, because it is great for this. I am saying that using it to decide who is great for an interview based on words on a page, which are often now written by AI themselves, is a risk.
We need to look at this from the candidate's perspective in a few areas:
The Sell: The best candidates naturally have the most choice, and these are often exactly who we want. If we do not sell the opportunity, the company, and the reasons why it is good for them, how can we possibly expect them to choose us over another business that does?Motivations: Candidates only chasing the dollar will naturally have a shorter tenure and be more susceptible to counter-offers, someone being made redundant might be desperate for a job in the short term to fill a gap and a relocator you disregard might actually already have family in the area and be in the process of moving - whereas a top pick from AI might have three final interviews this week or another opportunity they far prefer that is 99% there.
If we do not explore these things, the people you bring in might look good, but are they the best? Unlikely. Will you waste time? Definitely. The same applies to information like salary, skills, and digging deeper than keywords.
You might ask, "Why can't I just get them to do a video to tell me those things?" Honestly, do you think the best people will spend extra time doing a video for you if you haven't invested time in them first and they don't have to for other companies which they have been sold on better? It is unlikely. You get what you give.
The hardest part of recruitment is Psychological:
We cannot forget that recruitment is psychological and played over a long timeframe. People, emotions, and situations change daily and severly without notice. We need to be on top of this, and the only way to do that is through communication, building trust, and creating interest.The question will always be: "How can I use tools and resources to get the right people in front of me so I don't waste time at interview?" And the answer is almost certainly to spend time with people, understand them from a psychological perspective, and stay in contact.
Is that time-consuming? Yes. Is it a full-time job? Certainly. That is the value you get from a specialist recruitment partner or team who really knows what they are doing. They handle the sell, the navigation of emotional and psychological factors, staying one step ahead when things change and save a mountain of time for TA teams and hiring managers.
Lean:
So, am I saying AI is bad? No, AI is amazing! But you should think of it as a continuous improvement or lean tool. Use it to eliminate wasted, non-value-adding tasks for the Candidate, the Company, and Me, in that specific order. This takes away the admin that stops us from doing something much more valuable for the candidate and the company.Things like:
- Automation of document sending.
- Initial filtering for clear non-matches, such as those out of the country.
- Personalized rejection emails (but definitely not after they have spent time with you).
- Sorting data, formatting notes, and diary bookings.
Summary:
In short, be careful of using AI in the wrong way. It will lose you value, lose you the best candidates, and waste even more time than before. If you are time-short, use a specialist. It might cost, but versus the cost of a hiring manager’s time and the cost of the wrong hire, it is minimal. A wrong hire is said to cost a business 3x what their salary is in total monetary value when you take into account onboarding, training, and lost delivery.When you put it this way, paying someone to get it right doesn't sound that bad, whether there are 2 applications or 400 the problem still stands.
Reach out to see how we are using AI to streamline non-value-adding processes and how we could save you time and money like we have for many other businesses!