“Automation is good, so long as you know where exactly to put the machine.”
The above quote will leave us in a serious dilemma: is automation by itself sufficient to run this business world? It has to be human, it’s creator eventually?
Automation technology has been growing leaps and bounces over the last few years. It hasn’t failed to make its way into quite a few business operations, one of them being recruitment, which could ultimately shape the future of the organization. This article discusses why is automation in recruitment facing a hype? Is this hype even real?
Introduction
Quality of people working for the organization is head and shoulders above most factors that define the success of the business. Therefore, it must be inevitably quite a task to recruit the best possible personnel to let an organization dominate. Since the recruitment process requires such attention, companies have always keenly looked for effective means to discover the “best” people. The definition of “best” remains the question to be answered.
They say everyone can do the “hard work” these days but the one doing the smart work” steals the show. The acquisition teams as per numbers, spend nearly 13 hours a week to source the best candidates for different jobs.
However, ever since these automation techniques have taken the center stage, recruitment has indeed become a lot simpler.
Artificial intelligence and screening
From merely placing an advertisement in the classified columns of a newspaper, to posting lucrative job offers on LinkedIn and Naukri.com, recruitment has come a long way.
Yes, indeed the first challenge is to let out the job offers in such a way that could set the world of talented job-seekers on fire. Machines and learning tools can perform this miraculous task by letting the recruiters know whether a particular advertisement can fetch desired results or not and even can suggest the amendments needed.
Indians are hungry, aren’t they? Yes, they have an appetite for opportunities which they don’t get too often these days. So, if companies offer those opportunities, it can expect a truckload of applications. That’s where it all begins, screening of applications.
The statistics say almost 88% of the resumes received for a job are considered unqualified. This indeed could be a tedious task in such a situation.
Screening software could learn the actual requirements for the jobs and predict the employee’s success or failure for the given job on the basis of his skill set and his past achievements and performance.
Companies have in fact designed “chatting software” where the person could chat with the software on the company’s website to clear his doubts about his qualifications and selections. The software can answer on the basis of the data that has been stored in the cloud.
To remove the “weeds” and reap the best “crops”, a fertilizer called “automation technology” is doing unimaginable things.
Interviews – the most difficult thing?
There is something called “selection test” which the employees have to undergo to be able to be eligible for the further stages. Aptitude tests, decision-making ability, health status, a these can be assessed through technology to give the best possible results.
The interviews are probably the most significant part of selection have also been made easier than ever before. There has to be no chaos regarding time slots and scheduling of interviews.
The system will do it all, reschedule or schedule on the basis of availability, without any fuss or delay. Interviews can easily be conducted through videos and mobile phones as well.
Digital interview technical can assess the usage of words, facial expressions, speech patterns, the tension felt by the candidate etc to thoroughly examine the candidate. This could deliver accurate results.
So all these techniques make things a lot easier for everyone and save the most valuable resources called “time”, “effort” and “money”
Only humans will run the world and not robots!
Having said it all, it is still silly to fancy a virtual company operated by Robots in the future. Artificial intelligence has created a lot of hype but it, like most other technologies that mankind has discovered is meant to help him and not replace him.
It is undoubtedly another one of those things that might make us their slave. It can alter our judgment skill, increase our reliance on mechanical results, and diminish our ability to work physically for long periods of time. However, it’s the case with most scientific advancements.
Moreover, it helps the organizations look for the “best” personnel but with such stern tests and perfect results, even a good person can fail.
Not everyone is proficient as required by artificial intelligence tests but still deserves the opportunity to grow with time and experience.
All this is very much on growing lines. It requires substantial cost and expenses to install and manage such machines and software and it is not easy for people to adapt to them.
One can argue, it can really open a bag is opportunities for the software and web developers, computer experts and robotics experts. However, somewhere or the other, it puts the need of human resource in general under threat with everything being automatic.
But what if the data given to machine algorithms is biased, incorrect or not properly judged or assessed? The machines, in the end, are as good as their operators.
Therefore, it requires the careful effort of human beings and these machines which can act as effective guides to select the best people.
After all, a human is best judged by another human and not a mobile phone!