Here’s why AI can’t replace the human element in recruiting
bmadmin • July 23, 2020
I was recently recruiting a position for an organisation I’ve worked with on several occasions. They’re the type of organisation I love to work with – great culture, strong employer value proposition and all-round just great people to partner with.
Whilst there was no shortage of applicants, after going through the process and conducting a few face to face interviews, the person who I felt was the best fit and recommended they meet with didn’t tick all the boxes, and in fact, on paper didn’t look ideal at all.
It wasn’t so much that she didn’t have the necessary skills, the issue was more-so that this experience was from quite some time ago and was only part of her role. Her experience also wasn’t in the types of organisations the employer would have felt were aligned.
However, after getting to know this candidate and having a good understanding of the team and workplace culture, I recommended they interview *Jane* and I held my breath hoping they too would see the potential of this person.
The feedback from the client: “Mel, you’ve done it again! She’s a perfect fit!”.
A few takeaways from this experience:
- If I had solely relied on an applicant tracking system this candidate wouldn’t have made the initial shortlist and the organisation would have missed out on an exceptional employee.
- If I hadn’t taken the time to build a relationship with the client and get to know the organisation and workplace culture, I wouldn’t have had the insight to connect the two.
- Had the organisation chosen to manage the recruitment themselves, I have no doubt this candidate would have been overlooked in the process.
The value a human-centric recruitment process brings is irreplaceable. So, whilst I absolutely believe technology has its place, it’s stories like these that demonstrate nothing can replace the human element in recruiting!
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