Are concerns about recruitment automation keeping you up at night? With the wide variety of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) tools that sit under the modern recruiting technology umbrella, it can be challenging to know how your recruiting role could change when these technologies are deployed in your organization. As with most new tech, there’s a lot of information and misinformation out there. The classic MythBusters series may be wrapped, but we’re glad to offer you our version of Myth Busters: Recruiter Automation.
Busting recruiter automation myths
We’ve selected some of the most common recruiter automation myths out of the many:
- Automation is the same as AI. Busted. Though the two terms are often used interchangeably, they are not the same. A major (but not only) difference is that automation handles repetitive tasks, and AI handles non-repetitive tasks. Confusion can also come in because some – but not all – automation is powered by AI. Automated interview scheduling is an example. Tools that enable candidates to self-select interview times from a list set up by a recruiter are typically just automation; a virtual scheduling assistant that dialogs with candidates to set up an interview time uses AI and automation. When automation and AI are integrated, it’s often described as intelligent automation.
- Automation will take recruiters’ jobs. Unlikely. The purpose of most recruiting automation is to handle routine or repetitive tasks, so recruiters can spend more time on complex, value-add activities such as talking with candidates. This is a reality: 90% of executives whose organizations use intelligent automation say it creates higher-value work for their employees. So, not only will automation not take your job, it will likely make your day-to-day work more satisfying by allowing you to do what you do best: connect with candidates.
- Automation can solve every recruiting challenge. No way. And HR technology vendors who claim this are overpromising. Recruiting automation can give you the tools and capabilities to move through complex recruiting challenges, like reducing time to hire, improving recruiter efficiency, and removing hiring bias. Intelligent automation used in pre-hire assessments can significantly change hiring performance on metrics like new hire productivity and retention by providing you with accurate predictive insights into candidates’ future performance. Even more exciting, these pre-hire assessments can give you predictive insights at scale. Intelligent automation can also help recruiters respond effectively to many hiring environments, whether you have too many candidates, not enough candidates, or too many candidates but not enough qualified candidates.
- AI and automation are only about chatbots. Busted. Recruiting automation chatbots got a lot of play when first introduced because it is easy to understand their function and attractive from a humanistic standpoint. However, chatbots are just the icing on the cake. A science-based virtual hiring platform offers so much more in terms of recruiting automation:
- Automated scheduling – what recruiter doesn’t want to get out from under the endless routine of scheduling?
- Candidate auto-advance – intelligent automation that is triggered by an interview completion or receipt of hiring manager feedback that automatically invites candidates to schedule their interview.
- Automated interview scoring – this feature of on-demand video interviewing uses AI to auto-score candidate responses to interview questions. Hiring teams can prioritize high-scoring candidates or use the scores as part of an overall measurement of fit for hire.
- Recruiting automation platforms are complicated to learn. Usually untrue. Not all virtual hiring platforms are the same, but the ones chosen by leading organizations worldwide are those built to minimize the learning curve. These platforms are intuitive for regular users like recruiters as well as more infrequent users like some hiring managers. The best platforms also offer recruiter-centric training.
- Processes that use recruiting automation are inflexible. 100% busted. Modern Hire’s Hiring Blueprints are the poster child for flexible, automated, AI-enabled workflows. Here’s the précis: Hiring Blueprints are recommended hiring workflows specific to more than 40 different roles. Each Blueprint integrates three or more stages that utilize AI and recruiting automation tools such as on-demand text screens, job-specific Virtual Job Tryout™ assessments, and automated scheduling. Recruiters can add or remove the building blocks of the workflow as needed to offer personal hiring experiences tailored to the specific role. Learn more about Hiring Blueprints.
- AI and automation make hiring less human-centric. Usually untrue. Again, not all recruiting automation platforms are the same, but the most effective ones are centered around candidate experience in the hiring process. They enable recruiters to handle repetitive activities efficiently and effectively and devote more individual attention to the qualified candidates they’d like to bring on board.
Sorry, no explosions in this episode as we bust some of these myths. But hopefully, your mind is a blown a little by the enormous transformative potential of recruiting automation.