Companies across sectors are using artificial intelligence tools, including generative AI, for candidate sourcing, resume screening, skills assessment, predictive analytics and bias reduction in their recruitment process. Humans get involved only from the interview stage at some companies, while at some others, GenAI bots help managers conduct interviews.
While there are several concerns, ranging from data privacy to risk of discrimination and inability to discover potential in candidates, HR executives say AI is making the hiring process quicker and more efficient for them.
Professional services firm Genpact recently launched IMatch, a GenAI-based in-house resume parsing and job-matching engine.
Covering 40% of its new hires, AI tools have made the hiring process touchless till the interview stage, said Ritu Bhatia, Genpact’s global hiring leader. Use of AI has resulted in a 15% increase in recruiter productivity, and an improvement in the speed to hire from 62 days to 43, Bhatia added.
Improved Productivity for Cos
AI tools help analyse historical data, market trends and internal talent metrics, allowing companies to gain insights into emerging skill demands and talent availability, and develop recruitment strategies to address current and future talent needs.
Simplilearn has been deploying ChatGPT — among other AI tools — for over a year to optimise job descriptions, craft proficiency assessments and conduct psychometric tests. “This enables us to reduce time on mundane tasks and improve productivity and efficiency,” said the edtech firm’s chief HR officer, Archana Krishna.
According to Rajesh Bharatiya, chief executive of recruitment services provider Peoplefy, GenAI-based tools help customise the process; for instance to send a recruitment mass mailer based on each candidate’s unique experiences and background. “Such customisation may require 10 times more time to customise manually,” he said.
Infrastructure development firm Welspun Enterprises uses a GenAI bot that assists its executives in taking interviews. “Our hiring efficiencies have improved drastically. Before using the GenAI bot for interviewing, our selection ratio was 15%. Now this rate has increased to 55%, a 40% jump in my selection rate overnight,” chief HR officer Rajesh Jain said, adding: “This is big.”
However, at the current stage of its development, experts believe there are certain pitfalls associated with deploying AI in hiring practices.
These include ethical considerations about data privacy, algorithmic transparency and the risk of discrimination, lack of soft skills evaluation, bias amplification, and inability to discover potential.