4 Ways AI is Shaping the Future of HR and Hiring in 2020

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a field of computer science that allows machines to mimic the “cognitive” functions of humans. It is a technology that can be trained, and it learns and makes recommended actions based on previous data.

According to a report done by EY, core AI technologies provide better accuracy and stability to everyday processes and offer significant opportunities to improve the human resources (HR) function. While we are far away from being replaced by robots, the organizations that will be poised for success are those who can combine the strengths of its human capital, while optimizing its technology and AI to deliver the best results for its employees and potential new hires.

While there are numerous applications of AI, here are 4 exciting ways that AI is shaping the future of HR and hiring for 2020.

Creating better and more inclusive job descriptions

The application of AI to the job description presents many opportunities for talent acquisition teams looking to attract top talent. In 2019, we saw talent acquisition teams rethinking the way they design and write their job descriptions. Gone are the days of a static job requisition with a list of mundane requirements. Now, job descriptions are seen as a marketing piece and must use the right language to attract the right candidate.

The organizations that will be poised for success are those who can combine the strengths of its human capital, while optimizing its technology and AI to deliver the best results for its employees and potential new hires.

Products like Textio use AI to help people identify which words attract and repel candidates. It’s AI capabilities can analyze text to identify when language is overly masculine or feminine while identifying and removing jargon. Taken together, this can attract a more diverse candidate pool. Textio also helps you select the right language to compete with top talent, in a fraction of the time.

Increasing efficiencies during the candidate pre-screen phase

There are several ways that AI can empower recruiters to save time during the screening phase. With the use of AI-powered chatbots, the initial prescreen phase can be streamlined by matching candidate skills, availability, salary expectations, and demographic information with suitable and available jobs.

Companies like Mya are helping enterprises and staffing firms automate outreach and communication with candidates throughout the recruitment process. This removes a huge administrative load off the hands of recruiters, who can then focus their energies on engaging more efficiently with candidates.

Reducing turnover

Applying AI throughout the hiring stages can also help predict the success of a new hire. By applying predictive analytics early on in the hiring cycle, AI can help determine whether or not a candidate will be a good long term fit for the position.

Companies like Modern Hire offer a “Virtual Job Tryout” assessment and predictive analytics that helps inform the candidate on whether or not the role will be a good fit for them, while helping predict their on-the-job performance. This can help hiring managers select the right candidates for the right job, while reducing organizational turnover.

Measuring and improving the employee experience

Beyond the common engagement survey and pulse check, it’s hard to measure what is really helping drive the employee experience. However, AI is helping reduce the “gut feeling” when it comes to decision making around employee engagement.

Companies like Worklytics provide real-time insights on the impact and effects of collaboration and productivity tools (think Slack, email, Google Drive, etc.) on your employees. By gathering the data from all your company’s tools, it uses A.I. to analyze the work habits of your people and then provides recommendations to drive positive change.

Companies like Humu analyze employee surveys to identify changes, which can be used to boost the happiness of a company’s workforce. Using a “Nudge Engine”, Humu sends its employee’s prompts that are meant to promote better decisions that will lead to happier outcomes.

Beyond hiring and engagement, AI is helping HR departments offer better learning experiences, through gamification, personalized learning pathways, virtual reality, learning experience platforms, and more.

While AI has seen significant strides, it is nowhere near perfect. Given that AI is often trained on user data, it can easily replicate the biases which exist within humans. For example, “Tay”, Microsoft’s bot which was trained using Twitter data, was shut down immediately as it started sharing discriminatory and derogatory comments which it learned from its users.

Though not yet a perfect science, implementing AI in the workplace is helping HR professionals spend less time doing manual, repetitive, and time-consuming tasks, and frees them up to focus on the more strategic initiatives within their roles.