19.10.2018

Recruiters Aim better with cognitive assistants

Martin Linstrom, Managing Director UK&I at IPsoft

Working more efficiently is critical to the success of recruiters, with 56% stating that access to new recruitment and interview tools is very or extremely important for the future of hiring processes. The deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides recruiters with a unique opportunity to rapidly source top talent and beat the competition. By combining back office software systems with a cognitive AI solution, recruiters will be able to quickly locate prospects who meet their specific needs, as well as narrow down the list to only the most desirable candidates.

The most sophisticated cognitive tools perform tasks and take actions based on the data residing in back office software. Now, any recruitment request or search that would traditionally be conducted manually by HR staff can be spoken or typed to a cognitive virtual assistant.

In traditional HR environments, recruiters would need to open a browser tab, type in the URL of their recruitment system, enter their log-in credentials, and check box after box to find a range of employees who fit their recruitment needs.

Recruiters can now be as specific or general as they wish, as cognitive systems use machine intelligence to automatically look beyond simple keywords to locate a list of only the most applicable candidates. For example, with traditional recruitment tools, a recruiter who is looking for a candidate in sports marketing would see a list of anyone who has an interest in sports, plus anyone who has a background in marketing. This list would be seemingly endless. Conversely, AI determines that the recruiter’s specific intent is to find a sports marketing expert, subsequently surfacing and contacting only those candidates who meet this specific criterion.

With those candidates that a recruiter has reached out to, the cognitive system can help streamline communications. As candidates respond to messages, the cognitive solution notifies the recruiter to let them know whether the candidate is interested in pursuing the position. The recruiter then lets the cognitive system know how it should respond. In either case, the recruiter never has to open or close email applications, calendars, recruitment tools, or any other software - he or she communicates the tasks directly to the cognitive system, taking care of all the busywork.

Cognitive Solution:John Smith has responded to your request to meet. Would you like me to open the message?
Recruiter:Yes, please. [Recruiter reads John Smith’s response.] Please ask John Smith if he is free to speak this afternoon at 3pm.
Cognitive Solution:Would you like me to hold this time on your calendar?
Recruiter:Please do.

After the conversation with John Smith, the recruiter speaks or types responses directly to the cognitive system in order to update his profile within the recruitment tool. Significantly, the cognitive system is available to conduct similar post mortems, and automatically updates the candidate’s recruitment profile after each interview – a semi-automated process that continues along each stage of the recruitment procedure, including HR onboarding.

The intelligent, seamless experience continues at each stage in the recruitment process and is something of a Holy Grail for recruiters and HR departments. Too frequently, the constant pressure to trawl through tools to find relevant candidates results in time-poor recruiters who don’t have the time to invest in making better connections with potential candidates.

Using cognitive AI agents, not only can recruiters become more accurate and effective in identifying and communicating with the right candidates for the role, but it frees up valuable time. This allows them to bring the most human element back to their job - building lasting relationships.

Posted by: FMJ 0 comment(s)