By Anil Agarwal, CEO and Co-Founder, InCruiter
The word artificial intelligence (AI) was named the Collins Word of the Year for 2023. This abbreviation gained traction across nations, societies, and elite classrooms, in powerful talk shows and discussions by the policymakers and world leaders. This word was not just discussed among technology enthusiasts but this intelligent and vast technology was best put to use in industries like healthcare, marketing, banking, transportation, logistics, education, and HR and recruitment services in the year 2023.
The year 2023 was significant in transforming the traditional recruitment process to an AI-driven talent acquisition drive. Right from resume screening to scheduling interviews to recognising facial expressions and non-verbal cues during the interview to onboarding the new hire, AI played a pivotal role in the hiring of robots for rockstars. AI helped hiring managers use innovative ways and findings to onboard an employee who best suited the desired job role.
Here are a few steps that companies across the world took to bridge their talent gap and harness AI’s full potential in streamlining the time-consuming hiring process.
Resume screening: Companies adopted AI algorithms for the time-consuming resume screening process and applicant matching. The usage of high-powered AI smart tools helped HRs avoid boring CV sifting processes. AI effortlessly analyzed through vast databases, identifying best-suited candidates whose skills, talents, and experiences were perfectly in line with the job requirements. Usually, 50-55% of HRs waste their valuable time in sifting through CVs. However, AI’s standout features accelerated the see-through process and helped HRs make more informed decisions in the very first step. This not only saved recruiters time but also ensured a foolproof assessment of individuals thereby helping in identifying the best talent.
Initial interaction with chatbots: The year 2023 witnessed a very unique initial interaction process with the candidates who applied for the jobs. The individuals interacted with AI-driven chatbots and messaging apps instead of human interfaces. This interface made the initial procedure simple, less cumbersome for HRs, and minimised the time taken for the first round of interaction. The bots helped handle initial queries of candidates about the hiring company and provided answers to frequently asked questions. It also collected the basic database of the applicants. This could all become possible because of the AI-powered machine learning processes, which were embedded with codes, basic programs, and comprehensive data. The bots not only made the assessment seamless but also enriched it.
Interview scheduling: The bots not only did the initial interaction and quick run-through of the job description but also aided in scheduling interviews as per the availability of the candidate and hiring teams. This automated process saves time, helps eliminate back-and-forth communication, and enhances the efficiency of the process.
Feedback enhancement: The inclusion of AI tools also made the final assessment of the candidate easier and more robust for the hiring team as well as the applicant. The bots can help give fair feedback about both parties. The tool is facilitated by collecting feedback from interviewers and delivering it to candidates in a personalised, unbiased, and constructive manner.
Video interviews: The traditional method of Zoom and Google Meet became more enhanced and power-packed as the video calls were equipped to analyse candidates’ tone and tenor, confidence, and command over the language used during interviews. This method of analysing provided a deeper understanding of the candidate’s profile, his/her communication skills understanding of the subject, and organisational skills. It helped the hiring office realise whether the applicant would be a right fit for the industry’s culture.
Unbiased recruitment: The recruitment process was AI-driven so it ensured no biases in terms of caste, gender, race, ethnicity and nationality. The chatbots tried mitigating biases in the recruitment process thereby ensuring a fair and transparent hiring process.
One can conclude that AI was a game-changer for recruitment services in 2023. The industry and hiring patterns will continue to evolve with technology in the coming years. The hiring process was not just restricted to onboarding the applicant but the tool made sure that the new candidate understood the nuances of the work and gave a detailed introduction of the colleagues, teammates, and different verticals after the candidate joined the office.
AI will continue to evolve and so will its application in various arenas of work let it be healthcare, diagnosis, pathology, content marketing, cyber security, defense, recruitment, and digital marketing. One can gain a competitive edge over the subject and enhance productivity and results. It can help automate various processes which are usually cumbersome, mundane, and boring to repeat.
