Automation and the future of recruitment

If there's one big talking point that's dominated the world of recruitment over the last few years, it's automation and artificial intelligence (AI). For recruitment agencies, businesses looking to hire the best staff, and candidates themselves, automation can seem like a scary concept. After all, who wouldn't be worried about the idea of robots taking their jobs?

Fortunately, there's a lot more to automation and AI than that, and the technology presents some real opportunities which we'll be exploring in this article.

Automation and the job market

Starting with the job market, the most important question to address is: what positions will automation effect? There's no doubt that AI will cause some jobs - particularly within the manufacturing and financial services industries - to disappear, but what about the larger trend that we've seen over recent years of technology creating new positions? There's absolutely no reason to expect that this won't continue, as Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork, explained to McKinsey Insights: 

"Historically, what we've seen is, yes, technology changes are destroying some jobs. But net-net they have created more opportunities, more jobs than they have destroyed."

Many of these new jobs involve working directly with automation technology, meaning we're likely to see an increase in demand for IT and technology expertise, as well as social and emotional skills that cannot be easily replicated by AI. This is likely to create intense competition for talented professionals who possess these qualities, providing a wide variety of opportunities for experienced employees and those who are willing to retrain. 

Automation in recruitment

The recruitment industry itself is not immune to automation, and recruitment agencies need to be aware of the areas where AI can help them, and where a human touch is still essential. As with other industries, the real benefit of artificial intelligence to a recruitment agency is the ability to automate basic processes and increase efficiency. A great example of this is screening CVs in real time, eliminating the need for recruiters to spend hours looking at resumes from candidates who simply aren't well-suited for a particular position. 

As a result, recruiters will be able to spend more time with those candidates who are a good fit, making it far easier to find the perfect match for a particular vacancy. This is where 'human' skills such as a niche understanding of a particular industry come into play, augmenting the automated processes and improving the recruitment experience for every party involved.

For more information on the future of recruitment and securing the right IT and technology staff for the transition, contact The Recruitment Company today.

By Geoff Millar