The recruitment process continues to lengthen as the search for highly skilled talent increases, the fear of making a bad hire remains and the quality of active candidates is lacking. The average time to fill doubled from 2014 (22.9 days) compared to 2010 (12.6 days), and many reports point to the fact those numbers have increased even more from 2014 to 2016.
The average time to fill in 2016 is now at a record high of 29 days according to DHI-DFH Vacancy Duration Measure which analyzed the entire US labor market.
Why does the resume process take so long?
Well, reviewing a resume is only the beginning. The mundane tasks of pre-screening, interviewing, validating and reference/background checking candidates is where the hold up lies. What if the reason these steps took so long was because the candidates that were chosen to go through the process were wrong from the start? Maybe to shorten the time to hire, the first few steps need a huge overhaul!
1. Making sense of candidate data
One of the most crucial tasks in recruitment is now improved with the help of artificial intelligence. Recruiters are unable to adequately review candidate data all on their own, so they’ve often turned to technology and tools that can help them understand the data. But is that enough? We think not. AI recruitment systems cognitively analyze candidate data and learn from the data to make better future decisions or recommendations.
2. Aligning job requirements with candidate skills & preferences
Using artificial intelligence to match candidates to job requirements is another advantage recruiters have. Bullet point job requirements and a resume and cover letter are what recruiters have always had to work with. Yes, they may even get to have a conversation to gauge whether the candidate will fill those requirements or is even engaged in the role, but human error and bias can muddy the process. Chatbots are being implemented to engage in smarter conversations with candidates using proprietary technology that highlights unique factors within candidates and directs recruiters to the core requirements that speak to them. Chatbots have the ability to keep candidates engaged in lengthy hiring processes and can even help speed up the process by learning and analyzing the candidate to help employer filter and identify right fit talent.
3. Measuring candidate engagement & fit through cognitive screening
According to CareerBuilder’s annual social media recruitment survey, 60% of employers pre-screen job candidates on social compared to the 22% who did so in 2008 and 11% in 2006. Social screening is now a reputable best practice in recruitment; however, it still doesn’t ensure candidate fit and leaves A LOT of room for biased decisions to be made.
Using Artificial Intelligence in recruitment also has the ability to reduce bias in the hiring process. In a recent Gallup study, researchers found gender-diverse business units in the retail sector have 14% higher average comparable revenue than less-diverse business units. There is also a 15 fold increase in sales revenue of companies with a high rate of racial diversity. So why wouldn’t hiring teams want to take initiatives to help diversify teams?” Artificial intelligence in recruitment is replacing that need to socially screen candidates with a more efficient and accurate method.
About the author: Noel Webb is co-founder and CEO of Karen.ai (Your Cognitive Recruiting Assistant), the latest project from his role as Director of Product Innovation at Innosphere. A veteran of business development and out-of-the-box thinking, Noel has been a leader in his roles over the years for several companies, including Bam Digital, SpeakFeel and Agnition.
